Hurtin' for Vert 2009 - The Riders

Sep 4, 2009

Times they are a changing! Recently I hit the road with a dozen like minded individuals on what one would call, The Trip of a Lifetime! What made this trip better than ones from the past? Why were we all raving about it? Over the next 4 installments we plan to tell you why mountain biking is so great, why a lot of it has come full circle for many of us and why you are lucky to be part of such a grand sport.

Words by Tyler Maine (unless otherwise noted)
Pictures by Margus Riga (unless otherwise noted)

It all began this winter when I went on a snow vacation (I went looking for snow), that saw me hit up Revelstoke, Nelson and Rossland. At each stop I stayed with bikers that have became good friends of mine over the years and I was stoked at how in each town I was running into more and more like minded folks. Post trip I contacted Dan Barham about doing a bike trip with me to all the places I'd visited during the winter and the idea would be about lifestyle, long days in the saddle and what the market likes to call All Mountain bikes. He was in from the get go, next up was Andreas Hestler - he was on this idea like a fat kid on smarties and so began the preparations for the 2009 Pinkbike.com Hurtin' for Vert trip.

Emails went out, some came back and then it was time to hit the road. Unfortunately for Dan, he broke his hand in Whistler days before we were to leave - something about new wide bars, plus tree equals I'm out for a few weeks. His loss became the gain of Margus Riga and Manfred Stromberg who were on the fence due to prior commitments, but looking back they were probably the two most stoked guys on all the trails, each day!

Our crew of riders consisted of Andreas Hestler, Wade Simmons, Margus Riga, Dave Burch, Simon Stevenson, Matt Brassard, Manfred Stromberg, Mario Lenzen, Matt Ryan, Johnny Smoke, Reg Mullett and Myself for the whole trip, but we made friends and had others join at various points in the adventure for great rides. Ian and Nicole Stewart as well as Casey and Elinor Brown joined us in Revelstoke. Pat Williams, Ryan Kuhn, Matt J and his unknown buddy got in on the Nelson riding tour. And we ended the tour in Rossland with Tyler, Ryan, Isaac, Pat and Jon all showing us the goods in the southern Kootenays.

Here are the details on our posse, their rides and how this trip affected them. For some it was a trip of a lifetime, while Smoke had a religious experience out on the trails. But to all of us it was about getting out there and riding our mountain bikes and collecting the ups and the long downs.

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Andreas Hestler, 39, North Vancouver, Media Marketing at Rocky Mountain Bikes
Bike – Rocky Mountain Altitude 90 CR (5.5 inches of travel)

"I have reached a new level of riding, it involves travel adventure and like minded individuals. This year I have done the two best trips of my life, Peru in the spring and the Kootneys just recently. Bringing together people on bikes who don't know each other very well, but share a passion for adventure, exploration and sick riding makes for life changing experiences. It also may be a contributing factor that the locations are in the Alpine and the flowers are in bloom, mix in good people to this exotic, remote location and you will have a surreal experience as we did on our trip with Pinkbike.com and Rocky. Thanks to one and all!"

-Dre

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Mario Lenzen, 24, Germany, Professional Free Rider with Rocky Mountain Bikes
Bike – Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC SE (6 inches of travel)

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Wade Simmons, North Vancouver, Good Guy with Rocky Mountain Bikes
Bike – Rocky Mountain Altitude 70 (5.5 inches of travel)

"The long and short of it is that Mario was extremely sad to go home. He realized he was lucky enough to experience the Canadian adventure spirit that brings us all together. The trip we just finished will, I hope, be the beginning of a legendary ongoing adventure. Smoke did a great job on the data but I want to see more! Let's crack 100,000' vert next time!! I feel we are on a shift of conscience in respect to MTB'in...pedal up and rip down, OK a little bit of shuttling as well, but really we are coming around full circle to where it started...just ask Smoke. Except we are young enough to still to enjoy it on bikes that are truly meant for it, unlike the good 'ol' days!
Hats off to Riga and Manfred, the photos are sic!"

-Wade

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Margus Riga, 38, North Vancouver, Photographer
Bike – Norco Fluid LT 1 (6 inches of travel)

"I had so much fun that I had to go back into the Alpine for more the next week. Great shooting you all!"

-Margus

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Manfred Stromberg, 38, Germany, Photographer / Bike Instructor
Bike – Rotwild E1 Ride (6 inches of travel)

"I was the most stoked person here, loved it all!"

