Stories from the Riders- Andrew Teit is Liking It
Vroom! Beep beep beep. Vroom! What in the blazes? I am just aware enough…but still not conscious enough to shake the possibility that I may be part of a beach invasion of a very foreign country; hopefully Brazil.
It's only the uncannily human like yelp from Cheekeye the Dog that alerts me to the reality of waking up cold and dazed in a small tent in…oh yeah, Cache Creek. I poke my head outside and for some reason I'm not surprised to see today’s alarm clock, a Large CAT loader grading the ground about ten feet from our accommodations. Seems it's time to start the day.
![photo]()
We get up and out into the frost covered, early October morning as quickly as possible and meet the two locals who have been contracted to clear our camp ground. They are friendly as all hell and even give us advice on some mechanical troubles my pickup had developed late the night before. So far Cache Creek is pretty legit.
![photo]()
Being human, out next step is breakfast and since we're in a bit of a hurry to get on with the day and catch the, shmear, epic fall light, A&W will do. We eat and drive out of town in search of epic-ness. Our destination for the day is a place I’ve looked at for years, but have until now, failed to find an excuse to explore. So far I really like this day. Getting access to this certain hillside proved a bit difficult. It seemed there were two roads leading in: one turned out to be a long driveway to a private residence; the other side of the valley was only an entrance to a cow pasture. Time to be more direct. It appeared that several nearby properties have the access we needed, so we decided to simply knock and ask.
The first house we approached was typical of the area…at least six vehicles in varying dilapidated states strewn about the yard, antlers hanging from a hundred year old shed and three wild looking dogs milling about. As per usual in small towns, looks are deceiving as the elderly woman that greeted us was very interested in what were doing, but regrettably her property didn’t provide the access we needed. She did however suggest a friend down the road who may have access to our current oasis. As we soon discovered, the driveway recommended to us may as well have been a time portal. The house, barn, sheds, fences; the whole scene is made up of original, gold rush era relics. We knock and are greeted by a middle-aged woman brandishing a perplexed, yet friendly expression. After explaining ourselves a bit, she warms up to us and proceeds to confirm our suspicions of the age of the buildings. Her grandfather had built the small ranch slightly after the turn of the century and in fact, the road we would travel down to reach our filming location was the original wagon road used during the gold rush. We thank her and head down the wagon road pretty excited our efforts had finally paid off.
![photo]()
Reaching the zone around 10 am, we knew there was only about 6hrs of good light and I still had no idea exactly how the terrain would ride. It was time to get something done. About 20 minutes later we were hiking up a slope of rust colored gravel that felt very similar to hard pack “cruddy” snow…not ideal for traction. Now, a quick side note; hiking is hard work. Not hard like… when I finally reach the top I’m going to have a nice lunch of egg salad and Canada Dry then head home. Rather more like…at the top I’m going to chill for a bit then get on my bike and ride better than I have all year. At a time like this, a shuttle truck or even a “bike porter” seems like a more than civil idea- keep the athlete comfortable and ready to perform to the best of their abilities. But this wouldn’t be true to the nature of mountain biking- so I hike.
For the next few hours, we ride and film an array of these orange, mineral infused ridges and end up with a few good looking shots. A quick check of the time reveals that we only have a short while until we have to head back to town to meet Kevin Lando. With this in mind, we abandon the ridges in search of a jump to session for a while. It only takes about 10 minutes to find a mound that, with some shovel work, will make an ideal lip to a gloriously long, steep landing. As Taylor does a walk around, seeking the best angle for the shot, I work in the lip and Cheekeye drags logs out of the run out. No joke. I think letting him ride inside the truck scored me human appreciation points. Soon enough everyone is set to shoot. First attempt goes well. Landed. However, It takes 15 attempts or more and a bit of encouragement from Cheekeye before both of us are happy with the shot. Right on. Found, built, filmed. It’s always this easy…
![photo]()
As we head back to Cache Creek, it's universally clear how stoked we are to have actually gained access and filmed, all in the better part of one day. It takes a lot of verbal repetition to expel the stoke from our minds. By the time we rendezvous with Kevin at Hungry Herbie’s, emotions are under control and we’re able to put our minds to tackling the most delicious grease feast north of Splits Burger.
![photo]()
With a full stomach and visions of a more relaxing sleep than the previous night on the mind, Taylor, Kevin and I ponder where to set up camp. Kevin suggests driving south, finding a forest service road with a more natural setting to set up a tent and maybe even have a fire. Once we're on the highway it's only a matter of minutes before we find a pretty amazing field with ample wood to burn and a classic starty night to enjoy. With any luck, the next day will bring handfuls more bike shredding…and if that means an equal amount of obstacles, I’m more than ready, I like this.
