Puddle Peel Out – 4

We’re gonna end this like we started it, with a triple crown mission on Desous.

Different order at least.  We’re firing up the day with a Prime & Endless to start.   Hey Ian!  You awake yet?

Curtis, good man that he is, is our shuttle driver today.  So we are able to relax and enjoy scenes like this:

We are so easily amused while waiting for pickup, that we didn’t even notice that he was at the wrong LZ.  We just hung out and played with dead animals.

And also some live ones…

Round two had to be Godspeed. 

Perfect conditions, and some pretty nice shots to boot.

Barb and I even got to rip the whole day together. Does that chick ever stop smiling?

Shreddy, can’t stop racing.

Another rare shot of Hylands without a camera bag.

Monica, a bit hurtin’ from last night, but still charging.

Here’s a couple of the infamous gulley gap on Godspeed.

Speaking of the gulley…

Looks like a new line has formed.   It’s kinda tight.

In places your bars hit on both sides.

Yup…it’s a blurry sort of day.

Our last run down So Long was pretty loose.  On top of a few days of riding, a couple thousand kms of driving, and some great parties, it got a bit haywire to say the least.  Lots of monster truckin’ new lines, upside down riders in barb wire, pinball wizards through tight trees, and it all ended with this clay drop session at the bottom.

Which turned into a bit of an epic wait for the van.  Looks like we got our money’s worth outta these tires.

Great weekend, and big thanks to Red Shreds, Puddlebike, and the Cariboo Mtn Bike Consortium for putting on such a great party.

Puddle Peel Out – 1

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  While it’s been a few years since we’ve done the 4:20, there’s always another excuse to go visit the Puddle.

Ride The Cariboo put on a gravity fest in Williams Lake this past weekend, so off we went to shred and provide some colour and support for the event.  We went up a day early to try to grab a few laps before going to work, and lo and behold but who should show up but Chris Glew, Dave Achtemichuk, and a few other miscreants who absconded with me to get a triple lap of Desous.

Chris and Chuck used to run tours under the Freeride Tours label.  It’s funny how often I ride in the Puddle with them.  Here we are being surprised by the dry conditions on Godspeed.

These horny fellas were just as surprised to see us.

Nice bum, where ya from?

Justin, up close and personal with Prime & Endless.

After 3 laps there, we went over to Fox Mtn. to help mark the DH course for tomorrow.  Local ripper and dark horse favourite Jeremy is drifting in to one of the final berms here while getting in some late practice.

October Randoms

Old Cover Guys never die. They do look older after a while, but they just keep on hammering.

I did a ton of riding this month with the Rabbit, who I worked with for several years back in the old country. It was XC stuff mainly, and we rode at old school pace (no stopping…ever). I’m pretty sure there was one point where I didn’t put a foot down for over 2 hours. Lots of killer rides all month, but no eye candy for you. Just this little fella:

Can’t believe that was the first snake I saw all year. Everyone was raving about how many and how large the snakes were this summer, and I see this puny little one in the last week of herpetological friendly weather. He is quite pretty in those yellow leaves though.

Coolie is getting out for more rides now. She got a 35-40 km day in at the end. And slept it off in one day. She killed it until the last couple km of the last lap, when she started to limp just a little bit. Pretty amazing…and a bit scary. Next summer could be a chore keeping her exercised.

Another little scenic window into my neighbourhood. I got into a bunch more trails in the Naramata zone. Figuring out tons more routes to play on for next year. Would you believe it? I rode that zone over 20 times this year alone, and just in the last couple of weeks did over 5 hours on stuff I haven’t seen before.

PS – Happy 73rd Birthday, Dad.