Bush Pilot Biking :: Trip Log

Coast Trip

2008-11-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

Back to the old ‘hood for a visit, and who do I run into right away?

Yep, some of the old hoods.

Dan, Chaz, the Steves, and Kristian. Oh, and the streak is still alive. Once again, I rode a new trail on Seymour.

I could tell you where it is, but then I’d have to kill you, and that’s just not good for business.

McDougall Trail Buffage

2008-11-16T16:36:00.000-08:00

Rob has been a busy boy, out exploring and clearing up McDougall. He ran into some fairly serious blowdown out on some of the older sections of trail and got a bunch of us out to help clear it.

A great way to spend a fall day. And since I didn’t ride, these lucky mugs got a hassle free shuttle so they could shred their results.

Club Appreciation Day

2008-11-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

The local bike club, MTBco, had a little member appreciation day. Much flailing about with beer can chicken and some riding the trails at Postill.

Good time, as per usual.

Maybe the cooks should have found a different way to empty the beer cans though.

More Big Mountains

2008-11-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Keeping the theme of yesterday, we banged out another big one today in the form of McDougall.

As usual with McDougall, not a lot of shots, but a lot of riding. A rare wet one out there, with just enough sun to make it memorable.

Fall Classic

2008-11-02T00:33:00.000-07:00

More coastal types up for a visit from the big city today. They brought a little taste of that coastal living too.

Not that we get real rain up here anyway. Actually, it seems to me that it’s still warmer up here than when it snowed on us back in July.

Yes, that’s Kobau. Not only Dan of “The Mug” fame, but also the Brodie girls, Summer and Spice came out.

Oh wait, they’re boys. Oh, and Gary always comes out for the South Okanagan romps.

Yep, looking sorta misty out there.

Maybe not as epic in the pics, but it’s better traction that summertime.

Proof that Dan’s jacket isn’t always the most colourful thing out there.

LOTS of colour here. I love how the orchards and vineyards look at this time of year.

Summers got a new camera. Haven’t seen any results from this day though. A good half of mine had a big wet blotch on the lens that I didn’t notice until later. Oh well, maybe I’ll start actually looking at what I’m shooting again.

Of course, we wouldn’t be content with just one lap, so it was back to the top for a TKO run.

I promised Dan a 9 000’ day, and he got it.

Although it was admittedly a bit damper down here. You don’t see these guys walk much, but it was gNarley down here.

Still, no dawdling allowed. the tasting room at Hester Creek closes early at this time of year.

Yeah, 9000’ of descending, and a winery at the bottom. That never gets old.

MBTA Trails Symposium

2008-10-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

In the ongoing struggle to maintain fair access for users, we’re trying to get our collective act together. One way is through a Tourism Association. In this case, its the MBTA. Say hello to your future….

Yes, these are the folks that are guiding the future of the sport.

A multi talented bunch if there ever was one.

Well, they do have some saving graces….

Actually, a very positive gathering of interesting folks. Not sure if we’re doing the right thing, but at least we’re doing some thing.

P.S. – Happy 70th Birthday Dad.

One for the Cove

2008-10-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

Here’s one for the old Cove homies….

Yeah, that’s my girl.

Takin’ a poo.

You can take the guy outta the Cove, but – ahh never mind.

Wade’s Stag

2008-10-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry ladies, it’s official. Simmons is off the market.

Brett was so upset that he hurled himself into a window….

Nahhh….he’s just kidding.

Now, keep in mind that this is a stag. You don’t want to try to do anything foolish like sleep.

Years of racing on the World Cup circuit have taken their toll on Bruce. Luckily we all have a lot of pity in our hearts.

Pity the fool.

OK, I’m done. You can caption this one yourself.

We actually rode bikes too. Some kind of 50km mystery XC ride.

Brett’s never done one of these before, so it’s a good thing he sandbagged himself last night.

Having an all star cast of thousands sure helped. Not like there were any of the best ultimate distance athletes on the ride or anything but….

…yeah.

Oops. Joe missed the trail.

Well, we made it. Here Wade, celebrate.

You guys look tired.

Maybe Dre can motivate you with a speech.

Ahhh yes, how riveting.

Allow me to retort.

Yep, hell hath frozen over. Wade’s getting married. Oh, and Schley too, but his party wasn’t as fun.

