I am now approx half way through my stay here in Whistler. And I`m enjoying it more and more every day. This is the kind of place I would really like to have my "holiday apartment" when I grow up and get filthy rich;) Living in whistler is just marginally cheaper than Norway, so you need lots of cash if you want to stay for a while. Especially since the bikepark terrain seems to EAT bikes. The "advanced" and "expert" trails are tough on wheels and suspension, and the "intermediate" trails are full of brake bumps through every corner and before every jump. Since my downhill racebike is out of order, I`ve ridden my trailbike in the park for the last two weeks, and it has coped with absolutely everything I have encountered on the mountain. Even a 3,5-4meter drop with bad landing! The frame is pretty much indistructible. But it is a little short on suspension and the wheels get a new dent every day. It is also very light, and jumps far too easily. If you preload just a tad too much before a takeoff, you are sure to overshoot the landing and land hard on the flat. Riding this "twitchy" bike in extreme terrain has really improved my skills. But not without a price. Three days ago, I blew up the rebound on my suspension fork. And that makes it feel quite similar to a pogo stick, wich makes the bike handle like sh#t and also wears out my hands. So for the last couple of days, I haven`t been riding that much. But lucky for me, I`m surrounded by nice (and injured) people. One of the brithish guys in my lodge, Josh, hurt his thumb two days ago, and is not able to ride. When he is not riding, he is figthing for the British army in Afganistan. A brave man indeed. Brave enough to lend me his Intense SS freeridebike for a day. Even though he knew that I already had wrecked two bikes. To make me ride a bit more carefully, I put the camera in my backpack.
The upper lift of the bikepark, the "Garbanzo express" opened this weekend, enabeling access to a large network of trails. When you hook up the upper network with the lower, you have a epic 20minute descent, with an endless amount of extremely diverce trail combinations. A straightforward surreal experience. I will get my downhillbike fixed tomorrow, and I`m really looking forward to that, because this will give me a huge "skill boost" from riding short travel bike for two weeks. And it also enables me to ride with more confidence, and less wear and tear on my body from the short, stiff suspension on my trailbike.
Apart from biking, the life in whistler is "top notch", "tip top" and "the dogs danglers". (mixture of UK/aussie superlative-phrases) The last couple of days, we`ve had about 30-35 degrees celsius in the shade and blue skies. Yesterday, I even went for a swim in Lake Alta Vista. Perfect cooling for sunburnt skin:)
On wednesday, I went into Summit bike shop to buy a new headset for my downhillbike. I didn`t bring my code lock, so I asked a responsible looking guy sitting outside if he could watch my bike for five minutes. When i walked down the stairs in the bikeshop It suddenly hit me: "Damn! That guy was actually Richie Schley!!" Richie is pretty much the inventor of extreme mountainbiking. As far as drops, "skinnies" and stunts are concerned. He is one of the absolute biggest names in Freeride Mountainbiking history, and he has also designed several bikeparks in Europe, as well as my favourite trail on Whistler mountain, the "Schleyer". We ended up talking for about 15minutes. And the next day, we shared the same chairlift. He was a really cool guy, and actually remembered my name from the day before. Of course, I told him to go to western Norway and do some epic summit riding:)
When I first arrived in whistler I had never seen a bear in my entire life. Now, I see several every single day. I`ve even had two close encounters going "flat out" down the trail. I always act respectfully and with caution around the bears. But I`m certainly not afraid of them anymore;) Today, one of my roommates, Darren, spotted two bears "humpin` like hamsters" 5metres below the chairlift. And by coincidence, the lift came to a stop for five minutes right above the happy couple. Who needs "animal planet" eh..?
The pictures I`ve added is me, sitting in the "garbanzo express", and a scenic picture of Josh`s bike at the top of the mountain.
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