We used to be neighbours, sort of. They're Wade's neighbours anyways. But they came out for a rip to the Okanagan, so here we are....



Totally gapping on everyone's names. I think the summer has caught up with me. Too much riding, not enough sleeping....



Another typical day on Powers Creek.






Well, except for the time warp on the spiral ramp. If you ever want to be in two places at once....







Oh, and a really big bug. This is a Pine Sawyer beetle, and it sure is funky looking. That's my thumb for size comparison, so you know it's a decent size.

Yeah, that was an epic day alright. Start in Pemby, pick up crew in Whistler, ride the Shore, then drop everyone at respective hotels and pin it for home. Where I found 14 drunk Shore-ians and a ceramic chicken on my deck. You may want to skip todays post if you find sexual innuendo offensive.....yeah right.



So let the stupid puns begin:

Cock tease...


???


Cold cock...


Chokin' the chicken...


Cockney (Cock knee, get it?)...


Sef-explanatory...


Cock lube....


Cock/stuffed pussy....


Cock and balls...


Cock ring....


Cock tail...


OK, enough of that. Everyone is up bright and early for some riding, so lets get on with it.



Check out the crew...



Now look a little closer. See that mug? A better explanation of the mug shenanigans is HERE.



We actually did ride bikes today. A lap on Builders Only.



With the usual floaters...



...and senders that riding Powers entails.





Gotta take a break before lap two.



Yes Sarah, that's all you.



Round 2 and the Mug is seen on a suspension bridge.



Too bad Dan didn't notice it.



Aimee on the big teeter. Layne, what a gentleman. Spotting for the lady. He's actuallyhoping she falls of him (she may have aready fallen FOR him. I haven't kept updated on the status there though).



It actually will come down at some point, you just have to be patient.



Gratuitous hot girl on a bike shot. Oh, and Aaron from the Bean too.



And a decent air shot for dessert.

Each day better than the last, eh? You can't NOT go to the Shore, so here we are....



After Pemby and Squampton, the Shore is EASY.





As always, Dan is along for the ride, and making us all look like chumps.



Well, not quite all of us. Richard (or is that Dave?) was charging lots of lines today.





Big wood, anyone?



OK, some gratuitous Millemium Log shots. I know, you've seen these angle bfore, but they don't really get old, do they?





Further down we sessioned Salvation.





Showoff...





Tis is where things got weird. Kris Holm and a pack of uni-tards were out on Pangor, and few of them could actually ride.



See, this line is kind of tricky on two wheels.



Well, it took a couple of these guys to get 2 wheels down that one. Note the gap....





Meh...whatever. It's still the MTB equivalent of a fat chick. Might be fun to ride, but not around friends....

2nd lap we got off the beaten path for a Dales/Aftertaste run. Still a classic.....





Aftertaste had a few surprises for us. This is a new line near the end, 2 huge linked rock faces with not quite enough room to stop in between. I think the steeps of the past couple of days must have made an impression, because Dave killed this line.



A great couple of days riding with some nice folks. I think they may be back.....

Now I have a four hour drive to my house, which sounds like it may have been invaded in my absence.

Let keep this Sea-To-Sky theme going, shall we? OK then, we're off to Squamish. How about a warmup run on Ditch Pig?



May as well. We lost a member of our crew today. Poor James, the steeps were just a little too humbling. Well, he actually had to go home to his girly. I think it's easier to say the trails were too hard than to admit to your buddies that you're whipped. Hey, it was his call. Sylvester didnt' have that choice, and sent it on Ditch Pig without a conscience.



..and Richard too, natch.



The weather continued to co-operate, and even though we lost one member of the tribe today, we gained another with our old pal Shane.



Ready To Fly is a new line in Squampton, and it's got this cool berm to play with.



Shane didn't look ready to fly at all.



Everyone else did though.



Say hi to Courtney and Max. Max is Courtney's "excuse" for not working for me this year. Hmph.



