OK, Whistler was great, but it's time to move on. A short----uhhh well a four hour drive took us up to the 'Loops.


On the way we saw some pretty cool scenery. This is the Marble Canyon on Highway 99 north of Lillooet.






Our ride today was the Dewdrop, which involved a slight climb.






The views at the top were spectacular.






Well worth the effort.






The descent was OK too.





Em's shows off her pipes.





Of course, I had to follow her example.





Finally, some wildlife to show you. It's been sort of quiet around this log for animals lately. Here's a Bighorn ewe for you.

Another cloudy day in Whistler. Perfect for a big ride. First up is Kill Me Thrill Me. As always in Whistler, it's a technical extravaganza. Kate seems thrilled.





Here's barry checking on smoe more bridgework. Structural integrity seems good....





Clinton gives it another check, just to be sure.





The proud trail builder.





Here in Canada, we call these sort of things "souveniers."





Kate continues to be thrilled to bits, and has the "souveniers" to prove it.






After lunch we headed off to check out the first part of a modern Whistler legend called Comfortably Numb. At 24 kms long, it doesn't sound like much, but it's usually a 6 hour ride for the first timer. We hit up the first 6 kms and cut out on another trail called Young Lust. 3 hours later.


Em's gets Numb.





Craig practices his wheelies, and manages to miss me (for a change).






Kate, still thrilled after all this riding.





Clinton scales some rock faces.





Barry on Young Lust, having his best ride of the trip.





Clinton agian, loving the bridgework.





Barry gets Comfortable on the Numb climb. Funny how these trails seem to uphill all the way, but you end up where you started.





Paul on the Young Lust descent.





Of course, what epic day of riding would be complete without a visit to the pub for some cold pints a nd some thumb wars?

Wow....XC riding. It's been a while. This one was organized through a UK tour operator called CycleActive. They seem to be fairly high end. First up for our intrepid crew was Whistler. Co-led with our English guide, Craig, our merry little band headed off to A River Runs Through It to get to know one another.


This is Clinton. He's a nuclear technician.





This is "Kick Ass Kate." She's a barrister, which is apparently some sort of fancy pants lawyer thingy.





This is Barry, who's a structural engineer. Whatch think of the bridge there, Barry?





After that little ride, we headed off to another trail called Train Wreck. The remains of a derailment from back in the 50's are the highlight of this one. Craig is leading the pack to check it out.





Paul is a techie type who does something esoteric with computers.





....and finally the lovely Emily, who is an economist with the Bank of Scotland.






That's the crew, and here's another shot of Paul, because that is one cool looking train with a bunch of graffiti and stunts on it.

Adventure?






More like "Death March."





So it's the last day. Here's the survivors, in all their glory. You will probably notice that Norco Jim has morphed from a 16 stone Englishman into a 14 kg. Mexican. Look, it was a hard week.....





OK Dan, you're offically over the broken collarbone.





Chris pulls the blind nonstop run into Massage Therapy in full control.





Wade steps up.





Alonso, aka the Mexican Wade Simmons, followed suit.






Nicole gets some vert with this mega rock wall.





More insane wood work from WS.





THAT was one hell of a tour. If I had to rate the trips (and I'm about to) I'd have to say that THIS TRIP WAS THE BEST ONE WE'VE EVER DONE!


Massive props to Gary, Chris, Nicole, Jim, Stu, Luke, Dan, Rob, special guests from all over, Barb, Harley, Mr Simmons, the Pixies, any else.........

HA!!! No pics from today. That's right, the camera stayed in the pocket all day long. We just didn't feel like stopping today.


It was just another Seymour day anyway, so it's not like you've never seen this stuff before.


Yeah.........riiiiiiggggghhhhht.

***Oh man....has it been a month already? OK, I'm getting on it***


Oh yeah, it was way too many beers. The breakfast of champions, dontcha know?





Good thing we had a little hike to help sweat the booze out. The view was greatly appreciated.





Back to business. Barb sends it.





Dan finally gets his groove on.





Wade and Luke on the train.





Nicole on a high berm.





Chris drops one with style.





