XC

KVR Trip — Day 1

Posted on by Smoke

OK, OK, I know, I’ve been slack on updating. For those of you paying attention, I’ve had to do a little revamp on the site. Thanks Microsoft, for making life so easy on the little guy (Microsoft lost a lawsuit, and now I have to recode every site I do. Just buy them out next time, will ya?).

Anyway, on to the tour….

It looks like for the next couple of years I’ll be starting the season with St. Georges School. St. Georges is the premiere boys prep school in Western Canada, and every spring 150 Grade 10 boys have a wilderness experience. Things like backcountry skiing, kayaking the West Coast, hiking the Coast Mountains. Those of them who aren’t really into the outdoors come biking with yours truly on the old abandoned rail grade between Summerland and Otter Lake.

…sort of a mean joke, isn’t it?

Our first camp was pretty sweet, although a bit cold. We had snow flurries throughout the night, and then the temp dropped to a numbing -10C just before sunrise. All the guys were asking me what time we had to getup the night before. I just sort of laughed, figuring that they wouldn’t sleep at all. I was right.

Withthe cold, we got off to a good start. Here’s Mike Procaska, my loyal assistant, on the first part of the trail.

Our first stop was at this trestle.

Hi Chris.

Lunch was at a bluff overlooking the valley. David pulled out his trusty stove to heat up the chili. What a man.

Good views.

So, we only lost one guy at lunch. He turned up later, safe and sound. It’s pretty hard to get lost on a railway grade.

Just follow the gravel, man.

When we rolled into camp, we got into some more technical riding. Hey, you gotta make do with what you got.

Here’s a link to THOR!!! and his new skills on video.

The best part of this trip? We don’t have to cook. The guys are on their own. Looks tasty…

..and of course the obligatory camfire, complete with exploding lighters.

Wade Simmons Freeride Experience
July 9th to July 27th.
Click for details….

FourTwentyThree

Posted on by Smoke

Yeeehaaaa!!! Farwell Canyon and some jetboating onthe agenda today. First we hit a couple of classics in Farwell. This shot is a total fluke. I was playing around with the white balance in low light and forgot to reset for the bright sun. Sorta cool….

Steve hanging out…

Dan gets vertical on one of the many chutes in the canyon. It’s way gnarlier than it looks.

Kevin (I think) on the same line. Everyone was spooked enough by this one that there were no takers on it the second time around.

After a couple of runs, we hit the xc for the tour out to the Fraser. It’s about 30 km’s to the confluence of the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers, which was our destination. We were supposed to start at 2PM, but we hung around waiting for stragglers for another 45 minute, just in case. Remember this, as it became more important later.

After about 20km, wee got out to the canyon. Before we dropped in, a little fortitude was called for. (like it isn’t wild enough out there).

The first part of the descent is pretty mellow, still following an old doubletrack.

That ridge is where we had lunch.

Once you get down a ways, the trail gets a little radder.

It’s more like backcountry skiing than anything else.

Well, except that it was about 30C at this point (remember the -8 from a couple of days ago?).

Unique hazards for Canada in April, especially this far north.

Ahhh, the shuttle vehicle.

We went downstream for a ways, just to burn some more time in case there were any stragglers. It was a wicked ride. Lots of standing waves, some 360’s, full on redneck style. Still, we saw no other riders come in to the beach.

Which was sort of funny, since Johnny Bejoin decided to chase us out and missed the ride. I heard he got back at about 4:30 am…..

Wade Simmons Freeride Experience
July 9th to July 27th.
Click for details….

SPOKE — Ride With a Pro

Posted on by Smoke

Sweet, I’m a pro.

Did a little charity work of sorts this week. Gotta encourage the youngn’s to get out there and ride, dont ya know? To that end, I went out for an XC ride with SPOKE, a high school racing league. A bunch of pros showed up, including Wade, Elladee Brown, Lisa Sher, Jenelle Cassidy, and Nels (uh oh, missed his last name. One of the Wrld XC champs at any rate). It was fun, although a bit of a struggle for my fat ass. Spring training is a bit late this year. Huge props to Tyler Morland for lending me a bike to ride. Thanks buddy.

Hi Elladee….

Anyone want Wade’s signature?

I think that might be a yes. I even got to sign a few (cue sound of ego inflating). I actually doubled my all time signature signing total here. Neat.

So we did a bit of a climb. Hey, it’s hard to keep a true Sportsman down. Just say no to crack, kids.

Some random riders on the descent.

..and there you have it. Next up, NSMBA Trail Day on Salvation and Corkscrew. Be there…..

Wade Simmons Freeride Experience
ONLY 2 SEATS LEFT!!
July 9th to July 27th.
Click for details….