After lunch we only got one more lap, but it was a long one. I was sort of down on Squamish for a while, as the trails were getting kind of trashed, but I gotta say that I had my best Squamish day in several year today. Sylvester seems to agree on this air in Deliverance.

It's been a while since I've a) ridden with anyone from Ottawa, and b) ridden in Pemberton. Time to kill 2 with one so to speak.



Our buddy Dan has decided to join in for the rip too. Kind of a no brainer, as he lives in Pemby and I hit him for a place to sleep. For those of you who haven't ridden in Pemby, most of the trails are really steep, and more or less fall line. OUr Ontario friends were about to find this out in a hurry.



I missed the Creampuff warmup, but got into the act in time to expereince this rockface on Grumpy Grouse.



We got everyone down this one, and maged to set a pretty good tone for the day as a result.



The scenery in Pemby makes everyone feel pretty good about the riding being a bit over the top anyway.



Goof...



A LOT of pro DH racers call the area home, so there's plenty of killer berms and advanced features to play on.







Since we felt so assured, we decided to hit up Cop Killer. Well, mainly because Gravitron looked like it was too far of a climb to bother with.



The boys killed it onthe first hit of Cop Killer.



James in particular was sort of nervous about this trail, but he made this air look easy.



It was the lander he made look a bit hard.



Dan making a HUGE rockface look easy. Trust me, that one is hairy, especially with a loose downhill runout pointing at a rockfield.



Pic of the day. Dave(?) and the Pemberton Valley.



No, Dan isn't falling down. Just a little maintenance on some loose rock in one seriously gnarly chute. He rode it, but it wasn't exactly pretty.



After lunch we toned it down and hit some mellower trails like Indy and this little hidden gem over past Mosquito Lake.





Not too bad of a day, somewhat punishing, but any day that ends with cold beers and a swim is OK by me.

Wa and Zak are back, this time on the way to Nelson, so we managed another ride with them. They brought along a new guy...



Oh wait, that's not him. That's a Great Basin Spadefoot Toad. I was a bit tired still from all the recent activity, so we went for a bit of an exploration over by the Myra Canyon/Bellvue trails.



The old Crawford DH is another great lap for nice scenery and flowy singletrack. How many of htese can I stand to have close by?



Yep, scenic...



..and flowy.



Catch another point of view over at ChocolateFoot.

Well, the Wade Tour might be over, but I'm still in North Van. Looks like I've got a "local" tour to do, just for old time sake. Ian was in town for some Nokia related conference, and we managed to hook up a couple of laps on Seymour.



Yup, that's Seymour alright.



Not only did we get a chance to rip Seymour, but Ian also got to ride a new Slayer on CBC.



Seems to work OK, too.



Oh, and we also got to sample some fresh woodwork on Corkscrew. The old Corkscrew is dead, long live the Corkscrew!



To cap it all off, we ran across a guinea pig that sent the Piledriver drop for the camera.



Better him than me. Another day, another adventure...

Well here we are, on the last ful day of the tour.

You'd think by now Wade would have figured out how to put up a tent.



Of course, you'd also think he'd know how to ride a log, too.



Harper Mtn., still my favourite riding spot of all time. So much flow and variety here, anyone is going to have a great day on this stuff.







While everyone was riding great, today was really the Barb Haley show. I think that the rest of the crew might have bee a little tired on their TENTH DAY.





Well, and George had gone home too. He kind of wrecked his back at SilverStar. That put the pressure on Niclas to step up his game. Which he did in fine fashion.



For that matter, Niclas really came out of his shell in the last couple of days of the trip and had us all laughing.



Nicole, tired though she might have been after ten days, also felt the Harper vibe and continued to beat every hit into submission.



Tihs would be Andreas, our random Austrian. We ran into Andreas at the bottom of the hill and set up some shuttles with him. He was pretty stoked to be riding with our crew (cycling fame is a much bigger deal in Europe). Maybe a little TOO stoked (cue the foreshadow music).



More of the Barb Haley show...



..and the Wade show.



