With off-season settling in, we had an opportunity to take the Rocky Mountain Bicycles/Race Face EWS team out of town for a mini getaway before the snowy season arrived.
Three riders, two mechanics, some RMB and RF support staff, and our RF media team made their way to a little strip of paradise to catch the last of the year's sunny, yet chilly, days and a little R&R away from city life.
The Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast stretches 180 km up the southwest corner of mainland BC and is only accessible by air or ferries at the north and south ends. This strip of paradise is the home of plenty of mountain biking - from the Sprockids MTB trails to Roberts Creek to the impressive jumps at Coast Gravity Park just outside Sechelt.
Coast Gravity ParkWe were lucky enough to have Coast Gravity Park open up for us on a weekday, giving us free rein of the whole park. Jumps, berms, launches, drops - it has everything a rider dreams of. Some had been here before while others were first-timers.
Bonus: no lines to wait in to get back to the top - the Race Face truck was more than up to the task of getting everyone back up the steep road to the top for "just one more run."
A quick recharge cookout stop in the sunshine and the crew was back up the hill for more shredding.
The HouseEvenings were spent with games - dice, full-size jenga, and plenty of feats of strength - while mornings were spent making java in all kinds of coffee devices and trying to convince Trotter to mix a soundtrack for the day ahead.
Roberts CreekThe other draw of the Sunshine Coast was a network of trails near Roberts Creek. The crew rode trails to bookend the park day. Plenty of loam to get after and time to session the rocky and rooty, twisted and turning trails.
Off-Season Challenge: Gingerbread Building - Mechanics vs EWS RacersA gauntlet was thrown and the team divided along lines - the mechanics took on the task of a single classic gingerbread house while the EWS racers chose a whole village as their challenge. Structural integrity vs speed became the issue as time ticked down.
The finished products - Team Mechanics managed to finish theirs on time but ultimately they didn't have enough sugary sweet cement to keep everything together. Team Racers didn't quite finish all their buildings but the ones they did remained intact.
Video: Connor MacLeod
Photos: Nicholas Kupiak
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