Whistler Report #5

True North
Its pretty easy to get caught up in the material side of the sport these days; lots of new technology to drool over, and friends with new gear always gets the upgrade itch going. But when it comes right down to it, it’s all about the ride.

This was driven home last Friday when, surrounded by good friends and half way up a new trail, we stopped climbing at a sweet overlook of the Pemberton Valley. Looking at a familiar landscape, but from a new perspective.

The echos of boisterous encouragement and the excited banter of friends riding an unfamiliar trail in an unfamiliar forest – loving every second of it. The forest isn’t what we’re used to; widely spaced trees, long moss hanging from the branches of massive firs. We’re slowly climbing up a trail that clearly hasn’t been ridden by many yet. Each switchback revealing something new for the senses to soak in. There’s something special about sharing those experiences with a great group of like-minded individuals, laughing at silly crashes, cheering when someone slays a rowdy line, sharing in the pain of a tough climb. And best of all the high fives at the end for a sweet ride and a refreshing beverage over tales of the trail. Climbs bested, descents mastered, the near misses, and the hard meetings with the ground or trees or rocks. The lines you should’ve ridden, and the ones you did. It’s at those times that it doesn’t matter how new or old your bike is, or what you were or weren’t wearing, it’s all about the ride.

I’m lucky to have such a large group of like-minded people to ride with and call my friends, whether it’s laps in the park, or at the pumptrack. Friday rides or CKs fun olympics. I hope you have people like that to ride with, people who inspire you, and challenge you, and push you to your limits, and do it with a smile on their face – full of the knowledge that this mountain biking thing sure is a lot of fun.

 

  Jinya takes in a million dollar view of the Pembeton Valley.

Schleying it with Wade and Richie
Let’s face it, while riding is fun, it’s a lot more fun when you know what you’re doing. We all know that not everyone is born with natural talent, and that frankly, mountain biking is a hard sport to master. Lots of in and outs, what-have you’s. Luckily for people learning to ride in this modern age of mountain biking, there are a lot of coaching options available to help you gain that valuable knowledge a bit faster.

This past Saturday I tagged along on a Richie Schley’s ride camp. I’d be riding the Whistler Bike park watching Richie and guest coach Wade Simmons share their knowledge. After a short intro the guys got to work covering off the simple yet important basics of bike fit, suspension setup and tire pressure. A few laps through the berms in the skills park at mid-station allowed people to get focused on proper technique; weight over the front end, looking through the corners etc.  This also allowed Wade and Richie to assess the crew and give out some suggestions about body positioning and technique. After a few questions it was time for a lap of B-Line where everyone got to focus on the skills talked about. On the next lap we found ourselves at the Joyride skills centre and we worked on jumping skills. Jumping properly can be tricky if you’re new to it, and the guys did a really good job of breaking down the process and helping correct technique. After some Crank it Up putting the cornering and jumping skills to use, we ventured over to Ninja Couger and upped the progression with some tighter bermed singletrack, again allowing people to build on the skills they learned through out the day.

  Yoshi tackles the fresh climb on the aptly named Middle Earth, you feel way out there.

It was really good to watch and see how the Richie and Wade helped the riders throughout the course of the day. The riders became more and more confident with their riding. The coach to client ratio was really good, and it allowed everyone to master the skills that were giving them trouble. I’d highly recommend a clinic or camp for beginner and intermediate riders, either in Whistler, or wherever you live. Mountain biking can be a frustrating and intimidating experience, but it doesn’t need to be. Sometimes it takes the guidance of a seasoned vet to help you break through to the next level.

After the camp broke up for the day a few of us did some hot laps of Dirt Merchant and Lower A-Line and I must say the guys live for the fun as much as any of us! Thanks to Richie for the invite and to Wade for sharing the stoke!

Park Conditions
While the park was super fun and pretty tacky last weekend and at the beginning of the week, the past couple of days have seen more showers and rain.  The rain makes things a bit soggy while riding but it definitely keeps things from getting too blown out or dusty.  With sun and hotter temps expected for the weekend, I’d imagine conditions are going to be excellent.  Liftlines were also entirely reasonable last weekend with things moving quickly to keep you getting lots of laps in, its a great time to visit the park before the crowds of mid-summer descend.

What’s Going On?
Before I wrap up tonight I’ll cover off a couple of local happenings. This friday night up in Pemberton is an important fundraiser for the Pemberton Valley Trails Association. The group is close to raising the matching funds required to access $15,000 in funding from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District. If you’re in the Pemberton area Friday June 11 (this Friday!), come out to the New Community Centre at 8pm to show your support for completing the Owl/Chain Lakes – MacKenzie Trails connector. This is an ambitious project that is definitely raising the profile of Pemberton riding, and adding a whole new element of longer adventure style rides in the area. Tickets are available in advance at the Bike Co. For $10 or $12 at the door. Hit the Bike Co. link for a list of some of the prizes being given away, great stuff!

The always-busy Seb Fremont has also released the Phat/PhaSt Wednesday schedule for the season, look for 6 Phat races, and 3 of the PhaSt variety again this year. The Phat are the more basic courses, and the PhaSt we step things up and generally get pretty rowdy, so choose your poison accordingly. Courses are released the evening before race day to try and semi-prevent people from taking it too seriously. Remember ride hard, but have fun and leave it on the hill, it’s just beer league! Do yourself and everyone involved in registration a huge favour and register for WORCA online before race #1. Seriously, it’ll save you a lot of time and hassle too!

   Good friends usually leads to good times – the gang chills before the drop into Gravitron.

Well that’s another week in Whistler. I’m headed down with some friends to take part in Wade’s Excellent Adventure on Fromme Saturday. Can’t wait to ride some techy Shore roots and rocks! And remember, we’re all just big kids riding toys, so get out there, laugh, joke, and have fun with your friends. Because if you aren’t, you’re doing it wrong.

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Is Todd doing it right?  Want to take a camp?  Taken one with Richie before?  Pipe in here…