BC Goodness

Well, it's been a couple of crazy weeks but so far I survived. Spent some time up in BC visiting family and riding some great trails. Love that Canadians keep their trails techy. Around home base people keep removing rocks and roots and make the trails super smooth. Might as well pave them then. If you can't ride over one rock in the trail maybe you should turn in your 6 inch travel trail bike for some curly bars.

Things to love about trails in BC:
- Tehcnical
- Flow
- Singletrack
- Trees
- Friendly people that say hello

Kind of depressing today when I went to ride the trails. Everything was blown out because people skid too much. The 100mm of travel felt like over kill. Now I'm going through withdrawals.

Everyone I met on the trails were on 26 dualies. No frills or marketing just rung what you brung. I'm sick of people telling me I need to be on a 29er and that's the only way to go. For me I don't think one wheel size is better than the other. It's totally personal preference. For beginners and people that lack technical skills 29ers are a good introduction into the dirt world as they roll over things better. Under a skilled rider 29ers can rip. That doesn't mean that 26 suck and should go away. I prefer a 26 wheeled bike so that is why I ride one. I like the way it handles. Why would I want to ride something I didn't like the feel of? That's why I think it's a personal preference. Anyone that tells you differently is probably trying to sell you one. I saw this in an ad "We believe that all Mountain Bikes should be 29ers. Once you go big, you will never go back. Little wheels are for kids bikes, big wheels are for grown-ups... enough said." Hmmm....I wonder why Julien Abasalon rides one.....

Enough soap box drama. So I saw a bear a lot closer than I prefer. I was cruising down some sweet singletrack and came around a blind corner. An adult black bear was sitting down looking at me. It felt like slow motion as I passed right in front of him as he (or she) just watched me go by. Wish I had the helmet cam on that one and there was no way I was going to stop for a photo.

Hit up Comfortably Numb. It's one of the premier trails in Whistler. I asked a guide company about it and the guy said "Well, you probably can't do it. Are you any good? I can look at you and can tell right away if you can do it or not. It will take you at least seven hours to do."

The next morning I rode out to the trailhead. I took my time and spend 34 minutes getting out there. Prepared for the worst I started the clock once I turned off the fireroad and headed into the singletrack. Got to say this is one of the best trails around. It was technical from beginning to end. I took some pictures here and there and attempted to helmet cam part of it but it was so rough my setup didn't even stay still or stand a chance at the rough terrain. 2 hours and 26 minutes later I dropped into Lost Lake at trails end. Super pumped. Did I mention my frame was cracked? Hit some of the sweet LL trails before heading back to the room.

I can see why this trail can take some people seven hours. It doesn't let up at all. I was mentally taxed from riding it but I can't remember the last time my smile was so big from riding a good trail.....maybe it was three years earlier on that epic ride in Squamish....

This is a smooth section of trail.

That's more like it.

Why yes, I'll take a float plane to go ride.

The Kidlets in BC are great riders. Worca puts on a lot of junior clinics and rides. Kids that are smaller than hydration packs ride wood bridges and drop down stairs. It's an awesome sight to see. If they lived here they would be mighty ticked if you removed a rock from a trail because you couldn't ride over it!