You can always tell a true trail boss by a single handshake. The rough, unyieldingly calloused grip will leave an impression on you, often quite literally; they have firm handshakes. Dustin Gilding is the boss of all trail bosses, the alpha, the omega, Picasso with a flathead, Mozart with a spade. His jumps are more buff than Schwarzenegger circa 1987’s ‘’Predator.’’ He is ALWAYS the first man digging and the last one riding. Dustin is 'no dig, no ride' personified.
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 Flip through the smoke. |
The Gilding compound is situated part way between Vancouver and Chilliwack, in Abbotsford British Columbia (I'll leave out specifics to deter any would-be jump poachers). According to
Current Results.com, ‘’among Canada's 26 largest cities, six average over one metre (39 inches) of precipitation a year. Abbotsford tops the list with 1573 millimetres, about five feet, of rain and snow annually.’’ Gilding has dealt with this astounding amount of moisture first hand... he had to
completely rebuild nearly everything seen in this video
five times because of erosion caused by near-Biblical amounts of rain. Even with tarps and constant attention, his razor sharp jumps eventually shrugged their shoulders and submitted to nature's wrath.
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| Cable cam, tiki torch, and beyond perfect jumps. Better than your average web edit. |
 | The instinctive characteristics of trail building - like the way you perceive and interpret terrain to create something that flows, rides well, looks good, and is structurally adequate - that all comes from nothing but pure and simple experience - Dustin Gilding |
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| Tuck no-hander to toboggan. Watch closely, there are tons of sneaky combos in the video. |
Like all great artists, Dustin takes inspiration from past and current masters. ''The work of guys like Dave King, Mike Saavedra, and Clint Reynolds, has been a big influence [on him].'' Unlike BMX, mountain biking isn't famous for its iconic dirt jump trails*. Yet. Gilding is slowly changing that - one shovelful at a time.
Check out The Revealing Part 1Video -
Harrison MendelPhotos -
Bryce PiwekWords -
Scott Secco*aside from the Post Office; which has been shot to death
Is this a Video of the Year candidate? The best dirt jumps ever? 