Wade, dropping over Barb.





So much fun, your head might explode.






Another in a long line of pro riders sitting on a pink bike. That's Chris Glew of Iron Horse for those of you who didn't know.





Oh yeah, it was a long one today. You'd better get some sleep, you're going to need it.

***Still a month behind. Look, I've been busy, eh?***





'Nuff said.





Finally, some sunny weather. We were all a little punched from the last few days, so we decided to do a little afternoon session at the Ranch.





That session turned into four hours of booters, kickers, and hi-marking on walls.





Full on clinic style. Even though we were all so very, very tired, everyone hust kept on pushing their boundaries and trying to boost more all day long.





My latest employee takes a break from all the hucking to have a little arm workout loading the van.





Gary, on the wall.





Barb off the wall (as always).





Stu takes it right to sunset.






And we all took it a bit too far by the campfire. How many beers was that?





Ooooooooo......a few too many. Good times.......good times.

***We now pick up with our heroes from over a month ago. Sorry, but everyone wants to ride with me these days. (Sigh) ... the price of popularity..**

I am....enigma. I am....mystery..... I am.....Blaine.




Yer a tosser, mate. Sorry Luke, I had to do it. Anyway, back to the riding. HEEEEYUUUUGGGE day at Gilliard today. If you're going to pick a place to step it up, this is the one.





Wade crossing it up over the fence. Jim was in make or break mode. He mad a lot more than he broke, like this drop on KerPlop.





I'm really stoked on this next shot. Not that it's that pretty for light or anything, it's just that you can almost taste the anticipation of Luke as he's about to drop in right behind wade (who's clearly enjoying this one).





Harley, waiting for a second run. Hurry up, eh?





Little, girl...big rock face. Give'r Barb.





Sto on some random skinny parts.





OK, this is the one that broke Jim. Have a good look, cause you know he wants retribution on that one. Just a little bit short, but that was it for the shoulder. Luckily it was more of a strain than anything serious, but still a bummer.





Gary picked up the torch and ran with it. Yer' killin it this trip, buddy.





The Old Man of the Trails shows us how to navigate the skinny stuff.




See what sort of riff-raff I get to deal with?

What a bunch of silly asses....






Day Four, and it's time to hit Arawana. Still buzzing from Pwers Creek yesterday (how does each day get better than the last one?).






Oh, well I guess it's just the company we're keeping.





Luke is apparently very excited by this trail.





This is the trail which is home to the infamous "Bud Height" gap.





Here's Nicole "just one more time" having another breakthrough.





Just another day at the office for Mr. Simmons.





Likewise for Ms Haley.






Of course it's more than just hucks and gaps.





...and Gary proves that not all the landings are smooth.





But the cold ones at the beach are ALL smooth.





Yup, each day better than the last.

Now to really get this party rolling. It's time to get the crew together.....





..and ride Powers Creek. Say hi to Dirty Dave Diggler (and Wade).






It was a typically crap kinda day out.






We hit up an alternate line today, replete with many stunts like this massive teeter line.





..and this brand new suspension bridge. Yeah, I almost fell off it, but I did get to the other side in one piece.




Here's Luke tabling off one of the many fabulous airs in Powers.






The Man, cruising a ladder line.





Gary on Cock-Knocker.





Luke again, on the Ogopogo rail.





This one's all me, on the Monster Amigo. Pretty much everyone stepped it up a notch today. I have a feeling that Wade was the only guy who didn't hit a lifetime largest line today. Gary, Chris and Nicole hit the Camel Toe for their breakthroughs, Jim and I got the Shenanigans gap (even if Jim stuffed the runout), and the rest of the crew got the Amigo.







Here's proof. Jim is wearing every tranny on the trail.






..and Nicole pays for her beer crimes.

Day 2, and it's time to get the stray bodies loaded up and in the van.





We drove up to the Okanagan for the first part of the tour and hit some easier stuff in Penticton to get the flow going. Not many shots from today, just getting the bugs worked out, eh?


Here's Wade hamming it up on a little gully booter for ya.





Barb is thinking about a new solo career....




