Whistler Opening Weekend!

The international mountain bike community rallied to British Columbia last weekend to celebrate the 2014 opening day of Whistler Bike Park.  Anxious to get some quality time with a chairlift and my downhill bike, I drove up for the weekend to meet my friends Carolyn and Lisa from Women’s Freeride Movement, and the amazing ladies of Prairie Girls Racing.  While the WFM ladies are Whistler residences, the Prairie Girls Racing team made a 13 hr trek to Whistler from Edmonton, Alberta, demonstrating just how excited these girls were to see the end of an Alberta winter and RIDE THEIR BIKES!  Of course, Whistler opening weekend was a bit of a “gong show”… but that’s part of the fun, eh?  Sure, the lift lines were ridiculous, but that just meant more time to catch up with your friends and get a suntan…. Yes, I said SUNTAN… in WHISTLER!?!?  Correct! The weather was amazing.  I even dragged my old tired self to the official opening day Pinkbike party and managed to stay long enough to dance to a few reggae tunes. 

The lift line first thing on Friday (opening day) morning.  It's just getting started.. but long lines mean more time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones!

  One of my riding goals for this summer is to add tail whips and table tops to my bag of (currently very few) tricks.  After only 2 days of riding the jump and flow trails, I am proud to say I am well on my way!  It’s no wonder that all the women in BC shred so hard, they have such amazing terrain to utilize and so much support from an amazing community of mountain bikers.  I chased those BC ladies down the trails all weekend and boy, do I have a lot of work ahead of me if I ever plan on catching them! They are truly inspiring both as athletes and humans. 

Opening day with the some of the local ladies, left to right: me, Carolyn Kavanagh, Lula Darquier

Whister is a good place to pull out the game face. Carolyn Kavanagh of Women's Freeride Movement snapped this shot of me riding through the technical tree section on A-Line.

 

When I am not working afield at my job’s research station (Hakai Beach Institute), I’ll be spending most of my summer in Whistler.  I’ve found a nice little room up there and plan to spend all of my free time on the bike, so get ready for more updates and bike fun to come. Here’s to summer, smiles, and bikes.  Shine on.