I Found My Courage on the Super DH Ripper

This weekend I dressed up as the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz and rode my bike down a steep forested mountain and finished half drunk, dead last, and laughing so hard I could hardly stay on my bike.

There's a series of events on The Shore called "The North Shore Rippers". They're kind of like races, but not really. 160 riders rode on Saturday, from the top pro freeriders to the hacks like us. The course went from just below the snow line down to the bottom on the mountain on some amazing North Shore trails.

The pros finished in just under 30 minutes while it took us around 90 minutes... But we stopped for 3 beer breaks. Dan had stashed a dozen beers in strategic streams on the way down the mountain. Riding the shore works my head on the best of times. After 3 cans of Belgian courage it was a struggle to keep to the ground routes instead of the 5 foot huck lines.

I busted my seatpost high on the route and had to ride the most of the course with no seat. I was quite surprised at how much the saddle comes into play on a ride considering you're standing on the pedals for pretty much all of a downhill rip.

Here are a couple of photos taken by Dan Barham showing some other riders on the course. The event is all about fun, but the terrain is still pretty gnarly. There are exposed roots, some steep rock drops, and a healthy helping of Shore-style ladder bridges.
The vibe was incredible with all riders out for a good time. The woods were full of laughter and smiling riders and spectators. The only sad part is that we'll be on Hornby for the rest of the Ripper series and I won't be able to play :-(