July 1st - Forbidden Trails again

July 1st is Canada Day! We failed in the local custom of wearing Red and White but we were not alone as no-one we road with today did either. It was very hot again and we joined Bob and Jane again for a ride up in Forbidden trails area. They were riding with some friends and had an epic day planned. They adjusted plans slightly as it was very hot but it still ended up being a full and tiring ride.

The group was seven people strong consisting of: Bob & Jane, Doctor Dave, Steve, Gerry, Amber and I. Steve was trying to develop his urban skill so at various waiting places as the group rejoined it was fun to watch him hopping his bike up onto cut 3-4ft logs and then down the other side. Gerry was also a crazy strong rider that was super friendly to boot. He invited us to drinks and food later that night at his place and fun times were had. It was eye opening watching him cruise skinnies to teeter's while being 5-6 feet off the deck.

The ride linkage we did today was: Two Sheiks & a Dog -> Dirty Jane-> KMA-> Cliffe Ave-> ?Easy Rider? -> Bics-> Bear Bait-> Nymph Falls-> Twister. We ended at the Rock Pools on Duncan Bay Main and cooled of with a beer and a dip in the pools in the river.

Another awesome day of riding with again a huge variety in riding styles. Two Sheiks is a local classic that has stood the test of time. It has been around for nearly twenty years and although stunts have been added along the way it fundamentally hasn't changed in all that time. The riding was flowing with roots and logs to tackle as you went. I would totally ride this almost every other week if I lived in the area. (I say this with a deep level of experience having ridden exactly 3 days in the area. :P but it certainly was enjoyable and I would love to go back and ride it again before we leave).

Dirty Jane was entirely different in feel but was also most excellent. It was put up by Bob a couple of years back and spent most of it's time riding Granite rock sections with up's (lifts) and steep downs and drops, there is one section in particular that was excellent!

We pushed a couple of hills in the lower sections and were rewarded with fun, flowing sections of fast single track in the trees. The final section called Twister was physically demanding at the end of so much previous riding with roots, logs and bridges the norm. It was technically difficult but had so many fun sections that you could try or watch people like Gerry clean.

Another great day of riding that was capped of by dinner at Gerry and Kathy's place. Beer and good food in the presence of great company - it really doesn't get any better! We have really been spoilt on this trip so far, it definitely has not been the normal dirt bag road trip we normally do.



Amber getting encouragement from Gerry (right) and Steve (left) has she finishes off a skinny practice section on the ground.


Steve cleaning a steeper, harder than it looks rock section.


Beautiful sunny days show off B.C. Clear-Cut terrain. Amber on the exit out of Two Sheiks. A great trail!


Amber learning new body english on a section of the Nymph Falls trail system.


Cleaned it including the turn at the end.


Gerry showing us how to ride a long log in Twister.


Teeter-Totter a few feet off the deck.

Monday June 30th - Forbidden Trails.

Sunday night we called Bob and Jane and organized a ride for Monday. They had been away for the weekend at a motor bike trials event elsewhere in British Columbia.

On Monday they suggested we do a shuttle ride that started up at the parking lot for the Forbidden Plateau since it was still very hot. Amber and I were only to happy to take that as an option.

We started down a steep loose fire ride to access the trails that are also known as the Lakes trails. The initial fire road was actually pretty fun as it reminded me a lot of a down hill trail on a disused fire road. It was fast and loose and had a couple of fun little whoops along the way.

The trail Bob was taking us on today started with Screamin Demon and it started right next to a local classic called Two Shieks & A Dog which we would be doing tomorrow. Jane had appointments in the afternoon so we needed to keep moving and take the fastest trails down and in some ways this made the introduction ride to the area even better!

The trail link up we did was: Screamin Demon -> Two Pond Pass -> Lumpys -> Puntledge Plunge -> Nymph Falls Trails (Bear Bait). It had an awesome variety of riding and reminded me of the old school trails in Whistler Valley like Shit Happens. You were riding rooty loam sections to Granite faces with dry moss and then loose eroded steep trails. There was great flow and lots of technical sections to try or walk and add to a list for another day. The friction on the trails was perfect as it was dry and warm.

Bob and Jane were also great to ride with, for an old guy :p Bob can ride! heh, he can roll almost anything it seems and it was great to see an Ibis Mojo getting put through its paces. Jane was also riding a Mojo and was really strong at riding technical obstacles like logs and roots and was great at telling Amber options for the next section as they were riding towards it. It meant we were able to keep a good pace and flow going all there way while also getting a little history on the trails and at junctions details on what the other options could be when we came back alone.

