Winter Gravel Views
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Bike Magazine Feature Photo
It was nice to get a shot in Bike Magazine a few months back now that the Magazine has closed its doors. This photo was shot on Dark Crystal by Ben Haggar (left photo). Ben wrote a feature about his experiences trail building and the transformation of this single track from a soft carpet of moss to an exposed rooty rocky trail. The photo on the right was a shot by myself when the trail first opened.
Fall Is Here
As summer fades out its time to embrace the winter months. Fall can be incredible for riding, especially when the sun is out and colours are vibrant in the forest. Lets be honest most of the time its raining, dark and moody which adds its own element of beauty. I headed out with my friend Tristan on one of the first days it seemed the weather was changing and summer had all but left us behind.
Having A Dig
I headed out for a little dig afternoon with WORCA in Whistler to start a new awesome addition to the Cheakamus trail network. WORCA has planned a climb trail called Farout and a descent called Flashback that will run up from the existing network and connect the Cheakamus Lake zone.
The Rise Of The Gravel Bike
There is no questions that gravel biking is starting to become very popular with mountain bikers and other cyclists. With plenty of new bikes and products hitting the market in the last year these bike have become very capable exploring machines. The big difference for me was being able to run a wider tire with new designed components adding to a more enjoyable ride. Components such as wider handle bars to smooth and quite drivetrains like Shimano GRX have made a world of difference in my experiences of what type of terrain the bike can handle.
Gravel riding is like the more exciting and social version of road biking taking you to plenty of amazing places and destinations that you probably wouldn’t think to ride to on any other bike. Recently I had the pleasure of showing around two amazing young riders Carter Nieuwesteeg and Chris Hatton some of Squamish’s finest local gravel riding. Check out the photos below!
Fresh Build – Santa Cruz Tallboy
The Tallboy has been one of my favourite bikes. Its the ultimate small travel trail bike that can just about do it all. I have used it as my BC XC bike over the years racing a handful of technical marathon XC racers in the Sea to Sky. The bike is my go to for all day epics in the Southern Chilcotins mountains or those big door to door days in Squamish covering a large variety of trails right out of the backyard.
The Anti-Heli Club Rides Goat Ridge
This year is all about getting out in the backyard and exploring the surrounding mountains. Goat Ridge has been on my list for a long time. The Ridge is well known as a heli-drop that sends you into to a steep and technical descent trail called Disneyland. I headed out with a bunch of like minded people on an all day out and back mission to the top of the ridge. The final part of the climb onto the ridge was really steep with plenty of bike carrying to make our way out of the trees and into the alpine. We hiked all the way up the ridge and stopped for a swim and lunch at a small lake before a very long descent back down to the ocean.
Weekend In The Chilcotins
The Southern Chilcotins is one of my favourite places to visit in the summer for all day alpine adventures on two wheels. The views are incredible with plenty of amazing wildlife. I camped with friends at Mowson Pond for the weekend and headed out for a few day trips into the mountains. At night around the pond you could here the surrounding forest come alive with wolves and coyotes howling. When morning arrived the loons would take over with their haunting crys as they floated around the pond hanging out with the local beavers working away on their dam.
Squamish Greens
With plenty of early season rain this summer the colours are alive this year in the forest!
Gravel Adventure – Valley to Valley
Gravel club has kicked off for the summer. We thought we would start off with a nice little mission that involves a loop up and over the Squamish and Paradise Valley’s.
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