Which universities have downhill tracks close at hand?

PB Forum :: Canada - West
Which universities have downhill tracks close at hand?
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flag chaeron
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 1:48 Quote
Hi everyone,
Now that i have finished school, i need to start applying for universities.
Seeing as i am not going to any university without my downhill bike, i would like to know where in the whole of Canada, there are universities with downhill tracks close at hand. I know that UBC has Whistler 4 hours away, but are there any closer tracks?
All help is greatly appreciated!'
thanks
Guy
flag oceanp
O+
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 5:58 Quote
Whistler is a little closer to 2-3 hrs away from Vancouver (it's been awhile since I've driven that road so I'm not 100 % sure of the time). U of C (Calgary) is super close to COP but that isn't the greatest bike park (very small and not too steep) but Fernie is 2 1/2 hrs away and Golden and Panorama are also about 3 hours away. There may be some universities in Ontario/Quebec that are close to bike parks but I don't know for sure.
flag gabodude
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 6:14 Quote
Montreal has the best University in the country, McGill, and it's 45 minutes away from Bromont and 3 hours from Mont St-Annes.

Montreal also has great nightlife, gorgeous women, booming music scene, safe neighborhoods (considering it's population) It's also incredibly multi-ethnic.

Check it out!
flag phillybean
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 6:31 Quote
UBC Okanagan is about an hour away from Silver Star. Also several decent freeride areas in town to shuttle. (Less then 15 minutes away)
flag t3rry
Mod
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 20:35 Quote
University of lethbridge has tracks literally right on campus. Nothing longer than a few minutes though. Shore and dj's are starting to take over more of the dh now - you may have seen the old drop in lethbridge episode - that'll give you an idea of riding in lethbridge sort of.
flag DavidMakalaster
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 20:37 Quote
Appalachian State in Brevard, NC
flag t3rry
Mod
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 20:38 Quote
You've also got to remember that unless your spending the summers in Canada you won't get a whole lot of resort riding in. Some of them shut down in sept and don't open again till may or june - some have longer seasons, as for other riding it depends on the area, but for the most part Canada suffers from a condition known as long cold winters.
flag DavidMakalaster
Posted: Oct 2, 2008 at 20:40 Quote
terriflow3-0 wrote:
You've also got to remember that unless your spending the summers in Canada you won't get a whole lot of resort riding in. Some of them shut down in sept and don't open again till may or june - some have longer seasons, as for other riding it depends on the area, but for the most part Canada suffers from a condition known as long cold winters.

Exactly why App St. in North Carolina is perfect. Year long riding season, lots of vert, fun and varied terrain, and easy shuttle accessibility.
flag chaeron
Posted: Oct 8, 2008 at 12:43 Quote
thanks for the help guys,
i was reading up on mc gill, and they seem to have a good reputation.
does anyone know if there is any dh biking close to that university? close enough to go for an evening training session?
oh and do they speak french there?
thanks
flag djbuilder
Posted: Oct 8, 2008 at 21:06 Quote
Yeah I've lived in Vancouver all my life and go to UBC. The closest stuff is about 45 minutes away but the riding is so amazing it makes up for that fact. Also for the record Whistler is about 2hrs if you're driving 80-90km/hr average.
flag gabodude
Posted: Oct 9, 2008 at 6:05 Quote
chaeron wrote:
thanks for the help guys,
i was reading up on mc gill, and they seem to have a good reputation.
does anyone know if there is any dh biking close to that university? close enough to go for an evening training session?
oh and do they speak french there?
thanks

McGill is built on the side of Mount-Royal, the mountain situated in the center of montreal. Mount-Royal is also a huge park, kinda like central park in N-Y city. There is plenty of fun little DH runs and good XC trails, most reserved to pedestrians and illigal to bikes.
The fun part is the Cote-des-Neiges cemetery, which covers the northern side of the mountain. It's the biggest cemetery in north America and is littered with hidden trails. From technical xc to jump-filled north-shore-type trails.
The local bikers are friendly and should be willing to give you a tour of this secret trail network.
There is a small but solid BMX and streetMTB in montreal also with awesome street spots and good indoor parks like UglyAssBikes and SouthPark.

McGill, of course, is a english campus, but Montreal is maybe 60% french. Most of the population is bilingual, though.
If a french campus is more your thing, check out l'Université de Montreal

Hope this helps!
flag fallen55
Posted: Oct 9, 2008 at 6:55 Quote
gabodude wrote:
Montreal has the best University in the country, McGill, and it's 45 minutes away from Bromont and 3 hours from Mont St-Annes.

Montreal also has great nightlife, gorgeous women, booming music scene, safe neighborhoods (considering it's population) It's also incredibly multi-ethnic.

Check it out!

umm thats quite a claim right there. they do have a good rep, but Mcgill deffinitly is not the best in Canada. Western, Queens, nd even Guelph score better in almost every catgory in pretty much every review. Granted Mcgill is a great school, to say that its straight the best is too large a claim for anyone to make.

As for the topic, UBC vancouver has the shore close by, whistler, n all the over great local riding. UBC okanagon has Silver star an hour away, plus it in Kelowna so there is tonnes of stuff to ride there. U of Calgary has cop n local calragry riding. I would say overall UBC both campuses have the best riding choices.

However we need a little more info, such as ur planned program, ur average.
flag fallen55
Posted: Oct 9, 2008 at 6:57 Quote
chaeron wrote:
thanks for the help guys,
i was reading up on mc gill, and they seem to have a good reputation.
does anyone know if there is any dh biking close to that university? close enough to go for an evening training session?
oh and do they speak french there?
thanks

It wouldnt have the kinda of DH that UBC would have a bus ride away
flag chesnuts
O+ FL
Posted: Oct 9, 2008 at 9:00 Quote
Don't count out Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.

Go to pinkbike videos, search Kamloops and see what riding comes up. You'll be impressed.
flag chaeron
Posted: Oct 10, 2008 at 11:13 Quote
fallen55 wrote:
However we need a little more info, such as ur planned program, ur average.

Well, I want to study mechanical engineering, and i did the International Baccalaureate in which i got 33 points, 6 in Math SL, 5 in Physics HL and 5 in Chemistry HL, which i guess are the important ones when wanting to study Engineering.

All in all, from the feedback given here it seems that British Columbia has the best riding in Canada. I think that whatever university i go to, it will out do where i am living now in biking terms where the closest real resort is 10 hours drive away.

question for Djbuilder: Does it take 45 mins from UBC vancouver to closest downhill track by bike or by bus?

And another question, how long does it take to drive up to Kelowna or Kamloops from UBC vancouver?

Thanks guys, this feedback is really helpful. keep it coming!
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