After the ride we got to have dinner with Bob and Jane at their place in Comox and we also took their advice and moved our camp to a pay for place by the beach. It was very cheap and had great showers and a laundry as well as being right on the beach. We had been camped up near Forbidden and it was stinking hot up there such that you couldn't lie in your tent during the day and relax.

Dinner was great! Jane is an impressive cook and I doubt we will get anything better from any of the restaurants we eat at along the way on this trip.


The finish of the fire road above the start of the main trail system. This is where you start Two Sheiks and Screamin Demon.


Loamy single track.

Sunday June 29th - Cumberland, BC

Sunday we woke up after getting a few hours sleep in the car and decided to try and energize by going to check out some trails in Cumberland. We found a decent little trail map in a free tourist guide that the hostel behind the Riding Fool bike shop and more than got us riding.

We were pretty tired and it was really hot (it turned out that the temperatures were unseasonable warm and were setting records all around the island). We just did a few runs on a link of trails where you rode up a section of fire road for about 15minutes and then dropped into a great section of riding with all sorts of technical sections. There were roots, logs and man-made obstacles. Amber and I had a great time on it and were really looking forward to the other riding around the area.


Riding over logs would be a challenge for us as in Colorado you rarely find logs left on the trails. We have rocks and roots in Colorado, but for some reason the logs are removed very quickly.


A fun little A-Frame over some fallen timber.


Learning new body english.


The end of a really great section of riding that had a bit of construction and some fun steep loam with roots.


Amber trying a section that was higher off the ground. It is funny to me how easily we freaked out as soon as the wood got more than about a foot of the ground.


Also, just as we have to learn to ride constructed better, I need to work on my dark forest photo skills - chopping Amber's head off as she rolls a steep exit.

Vacation - British Columbia for 3 weeks!

Amber and I have 3 weeks living in the dirt and loam up in British Columbia. Our plan is to spend a week on Vancouver Island riding the Courtenay and Forbidden Trails and then after that head over to the Whistler Valley area to ride the trails there and do some days in the Bike Park.

We left Friday afternoon for the long drive. It is about 22hours of driving and we stopped in a Walmart parking lot in Bozeman to grab some sleep until dawn. It the best (only?) good thing that Walmart has done for America - easy, no hassle place to sleep while on the road. On Saturday morning we hit the road again and made it to Vancouver by about 7.30pm and waited for the last ferry to Vancouver Island that left at 9.30pm.


A brief stop along the way to stretch legs and let the dogs run around. A beautiful river that would outstanding fly fishing terrain.

We finally got to Courtenay late Saturday night and tried to find a camp ground to sleep for the night. We normally are philosophically opposed to pay camp grounds as they are never as nice as free bush camping but since we were exhausted anything would do. Unfortunately the only camp ground we could find closed (with a gate) at 10pm so we headed up towards Mt Washington in the hope that we could find somewhere to sleep on an old logging road. Sadly we spent another night sleeping in the vehicle. We got total of about 9 hours of sleep from Friday Morning through to Sunday.

Travel days are always brutal and tiring which is why I always prefer to just visit one or two places on shorter road trips like this one. You also get to meet the locals and feel like a welcomed visitor rather than a random Tourist. And we certainly have been welcomed with open arms! We had a contact from MTBR who was also an Ibis owner. Bob and Jane had offered to show us around to get us started in the area if we wished and we took them up on the generous offer on Monday and Tuesday.

June 22nd - Crested Butte - Wild Flower Rush

This weekend was a Race weekend with the Mountain States Cup moving to Crested Butte for the Wild Flower Rush.

Amber headed out early and was in Crested Butte from Monday the 16th. (we have a few pictures to come from that from the other camera)

I took Friday off and drover out Thursday night so that we could use Friday as a practice day. We both registered for Super-D and Downhill.

The Super-D was just like riding a normal Crested Butte bike trail but with less climbing. We did a few practise runs on it on Friday and Saturday and I was really enjoying the track and was somewhat optimistic as to my prospects for the Race. Amber had a big crash on our final practise run late saturday afternoon and since she wasn't wearing a full face helmet got quite a nasty cut on her chin. She crashed as she was trying to push her speeds on the single track sections in the aspens.

