wade simmons

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.

Ride Guide Day 8

Posted on by Smoke

This trip is getting old…

Oh no wait…it’s just us.  Well, it is the last day, and another round of rad trails with the guys that built ‘em.

…and Ben.

.

..and Wade and Lorraine too.

Lorraine was our stoke today. I think you can see why she was so happy to be riding the South Okanagan.  It’s just an unbelievable place to be.

We had a great day hanging out ripping the trails, and even just cruising the KVR.

That’s a wrap.  Watch for it sometime in the spring on the Ride Guide.

 

Hurtin’ For Vert – Stage 2

Posted on by Smoke

I did NOT get enough sleep last night, but I think I still did better than everyone else.  A wicked thunderstorm rolled through after midnight, and while some were sleeping outside I managed to score a sweet trailer with a huge memory foam mattress. 

Still, we all had to get up really early to catch the ferry at Galena Bay.

A nice cruise on the lake was a nice reward.  Check the smoke from all the forest fires that are still burning around BC.  Margus was more interested in cheesy trick shots.

Ja Mario, the camera still loves you, even in the morning.

OK, we’re off to Baldface today, and with some help from Pat at Dirt Tours.  While they can’t shuttle us all the way up, they did manage to get us up the first 5000’.

Here’s the specs…

So while we got close, you still have to hike the last bit to the top.

Here we are at Cherry Tops, the high point of the day.  If you look carefully, you’ll see Tyler hurtin’ his way up to the top, way in the background.

And now, a selection of different riders doing the same thing.

After that, the trail got really steep for a long time. Check out the arm pump on Wade.

Time for a whiskey break.

Then it was back to sick steeps for another hour.  Here’s Tyler, catching some rare airtime.

Everybody say thanks to Pat. 

“Thanks Pat”

Now all we had to do is wait for Kinrade to bring my van back. Luckily, there was some kind of hippie fest going.  I think a lot of these shrubs only get out of the Slocan Valley a couple of times a year.  Very entertaining.

The Muffin Tops did some dancing for us.

Parking is expensive in Nelson, so we put all our bikes on one parking meter.  Anyone who’s ever had a run in with the meter maids in Nelson will appreciate this one.

Bikes, beers, bros, now we just need some food.

Oh, and Carys says “Hi!”

**Bonus

Google Map View