'2 Broken Ribs, 1 Cracked Rib, 1 Bruised Lung, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree....

Whistler... During the winter this place is alive with skiers, snowboarders and those who enjoy freezing cold temperatures. But in summer it's still a hive of activity. Swapping snow for dust and dirt there seems to be no let up here, for the town plays host to mountain bikers of all disciplines. Of course these are not the only activities you can and will find here, it's the only ones we are interested in.

Rainbow Mountain Flank Trail

Yes it is all it's cracked up to be and probably a bit more. Being that we do more cross country riding, ripping up trails and hitting very few big jumps it was only fitting that we should hire some downhill bikes and get on the slope. There are lots of places to hire the gear as such, but we opted for an all inclusive deal that got us bikes, lift passes, body protection and of course instructor/guides for the day. Worth ever penny I can tell ya, and a must if you have never ridden here before.

Ride Fast & Don't Look Down

But before I go any further I must mention that on 3 separate occasions, 2 going up on the chair lifts and one cycling past the golf course, I saw black bears.. Yes the illusive but very cute bears have shown themselves, along with an ever so cuddly looking cub.

Esther Sporting Red Appareal and Body Armour

The Pros' at Work

Race Day!

Suited up like gladiators we headed for the chair lift sporting big hit bikes with loads of travel, Kona Stinky, or as I like to now call them, Kona Rib Breakers.. Not light, these bikes were going to take a bit of getting use to, lucky we had instructors for the day. Being that Crankworks is in full swing it is really busy, and there is more people than you can poke a stick at. We did manage to find some quieter trails with good ladder rides, lots of rocks and roots as well as good drops. The first half of the day was spent getting to know the bikes, learning some new cornering and braking techniques. Admittedly there is much more to this than I thought, and have a new found respect for downhill biking, and the bikes which are very very forgiving. You can literally point and shoot with these rigs and they go where they want. Even Esther was quick to try some harder faster runs that with normal cross-country bike rides would have you walking or carrying the bike. She was jumping and popping the bike in no time, hitting some hard trails littered with big rock and roots, enough to test even the best of riders. It is amazing how fast your skill level can go up, but I don't see me jumping to change from trail riding to downhill, not yet anyway.

Warming Up on 'Express Way'

Of course it's not all about speed, its technique and respect for the bike, staying within your limits, otherwise a loss of focus can be costly..
After lunch I was paired up with another guy who wanted to learn jump techniques under the instruction of our guide Cory. He explained that it's saddle time and lots of practice that will get us off the ground, but he was certainly going to give us the tools we needed and quick tips to get started fast.
After a few runs the bike was feeling good, corners seemed to pass faster and smoother. Those rocks and roots got softer as the bike glided on over, but it was the jumps that got my heart racing as the excitement was building. It's hard to explain how it feels to ride them properly, not that everyone was great but hitting them at the right speed and feeling the bike fly with ease is a wicked sensation. Cory took us to the top of the mountain for the final run of the day, it was a long ride up in the chair lift, but was going to be even longer on the way down.....

'A River Runs Through It'

Previous to this day, both Esther and I went on some great trails around the mountains here, after all, long before people were taking chairlifts to bike down, this was the cross-country, trail riding mecca of BC, and to some extent still is. Our adventures took us up and around trails like 'Lost Lake Park' featuring the awesome Whistler Valley single tracks. Into the 'Emerald Forest' we carried on to 'A River Runs Through It'. Energy zapping trails that make your lungs and legs burn. An epic ride took us up onto the 'Rainbow-Sproatt Flank Trail', killer climbs up to 1400 metres on what were continuous rocky single tracks. Numerous switch-backs were a joy coming down, but great views over the mountains at the top were excellent. Heaps of glaciers high in the mountains surrounded us, and below were lake vistas and endless forests. A land of contrasts that in winter would look even wilder.

Descending 'Rainbow-Sproatt Flank Trail'

There are a few wall rides in the mix, but mostly it's air time and just trying to practice what we were shown earlier. The last half  of 'Crank It Up' was going well, nice flowing, compressing the suspension and letting the bike pop over the ramps.
Half way down I cleared a sweet ramp and was already eyeing up the top of the next. Focused, I got into position and started to press down on the front of the bike, but it all happened so fast. The front wheel hit a small ramp about a third of the way from the top, which I didn't see. The handlebars came straight up into my left hand side and smashed my ribs before bucking me off and into the bushes at the side of the trail. Winded but able to stand I managed to climb back on the bike and roll onto the bottom of the hill. Not feeling to bad at this stage it was only when I  sat down with Esther for coffee, after we checked the bikes back in, that it hit me.

Follow The Leader

Picking Up Speed, 'Upper Crank It Up'

It was a slow and very painful walk to the Medical Centre, but it revealed that it was worse than I expected. After all this was a holiday of discovering the best trails Canada's West coast had to offer..

Still Smiling

Yip, I'm Done

Not feeling very heroic right now, but slightly defeated and deflated, I am into recovery mode. Not allowed to fly for 6 weeks, or take any high altitude road trips for fear of any further lung damage, it's looks like we may be heading back to sea level. Bummer, but you get that on the big jobs right!