For the past few years our weekends seem to be filled with an ever increasing list of biking events. When we look back at the summer that is wrapping up there has hardly been a week that has passed that didn’t include some level of event in the biking world. As the Whistler region is dominated by the Mountain Biking industry, and for very good reason at that, we are now starting to see other styles of events come into play. Enter events such as the casual cruise through the Pemberton Meadows with the Slow Food Cycle and the recent passing of the 1st annual GranFondo.
On the weekend of the Fondo we saw two extremes of our sport in the 120km road ride from Vancouver to Whistler on the Saturday and then followed up the very next day with the Red Bull 5000 Down event that started in the alpine of Whistler with an early season dump of 14cm on the start line. Both events went off with great success and will likely continue for years to come. The downhill races such as the 5000 event are great to see, but the more impressive success comes via the 4000 riders that lined up in Vancouver to race up the Sea to Sky Highway. The success of this event seems so impressive because it wasn’t that long ago that most people would be considered crazy to road bike ride along the Sea to Sky to Whistler. Now, you don’t have to drive that far before passing a pack of road bikers some of which are just on a shorter local ride, but many that were out training for events such as the GranFondo. This is new for this area and very cool at that.
After just a few days of the GranFondo wrapping up I have been hearing lots of riders talking about the race and their plans to sign up for the 2nd Annual. With the projected growth to hit upwards of 10,000 riders by 2012 you can see how that is possible. More people are getting out there on the bike and also spending more time out there. To me that is really exciting to see. I`m looking forward to filling up the calendar with events in 2011 and continuing to get out there riding bicycles.
Matt-
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Crankworx Enduro Race
After a summer of riding both the Bike Park and Whistlers epic singletrack trails I along with Graham and Luke from the store decided it would be a good idea to enter the Crankworxs Enduro race. For those not familiar with Crankworxs it is essentially a week of mountain biking mayhem that takes over Whistler. With the world’s best riders in town it seemed an ideal opportunity to test myself. The Enduro format is essentially a downhill race with climbs mixed in to test both the rider’s outright speed and fitness. I decided my Specialized Enduro would be the ideal bike; with the ability to climb whilst holding its own on the descents.
A wet practice day provided an eye opening experience, a combination of wet roots, and mud on parts of the course that had been used the day before by the Garbonzo DH race meant that conditions where challenging and left us all hoping for a dry race day. Race day morning and I was beginning wonder why I thought this was a good idea. A mass start down a ski run into tight technical singletrack made the start a crucial part of the race. This crucial part didn’t go well for me, with Luke leading the pack I struggled to get clipped in then on entering the singletrack rode straight into the nearest tree. The rest of the race went much better overtaking several riders on the big climb and holding position on the descents. One over the bars crash later the finish line and more importantly fellow WOA staff member Graham were in my sights. With a bit of help from a Whistler local (the biggest black bear I have ever seen!) I passed Graham on the final descent and crossed the line in 6th place. Having been aiming for a top ten finish I was super happy to finish 6th. With Graham in 7th also on a Specialized Enduro and Luke retiring from a comfortable 1st place with a puncture it was an eventful day for the WOA staff.
The rest of the Crankworxs week was spent riding the sweet and empty valley singletrack during the day and soaking up the party atmosphere in the village most evenings.
Tom Bye-
A wet practice day provided an eye opening experience, a combination of wet roots, and mud on parts of the course that had been used the day before by the Garbonzo DH race meant that conditions where challenging and left us all hoping for a dry race day. Race day morning and I was beginning wonder why I thought this was a good idea. A mass start down a ski run into tight technical singletrack made the start a crucial part of the race. This crucial part didn’t go well for me, with Luke leading the pack I struggled to get clipped in then on entering the singletrack rode straight into the nearest tree. The rest of the race went much better overtaking several riders on the big climb and holding position on the descents. One over the bars crash later the finish line and more importantly fellow WOA staff member Graham were in my sights. With a bit of help from a Whistler local (the biggest black bear I have ever seen!) I passed Graham on the final descent and crossed the line in 6th place. Having been aiming for a top ten finish I was super happy to finish 6th. With Graham in 7th also on a Specialized Enduro and Luke retiring from a comfortable 1st place with a puncture it was an eventful day for the WOA staff.
