As we made our way up the daunting Maple Mountain climb, I fired some questions Dre’s way to get a better understanding of how things started off for him. His voice is energetic, with a slight bit of gravel tone to it. He has no problem pushing his way up this steep hill and keeping the conversation going. I can’t imagine all the miles upon miles of hills he has climbed in his career, and at speeds much greater than this. He tells me of his past. Dre began mountain biking in high school. Mountain biking was pretty hot at the time and the kids graduating ahead of him were leaving school for tree planting and coming back with new Rocky Mountain Blizzards and Yeti’s equipped with hot Shimano XT, Thomaselli brake Levers, and Cook Bros Cranks. His commuter bike was stolen and he was giving up on skateboarding as a mode of transportation. The insurance for the stolen commuter bike wasn’t much but it was enough for him to choose his first real mountain bike in 1986. Dre moved to Vancouver when uphill, downhill and XC was all done on one rigid bike with toe clips and there was no other option. He was a decent downhiller but couldn’t handle the consequences of shit going sideways in such a short amount of time. He liked the long protracted story of an XC race but he says that if there had been Enduro racing back then he would’ve been all over that. Dre earned his first pay cheque and stopped working a regular job in 1995. I asked him about some of the highlights over the years and he tells me the highlights haven’t stopped, and that mountain biking seems to always give and reward every effort he puts into it. However, he lists his first National Title, competing in the Olympics, winning the Cactus Cup in Arizona, a NORBA Super D win, a short track podium over Lance Armstrong and his first ride in the Chilcotins as some of the uppermost memories.