Slaying the Bike Park

Today I killed it in the Bike Park. I got my groove back after being away from my bike and the mountain for two years; I was fast, confident, and fluid. It was awesome.

I've ridden four out of the last six days I think, and I can tell that I'm getting the feeling back. I was shredding the singletrack like never before; I was better then when I was here the last time. I rode the toughest parts of the toughest trails today, and it felt great. I was taking the harder lines, and riding them with confidence and speed. It was fast and fun.

The downside to today's fastness and awesomeness was that my bike got thundered a few times, coming down hard on harsh landings or smashing over rocks and roots. It protested, but came through relatively unscathed.

My rear shock needs a rebuild, and my front hub bearings need replacing, and I need two sets of new brake pads. I think as the season wears on, more and more things will start to need repair, which is unfortunate. Oh well, the wages of riding is repair.

I took my camera up with me, and took some shots. Here they are.



I load my bike onto the lift, and take the next chair up. At the beginning of bike season, the Mountain puts special bike carriers on. You just roll your bike in, and it securely cradles the front and back wheels.



I enjoy the ride up. I'm going up the Garbonzo lift, and you can see Blackcomb's environs in the background.



The lifties take my bike off the rack at the top. I say thank-you every time, because it's quite the job, schlepping bikes all day. The new lifties reply, the veterans don't say anything. But I always thank them.



I love riding by myself, and most of my riding gets done this way. I often stop in the woods and think, look at the scenery, watch other riders, or just enjoy being in the forest. This was one of those times, my second significant pause of the day.



When I looked up, the trees were really tall and straight. The picture doesn't look as good, but it's still sort of neat. If you don't spend time taking it in, you just ride through and by all the trees and forget where you are!

I might go up for an hour after work tomorrow too, we'll see. I'm really enjoying the Bike Park this year.