Whistler 2000 Biking super hero road trip

And you would think that after 5 years, that would have changed - but it
hasn’t: every year Whistler just keeps getting better and better - especially
with the advent of the Whistler Bike park. Naturally, since it was built,
everyone thinks when you say you are riding in Whistler that you are going to
hit the bike park: But if you go to Whistler and only ride there, you are not
even getting half the picture. The bike park is incredible, but it is only a
small part of the story….and since everyone knows the bike park, I’ll spin the
focus more on the other stuff…

You see cause we don’t go out to Whistler as us - we go out there to take on
our secret identities as biking road trip heroes …

(note some names and events in this story may be modified to protect the
um…innocent)

(You can see
all the pics associated with this article on
pinkbike.com

- You can more pics, rider bios, and of course duNGor music on
duNGor.com

Our story begins with local Calgary riders Paul Sudlow and Mimo loading up
the Fantastic Elastic Reality van. So called cause The van has the ability to
transmogrify your average city type rider into the type of rider you see in the
biking videos - faster, stronger, able to party all night, and rip trails all
day.

The day in the city was Tuesday night and it was grey, cold and raining - but
that did not discourage our intrepid city dwellers, who were determined to
escape its dreary bonds and drove through the night - and finally camped
somewhere along the highway to Revelstoke.

Upon awaking the next morning it was apparent that their escape from the
dreary confines of the city had been a complete success - they awoke to absolute
clear skies: everything was ready for the first stage of their visit: Sun Peaks.
They had made the jump to ROAD TRIP and also had taken on their road trip
identities as SuPA and Ronnie duNGor.

After a brief stop in Kamloops for the fuel that would keep them and the
Elastic Reality van running (Beer) they arrived in good time to Sun Peaks, where
they set up camp not far from the bar.

Their first mission: finding kick ass trails to rip up.

With the enthusiastic assistance of Brian of the Sun Peaks hill bike shop,
Ronnie and SuPA rapidly found themselves what they was lookin for. A sweet trail
that runs from just below the ski hill entrance to the valley, and it was
something to see - lots of built crazy stunts…… The wildest thing about this
trail was that it had multiple lines and entry points into each section - so
there were tons of options depending on how much of a super hero you felt like
at that moment. SuPA stepped up to the plate with a crazy hit off this ramp gap
jump thingy - not wanting to hit it short, he blasted off the ramp: and cleared
the landing by at least 10 feet. Many more long stunts, drops and ramps populate
this trail - don’t miss it if you get to Sun Peaks.

After a relaxing soiree at the locals night in the Sun Peaks pub, where our
intrepid heroes scored their first party victory by winning a visor in an 80s
name that tune contest, they proceeded back to ripping @#$@ up on the ski hill.
Sun Peaks has a killer trail network - lots of steeps, chutes, tight turns -the
favorite trail being Sugar to Sweet One. This trail features tons of flow, log
rides, drops and this time it was Ronnie’s turn to step it up - cleaning the
trail in what would prove to be peak Ripping @#$@ up day 2…

After loading up the Elastic Reality Van, Ronnie and SuPA headed across the
Fraser valley and over to the extreme road (as the Dropin guys will attest)
called the DUFFY.

This road features extreme 15% grades, tight switchbacks, single lane bridges
over waterfalls and a huge DH section that has 120 degree hairpin corners - a
must ride for sure. The Elastic Reality van negotiated the tough terrain without
a problem - most importantly the beer in the van’s fridge staying cold the whole
way - and they arrived in Pemberton and prepared to make their first pilgrimage
to Garfinkles bar in Whistler. You see - part of the mission of going to
Whistler involves living like a true super bike video hero for a brief time, and
doing things that are just not possible to do in the confines of ‘real life’ in
the city.

Fortunately, local Pemberton/Whistler operatives Les, Dave and Graham make
the conversion from city dweller to full-bore Bike Vid party rider possible.

Together our Whistler operatives possess some very interesting super powers
that are critical to the mission: - the connection to the local underground ride
scene for hookups to lesser known trails and access to popular trails without
the usual ‘public’ hassles or constraints, facilities and knowledge to provide
the zone to chill out in and: the ability to make lines at bars vanish, and some
strange ‘price dilation’ powers that are better left fully unexplained.

After a solid night at Garfs, which involved much Ronnie duNGor Russian
dancing, jagermeister, jack denials and some other stuff whose name escapes
memory and a drop in to the Savage Beagle to connect with operative Graham, the
scene was set up for a ride in Pemberton on what would most likely be Saturday -
if anyone were actually keeping track.

Ronnie and SuPA also connected with a large pool of other Calgary rider
escapees looking to ditch their normal lives: there were some 20 people or more
- too numerous to name, quite a number of whom camped in the Nairn falls
campground in Pemberton- highly recommended if you don’t want to pay the 32
bucks a night the pirates at the Riverside campground want for a tent site…

Now if you have never ridden in Pemberton, and you have been in the area
well… you suck. Sorry - its true. Pemberton kicks getting an ice pick in the
forehead any day of the week (it’s a game we used to play back in public
school..).

