Swansea To Start

For the last few months like any other rider in Calgary we've been planning to get out of the city and finally ride our bikes somewhere warm. For most Calgarians one of the first places that comes to mind is Mt. Swansea of Invermere, British Columbia. Checking over the forecast week after week and seeing nothing but rain and snow we took the risk and set sail Saturday evening. Arriving a mere 3 hrs later at our destination we rolled into nothing but sunshine. Given it was only 7:30 we set up camp and started pumping out laps. To our surprise the trails were in mint condition for most of the mountain.


Kurt De Freitas, Andrew Hargreaves, Heath Sterna and myself all on new rigs, managed to claim a few laps each from the 2k marker before sundown. On one of our laps few laps we rode "Gravy Train" a trail consisting of fast corners and dusty lines. Right off the bat we encountered Mother Nature’s fury while ripping down the steep section of the trail, two huge fallen trees on the trail. With multiple near misses from all of us we luckily walked away unharmed. With this in mind at the end of the day first thing on the list for tomorrow was to get rid of the death trap.


Like any good camping trip, our menu consisted of beer, bratwurst, pop tarts and Gatorade! And after a night of traveling and riding we tried to consume 3 packages of tasty brats! We all felt the only way to cure our fatigue the next morning was more bratwurst, strawberry pop-tarts and some orange Gatorade for breakfast. In no time we were back on top and ready to go! But first things first, fix the trail that came close to claiming us last night. Enter STIHL Chainsaw.



A little while later as the chainsaw smoke and sawdust was in the air... and the trail was clear! We all felt manlier. Engage Bikes!




With all of us dialing in our new bikes, I got to see what my V-10 Carbon could do, after a few laps my mind was blown and was hands down convinced that it is the best bike I’ve ridden to date (so if your on the fence about getting one... You wont be disappointed!) After all said and done we accomplished an excessive amount of laps on buttery smooth trails all with no crashes! By that time we clocked in around 10 hours of riding and it was time to go back to reality. Dirty, Sore and tired we hit the road back home. All in all a great way to start the season!


See ya next week!

Photos By: Kurt De Freitas & Kyle McKinnon


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