The days have been just flying by here in paradise. Saturday was hard as Matt was waiting for the hospital to call regarding his pending surgery. The call finally came and Sunday was to be the day! We woke up at the ungodly hour of 7:30 to drive into north van. We dropped Matt off at the Lions Gate Hospital and were told he would be ready to be picked around 3. Tyler and I planned to go and ride the famous trails located in north vancouver. We planned to ride Mt. Fromme since it is the most small bike friendly of the 3 north shore mountains. Upon arriving at the trailhead I noticed that I had forgotten my shoes at home. Tyler and I weren't that disappointed as we were both quite tired from back to back days of riding. We now had some time to kill... a few bike shops and a cheese burger picnic / nap at Mcdonalds brought us to 3 with still no call from the hospital. We called the hospital only to be told Matt would be ready by 7 at the earliest.



plate and 7 screws



We now had some more time to kill. Our goal was to find a way to ride. First we were off to Zellers to pick up some cheap new kicks. Then it was off to Cove bike shop for some cheap pedals. We arrived just as they closing but they were nice enough to sell me a beauty pair of $20 flats. No a side note this $30 shoes/pedals set up works almost as good as my $300 regular flat set up…. fancy bike gear is so over rated ha ha. Our ride was finally underway, for some unknown reason we hammered up the climb in under an hour and got ready for the ride down. The north shore is known for steep, rooty, and rocky terrain and this ride didn't disappoint. We rode 7th secret and expresso and managed to ride about 80% of the tails with only a few unplanned dismounts. Just as we were finishing our ride, we got the call Matt was ready and headed to pick him up. He was a little groggy but relieved to have the surgery behind him. We headed back to whistler for a much needed feast.





We awoke Monday morning to rain and decided to hit the park for some laps. To say it was sloppy was an understatement. Over the course of our ride we saw one guy get his arm splinted and 2 other ambulances taking some unlucky riders off the hill. We also got to experience some classic BC weather and in the upper mountain had to ride through fog… it was crazy and we could hardly see each other. The mud covering our googles wasn't helping either! All in all we had splendiferous ride!





We got home just in time to clean up the bikes before heading to Araxi for dinner. Araxi is one of Whistlers most famous restaurants. No better way to finnish off a great ride than with delicious cuisine…. although it may have dented the food budget.



The agenda for today called us back to Squamish to concur the trails that had weakened the woLf pack on our last visit. Before riding we decided to stop by and see the boys at the Tantalus bike shop. Andrew happened to be in the market for a new xc bike and the Tantalus had just the bike. We left Whistler with 3 giants and started the ride with 2 giants and a brand new Santa Cruz Blur LT carbon. One of the nicest ride going! We had a great ride with beautiful views and some amazing single track with a lung burning climb to keep things honest. Hoods in the woods is my new favourite trail. Steep enough to bring the fear, but with flow for days. A few more trips to Squamish are in the cards for sure!