Richard Holmes meets the Whistler Mountain Bike Park

Sometimes you just need a little feel good story for the day and here is one about a young man taking some initiative, moving across the country and pursuing his dream.
Photo by Chris Stark

My name is Richard Andrew Holmes, since my first time coming to Whistler five years ago I knew it was a place I wanted to make my mark. I am from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and for the first 17 years of my life that is where I lived. Born in 1992 I learned how to ride a bike at the age of 10. A late bloomer as far as riding a two-wheeler goes, the minute I felt the freedom and way of self-expression I was hooked and made up for lost time on such a wonderful product of ingenuity as soon as I could. I am currently an IDP level 2 certified downhill mountain coach/guide for the Whistler Bike Park and work with private clients, group tours, ladies nights and DFX camps. Starting this year, I have already coached in the bike park nearly 300 hours and 70+ separate groups and privates. This piece is about what I have been up to in the past year to get here and what a passionate mountain biker, just like many of us, can do while in this town. More about Whistler Bike Park programs can be found here.



Richard Holmes:
-Private, group, DFX and women's night coach/guide in Whistler Bike Park
-Graduate of Mountain Bike Operations at Capilano University
-Sponsored by: Norco bicycles, Off the Edge bike shop and POC protectives
-8 years riding downhill, freeride and all mountain
-4 years of competing in dirt jump and slope style
-Riding demos and media promotions for resorts and companies
-3 years of guiding/teaching

The same values I have learned in my career as a mountain biker I have now learnt to transfer over as a philosophy for life in general. Living in the moment, setting goals, personal growth, connecting with others and purposes, are all things I practice when biking and now for everything I do. Part of my philosophy is to get the most out of every situation. Whether soaking knowledge out of those with experience, making an opportunity out of a challenge, or leaping out of my comfort zone to make an idea happen, living in the moment to me is the way to get the most out of every situation.

Photo by Chris Stark

I realize nothing that fulfills my ambitions will be just given to me. Making your dreams a reality doesn't happen by making excuses, it takes time and determination with a positive outlook through the ups and especially the downs. It takes initiative to express your creativity in a productive manner. This ethic requires a lot of motivation; motivation that I seek from seeing the world as a playground for my ambitions, lust for adventure, and personal exploration.


Photo by Chris Stark

Recent outlets for my philosophy and motivation include:
-Placing second in the Whistler Crankworx Canadian Open Enduro
-Graduating the Mountain bike operations program at Capilano University and elected for scholarship award
-Organizing and marketing Mach Chicken social trail day
-Creating and marketing Capilano University MBO social media
-Arranging and buidling two community trails with the MBO class

Whistler Bike Park
-Private, group, Ladies night and DFX coach/guide

2011 Vancouver Bike Show
-Capilano University Mountain Bike Operations representative

Chicopee Bike Park
-Guide, instructor and first aid

2010 Chicopee summer fest
-Bike guide

2010 Capilano Event Under the Tent
-Mountain bike skills instructor

Sprockids Get Dirty and Ride
-Mountain bike guide and skills instructor

Kinicknik trail unveil
-Mountain bike guide and eco-instructor

Certifications/Training
-IDP Whistler Bike park Level 2
-Sprockids mountain bike instructor certification
-Endlessbiking level 1 and 2 instruction and guiding trained
-80-hour wilderness first aid, A.E.D and CPR


Photo by Logan Swayze
This is the way I felt as I moved out of my parent’s home at the age of 17 and across the country to the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia. I moved to study in the Mountain Bike Operations Program at Capilano University and in spring 2011 I graduated from the program. I then applied the skills I had learned through theory, and the experience I had gained doing practical projects, to the mountain bike mecca of Whistler, British Columbia. Tourism, marketing, special events, environmental stewardship, risk management law, guiding/teaching and trail building were all subjects I studied, and in such a dynamic place, can now apply all of those things in one place. More about the program in the links below.

-Capilano University
-Capilano University on Facebook

Photo by Logan Swayze
The future :
I have immediate plans to build on my post secondary education and return to University for a degree in business and marketing. This I will use to contribute in the mountain bike industry by working with companies, hosting events and any other way I can utilize my ideas for the sport. I hope to keep coaching and guiding for as long as I can so you can expect to see me in the Whistler Bike Park and as many other places that I can contribute. Besides offering my private coaching services and group tours, one of my latest pursuits is coaching with Whistler's Summer Gravity Camps and high level DFX kids groups.

Thank you for your time to read this, it is very much appreciated. Please 'like' my facebook page linked bellow to show your support for aspiring cyclists like many of yourselves.

My Facebook Page.

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