Green River

A pilgrimage to Utah in the name of freeride was a common theme for many BC riders and shooters this October. As Matt Dennison and I rolled in to Hurricane a couple hours after dark after our own 2000km on cruise, we were greeted at the Travelodge by three dirtbags who were having their first showers in weeks. They’d been camping out in the desert, riding and shooting, eating like it was the apocalypse, and sleeping three-up in a pickup truck. Why they didn’t consider buying a tent or camp stove was a question they couldn’t answer, but you couldn’t fault them for it.

As we snapped up Toby Cowley to help shoot Rampage, the stories of the past weeks’ road life with euro shredders Aiken Collinge and Arno Arancio began to unravel. These guys were living the dream for a trio of young riders hailing from anywhere but North America. It was a roadtrip of a lifetime for Toby, Aiken, and Arno as they pushed into the desert hills day after day building and shooting…

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It’s 3:30am on September 18. The summer is rapidly winding down here in Whistler and the dead season is approaching. Perfect time to pack up and head south for a road trip.

Our first destination was Green River, a small town in Utah 2100km away renowned for a serial killer, and big mountain riding.

The desert was hot, the dirt was so dry and the terrain was intimidating. It was like nothing any of us had ever seen, we hadn’t experienced a landscape like this in our respective countries of Australia, England and France; but that’s what makes Utah so unique. After a few days of exploring we finally began adapting to the intense heat and planning what we wanted to accomplish.

One thing worth noting though was despite the vastness of this terrain, people had been here before. Over the crest of every rise we were greeted by yet more tire marks in the dirt running down the spines of the ridge lines, not to mention man-made lips and booters from the very films that had inspired us to make this trip. We had planned to build original, creative lines, but every time we saw a zone in the distance and got all stoked, we would again find a stack of rocks from where a feature once was.

After spending two weeks of camping in the desert there and only venturing into town to recharge batteries and stock up on yet more water and tinned food, (not to mention only showering twice for the duration of the stay) it brought home just how unforgiving the location is and how unprepared we were for the challenges we had set ourselves. We definitely left with unfinished business, and all hungry for more.

  A $5 Map from a gas station in Bellingham and no data roaming resulted in a few wrong turns and whole lot of wasted gas.

  However with roads this straight as we pushed further south, wrong turns were less frequent.

  When googling Green River, a suggested search is for a serial killer. Not a whole lot else seems to have gone on in this town.

  The nice lady in the Thrift store informed us of how the Government has essentially written off her town, and the highway which bypasses Green River by only a few hundred metres seems to suggest this.

  No caption necessary… This place is pretty weird.

  Arno Arancio (Banshee) doing ‘the Mac’ from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (If you get the reference, props. If not, you should probably rethink your priorities), and Aiken Collinge riding euro shotgun.

  The weather can quickly change in the desert.

  Heavy rain pushed back our plans, but resulted in some fun.

  Sunrise atop a ridgeline.

  Building in the middle of the day was not our smartest move. I’d never experienced heat like this.

  Fruits of our labour.

  No helis here… just endless hikes.

  This is the closest we got to one of these guys… anyone who’s been to Green River will know just how fast they are.

  Struggling to find shade for our midday naps.

  Probably the closest I’ll ever get to riding on the Moon.

  Dust trails for days.

  Toby refused to throw these disgusting things out for quite some time… They took a beating.

  I think we can all agree that Norbz should’ve placed higher. Unfortunately not the only person to suffer from questionable judging.

  Kyle Strait, not afraid to go big.

  However going big sometimes has its consequences.

  Utah sunset never gets old. Until next time!

  A blown fuel pump and beat wheel bearing kept us stuck in Utah. 3 days and $800 lighter we were back on our way south.

  Would have been rude to not check this place out. Staggeringly beautiful.

  Truly the biggest trees we’ve ever seen, amazing experience to drive on the Avenue of the Giants through the Giant Redwoods.

As we headed west, the weather took a turn for the worse. After an overnight stop in California we returned north back to Whistler.

Thanks to Quentin at 100%, James Cross at RockStar, Ken Garff Ford St George, and Rennie at Yess Components.

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What’s your idea of a perfect mountain bike pilgrimage? Are you happy go lucky like these three, or are you more of a high maintenance traveler?