Ahhhhh! Whistler lifestyle..

I can not believe it has been 11 months since I left this place. I got my seasons pass yesterday and had bike work to do before I was clear to go up there. Just getting my pass, started the Pavlovian reaction, I was motivated to get the bike ready and hit the mountain today.

I got an evening visit from the parking lot pirates who were ready to grill and plunder! It would be a crime to turn away two hardy pirate captains, manning separate land behemoths through the narrows of the sea to sky highway. We enjoyed pad thai with spicy (b.c. grown) green beans,sourdough bread, salmon fillets and steaks. After a mild imbibing of a grog from the Unibroue brewery, the captains grew restless to pilot their vessels to a night-time mooring for the bed down.

I got to the mountain after riding up from creekside, going to the hill is worse than returning home. The smartest choice is "ride don't slide" an out of bounds trail off the top of whistler garbanzo lift. It is a glorious trail loamy and dark, with wicked features and smiles in every group in those woods. R.D.S. comes out about 3 blocks from the ninety odd steps I negotiate daily.

"Muscle Memory" is what Jamin swears we posess, you get out there on trails you pound down for hours and hours every summer and it just floods back to your muscles, brain, eyes and ultimately your soul as a rider. The downhill bike just feels natural, like a fine knife in your hand, albeit a 46 lb monstrosity!

Last year I broke two forks...good thing the second one only happened about 9 days before I split the country for interbike. I rode an avalanche 7" fork cracked, heavily for 9 days here. Check the crack at the bottom of every run and take another one if it looked good.

Whistler is that incredible! The Whistler experience demands total concentration, all other things, problems, emotions, disappear into violently peaceful highspeed joy. I got about 15,000 feet of descent in today and felt great, tired, but, great! I saved some energy, got a slice of pizza and a coke before riding home to creekside. Dinner on the grill, clean the bike, drink, smoke, repeat.

I made it to whistler... again

There is a first time for everything and that was my feelings at the border. I got selected to be searched and interrogated, maybe the new van was throwing them off, or was it the fact that I can take off for 6 weeks and not be missed by the U.S. of A.? I sat for an hour while they asked me the same questions to see if my story was straight, and searched the truck. I had too many tools and too little proof that I need to return to the U.S. Who carries their bank statements on vacation, what about paycheck receipts or your rental agreement? All of these things would have helped me out in this situation, I just didn't have them. Eventually they thought my story was pretty good and they believed me when I said I really didnt want to work on my vacation. I think they didn't have the blackest of hearts to turn around an idiot from alabama after he just drove across the whole damn country. It doesnt matter how you get in as long as you get in!