Oh, our old pal Nelly from Williams Lake also made a guest appearance. So even without Danika (she had to go home yesterday) there were still lots of girlies rocking the big moves in our crew.



In fact, on this particular set, there were MORE girls than boys hitting it up.



Now this may have led to some other events down further. I'm not sure...



Of course, it could have been the Williams Lake girls' tradition of "flashing" just before the boys hit the lip of the jump...



I'm really not sure.



At any rate, Andreas bit off a bit more than he could chew on one of the gaps and ended up casing a lip, which led to this:



So for the first time ALL tour the 1st Aid Kit came out. Typical that it's for someone not actually on tour. We cleaned him up and bandaged him as best as possible, and sent him to the hospital.

Ten stitches. Not a bad souvenier, even if he says that he never noticed the "flash."

Bike park time. Welcome to SilverStar!



That's Robin there hanging out with Wade. If you're wondering why SilverStar is suddenly the big buzz in the bike world, then there' s your man.

The berms that they make there are helping too.





I only managed a couple of runs and had to go lie down. Stupid arm hurts like a mother. So I couldn't take pics today, and I think the crew was too busy tearing it up to stop and get good shots.



I mean, I don't even know who this guy on the hardtail is. Apart from being a bit of a ripper, that is...





I think you get the idea from these shots though. Lots of cool construction, and a very different flavour than the other parks.







OK, that was lots of fun, but I gotta get back on my bike. Lets go to Kamloops!

Wait a sec....weren't we just in the Kootenays? How'd we get to Penticton?

Yep...that was a late night drive if there ever was one. Owing to my stupidity of the day before, I elected to take today off and rest the arm a little, but my bike got to get out and play courtesy of Danika.







Dang that bike looks good.

So, without the fearless leader, the crew had a solid session on the Peat Bog today. With Danika and Barb setting the pace, everyone else sent petty much all the moves out there on sight.



Some stuff, like this jump in particular, got sessioned to death.



Can't blame them for wanting more of this action though.





Maybe because I couldn't come along, they took more pics for me to vicariously experience the day? I don't know....





Here's Nicole styling a little techy corner that most folks avoid. Sort of a little corkscrew/wall drop thing...



Ho hum....floater wood table...





Second time around, and Nicole just HAS to get this teeter figured out...



I think it was just a ploy to end up in George's arms....



Meh...just a thought. Realy, they were gettingit together for Knuckleduster.



Nice no-hander, Wade.



Hey, Niclas is going sort of big today.



Oh wait...so is Nicole. You know, I think less than a half-dozen girls have hit that thing.



Of course, you can't win 'em all...



Oh....that's how its supposed to go. Now I get it.



See? Perfect sense...



Lower down, there's a good sized gully to hit. Gotta be about 30 feet-ish. See it...



...hit it. George gets inspired and nails it. Man...I remember when stuff like that seemed big.



Oh wait, it still does....

OK, this is the reason why I ride bikes. Epics.....I love epics. Especially when they start with the largest water bomber in the world overflying the ferry you gotta take to get to the trails....



OK, so maybe Ian looks...non-plussed.



Holt, Wade and Nicole seem up for it.



It was an epic drive just to start off this one. We had to cross Kootenay Lake to Crawford Bay, then drive over Gray Creek Pass into the heart of the Purcell Mtns. 60 km of gravel got us into this valley:



Since we couldn't get anyone to be our shuttle driver, the task fell to the lovely Danika. Does here lower lip seem a little larger than usual in this pic?



I don't know what she was bummed about, it was obviously going to be a bit of a climb.



The PowerBoys do this climb to the pass over into Lockhart Creek in an hour, so I was thinking a little under 2 for our crew....



Because mere mortals such as we are, we require....uhhh.....rest stops.



Even Wade couldn't pedal up this stuff.



Kind of scenic climbing for all that it was a bit rough.



Some trees to put it in perspective. That's Nicole in there somewhere.



Some deep shrubbery as we got close to the summit.