Random

2008-10-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

Caution, extreme badgering….

Yeah, it’s a real sign. If you’re currently reading this from the UK, there’s yet another reason to come and visit. I’m still looking for the “Caution, Flaming Weasel Poo” sign though….

More Williams Lake Family

2008-10-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

You don’t see a lot of pics of me with the baby, so here you go.

I was on babysitting duty while Barb got a shred in with the local girls. Yes, that’s a pickup truck full of chicks and bikes. Welcome to the Puddle, yo.

And now a few shots of the guardians….

Mama Shreddie, also known as Lenora, our unoffical Grannie of the North.

My man Shreddie, who is officially responsible for Siobhan’s spiritual well being…

..and Guiness, who loves the way she tastes (babies are usually covered in food).

Family Style in the Puddle

2008-10-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

After many years of needling and cajoling, I finally got the rest of the family to come up to Williams Lake for a visit. Not only that, I even got the old boy to bring his (gasp!) mountain bike for a little jaunt through the Chilcotin Plateau.

He picked a good day for it.

Perhaps not the usual challenging terrain that we seek out, but to cruise for miles under a fall sky in interior grasslands is pretty awesome in itself.

We had to keep it sort of short. Not only is Dad a bit unused to the fatter tires (he’s a roadie….), but I was under some pressure for the second part of today.

Still, it was tough to hurry things along much with vistas like this at every turn.

However, it was Barb’s triumphant return to the bike after the whole pregnancy/giving birth kafuffle.

Hard to find a better place for it, really.

Typical, after only riding twice in almost a year…

…she’s harly missed a beat.

Pop is feeling a bit slow after his morning ride. Look at how long it’s taking him to take a picture.

Siobhan is suitably impressed by Farwell Canyon.

Oh right… airtime.

Welcome back, Barb.

MTBco Club Shuttle Day

2008-10-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Our first day of club shuttles. With Justin on the bench with a blown knee, and myself just too damn tired to think straight, we threw down a day of shuttles for MTBco club members up on Gillard.

It turned out to be quite popular, with over 50 members coming out to play.

A gorgeous fall day with lots of dust and small amount of frost helped.

One of Gillard’s foremost builders was out showing off his new rig. That new Shore from Norco is a killer rig. Way to go, Ken.

New World Disorder 9

2008-10-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

The latest New World Disorder premiere in Kelowna, courtesy of Kelowna Cycle.

Awfully nice of them to make the proceeds over to the Bike Club.

With about 450 people attending, I think we may have had one of the biggest premieres in Canada. Thanks to everyone who came out and especially Kelowna Cycle and the City of Kelowna. Killer flick, good crowd, and the club made some money.

Cycleactive Returns

2008-10-01T22:39:00.001-07:00

The owner of Cycleactive came by today for a little R&D. We did a trip for his company back in 2005, but we've never met before.

He didn't have a lot of time, but we managed a little rip out on the Mice near Naramata. The usual crap weather and scenery ensued...

Oh, and his charming wife came along for the adventure as well.

No need to hide fromthe paparazzi, it's just me. We thought we'd try another winery at the end of the ride, as there's so many to choose from. This time it's the Red Rooster.

Good thing her name's Siobhan, not Art....

I don't think she likes Pirates either.

Only a couple of months old and already she's thrown up in a restaurant. That's my girl.....

Bonus map today:

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Powers Creek Trail Day

2008-09-28T22:15:00.002-07:00

It's maintenance time again, courtesy of the MTBco and Outbound Cycle....and of course yours truly.

Awww... baby's first trail day. There's all my girls.

We thought be doing a trail day in the fall that we'd have great conditions to buff out the trail.

Well, maybe it's a bit too dry. We did manage a few good things, but mostly we made piles of sand and clouds of dust.

Some much needed carpentry got done on the failing teeters at the swamp.

Some lucky gack winners. You should always stay to the end. No mail in prizes here.

Oh, and some new work got opened near the bottom. Justin's creation finally is finished, and it's a good'un. Schnepf styled it out for the camera (note that he did NOT dig today. He's sort of A.D.D., we'll let it go this time).

Really?

2008-09-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Really....I didn't drink 'em.

Remember last week when I stole the boys beer?

I'm sort of full of brews these days, and never got around to killing this sixpack.