-Manfred

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Dave Burch, 34, Whistler, Real Estate Agent – WREC
Bike – Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC 70 (6 inches of travel)

"Legendary. That’s what I’ve been telling people since returning to Whistler. When Dre emailed me in June with initial fuzzy details about this trip, it was something about ‘Shuttle Mania in the Kootenays, my response was I’m in! I’d been ‘trying’ to get out of Whistler each Summer to explore more of BC's Riding, other than numerous trips to the Chilcotins. We have it good here...incredible trails, terrain and riding out front and back doors. But wow… riding in the Kootenays is incredible! I was super pumped each day for a new trail and adventure. What a wicked crew of riders – we charged hard for 5 days(Dingo and I got the 5th day), 40,000ft of vert- no injuries or major mechanicals.

Ripping lower Hit Man in a crazy train with Reg and Simon was the most fun I’ve had on my bike this year. The Most Memorable Moment for me was pinning it behind Wade and (trying) to follow his line down the fast and flowy PR trail in Rossland – it seemed the trail shifted and rose as Wade approached at mach speed creating hardly noticeable gap jumps. As I pinned it to keep up ...the gaps would disappear. Strange...

Sick riders, sick riding! I’m ‘in’ for next year. It’s going to be Legendary."

-Dave

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Simon Stevenson, 35, Courtenay, Municipal Worker
Bike – Trek Remedy 9 (6 inches of travel)

"An amazing 4 days of riding! It was incredible to ride with all of you and on such great terrain. I can hardly believe we did all that riding but my legs still tell me that we did. Thanks again for the Best trip ever! And I look forward to topping it next year."

-Simon

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Matt Brassard, 30, Edmonton, Civil Engineer
Bike – Ibis Mojo SL (5.5 inches of travel)
"The opportunity to pin it with a group of this caliber on epic terrain was truly inspiring! Great people sharing a great experience…I can only hope to get back to that level again. Thanks and huge props out to the group, our local guides, and to Pinkbike.com for making it happen!"

-Matt

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Tyler Maine, 31, Chilliwack, Web Media with Pinkbike.com
Bike – Transition Covert (6 inches of travel)

"I had no idea what to expect when I first set out to make this trip happen, but along the way I kept meeting more and more like minded folks that were into what I was searching out. This is the beginning of what I hope is a long term change in myself and how I ride bikes. I initially got into riding for the adventure and exploration on trips and was missing that as of late in my biking fill. But I think I have found it and will continue to push myself a little more each time I go out. Next year will be grand as we push this thing we call mountain biking further and further on bikes that are built to do it all. If it's all about progression, then I'm happy to find myself where I started 20 years ago, but on bikes that are truly meant ride the whole mountain, both up and down."

-Ty

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Reg Mullett, 36, Calgary, Environmental Sciences / Trail Advocate
Bike – Knolly Delirium T (6.5 inches of travel)

"There is something "just right" about riding bikes in big mountain Alpine environments! Feeling alive in the expansive views, the peacefulness, the unique terrain, the fresh smells and if you're lucky, peak'n out and taking advantage of all the gravity at your potential disposal. Sharing and seizing this with such a seasoned, savvy, like-minded, beer-lovin, care free group of passionate mountain cyclists has all the ingredients for one fine pot of "trip of a lifetime" stew. Many thanks to everyone!

I am constantly revisiting the moments while we were training 6000 foot descents at heckling proximity, at full pin, on small bikes with such a talented and wicked fun group of riders. B-cuzzi's for all! As my local riding bro's like to say "we win"! Many Thanks to PinkBike for putting the trip together and for all who provided assistance/accommodation along the way.

I got lots of hurt left for next year."

-Reg

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Ryan Kuhn, 35, Rossland, Emergency Planner for the Kootenays / Trail Advocate
Bike - Devinci Hectik 2 (6 Inches of travel)

"Epic all-mountain trips with good friends are, for me, the essence of the mountain biking experience. Spectacular terrain with challenging trails, gut wrenching climbs and rallying tire-to-tire descents, endless laughs and cool libations – this is what it’s all about."

-Ryan

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Matt Ryan, 32, Whistler, Bike rider but plumber by trade
Bike – Specialized Stump Jumper Pro (5 inches of travel)

"This was really a trip of a life time. To hook up with a great crew and bang off all the best rides in each location was a treat and here I thought it would be enough to start winding down for the fall months...

But, there was a problem, I felt myself yearning for more vert and alpine and we stayed one more day. The next morning we hit the 7 Summits trail, which Dave Burch and I called stage 5 of the vert tour. It was weird not to have the group with us! My arms were done from hanging on for grim death and my hands hurt from repetitive high fives through out the weekend of riding. There was high fives that day but just Dave and I. Our stage 5 was done after another 6200 ft decent. Wow, another amazing trail and it was time to head back to clown town (Whistler).