....but the rest of the band is more concerned with the beers and the fire.

Actually, for some guys it was Day 0. Yes, finally the Wade trip is underway. Except for Rob, who disastered on Whistler and broke both wrists. Say hello to the Blue Buddha.





This is a bit of a pre-day, with early arrivals geting out for a warm-up on Seymour.




Luke was bouncing better, but was still trying to adjust to the Left Coast.





Gary of course was entirely adapted to the trails, despite not having ridden much technical this year.





...and "new" Stu was just killing it as shown by this new line on Salvation. A taste of things to come perhaps?

It's the last day with Germans for me, as I've got to go and get ready for the Wade Simmons Freeride Experience. So, today we will ride Harper Mtn. with the lovely Carly from Full Boar and then drive off into the sunset towards Whistler, where I will drop the guys and take on a bunch of fresh meat---uhhh, I mean new clients.


In the meantime, the crew were stomping everything in sight.





Skinnyman was hitting ten foot drops on that little XC bike of his. I wonder if this voids the warranty? Never mind, it's second hand anyway.





Poor little thing. Hubertus was also riding in top form. The demons of earlier in the week were fully exorcised. Thanks for the bottle, H. I'll be putting it to good use.





Holy...look at that huge guy fly.






Ho hum, David is nailing everthing in sight.





So, as we see wave a fond farewell to the back side of hte german crew, it's already time to look forward to riding with Wade and a mixed crew of world travellers over the next ten days.






Thanks to Phil for putting htis trip together, and to Tim at Huckwagon for keeping them outta trouble on the Shore for me.

Last day in the "sunny" Okanagan. Hey, at least it's not dusty, right? The grasshoppers don't seem to care.





Actually, the boys seemed to be a bit pre-occupied too.






Maybe THIS will wake them up.






Yup, that's a wake up call all right. Had a few wind related spills right there a bit later.







The weather seems to be changing though.






Ahhh yes, 26C, 60% humidity, and a 40% broken sky with low hanging bikers.





The Tominator lays into the Ranch...






...then reaps the rewards.





Gotta leave yer autograph too.






Yup, a good day for sure.

A grey day today, but still pretty nice riding weather. The Okanagan gets kind of dusty otherwise. So, we're at Outbound Cycle this morning and I ran into an old acquaintance from hanging around the race scene from time to time.


Karey Watanabe, Canadian born Japanese DH legend just strolled on up, so we made a plan to go hit the trails.






She's the one wearing the skirt. Anyway, we did a warmup lap on Powers Creek to get the ball rolling, then headed on over to Gilliard tp try out some of the trails I haven't hit yet.






They're pretty good. Nice skirt, by the way.






Skinnyman had to give 'er a go too. I missed David's air, as he pretty much jumped over me. Freakin kids these days.....



At any rate, that Cat's Ass, Fist First run is pretty sweet. Then we went to Boss Hog for a session.





The Kid hit's the step-up, of course. What you won't see for a while is Skinnyman accidentally nose manualing the same move...since it's on video and I don't feel like editing right now. Hey, I got it, and it's pretty funny.






Wallride...and we're out.

Once we got Phil back from the hospital and safely stowed on the sofa back at the farm, it was off to Arawana. Here's the boys getting scenic in the canyon.





Kurt from Freedom Bike Shop led the way for us.





We took in a few runs today, and were treated to some stunning scenery on all of them.





The Tominator found the ground at one point.





The bottom of the Canyon, on Ivy League.





Hubertus finally stepped it up today too. He was suffering from a minor shoulder injury he got on day one, and has been pretty mellow up to this point. Yay H!!







Last run, and a great day.

Ahhhh, back to Powers Creek. Here's Dirty Dave riding one of his crazy creations.







And here's the Speedometer dropping in. The other guys in the crew were really starting to click here.





...and here.






Also Skinny Man, was getting some and really laying the foundation for a things to come later in the trip. I can't believe that his bike help up to the abuse it got on this tour. Check that thing out. 5" little hit bike, second hand and bought just for the trip.






