10/06/2008

66 Reasons to ride Sun Peaks Words by Coreena Fletcher

This July long weekend, Sun Peaks hosted the NSMB crew to an unforgettable weekend of mountain biking and fun. The weekend started off with a bit of a late arrival at Sun Peaks on Thursday night, but only got better once we arrived to find some great hotel rooms and comfortable beds at the Sun Peaks Lodge, Nancy Greene's Cahilty Lodge, The Heffley Boutique Inn and the Fireside Hearthstone lodge. Friday morning we checked in with Guest Services and were greeted with a smile by Jordan Petrovics (Marketing Assistant for Sun Peaks Resort). Once we picked up our tickets, Jordan threw on his gear and took us out for a full day tour of the mountain. I mentioned to him that we needed a warm up run to work the kinks out of our bodies and bikes. I guess he misunderstood and thought I said, "we need to do the fastest lap we've ever ridden." We dropped into Barn Burner, a trail that Jordan and a friend built a few years ago. It's great singletrack run, steep and fast, that had the whole group grinning ear to ear. After that lap we were warmed up alright. The day only got better from there with lots more runs, good crashes, and good times.

Ryan Newman makes it look so easy. - photo: Coreena

Before I go further, I must pass along one piece of advice: Don't flat at the top, because according to Rory Harmse, the chairlift on the way down is a whole lot slower than on the way up - sure, Rory.

Only half way down Route 66, and still lots more to ride. - photo: Coreena

Rory gives Route 66 a little practice run. - photo: Coreena

At the end of the day, when we could finally ride no more, we peeled our hands off our bikes and made our way to the deck at Masa's where the beers and nachos were flowing. The talk of the deck was the answer everyone on our crew was dying to find out, "when were they going to open route 66?" Route 66 is the newest trail in development at Sun Peaks, and it's going to get mountain bikers talking. Thankfully, Jordan worked some magic and took the NSMB crew on an exclusive ride at the end of the day on Saturday, where the group threw down and took advantage of an opportunity to be the first riders on what's going to be one of the best trails in BC. After riding Route 66 and spending two fabulous days at Sun Peaks, a few of us were inspired to tell you all about the 66 reasons we think you should go ride Sun Peaks. (In no particular order, as they are all great reasons.)

Reason #1 - Route 66. Sun Peaks' newest trail, scheduled to open this week. "I have never ridden anything like this ever before in my life," commented Ryan Newman, NSMB team rider. When it opens, this trail that runs under the Sunburst Express will become Sun Peaks' signature trail.

Reasons #2-26 - The 26 other trails. If you have never ridden Sun Peaks, plan a weekend this summer and get up there and ride. The mountain boasts a wide variety of cruiser-style beginner runs like Smooth Smoothie to learn the fundamentals of cornering, to steep and fast single track like Hi-Octane and Smitty's Steeps, finishing off with Home Run into Arm Pump. Sun Peaks has trails for everyone.

Reason #27-34 - The Accommodation. Big, plush hotels that are cheap in the summer. Sun Peaks has eight hotels in the village that are very welcoming to mountain bikers. There are some great rate packages for two nights accommodation and two days chairlift passes. To learn more about these great packages, go to SunPeaksResort.com. Or check out the Sun Peaks Lodge at $69.00/night and Nancy Greene's Cahilty Lodge, both of which take the Bro Card, and the Hearthstone Lodge, which is another great hotel in the village. They are all less than five minutes away from the chairlift.

Reason #35 - Breakfast at Macker's. The best breakfast in town at 10% off with your Bro Card, not to mention their all you can eat $10 buffet on Sunday morning. But if you're Ryan Newman, the cornflakes will do.

Reason #36 - No line-ups at the chair lift.

Reason #37 - Long runs. Each run takes over 20 minutes, and after eight or nine, you're ready to call it a day.

Reason #38 - Beers and nachos at Masa's at the end of the day.

Reason #39 - It's only 4 ½ hours from Vancouver, and once you're there you don't need to go anywhere. The resort has everything you need from mountain bike-friendly hotels to great restaurants and wonderful staff to answer all your questions. It also had a golf course, which is opening the new back nine in less than a month.

