Sweet downhill riding goodness

Today was the first time in weeks that I got the big bike out of the garage to go play on the North Shore. For those who don't know about "The Shore", it is to downhill mountain biking what the North Shore of Hawaii is to surfing. It is a mecca for mtb riders from all over the world and its in my backyard! The name "North Shore" refers to the steep mountain slopes on the North side of Vancouver's harbour.

The shore trails are known for their natural lines down rock faces, man made structures raised above the rainforest floor, the unbelievable rockwork both to protect the roots of trees and to prevent erosion.

This picture is of a section on a trail called Upper Oil Can that I took a few weeks ago on a wet day. This section has claimed many people over the years. The roots are more slippery than ice when wet so as soon as you hit the brakes, its got pain written all over it. The rock runout at the bottom, surprisingly, has amazing traction.

This photo is about my favorite image from the Shore. I didn't take it. I've shamelessly ripped it off of Sterling Lorence's web site. which everyone should check out! Its really well designed and has an amazing bit of Flash programming on the front page. Once you get in, make sure you click on the "North Shore" section.

Sterling's shot captures a lot of the essence of the shore. The dark coastal rainforest... Amazing trailbuilding... natural lines... Sphincter clenching fear of injury...

Today's ride was amazing, although most of my photos didn't really work. Its very challenging to get a good photo in the dark rainforest, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The trails were bone dry after the week and a half of beautiful sunshine. The roots had traction, and everyone was stoked!

The uppermost part of the trail system still has snow, tho. And it was the worst kind. Packed, rutted, icey, slippery, body-maiming snow that tried to kill us for a few hundred meters and then gave way to mint condition forest floor. This is my good friend Jeffo at the top, as we're getting ready for 800 vertical feet of good times.



Although it'll never win any photo contest, I like this one 'cause its often what I feel like when riding the shore. Trees whip by in a blur of green and brown bark. The groundcover foliage blends together to look like a carpet of one color and texture. Everything is vibrating. The single point of focus is on the trail ahead and how to deal with what is coming up. All other thoughts... rent... job... the mundane things in life are pushed to some corner and are replaced by something much more basic.