Looks to me like someone else is thirsty for a different kind of beverage...

Say 'hi' to Jessamy Tippie. We're multiplying like rabbits out here.

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 13

2008-09-23T00:05:00.001-07:00

The Dreaded Thirteenth Day.

Ahhh, but 13 is a lucky number to the Welsh.

So...Holly would be the only soul brave enough to try out the Whistler classics like A River Runs Through It.

The rest of them were too scared, and went downhilling in the bike park. How odd....

I guess they were put off by some of hte locals referring to it as "A Gorby Walks Through It."

Hey Darth.

Wouldn't want to look....silly or anything.

Don't see any walking here anyway.

Ahhh, with weather like this it doesn't matter. It's a good time for all.

I had to get out for a couple of park laps myself. This tour is winding down, and I'm running on empty.

Yes.... feel the power of the Dark Side.

A freerider is born.

No time to be maudlin, but this was one of the most epic trips we've done. I'm totally spent, completely empty. Nothing left but to have a good night out on the town, run the kids back to the airport, and send it on the drive home.

God love a Welshman.....

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 12

2008-09-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

What's this, another big smile?

Ah...we must be in Squamish then.

My old stomping grounds. there are few places better for XC riding than Squamish.

Plus all that coastal rainforest and surrounding peaks with glaciers looks so much like Wales...

Well, we even managed a few bits of bridgework today.

This is part of my super secret endless loop out in Squamish. Right here we're on Dead End Loop, but we can do many hours of various levels of singletrack out here.

We spent some time on the slightly more advanced bridges of "Don't Tell Jude."

I'm alwasys amused by how intimidated people are by the woodwork. In most respects, it's easier than regular riding.

It's just a little bit up in the air...

Here's a random local showing how it's done.

Actually, our Brits did remarkably well on this section, once they put their fears away.

They had a bit more trouble with this one. So it's long, it's flat, wide and straight. A little yelling and Holly got this one nailed. Sorry to scream at you, but you'd hate yourself later for not doing this one.

Lunchtime and a view. These are hard to come by in the rain forest, consider yourselves lucky.

We were pretty thrashed by the new experiences of wet and slippery bridges, so we opted for the guilty pleasures of shredding the Alice Lakes trails. They re-open to the public after September 16th, and they are truly awesome. Nothing tech, just loamy and flowy goodness for several slightly downhill kilometers.

Which is why there's no pics of that part. Too busy going fast.

Here, try the map instead.

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Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 11

2008-09-21T11:35:00.002-07:00

A grey day for a rest day. Let's get outta here.

Finally saw some mooses (meese?) today. A little family of three running down the road in front of us. Crappy shot, I know, but at least I got a glimpse of them.

Breakfast in Bralorne. A great little window into a slice of Canadiana.

Yep, a genuine Canadian mining town. Population 60. Welcome to the big city.

OK, some traditional sleeping in the back of the van shots.

Hey Rob! Wake up! You're dreaming again!

Only in Whistler.

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 10

2008-09-20T10:55:00.002-07:00

Awwwwwwwwww....I think summer is finally over. Cold and wet this morning. A few of us are taking the day off to go to Lillooet. I gues somebody kind of needs some X-rays (a bug blue hand this morning).

The rest of the gang was heading up for Camel Pass with Martin.

Ooooo....looks cold. Sure glad I didn't fly out to Lorna last night with Cory and Margus (it turns out it was incredibly wet and muddy to the point that they had to WALK their bikes downhill).

Yep, there's snow in them thar hills.

Well, it might be cold and a bit dreary, but it's still spectacular.

Plus the climb is tough enough to keep even these blue bloods nice and warm.

Fingers tend to get a bit cold though...

Just kidding, that's Rob's hand. If you look close you'll see a nice spiral fracture of his driving finger. What a bummer.

I think he would rather have been freezing his fingers off up here though.

I've never actually done this particular ride. Thanks go out to Martin for showing this one off to the crew.

Not much more I can tell you about this one.

It's a bit of a climb up...

...it's a spectacular view...

...it's a bit cold out today....

...Martin seems to have his stock angles on the pics worked out....

...and the weather is just like Wales.

See you on the next one.

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 9b

2008-09-19T15:46:00.002-07:00

We now return to our regularly scheduled programme, already in progress.