The rest of the Crankworxs week was spent riding the sweet and empty valley singletrack during the day and soaking up the party atmosphere in the village most evenings.
Tom Bye-
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Whistler Riverside trails Movie
Here is a movie we put together highlighting the riverside trails near Whistler in Function Junction. This is a great area that is often overlooked by tourisits because it is a little off the beaten path of the main whistler trails but it is a great little area to ride in if you are a novice or beginner rider but also really fun mountain biking for people more advanced as well.
Check out our main website at http://www.whistleroutbackadventures.com for more information on bike rentals and guided tours in the Whistler area.
Check out our main website at http://www.whistleroutbackadventures.com for more information on bike rentals and guided tours in the Whistler area.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Chilcotin Dream Ride
What a great day we had in the Chilcotin's last week! Float Plane assisted mountain in one of B.C.'s most pristine wilderness areas has to be one of the greatest days possible on a mountain bike. We are running trips there until late september so if you want in on this epic locale check out www.whistleroutbackadventures.com
Just to get you a bit more stoked - have a look at video we produced to highlight the area:
Just to get you a bit more stoked - have a look at video we produced to highlight the area:
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Ride to Conquer Cancer- Vancouver to Seattle
Thank you all very much for all your support of our Ride to Conquer Cancer!! Truly an amazing event!!
Saturday June 19th, was a picture perfect riding day… sunny, dry and not too hot! It began with a scenic ride through Cloverdale and onto the border which was well organized and quite a sight to see as 2200 riders in yellow jerseys passed through to the United States. Had a wonderful ride all the way to Mount Vernon , with the exception of a very strong head wind for the last 20-30 km. That was tough! We had a great night at camp, complete with a great bottle of red wine that we carefully packed along. Hit the tents early after our long day, 129km! Lots of snoring!! Up early Sunday and off again although the weather didn’t fully cooperate unfortunately. We had a fair bit of rain before lunch that cooled us but luckily for us the ensuing hill climbs warmed us back up ! We finished the ride exhausted and exhilarated!!
We all felt very fortunate to have been a part of this exceptional experience and we couldn’t have done it without you. As a collective team of 5 we raised approx. $17,000.00 for the BC Cancer Foundation!!
Again… Thank You,
Jennifer and Robin
Saturday June 19th, was a picture perfect riding day… sunny, dry and not too hot! It began with a scenic ride through Cloverdale and onto the border which was well organized and quite a sight to see as 2200 riders in yellow jerseys passed through to the United States. Had a wonderful ride all the way to Mount Vernon , with the exception of a very strong head wind for the last 20-30 km. That was tough! We had a great night at camp, complete with a great bottle of red wine that we carefully packed along. Hit the tents early after our long day, 129km! Lots of snoring!! Up early Sunday and off again although the weather didn’t fully cooperate unfortunately. We had a fair bit of rain before lunch that cooled us but luckily for us the ensuing hill climbs warmed us back up ! We finished the ride exhausted and exhilarated!!
We all felt very fortunate to have been a part of this exceptional experience and we couldn’t have done it without you. As a collective team of 5 we raised approx. $17,000.00 for the BC Cancer Foundation!!
Again… Thank You,
Jennifer and Robin
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A video introduction to Whistler's Lost Lake Trails Network
If you are in the whistler area visiting and would like more information on guided tours, bike rentals and BC Multiday adventures...please visit our website www.whistleroutbackadventures.com or call 604-935-7566
Saturday, July 3, 2010
whistler 29 inch wheel mountain bike rentals
Hey guys, just wanted to let you know we just ordered up our first 29er rental bike. The 19inch Norco Jubei will be part of our new 'demo' fleet and will include a limited size range of unique and boutique bikes. You may also be able to try an Enduro, Carbon Stumpjumper and even a beach cruiser. Please contact us if you have any other questions about this new program or to reserve a bike.
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