Salad Doggers – 6a

Oh wow…the sun still exists.  Well, then now I can show you Revelstoke.  This is the Cheeky Beaver, where we stayed.  Ver’ nice, ver’ nice.

“Ow, the sun hurts my eyes!”  Note our affable shuttle driver, the lovely and talented Casey Brown.   Casey smashed herself good at a race in Panorama earlier in the season and can’t ride right now, but her bad luck is our good, as she can still drive the van for us.

Martha Creek trail has been totally rebuilt since our last mission here last summer.  It’s still a vertical mile of trail, but it’s been upgraded and improved to handle the increase in traffic it’s seeing.

Yes, that’s fresh snow up there on those Selkirks.

The blue skies didn’t hold, but it’s still nice enough to pop some air off the occasional rock.

There are something like 40 new bridges and boardwalks out there.

Pop goes the wheelie.

We played leapfrog with the cameras down the trail, so the last guy in line would pass everyone (we all had cameras), and then set up his shot on couple hundred meters past the last guy.  Worked out perfectly.

I lucked out with this choice corner spot.  Everyone looks like a pro on this corner.

Richard, making it look harder than it really is.

Whether you stop and take pics, or just bomb the trail, it really feels endless.  It’s a big one.

Lee on a spectacular creek crossing.

…and again on some random sun dappled singletrack.

Some more artsy creek angles.

Todd Byle also came out.  He’s a friend of a friend up from Idaho for a little break from bike shop life.  He also happens to shred wet roots and bridges pretty hard for a desert rider.

Ewan, adding a little festive cheer to the scene.

Lee and some BIG cedars.

More big trees.

Todd on some more greasy woodwork.

As we went down, the forest keeps changing.  Elevation, exposure, second growth, whatever. It’s a constantly changing landscape.

Almost to the bottom, it’s still not raining, and we’re only at lunch time.  I guess there will have to be another session this afternoon.

Here’s today’s map.


View Larger Map

Link to Martha/Sale kml file

Hurtin’ For Vert – Prologue

Holy massive update.  Well, it’s a bit of a massive day trip here.  A call from Tyler at PinkBike earlier in the season has come to fruition.  A whole pile of personalities and miscommunications later, and whoever showed up at this random spot in the Selkirk Mtns. was in. 

Among others, Elinor made it out to the camp late.  Sorry lads, she’s taken

Some random German named Manhorse also showed up.  I don’t even want to know…

Oh, and Dre was there in time for coffee.

Nice campsite, eh?

Another lovely young lady that shreds….and knows how to make the most of breakfast time.

Yeah, she’s not looking for a boyfriend either.  You fella’s just relax.  Like this guy…

Doesn’t get any more relaxing, does it?  Dingo, watch where you’re standing.  You might be in a puddle.

Margus, also known as ‘the Turtle’ and ‘the Thunder’.  He carries a big pack, and rides a short travel rig really hard.  I’ll let you figure that out.

Wade, with the first of his several hundred flat tire.  This is like…30 seconds into the trip.

There’s the rock he hit.

Here’s the penalty for slowing us down.

Hi!

So, we’re rocking a trail known as Martha Creek.  Just a little 4700 foot descent to start the day.

There’s Tyler.  His mom dressed him.

Dingo, with a more subdued fashion sense.

Simmons, about to flat again.

Yeah, it’s flat alright.  A star studded cast to be sure on this trip.  Former Olympians, top 2 Crankworx finishers, pro level riders of all sorts, Psychosis champs, I was in deep for this week.

Sorta like this guy.  In deep…

Rest break, flat repair, and what is soon to be a bridge.

Alright, back to shreddin.

Small girl, big trees.

Oh, some Euro stars were out too.  Mario is one of the top freeride stars in Germany these days.  The camera just loves him…

Reg doesn’t give a shit about the camera, he just likes ripping.

At least we found a use for all those blown tubes.

Wow, you guys are tired? That was just the warm up!

Here’s some stats for you…