Video: Reece Wallace Flies His 'Pleign' Around BC to Ride

Sep 15, 2020
by Giant Bicycles  


Last year, Canadian Giant athlete Reece Wallace obtained his pilot's license and changed the way he would ride forever. Reece took some time during COVID-19 pandemic to head into his own backyard and explore the trails close to his home on Vancouver Island. Longing to avoid masses but still ride, Reece loaded up his little 1974 Cessna 150 with his Reign 27.5 in the back and explored what BC has to offer in a relatively unusual manner.


photo
Maybe not Transport Canada approved...

bigquotesOver the years I’ve chased the freedom which biking can bring by competing, building new trails and stunts, and travelling to ride and explore new areas. Finding ways to stoke the flames can help develop your riding and keep things fresh. For me, the way I go about finding and riding new places changed just over a year ago when I earned my pilot’s license - Reece

Liam Wallace Photo

Liam Wallace Photo

Liam Wallace Photo

bigquotesFlying and riding share more in common than you might expect. Banking the aircraft into a turn feels like riding a long sweeping berm. When the air becomes unstable, it’s like going from a blue trail to a black diamond. It’s the same sensation of freedom behind the controls of my Cessna as behind my handlebars. Being able to fly or ride in whatever style I want is what it’s all about - Reece

Liam Wallace Photo

To load up his plane, Reece removes the front and rear wheels from his Reign, then leans the down tube and fork over the passenger seat similar to a tailgate pad. The wheels and the rest of the gear fit snuggly in the back. It’s about a 10-minute process to remove and assemble his bike

Liam Wallace Photo

bigquotesFlight 2-0-9'er, you are cleared for take-off.
Roger, Roger.
Huh?
We have clearance, Clarence.
What?
What's our vector, Victor?

Liam Wallace Photo

Liam Wallace Photo

bigquotesWhen the pandemic hit the ferries shut down my plane proved to be more useful than expected. With my Reign loaded in the back, I travelled across the water to ride. What used to take five hours now only took 45 minutes, and I was burning fewer fossil fuels than my truck—win win - Reece

Liam Wallace Photo

Liam Wallace Photo
Black Tusk—a stratovolcano and a pinnacle of volcanic rock just south of Whistler

Liam Wallace Photo

Liam Wallace Photo

Liam Wallace Photo

Photo Epic HERE

Rider & Pilot: Reece Wallace
Video: Matt Butterworth
Photos: Liam Wallace

Giant Bicycles
#RideUnleashed

Author Info:
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Member since Aug 17, 2011
78 articles

81 Comments
  • 55 0
 Does it Reign on a Pleign in Speign?

Sorry, I'll see myself out.....
  • 3 0
 Meignly, right?
  • 24 0
 Initially I thought I had already seen this article.
www.pinkbike.com/news/photo-epic-reece-wallace-flies-planes-and-bikes-in-bc.html
But it clearly is a different one. Fair enough, this is good stuff. Have at it!
  • 9 0
 For a moment I thought the acid had kicked in...
  • 3 0
 Deja Vu.
  • 18 0
 Oh i get it, you combined plane with Reign.....
  • 52 0
 This is the FBI stay where you are
  • 3 1
 @brytar: Q warned me this may happen!!!
  • 2 0
 duh

i just got it Smile
  • 15 1
 Personally if I had the license and means, I'd use a Kitfox with the STOL setup and big fat tires... more back-country options. Trent Palmer in the USA would be the obvious inspiration.
  • 4 0
 a water plane would be awesome, find a lake and set her down.
  • 116 2
 When I stumble across a casual $300K I'll be sure to make this my next purchase, lol. For now, my Honda Civic of airplanes works just fine Smile
  • 21 0
 @reecewallace: have you looked under the couch?
  • 4 0
 @reecewallace: very curious, when you land at an airport, like Squamish, do you pay fees or any charges to land and/or leave your plane there while you ride?
  • 9 0
 @Bomadics: No landing fees at the little airports, but there's usually a small fee for parking overnight
  • 2 3
 @reecewallace:

Well I could suggest an Antonov An-2 as they cost less to buy and you can then haul up to a dozen riders with you into some pretty remote locations, but the fuel burn of 185L per hour is a bit of a bear and its not cheap to fill the 1,200L tanks. There's a used polish built one that's a decade younger than your Cessna for sale for $79k USD in Poland at the moment. Of course the ferry flight would be a bit of a bitch having to do it about 1000kms per leg.
  • 1 0
 @reecewallace: thanks for the info Reese!
  • 14 1
 I feel like the Canadians are working extra-hard this summer to rub in the fact that we're not allowed. Also, that backflip to wheelie landing is about the dopest thing I can remember seeing.
  • 2 0
 Canada sucks, tell your friends. It doesn't even have Freedom!
  • 13 0
 My first thought was cake's old question: "How can you afford your rock and roll lifestyle?"
  • 9 0
 FINALLY, a more expensive hobby than mountain bikes. I grew up flying a 150. Want one just like that.
  • 6 0
 My friend is an amateur pilot and last year (pre-COVID) we flew from Seattle up to Coast Gravity Park for a day of riding. Great way to travel...just had to land in Boundary Bay for a quick customs inspection. About 2 hours flight each way.

