Squamish

First Ride of the Year

Posted on by Smoke

I just happened to be in the big city (Vancouver, do they get any bigger than that?) and like a smart guy I brought my bike down.  You know, just in case.

Also ran into our old pal Kenny Maude, who has opened up the newest shop on the Shore, Lynn Valley Bikes.

Kenny saw an already overcrowded marketplace, and said to himself, “Me too!”  Good on ya, Kenny.

Also stopped by Wade’s place, and as luck would have it I was just after the Shimano truck showed up.  Can I take any of that off your hands, Mr. Simmons?  Thanks, buddy.  Looks like I’ll have some Saint gear on the new bike when it gets built.

As it was a Friday, it was time for the Chromag ride.  I’m not sure if this is a good idea for the first ride of the year, but when in Rome..(or Squamish).

Mitchell, get outta the shot!

Our mission was to get a little preview of Tedward Shovelhands latest creation, Half-Nelson.  It’s a publicly funded trail in Squamish that Ted has been working on for months.  The grand opening was scheduled for Sunday, but he gave us the go ahead to get an early sample.

Of course, the Chromags had to get stoopid creative on the approach route, so rather than shuttle up to the 19th Hole, we rode in from 20km away.

An interesting choice, especially for that lardass, Yours Truly.

Anyway, it’s a fantastic trail.  Reminds me a lot of Silverstar, but a more technical version.  REALLY deep berms, and you need to know the flow of the trail if you want to avoid pedalling and still get good tranny.

<British Accent>Lush!</British Accent>

So green.  Oh, and we managed to find a place to walk our bikes downhill.

Which led us by this masterpiece.  It was shortly thereafter that I bonked and lost the group.  Which led to an extended loop of trying to find my way back.

Which naturally led me to this frosty cold beverage at Tantalus.  Yup, it’s been 15 years since I started working in Al’s back yard.   What a long strange trip, and it feels like yesterday.

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon – Day 12

Posted on by Smoke

What’s this, another big smile?

Ah…we must be in Squamish then.

My old stomping grounds. there are few places better for XC riding than Squamish.

Plus all that coastal rainforest and surrounding peaks with glaciers looks so much like Wales…

Well, we even managed a few bits of bridgework today.

This is part of my super secret endless loop out in Squamish. Right here we’re on Dead End Loop, but we can do many hours of various levels of singletrack out here.

We spent some time on the slightly more advanced bridges of “Don’t Tell Jude.”

I’m alwasys amused by how intimidated people are by the woodwork. In most respects, it’s easier than regular riding.

It’s just a little bit up in the air…

Here’s a random local showing how it’s done.

Actually, our Brits did remarkably well on this section, once they put their fears away.

They had a bit more trouble with this one. So it’s long, it’s flat, wide and straight. A little yelling and Holly got this one nailed. Sorry to scream at you, but you’d hate yourself later for not doing this one.

Lunchtime and a view. These are hard to come by in the rain forest, consider yourselves lucky.

We were pretty thrashed by the new experiences of wet and slippery bridges, so we opted for the guilty pleasures of shredding the Alice Lakes trails. They re-open to the public after September 16th, and they are truly awesome. Nothing tech, just loamy and flowy goodness for several slightly downhill kilometers.

Which is why there’s no pics of that part. Too busy going fast.

Here, try the map instead.


View Larger Map

The Happiest Place on Earth – Pt. 2

Posted on by Smoke

Yeah, it’s too much for just one post, so I split it.  Anyway, back to our story.  As you recall, I’d eaten a lunch that had some dubious looking lettuce on it, but food is food….right?

Things were fine at this point, as Wade showed us the proper technique.

Everyone took the advice to heart, and a mad session ensued.

Pic o’ the day….

Somewhere around here I was siezed by some chills, and felt the urge to barf, which I manfully (stupidly?) repressed.

OK, no pics for a bit. I was definitely poisoned.  Somehow, I manged to throw up FIVE times, and interstingly only the lettuce came out.  So now Ihave to live with the fact the Tippie out climbed me.  Oh the humiliation…..

Meh…whatever.  By Awesome Rock I was feeling a little bit better.


Pics never do this one justice.  Arthur is on an 85 degree slope there.

And now the standard scenic shots from the last viewpoint.


Yes Burton, I agree.

Simmons, quit posing.

You too, Brett.

A big ride and a big beer.  two great tastes that go great together.

Another one in the books.  Not sure about the random psycho who came by and stomped ona  bunch of beers, then peeled out giving us the finger, but it added some spice to the day.

Oh, and by the way, Brett doesn’t need to stick his dick in a jar of peanut butter.  The end result is already there.