You can shuttle to a bunch of sweet trails up on the radio tower hill by the
gravel pit: trails like Gravitron, Hawaii 50, Upper and Lower Bob Gnarly,
Overnight Sensation - and others that you have to ride to - like Meat Grinder,
Grumpy Grouse, and the fan fav - Tower of Power.

The other feature on the rides
is the fact that there are numerous lakes along the way for most of them, where
you can catch a dip or catch a nice fish if you wish Precious.

Trails in Pemberton feature long lines with lots of great natural stuff on
them and stunts - but flow is the key. Long super steep sections, gnarly rock
faces some of which can be dropped, others rolled to huck kind of thing, and
some really steep crazy stuff that makes even the bravest road trip hero’s gut
wrench going over the edge. We did upper Bob Gnarly which fits this description
of demented steepness to a T, followed by the really cool lines of Hawaii 5-0
which has a number of hucks, and some really wicked log rides on it so you can
surf the flow incredibly. Two log rides in particular seem to go on forever - so
sweet!

Even though we did two trails a day riding in Pemberton, there was only one
major casualty on the Pemberton rides: even with that many people - poor Travs
took a header that turned him into Two Face - the dirt version…But like any good
biking super hero, he blamed his equipment.

Alternate nights - relaxin at the campground - other nights at Garfinkles -
Les worked his teleportation powers that allowed Calgary to take over the bar in
what would prove to be an insane night that ended with the first party casualty
of the trip - SuPA finally met his match with the dual tag-team of Les at Garfs
and Graham at the Beagle giving him the 1-2 shooter death combo: resulting in a
day off the bike. Ronnie stepped up though at the Whistler Bike Park riding with
Les to keep the force in equilibrium, so all remained in balance in the road
trip super-hero universe.

The next few days involved riding the Whistler bike park and either chilling
out at the bar with different groups who were coming through town - a highlight
being hooking up with the Dropin guys who took in the locals night at Tommy’s
after a tour of their bus followed by Garfs...Dropin RULES!

There is a dark side to partying in Whistler that every road trip warrior
must be pre warned about - what is known by the locals as the Whistler Village
Disorientation Matrix that protects the area from outsiders.

When partying at the bars in Whistler on a road trip, the end result usually
ends up being a stay in the infamous Parking Lot 4. This fine facility has many
amenities for the price (free) - toilets (the ditch), bath (the lake), wake up
service (the blazing sun which heats the lot up to 1,000,000 at 11am sharp) and
the softest fluffiest gravel you could ever hope to sleep on (right Cro-Mag and
Gord?): but like any great place to stay, its all about location, location,
location.

Parking Lot 4 is closely located to the bars, and right beside the bike park.

Now the interesting thing about this is while it takes approximately 5
minutes to get to the bar from Parking Lot 4, the Disorientation Matrix, which
seems to kick in at about 2:00am can cause the walk back to Parking Lot 4 to
take upwards of 2 hours or more..

It seems the Disorientation Matrix is centered about the mysterious and
mythical Whistler 7-11: which is the location most people first try to find
after leaving the bar at 2:00 in the morning, and realizing they have a massive
craving for the delicious 7-11 nachos and cheese. The closer you get to 7-11 the
more you end up walking in a circle and finding yourself lost in the village.

This effect came into play on several nights - when after leaving the bar
Happy was found wandering some 2 hours later nowhere near parking lot 4 where
his Westfalia van was located - dejectedly looking at a map on a street corner.
This also happened to Gord, Cro-Mag and Nick, who got exposed to the Les/Graham
Garfs/Beagle punish the Calgary guy tag team as they traveled with SupA: (there
was much Ronnie Russian dancing that night as well). They went on a post bar
quest for 7-11: and that part of the evening shall never be spoken of again.

By the time they finally made it back to Parking Lot 4 it was about 4 in the
morning, and suPA and Ronnie had already finished off the better part of
remaining jagermeister - which meant they were not much help in setting up the
tent for Gord and Cro-Mag who were also unsuccessful at setting the tent up: So
they ended up sleeping old school on an air mattress on the ground in Parking
Lot 4 - Nick having somehow snuck into one of the vans to crash - leaving the
others to the slugs.

Fortunately, the extreme crazyness of Whistler can be balanced off against
the sheer chill serenity of hanging in Pemberton at Les and Dave’s place - where
Ronnie, SupA and Happy were treated to fine meals and super-laid back hanging
out at the pad interspersed with kick-ass rides in Pemberton.

The only real riding mishap occurred one day when SuPA, Ronnie and Dave in
succession managed to endo - resulting in bruised thumbs. Ronnie’s crash is
available for your viewing pleasure on vid happened on the Bob Gnarly lower
half, which Ronnie and SuPA hit after doing Tower of Power.

Tower of Power is a classic trail and was featured in Kranked II I believe,
and starts with a massive climb called Lumpy’s Epic. Even those endowed with
biking super powers find it a very tough climb up to the hydro tower where the
action really starts. The trail runs down a series of rock faces that vary in
steepness and technical descents. You get a solid view going down as well - but
don’t lose focus too much - there’s lots of spots where going the wrong way can
mean a long drop onto sharp pointy rocks.