Meanwhile, back at Spruce we were dodging some mounted Germans.

And some stoner Canadians. At least they were nice enough to offer to share (we politely declined, but the sentiment was appreciated).

Around this point we started to hear some info on the radio from Martin. We didn't get a really clear signal, so it wasn't especially easy to understand, but the words "hand" and "sore" were coming through.

Well, that wasn't going to affect OUR ride.

Ah. That kind of sore hand. If I had to guess, I'd say broken. Might only be a gnarly dislocation/sprain, but I'm not a doctor.

Hey, we offered to fly him back out from Spruce. Rob, tough guy that he is, actually rode out 25km on what would turn out to be a fractured driving finger (the part of it that runs through the middle of your hand was spiral fractured. I'll show you next post). A bit of a rough break for Rob, but an impressive display of fortitude. Hats off, good sir.

I think you can see why he chose to keep riding. You don't get too many days like this.

Hey, I know that dude....

Graham hangin' it out on some Chilcotin goodness.

Is that a smile or a grimace? I'm going with smile.

Two weeks straight of bluebird weather in September. Incredible.

Oh wait...I may have spoken too soon. That sky is hazing over.

Well, it's still pretty damn colourful out.

There's that dude again. I KNOW that guy...

Yep, those are horsetails up there. And we've got real horses just behind us too. Better get crackin'...

Well, that was seriously impressive. Once Rob decided to ride out, we made record time. It wasn't until this last few km that he really found it painful and slowed down, but we did the final 25km in about 3 hours. For those of you who haven't ridden in the zone, that's about an hour and a half faster than normal.

Yeah, we're going slow now. Time for some candid on the bike shots.

YEAH! We made it.

Oh no, look what the cat dragged in. And I quote, "Do you think you can stash this beer for us so we can have it waiting for us in three days?"

Sure boys, no problem.

A nice evening spent in comfortable confines of the Tyax Lodge, and we had a gorgeous chalet at our disposal for the next few days.

Life is good.

Now this is a map:

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Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 9a

2008-09-19T15:24:00.001-07:00

Another HUGE day, and another HUGE post. I'll split it up into two again, so we don't overload the dialup guys.

Ok, so we have had a real campout now. You guys are alright.

Like a Jewish Cowboy....

Oh, did I mention we were flying today?

Yep, the Bush Pilot is FINALLY getting a ride in Dale's plane.

It's only been about 10 years since I've been trying to line this one up.

We sent the boys out to Warner Lake first. I was going to head up to Spruce with the girls later and we were going to meet on the trail. Warner is a lot longer, and the girls didn't want to ride that hard today.

Well, not a bad call, but they DID miss out some vistas.

Someone is having a good day...

OK, the plane is gone. Now it's only 43 km to get back.

Yer not chicken are ya?

Actually, I think that was a Peasant....or a Phartridge. I can never tell. Meh, whatever. Back to stupidly epic riding.

All week I've been hearing about how Canada doesn't look like what they expected (Wales?). Well, I think we've fulfilled some expectations. Postcard, anyone?

Ahhh, it must be time for us to head up with the ladies.

How's that Holly?

The boys were making good time, but we were still relaxing in the plane.

Watch out for that tree, Andre.

We approach our destination of Spruce Lake. This is sure a lot easier than the 4-5 hour ride in over Windy Pass.

Oh, another Hallmark moment.

Time for a break.....

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 8

2008-09-18T11:04:00.001-07:00

Y'all aint from 'round here, are ya?

How can you NOT get a cowboy hat when you go through Spence's Bridge? That place is rad.

So several hours of driving on the agenda today. We're off to Tyax for some higher elevation adventure. Some more roadside wildlife in the Bridge Canyon for you....

I took today off for exhaustion reasons (something about riding 120 days makes me sleepy sometimes), but our local guide Martin took the gang out for a "short" local ride.

By short, I mean about 4 hours. The longest rides around here take weeks.

I'm kind of bummed I missed out on this one, as it looks really fun.

Then again, I can just go back there again.

Terrible views.

Martin figures that he's going to make the sunset version of this ride the standard intro to the area. Riding this stuff at the end of the day adds another dimension.

No, that's not snow.

It's salts from an evaporation pan. We're still on the dry side of the Coast Range up here.

