THE BACKSTORY As much as I hate to use the phrases gap year and seasonaire in connection with myself, that’s how it all started in 2008. I was spending that summer staying at a chalet in Morzine in the French Alps, when I was told about a wild card Norwegian by the name of Guy who occasionally mowed the grass and put croissants in the oven there in return for food and a bed. I first met him vacuuming the floor and we arranged to go riding the next day. Chris, who worked for a different chalet down the road came along too and that was the first time ‘Bike Gang’ was formed. I think the gang part came from Chris’ sister as we were pretty much inseparable; I like to think it’s because of how cool and intimidating we were, but unlikely as I’m not exactly Eazy E. The next few years were spent studying, working and racing downhill and the summers between either in the Alps or Whistler. In 2012 we planned that when everyone had finished university we’d move out to Canada and see if we could combine the perfect life of riding bikes with some actual work. Guy said mowing the grass was too much like hard work and he had blisters. So, come October 2013 we flew out to Vancouver laden with bikes and skis and hopes of high flying careers, downtown penthouses and Gastown cocktails...long story short, none of us got career jobs, so during the dark wet unemployed nights, plans started to form to spend the summer roadtripping around BC and exploring all the riding it has to offer. SCOLL OVER THE ICON FOR A VIDEO OF CHRIS & I RIDING THE SHORE ON A DRY JANUARY DAY Selling bike parts by day and firing pizzas by night we scraped together the money for a van, and despite sound advice to go for something reasonably new and with low mileage we promptly ignored that and settled upon an ’86 Chevy Van with a broken fuel gauge and odometer. Who needs that anyway when you’ve got Strava? There was no danger this van was going to be getting any KOMs anyway. With one week left on our flat’s lease we set ourselves the ambitious task of turning the metal shell into a home on wheels. A scrap yard visit, some recycled pallets, a lot of screws & too many visits to Home Depot later we had ourselves a camper. A big shout out to our landlady who lent us her tools for the build and fuelled us with margaritas in return for filling her driveway with sawdust and broken pallets. (cheers Nancy). Day 1 we rolled out of Vancouver headed for Whistler...
…and day 2 the differential blew up.
We were towed back to Whistler, hitched a lift to the scrap yard and found ourselves where we’d started. After hours spent hauling on rusted u-bolts the old girl was back on her wheels and headed for Kamloops. Mechanic tip 101: when a breaker bar isn’t handy, use a fork stanchion
COAST GRAVITY PARK SECHELT
camping in the chilcotin range A last minute decision led us to gate-crash a float plane drop into the Chilcotins, about 100km north of Pemberton. We rode the 40km into the mountains with all our food and camping equipment to meet the others who had taken the plane (as we were too poor to pay for the privilege). Thigh deep river crossings and gruelling all day ascents lead us in and at night the temperatures dropped as low as 3oC which coupled with our ghetto camping set up of $15 sleeping bags under tarpaulins and the sound of rattlesnakes slithering around the camp site ensured some uncomfortable sleeping conditions. The ride out back to civilisation took two days and involved: summiting to 2500m, dodging cougars, managing ill prepared food supplies, hammering steep 30 minute plus descents and running an eight man train 60km through the BC backcountry, all to finish worn out and hungry at Tyax Wilderness Lodge.
GNARCROFT & KAMLOOPS “For me and a handful of dudes, the trail is all time” Graham Agassiz Yeah, you’re right Graham, it was pretty good. Although I think Kamloops is the hottest place I have ever been. The week we were there, the valley was hazy with smoke from a forest fire further south & temperatures were pushing 40, even at night. The camper over heated shuttling at Mt. Harper so we got the trail bikes out, and climbed to the top of the ski hill; at which point we overheated too. >>
SCOLL OVER THE ICON TO WATCH A TOP TO BOTTOM RUN OF GNARCROFT
A GYPSY’S GUIDE TO BC’S LAKES (EN SUITES) • Trigger Lake, Chilcotins: cold as fuck, minimal washing done • Mc Gillivray lake, Sun Peaks: warm & shallow, prepare to get ruined by mosquitoes • Nancy Greene: busy & full of rednecks...minging • Red Mountain, Rossland : no lake, use the bike wash • Christina Lake: warmer than a bath • Silver Spring Lake, Fernie: clear water, lots of cliffs = top bellyflop potential • River of Golden Dreams, Whistler: Nothing dreamy about it, full of PBR drinking Aussies, avoid at all costs • Big luxury hotels are often very happy to point you in the direction of their hot tubs and showers, just play the role of the absent minded Brit who’s forgotten which room/ car park he is sleeping in. I obviously do not condone this kind of behaviour. At every spot you swim at, prepare for a speech about the merits of biodegradable shower gel, just nod and agree that you love fish too & are obviously 420 friendly.
