So apparently Whistler is 2 hours drive away from Vancouver, BC...

[RodTi]

This is NOT the kind of thing I like to read first thing on a bloody Monday morning before I've had coffee! Disgusting of you to force it on the poor working people!

 

Apologies...

 

But I'm still smiling... Having issues uploading pics - wifi is not great here. But am buggered in any event, so will be turning in now (with a huge smile on my face)...

 

Today has honestly been the best day I've ever had on a bike. And even though I only dipped my toe in the Downhilling waters - it's pretty clear what the appeal is...

 

Promise to pop up a decent account of Whistler when I get back to ZA.

[RodTi]

At some point, in the not-too distant future, I will pop up some ramblings on my weekend in Whistler...

 

It's been a bit crazy since I returned, and I haven't really had the opportunity to put finger to keyboard, to smash out something remotely befitting the experience...

 

Add to this the awesome "review" put up by Mintsauce [see my links to his write-up on the 1st page], and my knowing that my few words would pale in comparison - and this has taken somewhat longer than planned...

 

So - in an effort to move things along and get myself to pull finger, figured I'd pop up a few of the [unfortunately ] very few photos I have...

 

Watch this space.

Or not.

 

[RodTi]

 

 

All of the above, pics of my ride around the Lost Lake trails - and the Norco 29er 4.5(?)inch I rented...

 

All the below, the Whistler Bike Park entrance, and the village - all within 4 min's of my hotel...

 

 

 

 

[RodTi]

Upper & Lower Easy Does It;

Crabapple;

Lower Angry Pirate;

Upper & Lower B-Line;

Lower Crank-it-up;

Devils Club;

Heart of Darkness;

Ho Chi Min;

Karate Monkey;

 

This is the list of trails I can remember doing... I jotted these down as soon as I got back to the hotel, and got off my buzzzz...

 

At the time, I realised I had already forgotten a few from the list, since on several occasions I splintered off into a different trail, without barely seeing whether it was Black or Blue, nevermind stopping to catch the name...

 

What's so cool is that you pretty much pick a particular trail at the jump-in point, but all along the way, you come out, and are then presented with several trail-options to link into... It can get confusing, but being able to start on the same trailhead after each run helps - you quickly start finding your way around, and by the 3rd run you already start predicting the turns, drops, ramps, berms etc...

[CAAD4]

Good to see they are up to date with big wheels, unlike the Euro crowd...

[RodTi]

Good to see they are up to date with big wheels, unlike the Euro crowd...

 

Yip. My first proper ride on a 29er. Not a bad place to be doing it, to be honest.

[RodTi]

 

Took the Bike Lesson, since I've never been downhilling before - and after seeing what Whistler, BC terms as "Intermediate" over at Lost Lake - figured this would be wise...

 

Seriously stoked I did. Had an awesome guide, 19yr old from the UK [who has already decided he is moving to Whistler - cannot blame him], and various multi-nationals, 5 of us in total...

 

Did the basics, and then quickly got up to speed. It was useful having someone explain the lifts - it's very straight-forward, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind in getting the bike on...

 

After the lesson was done [2.5 hours], we still had an 1,5 hours to hit the trails... I would recommend the lesson to almost everyone - it just helps getting into the ebb and flow of the place...

 

Biggest thing to get my head around:

 

Just how much rocks and air a 8" DH machine can gobble up... That, and the sign threatening revocation of Bike Park rights to any person caught cycling uphill...

[RodTi]

 

Halfway up... Garbanzo was always going to be too technical for me, given the limited amount of time I had... It's firmly on my bucket list, for the next visit...

 

This is me on the main landing area at the bottom of the Garbanzo Zone lift - the jump-in point for most of the Whistler MBP trails... And no - I didn't jump-in to any of the double-black-diamond routes behind me, I took the blues just off to the left...

 

Not exactly at my fighting-fit best - but all that really matters is the size of the smile partially hidden behind that full-face, that I couldn't get off for days...

[RodTi]

I took plenty of videos... But being on an iPhone - they are massive... I've been slowly getting them onto Vimeo, and when I'm done, will start linking them from here...

[RodTi]

 

Based on what I know now, I would have managed the Black Routes I reckon - more so those designated as "flow" trails, rather than the "technical" (read serious roots/rocks)... But with time being limited, I didn't want to rush in to Black, and then that towards the end of my runs, when I was beginning to tire...

 

DH'ng requires a completely different type of fitness... Well - d'oh - but for a first-timer, it caught me a bit... You obviously hardly ever sit down... and given that I wasn't exactly relaxed, you get the "claw" from gripping those bars... It just nails you on a completely different level - hardly any cardio - but muscle fitness, if that makes any sense...

 

I never had nearly enough time to do any of the above properly... At the time, I was annoyed with myself for not having spent both days in the Park - and I was bummed that it rained so heavily the Sunday morning, effectively taking half a day out of my riding... But now - I'm glad I experienced the XC wood-riding in the lake area - put plenty of things into perspective for me...

 

Having said that - when I go back, it will be straight to the Bike Park...