Good-Bye 2009

On the eve of their retirement, bearing the scars of one of the best years of my life, my favourite shoes await their impending doom.

Staring at me from the corner of the room, both soles literally hanging by a thread, these shoes embody the best moments of the busiest 365 days of my life.

  My Nike 6.0’s. Were they the best shoes to ride in? Probably not, but they sure looked good. Photo ~ Dan Gronross

As I sit at the computer and mull over my 30th year, with most of my friends having tuned into the snowy channel, I am finding it increasingly difficult to wish that it was not over.

   Shaking out the winter blues with some fresh runs at the Woodlot. It was probably one of the first big rides of the year. Photo ~ Strahan Loken

Right from the get-go 2009 was charting out to be a big one. On the personal side of things, I got engaged to my lovely lady Nina and then promptly lost my job in March. (Yeah she said yes to a real winner at life!) Then “real life” came knocking at my door with my entrance into my 30th year in May.

   For the month of March, after losing my job and some notable purchases, this is where you could find me. Photo Danielle Baker

On the riding side of things my year was quite honestly insane. I attended Jordie Lunn’s Fresh Air contest (Media-not rider), Rocks, Roots and Reggae Rocky Mountain Customer Appreciation at Mount Washington, Hood River for an arcticle with Dan Barham and Dave Smith, Crankworx, approximately half the Dh BC Cups, AIRprentice 2009, Full Boar Challenge, rode the Whistler Bike Park 20 times, and I co-organized the Seymour Smackdown here in North Vancouver.

   Despite being shot in late 2008 this picture perfectly sums up the down time of the year. Whether it be fighting the long weekend traffic of Coquihalla, or marking your territory on one of the BC Ferries, it kind of paints a different story than the old saying “half the fun is getting there!”. Photo ~ Dan Barham

   It was kind of like herding kittens really. If anyone has shuttled the trails in Pemberton the road is not easy on the vehicles. When one of the bikes fell off the back of the truck, all the vehicles had to evacuate to see the damage. Go figure it was Ryan Walters new Giant that fell off. It took about 20 minutes but we actually managed to jimmy the rack up and we were on our way. Photo ~ Stuart Kernaghan

   Once you get past the road up Pemberton has some of the best tracks around. Stopping and taking pictures is difficult when you get to ride by scenes like the one behind me. Photo ~ Todd Hellinga.

   Having not really found my true love of racing… or maybe it was just that I was pretty scared of getting my ass handed to me, I stuck to the volunteering side of the BC Cups. But that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t time for a little fun. The Dunbar Circus came up with the idea to hold “pit races” the night before the BC Cups. It started off small and if you were at the final at the Sun Peaks BC Cup, it got ridiculously large. Here I am railing hard, just after face planting at the start line. Photo Phil Mowat

   One of my favourite places to ride now is Hood River, Oregon. I got the chance, well self invited I think the term is, to head down with good buddy Dan Barham and the Knolly Bikes crew for an article regarding beer and mountain biking. What more could you ask for? Photo ~ Dan Barham.

   As the seasons fade, the days get shorter and the snowline creeps further down the mountain, riding changes as well. A late season ride in the tangled mass of cross country trails of Squamish found Dan Barham, Jon Hadfield and myself braving the frigid temperatures, yet still enjoying the ride. Photo ~ Dan Barham.

   When the weather really throws it at you and you just want to stay at home, bundled up on the couch watching television, it takes a true friend to call you up and actually get your ass moving. Curtis and I smashed some of the local trails on one of the worst days of the year. My future wife was nice enough to shuttle us so we didn’t have to use two cars. Now that is love. Photo ~ Nina Parr

   When you sit on New Years Eve and the entire year flashes before your eyes, or was it that someone set a firecracker off in the kitchen? Anyways, it is not where you went or what trail you rode but the people that you did it with. I have the best group of friends and family that a guy could ask for. Late one of the nights at the Full Boar Challenge found Thomas Hey, myself, Todd Hellinga and Mike Jones, sitting by the fire. Photo ~ Todd Hellinga

   As these last words leave my mind and enter the computer, the cold harsh truth about the time of year is found in the deluge of rain hitting the roof of my building. All I can do is turn to memories of rides past when it was warm, and sunny, and the forest was green. Photo ~ Dan Barham

The shoes aren’t very colourful anymore. They smell bad and I am continually pressured into throwing them out. These shoes represent an incredible year. But alas the time has come to put them out to pasture.

In the end it all comes down to time. All we can do is choose what to do with the time that we have been given. I hope when you stop and look back at 2010 you are happy with what you did with yours.

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I’ll admit it; Dan did more riding than me, went on more trips and may even have had more fun.  How did you do?  Recap or heckle Dan here…