GUY AT THE BIKE RANCH, KAMLOOPS
DINNER TIME IN THE CAMPER I’d like to share with you a savoury treat that Guy cooked up for us once: 1. Make a pasta sauce of milk and flour 2. Add 1kg of tofu crumbled into sauce 3. Sometimes pasta doesn’t have enough carbs, so bulk it out with potatoes 4. Serve with as much spaghetti as you can find Best enjoyed after it has been kept at luke warm temperatures in a tupaware for a couple of days.
BC CUP RACES RD. 3 SILVERSTAR RD. 4 KICKING HORSE The race courses at both of these resorts were rad, Silverstar was rocky and tech, diving into uk style rooty woods. Kicking Horse started with wide open rock slabs then to steep fast wood sections and finishing in a savage pedal- a serious arm and leg burner. Between the two races the serious competition took place, go carting, mini golf, bowling & wasabi eating against the Dunbar Cycles race team, Guy showed the canadians how its done & took the top spot, BG 1- DC 0.
<< Day two I put my fear of grizzly bears to the back of my mind and set off on a solo 1600m climb in the 30OC sun to the top of Martha Creek. The trail was worth it though, perfect alpine meadow singletrack & some of the best views of the trip.
REVELSTOKE With a break from the racing for a couple of weeks we drove via Revelstoke for some trail riding. The Frisbee Ridge trail is accessed up about 10km of seriously steep rocky fireroad, this was something the guy in the bike shop declined to tell us when we asked if our camper would manage it. 5km in, trailer in tow and spinning to get grip on a particularly loose section we doubted whether it was our best idea and probably not something to include in the Auto Trader description.
THE
REVELSTOKE TO ROSSLAND
We had heard there were some wild geese to be chased somewhere between Revelstoke and Rossland. So luckily whilst slogging out a savage fireroad climb in the hope of finding some back country high grade, a truck rolled up with two old boys, one of whom happened to be the builder of the trail we were hoping to find. After shuttling us up & guiding us down he told us about a one man bike shop in the next village where we should go to get the local trail low down. We rolled up to a shed surrounded by a jumble of old bikes, freeride relics and plant pots made of old full face helmets. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rad to see a person so ingrained in riding bikes. The shop counter was covered in intricately detailed maps of the trails and he spent a long time explaining it all to us, clearly enthused about the trails the he had helped dig. The next morning he dropped us near the top of the nearby Idaho Peak where a network of hand dug trails criss-crossing with old mining paths awaited us. The trail emerged beside a river and enormous pile of splintered wood- the site of an old mine, washed away by landslides. The way out was via a pulley system over the river. Hook your bike on to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and pull yourself across. Something that never ceases to amaze me about Canada is the amount of remote places you never knew existed which all seem to be full of dedicated, passionate and not to mention friendly people who are stoked that you have come here to ride their trails. No militant attitudes here.
A WEEKEND IN ROSSLAND BC ENDURO & SEVEN SUMMITS TRAIL
LA PUSH WASHINGTON USA After 5 weeks on the road and crankworx we all felt pretty burnt out and in need of a break from riding bikes. We headed down to farthest west point of the pacific north west, to la push for a few days surfing.
NORTH WEST CUP STEVENS PASS WASHINGTON USA SCOLL OVER THE ICON TO WATCH CHRIS & I RIDING THE TRACK THE EVENING AFTER THE RACE
KYLE THOMAS, GUY GIBBS LUKE STROBEL, CHARLIE SPONSEL
LEAVENWORTH WASHINGTON USA Just down the road from stevens pass is leavenworth. A town built in a bavarian german style; strange place but good riding. We rode a trail called xanadu, which started with fast ridgeline singletrack before descending into 75 consecutive berms. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really need to tell you it was pretty good.
SILVER MOUNTAIN IDAHO USA This turned out to be one of the best places we rode on the whole trip, with a lift accessed 15 minute berm trail down the whole mountain. Between getting too stoked on that we managed to squeeze in a few
clips on one of the brand new dh trails there- frankenbeans. scoll over ICON FOR the video
MONTANA ‘BIG SKY COUNTRY’ & THE BEST BBQ MEAT FEAST I’VE EVER EATEN
BC CUP FERNIE OVER THE BARS, IN THE BUSHES, BUT STILL ON THE BOX Fernie is home to The Dirt Diggler. An endurance downhill race from one of the highest surrounding peaks. We weren’t in town at the right time for the race, but went to shuttle the trail with the Porteous brothers, two of Canada’s fastest racers and herb enthusiasts. The road to the trail involves about 30mins of fireroads and hunters trails to the top. About 20mins into the drive, Ben admitted to not recognising any of what we’d driven along, Cam agreed but they kept pressing on blindly, luckily their intuition was correct & we found the Diggler, a 20 minute descent with some seriously technical exposed singletrack & drifty scree slopes. At the bottom we checked the truck clock and decided we had just enough time for a second lap before dark. It was only when we were some way into the descent that Ben remembered he hadn’t put his clock forward. As if the riding wasn’t hard enough in the light, it was even more so in almost complete darkness. Watching Cam, one of the most spaced out people I know get baked at the top and then launch flat out into chutes with pin point accuracy, was pretty impressive.
