So far my time at Whistler has been pretty bad ass.
In the last video, I rode park for the first time.
I held my own on double black technical trails, but couldn’t make the same case for the
jump lines.
On a trail called A-line, I cased the sh!t out of half the jumps.
Of course, mountain biking isn’t about instantly mastering everything, it’s about sucking
less than you did yesterday.
Before I try to suck less today, my chainstay cam needs replacing.
It broke the other day during a crash, so we’ll need to use some brackets, gorilla
tape, and ingenuity to get it going again.
Pretty ugly.
I stepped up my safety game big time, but still managed to get banged up.
I’ve been wearing knee pads since the beginning of the trip, but got shinned when they rode
up a few inches.
My thumb is also bruised from that same crash.
I did step up to a full face helmet though, and I actually hate it less than I thought
I would
I’m banged up, and feel like I might be getting sick, but right now I could care less.
It’s time to ride some downhill.
First a warm up on the blue trails.
One of the biggest things I discovered about Whistler is how rough the trails are.
In videos you may get the idea that they’re smooth and perfectly sculpted, but early on
in the season the traffic takes its toll.
People tend to skid before the berms and create divots in the trails.
As people ride over the divots and brake more, they become evenly spaced ripples known as
brake bumps.
At high speeds they’re absolute murder on your hands.
While it does help to loosen your grip on the bars, these bumps can rattle the bike
right out of your hands.
Those who ride park every day seem to get used to them.
Still, brake bumps are a small price to pay for endless downhill.
Waiting for me at the bottom, was none other than Jordan Boostmaster.
Scan the comments and you’ll see plenty of people familiar with Jordan’s videos.
Before everyone rode with stabilizers, he was posting watchable POV footage using nothing
but a helmet cam.
His Pinkbike resume is also quite impressive.
After a long winter with a broken wrist, Jordan was eager to hit the trails again.
He brought along his friend, Wesley.
Jordan and Wesley have been riding this park for years, long before I knew there was such
a thing as lift access downhill.
Even as the trails change, they seem to know just about every line in this place.
I’m paying close attention.
While following Jordan and Wes, I noticed something different.
I was clearing jumps.
If you’ve never followed someone faster than you, I highly suggest you try.
Like a wolf chasing its prey, you can ride faster when holding someone’s wheel.
I see lots of people not even try, opting for the “I’ll meet you at the bottom”
attitude.
This is fine, I guess, but it won’t help you improve.
I’m fine with getting dropped trying.
That run was my second time on A-line, and except for the last few big jumps I did okay.
When I get home, I’m going to practice more downhill, and come back to Whistler with a
vengeance.
We headed up the second lift, where there’s lots of gnarlier rockier stuff.
Does this look small on camera?
It’s not.
This is Wes landing a little hard, but look at how this guy’s suspension gets decimated.
Seeing this stuff on your 4 inch phone screen can be deceiving, but take closer look at
this drop.
Or, how about take a closer look at this drop.
As the day wore on, what started off as “I might be getting sick” turned into, “I’m
definitely getting sick”.
So far I’ve gotten sick on every trip this year since Moab, and I’m determined to break
the cycle somehow.
But that day at Whistler I was going to keep things going no matter what.
I present to you the first ever stabilized Jordan Boostmaster downhill run.
Grab a beer, a coffee, a Mountain Dew, or whatever you like to fiend on.
This is YouTube history.
That was a great day, even though it ended with me feeling like balls.
I made progress, made new friends, and got some amazing footage.
What more could anyone ask for?
I hit it off with Jordan and Wes immediately, and we vowed to ride again before the end
of the trip.
To make it happen, I’d need to feel better by Wednesday, head to Vancouver to ride the
North Shore with them, and then go directly to the airport to catch my flight home.
Find out how that went in the next video.
For now, subscribe to Jordan to see his collaboration with me when it gets posted.
Follow him and Wes on instagram to get to get some positivity in your feed, and of course,
thanks for riding with me today.
I’ll see you next time.