Almost there means a good excuse to crack a smile.



Artsy fartsy shot.



Snack break with some 9 000' peaks in the background.



Action shots....





The reality behind the action shots. Next time you see a pro rider in one of those epic backcountry shots, here's how it really happens.



Ahhhh, finally the top. I made everyone enjoy a brief moment of silence at the top with closed eyes...



Just so I could crack a beer to break the moment. Good times....good times.



The first pitch was quite technical, and really scenic, so we took some time to shoot some pics.



This rocky area was the setting for an epic shot of our late buddy, Pat von Blumen. Couldn't find the shot online, but if you want to see some epic shots by the same guy, check out Dave Heath's site.





Look close, there's a rider in there someplace...



Wade at work again....





OK, so shortly after this shot, we got the greenlight from the photographers to start rippin. I was all keyed up from being in such a stupendous arena that I kind of lost my head and started pinning it on some sketchy sidehill. Wade said it was one of the more violent crashes he's seen. I ended up cartwheeling about 60 feet and got out of it with some holes in my tongue, a chipped tooth, assorted bruises, and a hyperextended elbow ( I found out later that I got a hairline fracture in my humerus too). Ooops. I'm an idiot. Oh well, I was overdue for a good bail.

I hope it didn't impact anyone elses day too much.



The trail down Lockhart Creek semed more like the coast than the deep interior. Huge trees and a dark forest. The only part that was like the interior was the speed. I've nover gone so fast in big trees.



Niclas is a big dude. Those trees are bigger...



Can't even get Wade in focus. It's fas-s-s-s-s-t....



All I remember about the lower part of the trail was preloading into corners with both wheels drifting.....for like an hour straight. Totally worth it.

Oh, and some beers on the beach at the bottom were sort of OK, too.



If one thing could improve that day.....I think some pints over dinner at the local were maybe all I could come up with.

Cheers! That was epic.....



Oh, and I've got a special treat for all you geography geeks out there. Check out Lockhart Creek with Google Earth.

Today we hooke dup with another old friend, Heath Lockhurst. Heath has been building a trail near Blewitt for the last couple of years. It's already about 3000' vertical, and another 1500 should be added by next year.



Still, even though "Tasters Choice" isn't all that ridden, it's still steep and loose enough to toss a few of us around.



Nicole was on fire today, sending some healthy gaps with style.



The girls chose to just watch on this particular drop. Wade (shown) Heath and Gearge all pulled it off successfully, but only just. Sketchy runout....





The lower sections had some serious Shore flava about them.



Another day, another huge ride and a swim in the lake after.



We cut things a bit short to give Danika a chance to cook up a storm.



Her first real mountain bike ride in months, so we had to celebrate.



Well, actually, we cut things short because we have an epic in store for tomorrow, and we're going to need all our strength for that. I'm even doing up lunches for everyone.



No, not liquid lunches...



Get some rest, people. Tomorrow is HUGE.

Ahh yes, time for "Cooking with the Stars." What's on for breakfast, Holmes?



It had better be good. We're up Goldmember today. Another huge lap to line up. Mike looks concerned about the steeps...



Ahh, those trees are soft. Just run into 'em if you gotta. Or just boost over 'em. Whatever works for you....



Ian with a backpack. That's a bit more Whistler....



Holt got out for the ride AGAIN. After riding the Koots for over a decade, we finally put it together for some rides and here we are riding every day.




Niclas with a perfect Mary Lou Retton dismount.



OK, sorta rough shots and they really don't show it, but I managed to get the Burl Ives log clean from the start. I was pretty stoked on this one. Steeper and gnarlier than you'd think.





George and Jeff rode around the log and had a tough enough time just hanging on to the pooter. It's so dry up here right now.





No problem. Lunch at a lake.





Round two I bailed again to get food (and recover the pack that I left at the lake). everyone else hit Slabalanche, which was probably the best trail we hit for the local stuff. It usually involves a harsh climb, so it doesn't get much summer traffic. We lucked out and got an open gate.