All in awe, this has been truly one of the best riding experiences that I have had in my riding lifetime. I have ridden in places all over the world but this trip will remain in my single track mind forever. I'm lucky enough to live in the MTB mecca "Whistler" and as much as I love the riding here, this trip is what mountain biking means to me. I love going to new places with like minded people that share the same passion for adventure mountain biking. For me, not knowing what's around the next turn or berm is what it's all about.

A big thank you, to all the geniuses that put it all together and the friends that had base camps in their back yards. Sign me up for next year!"

-Matt

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Johnny Smoke, 38, Peachland, Bike Guide
Bike – Knolly Endorphin (5.5 inches of travel)

"Sometimes, after riding for so long in BC, and especially in the Kootenays, this lifestyle is like a game of ghosts. One of the defining themes in the past ten years has been the high casualty rate among the rippers up this way. Today we were heading up 7 Summits, and I rode up on these ridge lines twice a long time back. The first time with the late, great Dave Swetland, and the second time with the late, great Lumpy Leidal. I find that having those experiences seems to lend a heightened sense of the spectacular to these rides. It's as if these old pals are still hanging around, basically telling me to get my ass in gear because I'm going too slow.

It was back in 1993 that I first rode in Rossland. I have family there, and I've been skiing there forever, but it took a little while for me to get around to riding it. Another Cove guy, Bones, had the bike shop in town and hooked me up for a rip with Swetty, who at that time had only local notoriety and was relatively unknown in the bike world. I thought, being a bit of a North Shore hardcore, that it would be a cakewalk. Ha...good luck. Dave trashed me up and down and all around the local network and basically gave me a large serving of humble pie. Little did I know that I actually impressed him, as he was used to making the locals give up a lot sooner. This performance led to the invite to ride Plewman Ridge via Hanna Creek the next day (this is now part of the 7 Summits). I still have pics from that experience, and it remained the longest continuous descent I had done for several years.


The next year I returned to Rossland to try my hand at racing. The race...meh, just another event. But I hooked up with some other Cove types for another rip up Plewman after the races were over. That was an awesome day too. Ham, Billy Stiles, Lumpy, Greg Stone, Muffet, and myself. Lump was a guy that I really looked up to and respected from my childhood in the Cove, so it was sort of like playing hockey with Gretzky, if you catch my meaning. Seeing as we had partied pretty hard, it was gratifying in a sense to see the guy suffering at 7000' with a hangover. We're all human at some point...

Well, fast forward to this incredible road trip and here we were, suffering up at 7000' on a beautiful bluebird day. The incredible part to me wasn't a feeling of deja vu. I mean, I KNOW I had been there before. It was the crystal clarity of the memories of shredding with my friends that have passed away. I was off the back, as usual, riding by myself, and apart from some differences in gear it was hard to tell what year it was. The trail looked the same. Little details in the terrain were just as I remembered. I knew what was around each corner.

I don't know, but something was making me ride a lot by myself. Being off the back on the climb, I sort of felt like I should charge the descents and set the pace to make up for the delays on the up. Dropping into Plewman, the feeling of being with my old buddies only intensified. The downhill portion of the trail has changed a bit more than the alpine, but it was still absolutely surreal, that feeling of knowing the trail. It was like I had an invisible hand on the small of my back, guiding me into each turn and roll. I was setting up blind into every corner, and with total confidence that the trail was going that way. And what a trail...wide, mainly smooth, and with lots of rolls and little steps formed from roots across the line. Sections were like an old dual slalom course with perfect rhythm and drops into the corners. It was like a natural corkscrew motion, but at blurring high speed. This trip was ending on the highest note possible.

I got down into the woods well ahead of the group (another flat? Cripes...), and took the time to just lie down in the forest and reflect. I miss my old friends for sure, but so long as I can come out with new friends and make new experiences, then it's all good. This trip was absolutely amazing. I feel like mountain biking as a sport has finally reached maturity. That ugly, fat, teenage freerider has grown up into a lean, light, and efficient singletrack shredder, and wow is she a looker."

-Smoke

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Ok now you know how we all feel in regards to the trip into the Kootenays that we partook in a few weeks back. I guess I can show you the trip in detail over the next 4 installments. Check back every few days for a few words and hundreds of amazing pictures that tell so many stories in themselves that you too will feel like you were there with us.

Happy Trails,
Ty