Well, I guess things were giong just a little bit too good. It's always wisest to look before you leap. Let this be warning to all of you Dainese believers out there. They are great for scrapes and cuts, but not so good when it comes to more serious injuries. Don't think you're invincible or this could happen to you....






...cause man, you know that's going to hurt later (let alone the four ribs just below that).





Bummer dude. Hope you heal up soon.

Today we drove up to the beautiful Okanagan Valley. Gotta love that view.






A few flats kept us honest, but today was a nice way to get the coastal damp out of the system.





David airs out his shorts....





...and the Tominator earns a new nickname....."The Speedometer".







Oh, those Germans.

ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!! Day 2, and it's Fromme for this one.






David get's his ya ya's out on the Sideshow drop. Who's that guy under the lip?





Right....good job then. Wade get's a pre-tour warm up before his big trip next week, and the boy gets a bit of a bonus early in the trip.





Then it was time for Barb to school the boys on Upper Oil Can.







Some good vantage points on Air Supply.





The Tominator gets "Pimped" on the Crippler.






...and yet another artsy fartsy blur, this time of "Skinny Man" Jan.

Ahhh, finally I've gotten around to another round of updates. OK then, here we go.


Up now is a German crew courtesy of Phil at DropInTours.


Maybe not the most original of names, but anyway, here they are. That's David with fingers in his ear. He won a contest to come out here. Hubertus, Jan and the Tominator all paid for the priveledge. There's also a few Scots to be seen, in the form of another Phil, Alexander, and the lovely Lynn.






Here's the Tominator getting acquainted with CBC.






More CBC stuff.





The crew was in fine form for this one, especially Scottish Phil.




The flying Scotsman.





The other Phil was the falling German. This is half a second before a solid 8 foot bail on the new Corkscrew line.





..and more Phil on the second lap.





As ize 87 for madame then? Very well....






Crazy Scottish chicks...I tell ya.

Last day, man it sure comes around quick. We hit up Seymour for one last lap to style up all those lines the crew got familiar with this week.





Some of us were more 'familiar' with some lines than others. Gonna miss that log Gary?







Bad light = serene black and white images.






More random Seymour riders cruising through.






Gary finally gets it up on the CBC wall.






Donny, with a skewed perspective on things.







That's it, you're done. Massive pile ups mean it's time to go. On to Whistler. Stay safe and go big boys. See ya next time. Demo and Andy....you've got some 'splainin to do!





..and for the last time, clean up your crap on the trails or I'm sending Harley after ya.

Who wants a new Cove DH bike?






Cypress today. Boombatz gets pic of the day for this line. You might recognise it from an IRC ad from recent bike mags.





We ran into a few celebs today. James Doerfling (up and comer if you haven't heard of him yet), Chris Glew, and Dylan Treemblay were hanging out at the top of SexBoy.






...and another blurry late aftrenoon shot to leave off with. Not so many pics today, just riding. Some things aren't meant to be shared.

YTou guys thought I was hurting you yesterday? HAH!! Today we ride Fromme, and I mean ride. No shuttles on Fromme my friends. It's so worth it (just ask Boombatz).



Taro even made it up to the top in good enough shape to hit the lines on Upper Oil Can.











Gary made it a clean sweep of the trail with this styling move on Big Smooth.






Then we had to spend some time on Air Supply. Unfortunately, I missed Boombatz on Sideshow ( I can't get them all, sorry) but I did get this angle on the Air Supply gaps.







The guys from Dark Cycles stopped by to put on a clinic after their trail maintenance day on the Pink Starfish.





Gary! Put that dirty hose away!






Nice shuttle vehicle. Only in North Van....

This is the first day of the FreeRideSouth trip, but my buddy Brent from Etnies was also here, so its the full on sunshine states experience on this one.


First off, if you've never checked out FreeRideSouth, then do it now. Big Andy and Demo Dave should have been here, but rumour has it that they're both scared and/or possibly old. Seriously boys, we miss ya. When are you coming back?


Secondly, Brent: Thanks for the new kicks, eh?


OK, on to the riding.



Gary thinks it's hard.....








Donny thought otherwise. NOt bad for a bunch of Flori