Back home...

An evening ride in the SFH...

Friday...

The long journey home begins with a pitstop in Vancouver to look for trails on Cypress Mountain...

View from a lookout on the mountain, you can see downtown Vancouver in the distance.

After our short stop in Vancouver, we hit the road and headed towards Portland. It ended up being a long long long day of driving with lots of heavy traffic.

View of Mt. Ranier outside of Seattle...

Portland's famous Voodoo Donuts!...

We made another stop outside of Portland to visit my old neighbor, Jason, before finishing the night off in Bend, Oregon. We had dinner and beers at Deschutes Brewery and called it a night.

Saturday, we drove from Bend, OR to Moab, UT which made for an easy day Sunday. We didn't take many pics, but we made some requisite food stops along the way. Lol. No matter how you slice it though, it's a long drive!

Thursday...

Final day on the mountain so I hit up Garbanzo as much as I could getting my fill of Filthy Ape and one more go on The Manager. Here's a good pic showing someone checking it out which really gives it's size some perspective...

I didn't really stop for many pictures today since I started a little later than planned, but instead just did top to bottom runs until I was beat. It's always sad getting to the bottom knowing you're not going back up for another ride that day... or the next...

We decided to end the last day on the mountain with another round of Mexican Bulldogs. Delicious!

After drinks we walked back through the village and grabbed some dinner at Splitz Grill for mouth watering burgers. On our way back to the condo, we watched the sun set on the village and Blackcomb Mountain.

Wednesday...

After some warm up runs on the lower mountain, I decided to go back up to Garbanzo again for some more exploring.

The views never get old...

Some steep rock action on Original Sin, this happens to be a switchback...

Optional roller line on Goats Gulley... It doesn't look so bad from the top...

However, it's a different story from the bottom...

Next up was Captain Safety...

This is my kind of trail! It's essentially just a series of giant granite rollers...

Followed by some chunky and rooty goodness...

A rider on the Triple Hump on the In Deep trail that I posted yesterday. Having a rider in the picture shows the scale of the feature...

Another day down and only 1 left! A view of Blackcomb mountain while we stopped for gelato in the village on our walk back to the condo...

Tuesday...

Today, I spent most of my time on the mountain exploring the Garbanzo Zone but I managed to get in a few runs on Dirt Merchant and A-Line! Here's a pic of me taken by Coast Mountain Photos again. This one is on the last tabletop on A-Line...

Ride up the chair...

View from atop the Filthy Ape roller...

The infamous Triple Hump on the In Deep trail...

View of Triple Hump from the bottom...

The even more infamous Manager...

Random view during a rest break...

Later in the evening I retreated to the lower mountain to ride some of the blue trails. On my last run, I found the Crabapple Hits trail which is a series of increasing table tops that ultimately reach a size of 50-60 feet each! Here's a pic I snapped of guys filming a video!

Once off the mountain, I met Laura at the base for drinks at Longhorn Saloon where we discovered the Mexican Bulldog, a double margarita with an upside down Corona in it! The Corona is plugged with a lime that lets the beer soak through it and slowly leak into the margarita. Yumm!

I know a lot of these pics are boring, but there's only so much I can do solo. I will post up some of the Gopro vids I got once I can get them uploaded and edited in Imovie.

Monday...

We slept in this morning before heading over to Lost Lake Park for some XC riding. It was warm this morning, but the humidity was low. 

We rode through the park to the lake's beach and then around the lake. 

After Lost Lake, we rode the Valley Trail around town and through the Village. 

Laura tried out a few obstacles in the town skills park! 

After eating lunch, I headed out to the park. Today was much better than yesterday and things really started coming together. My confidence increased, my speed increased, jumps were being cleared, and technical features ridden! I did a mix of Garbanzo and the lower mountain. A view from the top of the Garbanzo chair. 

A view from Original Sin looking up towards Whistler Peak. 

View from the top of Shalemaster. The entrance trail to this feature is closed off, but hopefully, I can sneak in a run on it before the week is over!

View looking down towards the valley. Filthy Ape is visible in the shadows.

View from the top of Filthy Ape.

View of Filthy Ape looking up from where I just came.

Entrance to Goats Gully, one of the most technical trails on the mountain.

Pic from Sunday...

Bought this pic from Coast Mountain Photography which sets up around the park and takes pics as you ride by. This is me on the GLC drop...

First day in the park...

Warm temps and blue skies...

I was able to get in about 10 runs today, both on the lower and upper mountain. Scenery on the way up the Garbanzo chair...

Spent most of the day scoping out everything and getting a feel for the bike and the mountain. A few possible things to do before the week's over...

Bear Cub wall ride...

Shalemaster...

View of the valley with Filthy Ape in the distance...

Taking a break at the bottom after a full day...

Walking through the Village in the evening...

I had a few close calls today, but it was still fun. Not my best first day of the past few years, but hopefully, I'll get a little more warmed up as the week progresses.