Words by Andrew Teit
Photos by Artbarn's Taylor Loughran
Stay tuned to Pinkbike.com for more information on You Like This!
You Like This - Post #1
It's only the uncannily human like yelp from Cheekeye the Dog that alerts me to the reality of waking up cold and dazed in a small tent in…oh yeah, Cache Creek. I poke my head outside and for some reason I'm not surprised to see today’s alarm clock, a Large CAT loader grading the ground about ten feet from our accommodations. Seems it's time to start the day.
We get up and out into the frost covered, early October morning as quickly as possible and meet the two locals who have been contracted to clear our camp ground. They are friendly as all hell and even give us advice on some mechanical troubles my pickup had developed late the night before. So far Cache Creek is pretty legit.
Being human, out next step is breakfast and since we're in a bit of a hurry to get on with the day and catch the, shmear, epic fall light, A&W will do. We eat and drive out of town in search of epic-ness. Our destination for the day is a place I’ve looked at for years, but have until now, failed to find an excuse to explore. So far I really like this day. Getting access to this certain hillside proved a bit difficult. It seemed there were two roads leading in: one turned out to be a long driveway to a private residence; the other side of the valley was only an entrance to a cow pasture. Time to be more direct. It appeared that several nearby properties have the access we needed, so we decided to simply knock and ask.
The first house we approached was typical of the area…at least six vehicles in varying dilapidated states strewn about the yard, antlers hanging from a hundred year old shed and three wild looking dogs milling about. As per usual in small towns, looks are deceiving as the elderly woman that greeted us was very interested in what were doing, but regrettably her property didn’t provide the access we needed. She did however suggest a friend down the road who may have access to our current oasis. As we soon discovered, the driveway recommended to us may as well have been a time portal. The house, barn, sheds, fences; the whole scene is made up of original, gold rush era relics. We knock and are greeted by a middle-aged woman brandishing a perplexed, yet friendly expression. After explaining ourselves a bit, she warms up to us and proceeds to confirm our suspicions of the age of the buildings. Her grandfather had built the small ranch slightly after the turn of the century and in fact, the road we would travel down to reach our filming location was the original wagon road used during the gold rush. We thank her and head down the wagon road pretty excited our efforts had finally paid off.
Reaching the zone around 10 am, we knew there was only about 6hrs of good light and I still had no idea exactly how the terrain would ride. It was time to get something done. About 20 minutes later we were hiking up a slope of rust colored gravel that felt very similar to hard pack “cruddy” snow…not ideal for traction. Now, a quick side note; hiking is hard work. Not hard like… when I finally reach the top I’m going to have a nice lunch of egg salad and Canada Dry then head home. Rather more like…at the top I’m going to chill for a bit then get on my bike and ride better than I have all year. At a time like this, a shuttle truck or even a “bike porter” seems like a more than civil idea- keep the athlete comfortable and ready to perform to the best of their abilities. But this wouldn’t be true to the nature of mountain biking- so I hike.
For the next few hours, we ride and film an array of these orange, mineral infused ridges and end up with a few good looking shots. A quick check of the time reveals that we only have a short while until we have to head back to town to meet Kevin Lando. With this in mind, we abandon the ridges in search of a jump to session for a while. It only takes about 10 minutes to find a mound that, with some shovel work, will make an ideal lip to a gloriously long, steep landing. As Taylor does a walk around, seeking the best angle for the shot, I work in the lip and Cheekeye drags logs out of the run out. No joke. I think letting him ride inside the truck scored me human appreciation points. Soon enough everyone is set to shoot. First attempt goes well. Landed. However, It takes 15 attempts or more and a bit of encouragement from Cheekeye before both of us are happy with the shot. Right on. Found, built, filmed. It’s always this easy…
As we head back to Cache Creek, it's universally clear how stoked we are to have actually gained access and filmed, all in the better part of one day. It takes a lot of verbal repetition to expel the stoke from our minds. By the time we rendezvous with Kevin at Hungry Herbie’s, emotions are under control and we’re able to put our minds to tackling the most delicious grease feast north of Splits Burger.
With a full stomach and visions of a more relaxing sleep than the previous night on the mind, Taylor, Kevin and I ponder where to set up camp. Kevin suggests driving south, finding a forest service road with a more natural setting to set up a tent and maybe even have a fire. Once we're on the highway it's only a matter of minutes before we find a pretty amazing field with ample wood to burn and a classic starty night to enjoy. With any luck, the next day will bring handfuls more bike shredding…and if that means an equal amount of obstacles, I’m more than ready, I like this.
Words by Andrew Teit
Photos by Artbarn's Taylor Loughran
Stay tuned to Pinkbike.com for more information on You Like This!
You Like This - Post #1
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I guess this is Jimmy Hendrix but still don't know the title