Bruce in SoCal
Member
My wife had a job assignment in Vancouver. She urged my to come with her. She suggested I could go bike riding. So I went to Whistler for a day.
It was a 2 hour bus ride.
The plan was that I'd rent a bike and do cross-country trail riding in the morning and DH in the bike park in the afternoon. Both were to be with a guide/coach.
I filled out about a dozen releases and waivers and picked up the cross-country bike, a Giant Trance.
Paul, the guide ran me through a few warm-ups at the skills park after which we headed out. We rode some pavement, some gravel, and some dirt single track. I got a bit winded due to the altitude, but it was all very enjoyable with lots of great scenery.
I had never considered roots to be an issue. I suppose that was because there aren't a lot of trees where I ride and I just considered roots to be like anything else on the trail. However, roots are attached to trees, and on single track, the trees are right next to you. I had a minor crash when the bar end clipped a tree. My knee pads and gloves did their job.
After lunch, I got the DH rig, armor and a full-face helmet. The bike weighed a ton.
Paul showed me how to load the bike onto the lift and away we went.
The first run was on a green flow trail with lots of bermed turns. I got lots of practice but still need lots more. I lost it once coming out of one turn. I dropped down too far and lost it in the lose dirt.
The second run used mostly the same trail, but with a few detours for some more technical features. One "technical feature" was a mama bear with two cubs. We waited for them to wander off.
The third run used much of the same trail, but included some blue. It was a fast flow trail with lots of berms and with optional jumps and such. I skipped the jumps and such, but did get about an inch or two of air going up a tabletop. I really liked this trail because even if I lost it in a bern, there was flat open space in which to land; no going over the side or into the trees. I did one crash. It wasn't really OTB, because I kept the bike ahead of me - I think. The armor did its job and I continued the ride.
I only got the three DH runs because I didn't want to miss the shuttle bus back to town. And, that's just fine as I'm not sure I had the stamina for any more runs.
I don't intend to do any serious DH riding and have no need for a DH bike. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to riding at Snow Summit.
It was a 2 hour bus ride.
The plan was that I'd rent a bike and do cross-country trail riding in the morning and DH in the bike park in the afternoon. Both were to be with a guide/coach.
I filled out about a dozen releases and waivers and picked up the cross-country bike, a Giant Trance.
Paul, the guide ran me through a few warm-ups at the skills park after which we headed out. We rode some pavement, some gravel, and some dirt single track. I got a bit winded due to the altitude, but it was all very enjoyable with lots of great scenery.
I had never considered roots to be an issue. I suppose that was because there aren't a lot of trees where I ride and I just considered roots to be like anything else on the trail. However, roots are attached to trees, and on single track, the trees are right next to you. I had a minor crash when the bar end clipped a tree. My knee pads and gloves did their job.
After lunch, I got the DH rig, armor and a full-face helmet. The bike weighed a ton.
Paul showed me how to load the bike onto the lift and away we went.
The first run was on a green flow trail with lots of bermed turns. I got lots of practice but still need lots more. I lost it once coming out of one turn. I dropped down too far and lost it in the lose dirt.
The second run used mostly the same trail, but with a few detours for some more technical features. One "technical feature" was a mama bear with two cubs. We waited for them to wander off.
The third run used much of the same trail, but included some blue. It was a fast flow trail with lots of berms and with optional jumps and such. I skipped the jumps and such, but did get about an inch or two of air going up a tabletop. I really liked this trail because even if I lost it in a bern, there was flat open space in which to land; no going over the side or into the trees. I did one crash. It wasn't really OTB, because I kept the bike ahead of me - I think. The armor did its job and I continued the ride.
I only got the three DH runs because I didn't want to miss the shuttle bus back to town. And, that's just fine as I'm not sure I had the stamina for any more runs.
I don't intend to do any serious DH riding and have no need for a DH bike. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to riding at Snow Summit.
