Photo Story: 2020 Adaptive Gravity Tour Rolls into Silver Star

Words: Landon McGauley (Sensus // Can't Quit Cartel)
Photos // Captions: Niall Pinder

I was super excited to reunite with the awesome crew from Kootenay Adaptive Sports Association (KASA) for the third chapter of the Gravity Tour at SilverStar resort. I had been part of the previous stop at Big White and it was amazing: I got reacquainted with the BC terrain and was able to feel what the Adaptive bikes are really capable of. Now confident on the Southern BC terrain, I was ready to push it a bit more.

Friday was my first day riding Silver Star and it was as good as I could've hoped for. A close friend of mine from ski racing was able to find an Adaptive bike and try mountain biking for the first time. He picked it up quickly and we were able to ride some cool terrain and feel the mountain out.

On Saturday, I was the only adaptive athlete riding, as Josh Dueck had bent his rig crashing the previous evening. I had the whole mountain to ride, and a photographer - it was on. We ended up trying to see how steep and technical the bike could be pushed. We found Double Dog to be the perfect place to test the bike: steep, rocky, and loose. After picking my way down the first run, we were hooked. The Bowhead Adaptive MTB is so capable it took everything I could throw at it. On the lift, we talked about different places to get shots and cool lines that would work well. It was one of the best days of riding I've had, adaptive or otherwise.

Sunday: We were fortunate enough to link up with Adaptive shredder Cole Bernier. After getting a couple hits in on a fun step-up, we met up with his crew of shredders. The vibe was super high and we both wanted to push it! Unfortunately, this worked in neither of our favours, as we were almost instantly in a pretty epic crash, thankfully it was the final day and we didn't miss out on much riding.

All in all, it was a great weekend. A huge thanks goes out to SilverStar for the trails and hospitality, and to Kootenay Adaptive for having us. Adaptive riding is a new sport but the possibilities are high. I look forward to seeing and being part of where the sport will get in the next few years.