Can't tell you much about the ride, except that everyone seemed to have a great time without me....(sniff!)....



Ahhh, I rode it a couple of springs ago. It's pretty sweet, lots of wicked rock faces and nicer woodwork than lots of other trails.









Oh, and it ends at a lake.



And there were steaks afterwards...



And drinking games...



And Danika joined us.....



Whew!! Sort of makes up for yesterdays lack of pics. Alright, tomorrow is Danika's first freeride rip since she almost broke her neck at Worlds last year. Will she remember how to ride?

What the? Only 5 pics today?

Well, I'll make up for it later.......



It some in town stuff today. We were all sort of punched by yesterday, and I don't want to work the crew too hard. We rode up Mtn. Station, which is really similar to Fromme in North Van.



Skinnies and ramps and you gotta climb it all.





Oh, and a bit of new stuff too. The crew was sending it pretty hard on some really technical lines. Pretty wild.



There was a second lap on Placenta Descenta, but I skipped that one to prepare some food for the troops. More ripper steep DH riding, maybe another 2800 feet to a swim at the bottom.

Bonus pics for tomorrow.

Settled in to our mansion? Check.

Fueled up with a massive breakfast? Check.

Hooked up with the local cat skiing lodge for a 6500 vertical foot singletrack adventure with one of the owners? Oh yeah, check it....



Baldface Snowcat Lodge is getting in on the summer action, and we got to be the very first commerical crew to go through their area. It's pretty raw at the moment, but it will get much better as time goes on. With this much terrain at their disposal, it will continue to improve for many years to come.

As it stands right now, there's a little bit of uphill to deal with, but compared to the size of the down....whatever, man.



A nice littel view from the top. That smoke in the distance is a small forest fire burning in the West Kokanee Creek. As we sat up at the top we watched it jump the ridge into Springer Creek.





Our local guides included Jeff Pensiero, one of the owners of Baldface. He's got soe style, that Jeff. Check out those shoelaces. Oh and a button down is de riguer when you're at 7200 feet.



Also along for the rip was local trailbuilder extrodinaire Mark Holt, who also owns a local shop called the Sacred Ride in Nelson. This next pic isn't Holt though. That's Niclas, our token German.



As usual, George was flying high. Did I mention that he's a helicopter pilot for the Canadaian Armed Forces? Sort of seems appropriate...



Mike was also getting his gap on today. He's been ramping it up a little bit every day. Could be interesting later in the week...



Oh right, that Wade guy was there too. These trails were cut by another freeride legend by the name of Mike Kinrade. We were looking at some of the jumps that Mike's been building and even the illustrious Wade was struck by the HUGE size of the hits. Like 60 foot stepdown gaps in the alpine huge.



Hey Nicole, that's a gap. Surprise.



Jeff, just another day at the office.





Mike, trying out for his assistant position.



Not much in the way of stunts up there, but there's the occasional bridge where necesarry. They get so much snow up there that a little plank system isn't gonna last very long.







Around the halfway mark we stopped for a little "swim."



I love flat tires. Can't you tell?



Oh look, it's our old friend Ronny Red! Hi Ron, got any Kokanee?**



**Ron appeared in a commercial for Kokanee about a hundred years ago where he went skiing, mtn biking, and kayaking all in the same day, with the same beer. "Same guy, same day, same beer." Get it?

Oh, and that fire that blew across the ridge at lunch? Well, it exploded into some seriously dry timber and went on a massive run. At this point (August 30th) it's still burning and doesn't look like it's going to be completely out for another month or so.

We came down the ridge with the shadow on it on the left. Thanks to our buddy Dickie for the shot of the mushroom cloud.

Oh...it's a travel day. Gotta get to the Kootenays, ya know.



There's always something to look at on these drives. For instance, this was a nice view. Too bad we missed the sideboob shot...



We got to Nelson in plenty of time to crack off a little ride on Bedframe.



Total crap views. The forest fire situation was lending a bit of haze, but other than that it was fine.