We didn't do any backflips or barspins though Smile
  • 11 4
 The plane burns less fuel for the same distance than the truck? What does that tell us about gas guzzling overpowered overweight trucks?
  • 13 6
 That amercians wouldn't have it any other way? And now their bs is coming to aus hard and fast as a dick measuring tool for trades..
  • 15 1
 @sethius: Make sure you have the special penis-extender wide mirrors, too, even though you never tow anything.
  • 1 2
 @sethius: trades like barbie in the arvo
  • 6 1
 @MtbSince84: also the silicone scrotum hanging off the chromed multi drop hitch with no scratches.
  • 13 0
 This interested me so I looked it up and it seems a Cessna 172 can get roughly 17mpg in non naughtical measurements. This is actually worse than the highway mileage of the best half ton truck (about 25mpg) but is line with bigger, older and more performance oriented trucks. However, his plane will travel in a straight line, while the truck will not, especially in mountain biking regions. The distance between Kamloops and whistler, for instance, is 300km by car but only 200km by plane. Combined with the the fact that cars fall short of stated mileage in hilly terrain, I think it is safe to say that the plane is more efficient by far.
  • 1 0
 @Poachninja: in the earlier photo story about the pleign, commenter @parisgore wrote that his cessna could reach a formidable 33 mpg.
  • 1 0
 @sethius: as a Canadian living in NZ, working as a diesel mechanic. The ranger And company is a absolute joke, tool box/tray and like 7 tools in it and you’re over it’s payload.

@poachninja I also believe he’s considering the ferry to some degree in that.
  • 5 0
 At least he didn't land on a beach at the end of the video.... . . . . . luckily his water bottle didn't match the bike.. i was nearly super jealous. Spokes look sooooo good.
  • 5 0
 This was rad! The video was fun, the idea is AWESOME, and Reece is a total shredder. Great work guys! BTW, all the color grading in the vid and in the photos is exceptional. Top work!
  • 6 0
 I used to feel accomplished with my life.
  • 7 0
 yeah butters! sick vid
  • 4 0
 rad video! nice work. bike rack shot just for show!?!?! cant imagine liftoff with the bike on the "roof" lol
  • 1 0
 Was also disappointed not to see it flying with the bicycle on the top!
  • 2 0
 @jaame: Would you want to strap your bike to the top of a plane?
  • 5 0
 @PAmtbiker: Can't be worse than what airlines put them through already...
  • 2 0
 @PAmtbiker: not really but I would be interested to see someone else do it... especially when they baited me in with a photo like that
  • 1 0
 Great video! If I had the ability to do that I definitely would! Imagine never sitting in I-70 mountain traffic to go up and hit Trestle. You could fly into Granby, then take a 45 minute free bus ride down to Winter Park. It would be totally worth it. Or just fly to Buena Vista or Salida and pedal from the airport to the trails.
  • 1 0
 I've done this, I live in CO and you don't necessarily have to buy your own airplane to do this, you become a private pilot and join a flight club and use the club planes. I flight to all central colorado (Salida, Buenavista, Leadville, Montrose, Gunnison, Steamboat, Eagle, Rifle etc.) with my 2 mountain bikes and a friend. It is not cheap by any means but if you can afford it, and/or have a bussy who would be willing to split the cost, it's totally awesome.. It works for rock climbing too Smile any of my single day flights are about $400-500 round trip, between two people is not too bad.
  • 4 0
 Now I finally know what AXS is good for - barspins.
  • 9 2
 how long before AXS brakes? tunable modulation, strength, and bite point, and never have to be bled if they move the pistons with servos instead of fluid. (PS i want the royalties SRAM.)
  • 10 0
 @Mattysville: all fun and games until the batteries die
  • 1 0
 @virtumedia: fair point.
  • 1 0
 @Mattysville: SRAM’s April fool joke
  • 4 0
 Damn, those are some spangly rainbow spokes right there!
  • 1 0
 @Poachninja: combined with the fact that planes are used until physically destroyed or unsafe to repair and regularly have lifespans of 30-50 years, Cessna 172 first flight 1955, the eco footprint looks way ahead
  • 1 0
 Wow! Thats very cool. I have flown from Whistler to Vancouver via seaplane and would recommend it to anybody - the scenery is amazing !!
  • 1 0
 Not sure the bar spin is a cool enough trick to have an extra 2 feet of brake line hanging around. He should find one of those Trickstuff hydro gyros
  • 3 0
 This rocks!
  • 3 0
 #planelife
  • 2 0
 goals. Also some of the "Nanaimo" section was in Duncan.
  • 2 0
 Never actually flew the plane with bike on the roof. #scared
  • 1 0
 Fascinating how teams with well rounded riders are putting out great edit. How to see more edits from them.
  • 1 0
 So awesome man! Working on my pilots license now. Can’t wait to fly around with my bike, what a dream!
  • 1 0
 We use to hang bikes off the struts of highlander and kitfoxes, I wish I could make a bike fit in a rv12.. dreams lol
  • 1 0
 Eh... Makes you wonder what kinda car the man drives if flying his '74 150 around is more ecological.
  • 1 0
 Great video! Nice work Reece.
  • 1 0
 Come a long way from that snot nosed kid of Kelvin Grove.
  • 2 0
 that was awesome!
  • 1 0
 *High Five* to whoever did the plane livery (graphics)
  • 1 0
 I was already interested in getting my license...new motivation.
  • 1 0
 Man thet looks like a lot of fun but that smile was awkward!
  • 1 0
 Those disco spokes are loud, eh!
  • 1 0
 I mean, in a good way. Where can I get some?!?
  • 1 0
 Holy F@k... that is too RAd!!
  • 1 0
 Where was the "Abbotsford (YKK)" section? Ledgeview or Veder, or ...?
  • 1 0
 Smooth riding and great concept.
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