We also got in a couple of runs on the Downhill track. It was a lot less technical than most downhill race tracks with lots of fast sections and two sections of pedaling. The pedaly sections were pretty brutal on a big bike, but over all the track was great fun and we were both looking forward the actual race.

As is normal, we got no photos of any riding this weekend, but we had a great time doing it!

The Super-D started with a run to your bikes and I was feeling tired by the time I got on my bike. I managed to catch a few people on the initial downhill but then settled into the back part of the "pack" once the first climb hit. I never saw anyone else on the ride except for a couple of people that had flat tires along the way. I need to get a lot stronger if I want to move up the field of the 30+ men in Super-D and since I really don't ever see myself training I am pretty content that this race will always be just a fun part of a race weekend to tell stories about after the weekend. I ended up placing 17th out of 25 and I was 5 minutes of the winning time. A good line in the sand to compare to as we ride and race more.

For the Downhill I was surprised just how nervous I was the morning before and as I waited for my starting gate. I entered the 19+ beginner men which was an interesting category as you had young guys and old guys competing against each other. I had an Ok race run but really messed up the tight switch backs after getting a good start on the first steep section. I also didn't pedal the pedaly sections very well at all either as my lazy boots kicked in a bit. I ended up placing 13th out of 17 and was 42 seconds back from the winner of the class. Had I raced in 40+ Sport men instead I would have placed 8th out of 13 and still been 46 seconds back from the winner.

Amber also raced downhill and put together a great run! She placed 3rd in her category and got a podium on her first downhill race!



Downhill racing proved to be way more fun times than the Super D race that day.

June 14th - Sol Vista, CO

Our original plan for this weekend was to head back to Angel Fire and ride downhill but the prospect of the long drive and nasty gas prices changed our plans and we decided to go check out Sol Vista Bike Park instead. We had a friend from my work that had a condo in Winter Park that was going to be there as well Saturday so we packed up the dogs and all 4 bikes and drove to Granby. Sol Vista is new to the mountain biking scene with the mountain developing 4 trails last summer and the lifts were free to ride. The reports were that for a small mountain they had done great job putting the trails down.

Sol Vista will also be hosting two MSC race weekends this year so getting some time on the trails for those was a big motivator.

Wow, for just 3 downhill trails this mountain is addictive! We got in 8 runs before close and that was with a later start than we wanted. The trails is shorter than Keystone but are exactly the length that most race tracks are. They have rocky sections, fast sections, jumps and berms. Simply great riding, I can't wait for the races and I can't wait to see the new trails they add this year.


Amber on the roll option on one of the trails.


There were a number of high speed open sections that linked the trees and the more technical riding. The combination of technical sections and speed sections was perfect!


One thing that did surprise me was how dry the trails were. The rest of the mountains are still covered in snow but the trails here were dry and sandy. Some rain will help settle things down.

Saturday night we had dinner with Mike and Kristi in Winter Park at a great Mexican restaurant and then hung out at their condo drinking a few beers. All in all a great day! It also was Amber's birthday!

June 7th - Hartman Rocks, Gunnison CO

Saturday morning we had to go to a bike shop and try and get Amber a new chain and a new granny gear on her front rings. She was getting really bad chain suck in the mud on the ride yesterday and when I had the same problem a while back replacing the smallest front rind and chain corrected the issue.

I noticed that there was a new bike shop in town and we decided to check it out. Go Big Sports is a small shop up in the ski village and Peter the owner is just one of those guys that absolutely oozes enthusiasm for mountain biking! He fixed up Amber's bike and also convinced us to go check out Hartman Rocks down in Gunnison. It was a place I had often thought about visiting but just had never made the time to do so. That was a mistake!

Hartman is just crazy good fun. The riding in single track amongst Sage Bush on a small plateau with Granite boulders and slabs everywhere. It has a lot of rock climbing and a lot of great mountain bike trails!


We pretty much have no photos that do the riding justice as it was impossible to stop on most of the sections due to the fast flowing riding you got to do.


We did Becks -> Rocky Ridge -> Broken Shovel -> Josho's -> Rattle Snake -> Becks. What a great loop, it had fun (gentle) climbing, 3 great downhill sections and so good technical sections amongst the granite.


The flow of the downhills is absolutely top notch. If you want a place that will get you leaning your bike from corner to corner this a place to visit!