The Chainsaw Massacre - Ten Years Later

jeez, everyone's a writer

I've heard that said a lot. How do you figure?

care to expand on that? Not sure what you mean.

I'll take a stab.

No stunts meant less draw for riders. Everyone wanted to ride the coolest new technical woodwork. Lower rider number on a shuttle mountain equals better trails. Also it would force builders to work with the natural terrain, no wood work, so the trails would get a different feel, not just the same as the other mountains. Thats how I think it benifitted Cypress.

Remember reading about this in Bike back in 99.

I'll take a stab.

No stunts meant less draw for riders. Everyone wanted to ride the coolest new technical woodwork. Lower rider number on a shuttle mountain equals better trails. Also it would force builders to work with the natural terrain, no wood work, so the trails would get a different feel, not just the same as the other mountains. Thats how I think it benifitted Cypress.

Remember reading about this in Bike back in 99.

Makes sense I guess.

Seems like there's plenty of riders on cyps these days tho, woodwork or not.

I remember in 2003 at the NSMBA AGM Dan was quiet upset about the chainsaw carnage that took whatchamacallit out.

After that Bowen Island got to feel his trail building love.

What an amazing trail that was.

A few bros and I built a whole trail of wooden stunts, drops, berms ect in Santa Cruz, right around when shit first started blowing up up there. The first trail like that in our area or at least around ucsc. We spent over a year of hauling wood up the trail and working our asses off on that thing. I remember my bro while I was at work finished the "big drop". So he picks me up for a drop off and to tell me thats she's ready. A few bong hits in the truck on the way up, just to make sure Im nice and paranoid for hitting this thing. So Im really baked, by myself out there and I finally get to her. I walked to the edge and was thinking holy shit. I then thought of Wade Simmons video part where that little shit kid tells him "My brother said your all washed!" Then it shows him out in the woods standing on that ciff drop. He kinda gives a FU spits off it and pulls in. So Im out there really stoned, pull the same fuck off at the edge of it and dropped and and pulled it. No one there to say right on dude. The feeling I had when I landed that was IT and the war cry I gave after was kinda funny too. I swore to myself I would never give up riding for the rest of my life. Best feeling ever! it was some kind of spiritual event in my life. So some meat from a shop comes down one time and finds us working. He was trying to be all bro bro, swearing he will keep it a secret. A week or so later when we were working on this piece we hear "Coming up guys is a roller stunt" The freaking kook is giving a guided tranny tour of the trail. The same meat not too long after took some kid who had no business out there at all down the trail. The kid grabs front brakes on the top of the "loading dock" drop and fractures his c7. He has to be carried out by medics and then airlifted. Before I even heard the story Im cruzing down the trail to find the whole thing dusted. Everything was chainsawed to pieces. So I can relate to the other story there. It truly is heartbreaking.

I got a call and was furious. I went to OnTop. Danger was pissed but calmed down; he didn't get mad so much as a slow burning rage. Digger was calm. "Regular" Dan was very calm. Ironically, things have turned out for the better.

Behind the scenes, Alan Bardsley [HTML_REMOVED] Sharon have done a lot to help patch up relations. Dan G has done quite a bit of work too in the unavoidable meetings. Just last year, West Van let us build a bit of trail back in Skier. We've come a long long way.

While it was before my time, I remember hearing about it back then. The North Shore was just entering my mind as I grew tired of the XC thing in Ontario.

Mountain Biking is still fighting the fight to be a legitmate activity in the minds of many people. But there are lights in the tunnel as we have some amazing ambassadors both in the Municipalities and on the trail that are working hard at ensuring this kind of event never happens again!

I don't recall seeing ever seeing those pictures… but man are they amazing.

Dan

Things are improving everywhere it seems. Hell, when even risk adverse Toronto is thinking of building a skills park, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Though as Cam mentioned in the article mountain bikers everywhere have to be vigilent and not for one micro second take for granted anything we can ride.

This article should be posted on every mountain bike forum to be an example of what can happen.

best thing that could have happened to Cypress IMO…

Were you even here in 1999 Jerry? Didn't you build the full-stunty Jerry Rig trail after 1999? With lots of high skinnies? That seems like a revisionist opinion if you ask me. Reaper may not have been very 2009 when it was destroyed but it was amazing and fun in the late 90s. Mind blowing even.

Seems like there's plenty of riders on cyps these days tho, woodwork or not.

It certainly has been seeing an increase of traffic the last couple seasons. Thinks change ebb and flow. More people know about more trails there now. Also I would say more people are less scared of the trails there.

It certainly has been seeing an increase of traffic the last couple seasons. Thinks change ebb and flow. More people know about more trails there now. Also I would say more people are less scared of the trails there.

I suspect the level of equipment today helps as well.

I went up to Walk In The Clouds to get beaten up instead.

Yup, that was a good way to get beat up. 7' dorps to falt galore.

Maybe Jerry means the natural gnarl that is Cypress is better than the man made stunts that were there? That's how I view it.

Maybe Jerry means the natural gnarl that is Cypress is better than the man made stunts that were there? That's how I view it.

or (my interpretation) that those drastic actions by the muni rallied the troops and created the situation where riders where pretty much forced to become a legimitate interest group with a voice and progressive image. something that may not have happened without the chainsaw events. a sacrifice for the greater good in a sense. i'm guessing though as these events predate my riding and only JR can clarify his views…

"work has begun on a new, sanctioned trail on Seymour to replace CBC."

What trail are they talking about in It's the Shore Baby (part II)?