Vancouver and Whistler

I had the opportunity to be in Vancouver this past week for something other than a vacation, but as long as I was there decided I was going to make sure I had a little fun while I was there.

On Thursday afternoon after I finished up with my other commitments I headed to the North Shore (North Vancouver) where I had planned on renting a bike and getting a few hours of riding on one of the local trails. Mt. Seymour, Cypress Mountain and Mt. Fromme were three trails that I had researched before heading out west and was looking forward to checking out at least one of them.

Unfortunately the afternoon quickly passed me by as I visited three bike shops and was forced to leave each without acquiring a bike for the afternoon (two didnt rent bikes and the third didnt have any mediums), then I searched without success for a 4th bike shop, and finally made my way to a fifth shop where I was finally able to get a bike. I rented a Trek Remedy, a rather plush bike that was sure to provide me with a cushy ride on whichever trail I ended up riding. Apparently there was a bit of a disconnect with the guy I dealt with in the shop, becuase I thought I had made it clear that I was looking to get in some great singletrack riding (not to mention I rented a $5,000 full suspension mountain bike) so when he printed out a road map, marked a route for me to take and gave me the map, I just presumed there was going to be some singletrack once I finally made it to the top of the map at the edge of the city. My mistake. The route had me take a few miles of roads up to a creek bed, then follow the creek bed for a couple of miles, then dump back out on the road for a couple of miles which takes you up to Grouse Mountain.... where I figured Id get some singletrack. Nope. Surprisingly after climbing most of the way on pavement and a gravel trail along the creek for an hour and a half, when I got up there there was a parking area, a hiking only trail, and a gondola which takes passengers further up the mountain. I inquired at the Grouse Mountain Visitor Center (where the gondola was) and was told there were no mtb trails in that area. WTF. Seriously. I rode back to the shop and after delicately voicing my displeasure at the route they selected for me, I was given a very hefty discount on the bike rental for the afternoon.

Dont get me wrong, I completely understand why the shop did what they did, since they didnt know me or my abilities, and I indicated that I only had 3 or so hours to ride and wanted to know if I could ride to any trails from the shop so that was what they suggested, knowing that riding to the closest trail (Seymour Mountain) was more than an hour away by bike and that I would have likely had to turn around when I got to the trailhead. But I also had rented a minivan so I could transport a bike and in hindsight I would have thrown the bike in the minivan and driven to the trailhead. Next time Ill know. Despite mostly gravel trail and roads with only a small section of singletrack, it was mostly uphill and I definately got a great workout in, so all was not lost :)


Bike for the day in North Vancouver

I stayed in North Vancouver Thursday night and rather than head home Friday I decided to change my flight to Saturday night and head up to Whistler for the day. That was a GREAT decision! It is absolutely beautiful up there, temps were in the mid-80s (actually there were record breaking temps - upper 80s the entire week I was in Vancouver) and I was loving it! I got up to Whistler around 11:30 am, and by the time I found a place to park, went to the visitor center to inquire about biking, went to a bike rental place and got a bike it was 1pm. I had planned on heading back to Vancouver in the evening so I just rented a bike for 4 hours. The bike they had available in my size was a Specialized Enduro, which is another plush full suspension ride. I should note that I had my bike shoes, pedals, helmet, tools, riding clothes, water bottles and a backpack with me since I had hoped to get in some riding while I was there, so I was well equipped for the afternoon... I thought.

After planning out a route with help from the guy at the shop, then getting fitted and getting my pedals put on the bike it was time to venture off into the unknown. I had a cliff bar and 2 water bottles with me, but only one water bottle was full, so the guy at the shop directed me to grab more water at the golf course while enroute to the second trailhead. Unfortunately I forgot to get more water which turned out to be a very bad oversight. Leaving the shop I immediately dumped into some sweet singletrack which I rode for a half hour or more, just soaking in the ride taking some pics and shooting a little video. At one point apparently I wasnt paying much (or enough) attention during a part of that trail on a section called "Gee I Like Your Pants", because I never did find out what I hit, but I must've ran into or over something something because my bike stopped dead and I shot off and landed on my right side, arm and shoulder several feet down the trail from where the bike ended up. A few scrapes and scratches later (which are very sore 3 days later as I write this on Monday) but nothing broken so I hopped back on and continued the journey. After that section of singletrack I took a paved path out past the golf course (where I should have gotten more water) to the highway (Highway 99) where I was told head out of town for a few miles (kilometres) to search for an entrance to a trail right by the end of a concrete barricade along the highway. Well the map didnt really show where the barricades were so I ultimately ended up passing the trailhead entrance by a mile or so and finally stopped to ask a guy driving down a service road where the trailhead was. Fortunately he knew and pointed me in the right direction. Shortly after that I found the trailhead to the Thrill Me Kill Me trail and although challenging, I was in heaven! That is until I nearly ran out of water so I really had to ration, and became dehydrated, not to mention it was getting late and I had no idea how much further the trail was going since the trail continued on past the end of the map I had, it was really hot.... so needless to say I was pretty unhappy and really really frustrated. But fortunately, I made it to the end of the trail without incident, only wishing I had remembered to fill up my water bottles. So while Whistler is a mountain biking mecca in the summer including a huge downhill park right at the base of the mountain in the village, a lot of the cross country trails either start and/or finish several miles from Whistler village so unless you've got a ride back when youre done with the trail, you're gonna have to pedal back to the village. So after finishing the trail about 6 miles or so out of the Village, I started heading back along the highway and ended up stopping at an elementary school along the way and guzzled about a gallon of water before making it back to the bike shop. Lesson learned there. I dont really have any idea how far I rode, but I was gone for 4 hours and was exhausted when I got back. But wow, what an awesome place to ride, I will definatley be going back there to ride again some day.


Standing where I ended up and looking back at where my bike ended up after I crashed on "Gee I Like Your Pants"


Me and the bike with floating planes on Green lake at Whistler near the golf course


Sweet technical feature on "Thrill Me Kill Me"


Sign along Highway 99 after finishing the trail heading back into Whistler village

I ended up staying in Whistler that night, and after grabbing breakfast there Saturday morning I then drove back down to Seattle in the afternoon (5+ hours) to the airport where I watched the Red Wings crush the Penguins in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals while waiting for my red-eye flight.

After leaving Seattle at 10:30pm and sleeping for a few hours on the plane, I arrived home at 6:30 am Sunday morning, slept for about 4 hours then did some laundry and caught up on some other things, then went for a 51 mile ride up to Lake Orien via the CRT and PCT. I only planned on riding to Rochester and back which would have been about 30-35 miles, but I figured what the heck and kept going.

I should also note that on Sundays ride I also passed the 3,000 mile mark for the year (average 19 miles/day since Jan 1). Some reading this may wonder why it took me so long to reach that plateau, and others may just wonder why :)

Finally, here is a little fun video I shot while riding a portion of trail called "Toads of the Short Forest". Remember kids, dont try this at home.... especially while riding one-handed holding a camera in your other hand. While I was in no real danger performing this stunt, it could have been very embarrassing.