NELSON HIPPIES, DREADLOCKS, HAIRY ARMPITS, QUINOA, BRUTAL CLIMBS, NAUGHTY WOODWORK & STEEP LOAM
“THE BIGGEST HIGH 5s AT THE BOTTOM” TRAILSPOTTING: The best of the year (in kind of an order)
DARTHS, SUNSHINE COAST GRAVY BACON > BOONDOCKER, BOULDER MTN, REVELSTOKE AFTERNOON DELIGHT > PEPSI CAN > WILDCAT, SILVER MTN. USA FRANKENBEANS, SILVER MTN. USA MARTHA CREEK, REVELSTOKE DOUBLE D, NORTH SHORE DYNAMITE PANTHER, COAST GRAVITY PARK SQUID LINE, SUMAS PAUL’S TRAIL, NORTH SHORE XANADU, LEAVENWORTH, USA ASIAN ADONIS, SEYMOUR MICROCLIMATE, WHISTLER LOWER CANADIAN OPEN, WHISTLER PACIFIC, PEMBERTON EXECUTIONER TO DREAMWEAVER, FROMME WILD CHERRY > TALL CANS > WU TANG, CYPRESS CROUCHING SQUIRREL, HIDDEN MONKEY, SQUAMISH WORST: But if rocky straight lines, tight corners & greasy wood is your thing, then strap on your stem pad & let ‘er rip. FIRE HOSE, CYPRESS REAPER, CYPRESS SHOREPLAY, CYPRESS GRIFFEN, FROMME 40 DOWN, SQUAMISH PUT A BONK ON IT: The worst climbs of the summer Seven Summits, Rossland. An IMBA classic. We were told after the first steep climb the rest of the climbs were chilled, don’t believe any of it Burke Mountain, steep relentless chunder Nelson’s north shore, soft & steep BLT, Cypress Mountain, Vancouver. No matter how many times you do it, it doesn’t get more fun.
PEACHLAND/ KELOWNA On our way back to Vancouver we stopped off with our friend Anthony Evans for a night. We ate fruit fresh from his orchard, rode trail bikes, went wake surfing, ate burgers and finished off with a ride in a fire engine. It pretty much an ideal day really & a rad end to the trip.
SUMMER IN NUMBERS
3 FRIENDS, 1 VAN, 65 DAYS ON THE ROAD, 5000KM, 5 BREAKDOWNS, 100 TRAILS RIDDEN, 7 RACES, 150 BIKE PARK LAPS, 21 CRASHES, 2 BLACK EYES, 50 PUNCTURES, 4 CRACKED RIMS, 2 CRACKED FRAMES, 20 SETS OF BRAKEPADS, 3 BENT PEDALS, 15 LAKES SWAM IN, 200HOURS SPENT ON MCDONALDS WIFI, 78HRS OF SOPRANOS WATCHED, 100kg OF TRAIL MIX EATEN, 300PBJs, 1 VISITING MOUSE, LOTS OF FRIENDS MADE, NOT ENOUGH GIRLS SLEPT WITH...BUT 1 PRETTY GOOD SUMMER NB. SOME OF THESE NUMBERS MAY POTENTIALLY BE COMPLETELY MADE UP
BLURRY PHOTOS & SPELLING MISTAKES ED THOMSETT OTHER PHOTOS CHRIS FIELD, GUY GIBBS, HAMISH BAIRD, DANIELLE BAKER, ROXY MINILLE, RAVENEYE PHOTOGRAPHY
THANKS
FRED & ALICE FOR PUTTING US UP FOR THE FIRST MONTH IN CANADA, OUR LANDLADY NANCY, SENDER STEVE FOR OUR FIRST EVER SHUTTLE IN CANADA (EVEN IF WE DID HAVE TO RIDE CBC, IT WAS A NICE GESTURE), ROB VENABLES/ DUNBAR CYCLES FOR GIVING US JOBS TO FUND THE TRIP & FOR CHEAP BIKE PARTS, RACE FACE FOR HOOKING US UP, HENRY MARSH & STERLING CHRISTENSON FOR LETTING US USE THEIR DRIVE AS AN RV PARK, GREG IN ROSEBERRY FOR THE SHUTTLES, VARIOUS HOTELS WHERE WE PIKIED THEIR HOTTUBS, SHOWERS & WIFI, ANTHONY EVANS FOR A PRETTY MUCH AN IDEAL DAY IN KELOWNA & EVERYONE ELSE THAT WE MET OR RODE WITH WHO MADE THIS YEAR IN CANADA THE BEST ONE YET.