OC to BC and back.. 2010
Canada has become an annual pilgrimage for 1000’s of mountain bike riders from around the world including myself. My first few times up to Whistler were by plane and bus but I have found my truck to be the way to go…
I can load all the bikes & gear I want with no baggage fees… I get to see the country stopping along the way to ride if time allows while visiting dealers… Meet and ride with new people on new terrain and in some cases on a borrowed bike. But most importantly… I can take Zeus.
The night before I was leaving and I had all intentions of camping with Zeus for 10+ days… Until I suddenly remembered an offer Emily Johnston had extended a few months back… “we have room if you need it…”
No way!!! The biggest stroke of good luck… a place to stay that will allow Zeus not to mention the friends who were also staying there. Seb Kemp, Emily, Sven Martin and then getting to meet and ride with Ariel and Abby from the Santa Cruz Demo Tour… So, mainly this is to say thanks for the 10 days in Whistler to all of you!!!
I have been updating pics by way of this blog, facebook and now twitter so this is mainly to wrap things up and say thanks to everyone along the way by way of this little photo journal…
Enjoy…
Zeus sporting my 2nd Dual Slalom Silver Medal…
Is 3 the charm???
I started the trip with at least one freshly broken rib… added a rolled ankle by day 2 and punched the pump track pretty hard when I washed out on my very first lap.
But I still had a great time and rode my ass off.
Some DH racing goin’ down.
Early morning ride on River Runs Through with Zeus.
Stop one of my many stops on the way back south was to hang out with Guy Marsh a little and check out his spot… the Jungle Trails. This place is is sick and only getting better. Guy and his friends have learned a lot from the original NW BMX’ers and it shows…
How does 4 tight rollers to a small right hip into a steep trickable double into a large roller to a boosty left hand hip with a tall steep high speed landing to a 26′ long & low into a 35′ step-up with a 6′ clay wall and massive downhill landing sound??? It sounds like this…
Brraapp!!!
Guy Sends a huge moto whip across a large gap right as we got there… while I make moto sounds… it would seem I entertain easily .
Guy dumps a slow 3 across 35′ of Washington Jungle at 8 AM
Super Guy
Thanks to Guy for letting me crash on the couch, the NW Breakfast and mostly for the pre-work trail sesh…
Stop #2 on my way home… Harvy’s in Lynwood, Wa.
Hanny stands amid more stock than I’ve ever seen in one place… if you are looking for it… Harvy’s has it… It’s here somewhere buddy.
Stop #3… The Fat Tire Farm in Portland, Or.
A special thanks to all the cool folks I met in Portland and their hospitality…
Park, Pat, Patty, Nick, Kristen, Kahn the Cat and the Fat Tire Farm crew for a fun night of pumptrackin’, PBR’s and putting Zeus and I up for the night.
Zeus meets Kahn and has no idea what to think…
Stay Weird Portland…
Stop #4…
Bear Creek Bicycle… and the Ashland Super D
My next stop was to say the least epic… John from Bear Creek showed me around the well stocked store as well as his personal Killswitch build. This was my first time seeing a 23″ frame built up and it’s lonnng.
The Shop…
John says he loves the stability on the 30+ mph sections of the Super D course so I loaded my KS in trail-slay mode… X-Fusion Vengeance at 5″ and 1×9 with a gravity dropper seat post into local trail rider Cliff Josey’s truck and hit up the Ashland Super D course… 14 miles with some seriously fast sections some of which are almost highway smooth. Good times for sure!
The top of the Super D…
After passing this sign… suddenly all I could think about were “Tots”… What’s up with that?
Mmmm, tots…
Random Bridge Pic
Lake Shasta actually has water this year…
Stop #5… Calabazas Cyclery, San Jose, Ca.
Rob and John have been long time supporters of BMX and cycling in general in their community and it shows when you walk in the shop. They run a well stocked and up to date store with a little bit of everything. Fixie’s to Dirt & Street MTB and 20’s as well as the know how to keep your machine in working order. But they may need to update their brands on their website… hint.
And if you didn’t know… Rob is O.G. and still rips.
Stop # 6… Santa Cruz/ Aptos…
I’m basically done by this point… I turn the keys to both of my bikes to Lisa and let her get her first real time on a Killswitch. She had no trouble adjusting to it at the Polo Grounds jumps and got through the line after 3 runs. Sorry, I was entertaining Zeus at the dog park so no photos.
The next morning, I slept while Lisa took my trail bike out for a ride and was super pumped on it when she got back. She was all smiles saying “It just wants to go fast…”
My feeling exactly.
Thanks Lisa for the couch and amazing breakfast burrito…
Lisa will soon be on the Contraband as well.
Zeus meets Winston in Santa Cruz.
Back on the Road….
380 miles to go…
Home at last…
Final Score:
Days on the road
16
Miles driven
3497.3
Miles ridden
lots but not enough…
2nd place Dual Slalom placings
1
Rolled ankle
1
Epic Rides
No less than 10…
Plus 1 epic “Ride Don’t Slide” run on Pablo’s borrowed Crown…
this bike is amazing and saved my life more than once.
Once again… thank you to everyone who helped out, rode with, talked with, listened to, texted, called or hooked it up in any way and made my trip generally very cool.
Can’t wait to do it again.