Some more sunset action down around Mowson Pond.

Pics in no articular order, as everyone's camera is on a different internal clock, and I didn't do the trail so I don't know where they were taken. You'll just have to take them at face value.

We had a little camp out tonight. Still not exactly "roughing" it, but it was a bit more authentic with the outdoor kitchen and a campfire. Richard got pretty excited when he saw the axe.

Not as much as Graham though. Got wood?

Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 7

2008-09-17T11:49:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the end of Week One. The ladies are, to coin a phrase, pooped and have declined the ride out to Wildhorse Canyon. So it's just us boys today.

The Wildhorse runs through Okanagan Mtn. Park and is where the major fires of 2003 had their biggest impact.

Here's a little comparison for you....

It's kind of neat to ride in here now. For the first couple of years after the fire you couldn't go in here, as it was too dangerous with all the falling trees, and the trail was nearly impossible to find.

Now you can see the canyon better with no tree cover, and it still qualifies as pristine. Fire is part of the natural order of things up here.

This is about the only flat piece of ground in the valley that doesn't have a Starbucks or Tim Hortons on it.

The only bummer is that the southern approach is still pretty rough. The fire burned so hot that it not only burned the trees, it also burned the soil and in some areas created a natural furnace that sucked all the remaining sand out, then heated up the underlying rock until it exploded.

So we just did an out and back on the northern section.

It's OK, I guess. That LA smog is worse today though.

And now for a few cover shots. Hey...all you pro photographers that I used to know! Why aren't you getting this?

Welcome to Commando Bay. Although no-one seemed interested in going that way...

Richard declines to get his stitches wet.

Ogopogo.

And now for some artsy crap.

OK,so I went swimming and no-one else did. At least Holly went for a swim as part of her rest day schedule. You guys totally missed out on one of the best parts of the Okanagan. Ah well, mad dogs and Englishmen or something like that.

I mean really, who expects Welsh lakes to be warm in September (or anytime for that matter)?

So the same, but in reverse.

Actually, looking at the map I'd decided to try some singletrack near the end. It looked like about a 400' climb and a nicer finish so...

..we went for it.

What could go wrong?

OK,so it's a bit more climbing than I expected. The sun is going down now.

Ask Rob how he feels...

Yup, there's that smog again. And some forest fire smoke from Oregon.

A rare moment of DH from near the finish.

There was some moderately rad descending at least. Rob (in spite of his haggard appearance) was loving the tech.

Holy pink sunsets.

Yup, in spite of the grueling finish, it was still worth it in my books. Kind of funny that this is the official "Bike Route" through the park though. It's off the scale for gnar for a couple of miles.

Your map is ready, sirs.

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Fel Ci Efo Dau Gynffon - Day 6

2008-09-16T21:32:00.001-07:00

First things first....

Hapy Birthday, Mom!

OK, that's outta the way. Yesterday was a huge day. No doubt about it. The topper had to be stopping for dinner at the Burner Bar. You haven't lived until you've been to the Burner. Just be careful if you order the Burner Burger, They really mean it, "hon."

As a consequence, we took it easier today and shuttled up to McDougall Rim. I didn't realize just how tired the crew was until we got a few clicks in. Good thing there's plenty of nice lookouts.

A bit hazy out compared to yesterday. This turned out to be smog from Los Angeles. Really.

If it's this bad 1500km away, imagine living there. No thanks.

Well, we didn't have to worry about that to much. There was singletrack to ride.

Not a lot of climbing when you shuttle in, so Graham and Richard were all about cleaning the tech parts.

Yeah, what stitches? Those things oughta be almost ready to come out now.

I don't have a ton of pics from today, so you'll have to put up with several of the same one.

My plan was to shred the upper sections quickly, and then do some bonus sections around Rose Valley Reservoir.

However, large vistas intervened. So much for a fast run.

At least we got some trail maintenance done. I love my chainsaw....

Uh oh...time for another break.

OK, back to riding. Big smiles from the girls.

Mandy seemed to really enjoy this one. I'm beginning to suspect there's a freerider hiding under that lycra...

We didn't really have the time or the motivation for extensive bonus rounds, so I'll have to leave that for another time. Instead we did some suburban riding and exploration and ended up back at Bear Creek Park.

Here, see check it out on this handy map.

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