One of the weirdest things about this trail (which we did twice) is that
under the hydro lines its possible to get shocks in your hands from the close
proximity of the high-tension hydro lines which electrify the bike through the
disc breaks. This can cause everything from a mild shock to having your hands
malfunction totally on you depending on how wet your gloves are! NO BULLSHIT!

So after doing Tower of Power, the crew pedaled across town to hit the lower
half o Bob Gnarly - which is covered in stunts and is a sharp contrast to Tower
of Powers all natural riding. Ronnie blew the first drop when his foot slipped
off the pedal on landing, resulting in a bent disc rotor. SuPA in traditional
form nailed the first and the second drops without a hitch.

The third drop came along, and Ronnie, having got his confidence back, went
for it - The landing was a bit on the short side, and Ronnie, forgetting he had
a bent rotor, hit the brakes, causing the front wheel to lock up thusly throwing
him unceremoniously on the ground (rule 1: Blame the crash on the gear!) - right
on the only sharp point rock to be found in the vicinity. font>

Now - up to this point, things are going so well you think - how can they
possibly get better? And even more critically - how can the conversion of
Calgary City Dwellers to Road Trip Super Video type Biking Heroes be even more
complete?

So the last Friday night in town starts like this - they hit the sushi place
for some kick-ass sushi: the ultimate meal after 9 days of solid hard riding - no shoes, sake, and fine fine sushi.

Then proceed to the Savage Beagle to hook up with Les, who as it turns out
has the night off work. Once word of this gets out (Les being a bar manager
doesn’t go out partying that often, but when he does - its CRAZY), the double
barrel shooter glasses start a-flyin. Many stories punctuate that night - which
will largely be omitted to protect the secret identities of those involved.
However, the night peaked with a local establishment being turned into an after
hours type party for our entourage featuring our own private DJ, bar tenders and
all around cool people for company: We finally got back to parking lot 4 that
night at 5am….And you would normally think that would be it… BUT NO!

Whats the one thing the guys you see in those bike movies always get to do
that mortals don’t normally? Shuttle up to never before ridden trails in a
HELICOPTER!

Saturday morning at 12:00 noon the Nine Riders found themselves sitting
outside the heli-plex ready to load up the chopper - after a few dozen coffees…
Turns out Les had set up a hookup with Dan the Trail Building man. Dan is
largely responsible for getting the Whistler riding scene started, for without
trails there shall be no riding. He was the insurmountable object that went
about for years before biking was the thing to do building bike trails in the
valley. His trails include River Runs Through it, Industrial Disease, Shit
Happens, cut your bars….Many of the original classics - which our heros over the
years have hit.

So it was a real privilege for them to meet the original uber-biker-trail
builder to get a personal tour on a trail he had just cut UP Rainbow mountain.
UP you say? Yes - for like any Super Hero, Dan has a super power - the ability
to climb mountains - on his trials Motocross bike, while picking the perfect
line for a trail through dense bush, over rocks you name it.

These trials bike things are incredible machines - similar design in some
ways to a freeride bike, but with a small motor on em. The guys riding these
things are like goats: they can climb up just about anything, do hops, gaps and
a lot of the same stuff you can do on a mountain bike, but UP as well as down.
So while we waited for the chopper to shuttle up the rest of the crew, the
trials guys ripped around the snow pack landing zone where the chopper was
shuttling riders in the alpine zone.

After getting trail rundown from Dan, and a few photo ops, the crew of 9
riders headed down the fresh-cut trail some 6,000 feet or so to the Valley
floor. When riding in Whistler, you get pics at the start, and pics at the end.
You don’t stop to take pics in the middle - cause its all about the ride, not
about the posing.

Only 1 minor crash on the entire run, not one mechanical and only 3 stops of
any consequence the whole way down - Now That’s riding Whistler style. This
trail had flow: dropping from the alpine into bush - super long steep sections,
great natural riding and wicked tacky earth to stick to. The steep sections were
really incredible: steep pitch to corner followed by steep pitch - on forever.

The scenery was amazing - well the pics tell the story better on that front.

Finally the trail comes out on some of the original trails built lower in the
valley - and the steepness continued with long chutes - the terrain changing
from the soft earth higher up to more sketchy sand and rocks as you went down.

---

Regrettably this story has the usual ending - we are back in town and back to
our normal lives. The only thing keeping us going now is the knowledge that
Whistler is still there - getting better all the time: new trails are being cut
as we speak. Charlie, the safety co-coordinator at the Bike Park took us on a
tour of a new trail they are building with huge step up jumps, an overpass and
more a-line style fun… And Dan the Trail Building man will no doubt be still at
it…

And once again we find ourselves indebted to Les, Dave, Graham and Reese - as always
- Thanks dudes! And to Paul (aka SuPA) for use of the fantastic Elastic Reality
van that transported us to great riding all summer!

You can see all the pics associated with this
article on pinkbike
HERE
You can see all the pics, bios, and duNGor music on
duNGor.com

Mimo….(Ronnie duNGor when in ROAD TRIP mode)