Reason #40 - The lift tickets are only $28 and with the BroCard you'll save $8.

Reason #41 - Being close to Kamloops, which geographically is a semi-arid desert, the weather tends to be a whole lot warmer and drier than the coast, most of the time.

Reason #42 - Uncle Taco! (Makes great grub at Masa's)

Reason #43 - You can park your bike beside the patio at 5 p.m. after a good day of riding and enjoy some jugs of beer. Then, after drinking some more beer, when you suddenly realize it is 1 a.m. and you're still in your riding gear, you can jump on your bike and ride home.

Reason #44 - You can ride your bike through the village without getting chased down by a bunch of rent-a-cops.

Reason #45 - You can stop for a ride in the 'loops before you get here. (Because the Ranch is very cool!)

Reason #46 - $99 bucks per person per night gets you two day passes, two nights accommodation, and two dinners. Can't beat that deal!

Ryan Newman hitting up one of the tables at the jump farm.

Reason #47 - Machine built trails by Chris Roy!

Reason #48 - Drinking beer with Chris Roy, Long Perm, Oppy, and the rest of the local crew!

Reason #49 - Yagi shots and Pilsner go down well at higher elevations.

Reason #50- Take on Nancy Green on her own mountain and beat her (that's if you are on a bike).

Reason #51- Seven patios to park beside at the end of the day.

Reason #52 - Free cake on Canada Day!

Reason #53 - Tacky dirt, dust dirt, muddy dirt, and dirty dirt - all in the same day of riding.

Reason #54 - The locals will show you some of the cool lines.

Reason #55 - Six years of bike park existence! (With more and more to play on every year)

Reason #56 - A new back nine on the golf course to hit up after biking.

Reason #57 - Very tasty martinis at the Delta Sun Peaks Resort.

Reason #58 - The '80s tunes they play at the chairlift.

Reason #59 - Riding with drinking beer with Brett Tippie - always fun and a good laugh.

Reason #60 - Easy to catch people on laps - one chair and one meeting place.

Reason #61 - Affordable and highly recommended ladies clinics for $65 per day, including lift ticket and lunch. Can't beat that one, ladies!

Reason #63 - Concerts like BC/DC at Masa's.

BC/DC Rocks Out!!

Reason #63 - Sun Peaks hosts fun events like VPS Fest, where all Norco riders get to ride free for the day with full tech support and the chance to win a truckload of free stuff. Also, Bear Country Mountain Bike Race Series and the Sun Peaks Mountain Bike Festival are worth checking out.

Reason #64 - Green trails, blue trails, and black trails - fun for everyone.

Reason #65 - If you run into anyone on the trails, it's most likely someone in your group. The trails are quiet and you don't ever feel rushed. Plus the locals are nice.

Posin' at the farm.

Reason #66 People will no longer be asking if it's as good as A-Line, they'll now be asking if it's as good as Route 66. We also wanted to thank those people who made the bike park what it is today. Their trail designs, hard work, and dedication are very appreciated by all of us riders. So thank you and keep up the good work!

• Chris Roy (the man in the machine)
• Jason Paddison (mountain bike trail crew lead hand)
• Len Aalton (professional racker boy)
• Gil Kurtuz (one hard working guy)
• Adam McGuire (rock picker who makes it smooth)
• Mag Grantt (a lady who loves to build trail and ride)
• Ken Attwood (jump shaper /patrol)
• Allyson Bower (our female patroller who could pack you out of any situation)
• And Riccardo Passeri (donkey boy)

Once we left Sun Peaks, we couldn't leave Kamloops without checking out the new Juniper Jump Farm, so I need to mention it here. Ryan Newman enjoyed the features of the park more than the rest of us. We tried, but Cris got worked by a 5 year old on a K-Mart bike, and the size of the jumps and tables was a bit out of everyone else's league. The rest of us chose to sit back and enjoy watching Ryan and Rory go big off the dirt jumps and wall ride. It's a fun area, and definitely worth checking out on your way to Sun Peaks.

Ryan Newman making his own line on the wall at the jump farm.

The whole weekend was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone at Sun Peaks Resort who made our trip a memorable one.

For more information about the resort, please visit SunPeaksResort.com

Coreena Fletcher