Whistler never leaves us wanting. Every time we go up there, we learn more and we ride better, but this trip was a bit different. Toni and Misti were working remotely and riding in the afternoons, which meant that it was just me, Jen, and Alex. And then, Alex blew a corner at full speed, two bike lengths in front of me, flew from my view, and went off the side and down to the boulder-covered access road below it. Alex got out of it without any broken bones (I still have no idea how), but when we left the clinic at Midnight, Jen and I were more or less on our own for the riding.
While it really bummed us out to not be able to ride with our friends, it also turned out to be great for our progression. Jen had always used Misti as a yardstick for what she could ride and what she couldn’t, and I have pretty much always had a tow-in from Toni or Alex on anything really big that I hit. But now, we each had to decide on our own what we could or could not hit.
Jen cleaned every section of Original Sin and all but three feet of No Joke on the upper mountain, not to mention the majority of jumps on A-line. But the most impressive thing she did was to crash on the Schleyer drop, and then hit it again a couple laps later just to show her friend Jasmine that it could be done.
For me, it was hitting the entrance drop to Fade To Black and the step up on Dwane Johnson. After Whistler, we decided to head down to Squamish and ride of the few trails there. On each of our climbing trips, people always tell us how amazing that riding is there, so we thought it was about time we sampled it. All I have to say is, I wish we had trails like that around here. But then again, I wish we had moss too. We’re scheming on some different ideas for next year’s summer trip, but if we end up going back to BC, I sure won’t be disappointed.
