From the Rockies to the Okanagan Valley

Excited and anxious for the first ride of our mountain bike adventure, we arrived in the parking lot of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort long before anything was open. We pulled the DH bikes out of the van, replaced a rear brake, bought lift tickets, and paid close attention to the signs directing tourists to the grizzly bear refuge. Every time we took the lift we scanned the mountain and while we weren’t granted the opportunity to meet Boo, the resident grizzly, we did experience some of the most beautiful views the Canadian Rocky Mountains have to offer. 

Utilizing the natural rock terrain, the trails begin high in the alpine and flow into machine built berms that are peppered with roots and hidden jumps. Capturing the classic Kicking Horse moment, we hit the trail Buffalo Jump and tried to send our bikes as high on the wooden wall ride as physics would allow. 

Finishing a successful first ride, BC offered our exhausted bodies a restful pause as we passed the evening sleeping by the beautiful Columbia River. 

The drive to Revelstoke was easy. The road was gorgeous and we were looking forward to the legendary world-class trails we had seen in so many mountain bike videos. Delighted to find such a cute, quaint mountain town we hit up the local bike shop for some much needed new tires and a few trail recommendations. It rained for a few days so we decided to take things pretty easy and chill. We did laundry, found a shower, fixed the van, and relaxed. Although we were feeling pretty chill, the trails in Revelstoke certainly aren’t. As suggested, we hit up the trail network at Mount Macpherson, climbing up Black Forest and traversing Ridge Walk to TNT, a fun flowy trail that you can float through at high speeds. Next we headed to Boulder Mountain to ride Boondocker a Revelstoke classic with big steep roots that lead you into some fast jump sections. Look before you leap. It’s not an easy trail, especially with wet roots but it is exceptionally well-built with some incredibly creative features. 

The drive to Silver Star Bike Park was not easy. After purchasing a fire extinguisher and making a third attempt we settled on a driving technique that had the van slowly climbing without the fear-inducing smell of a hot engine (by hot I mean burning… we purchased a fire extinguisher). The roads have not always been kind to the van, Riding Mountain Provincial Park in MB was seriously rough albeit worth it to see the bison, but we have been pretty lucky with the van so far. If it prolongs the life of her engine we can’t complain about a slow climb. Apologies to the long line of traffic behind us. 

FX scores a no hander on Walk the Line

We connected with Jeff, a guy Tanya met last year in Whistler. Jeff was nursing a pretty serious shoulder injury and warned us that he had been sticking to blue (intermediate) flow trails. We followed Jeff through the berms on Jedi Mind Trick and after a few runs we started looking for some bigger jumps and fast drops. It wasn’t too difficult to convince Jeff to try some new trails. Tanya knew Jeff was a super nice guy; fun, easy to hang with, a good rider; but she didn’t know he was a wizard with an IPhone camera. We tried to persuade him to come along for the road trip as our photographer – maybe next year? Thanks for some epic photos! We hit jump after jump on Rock Star and World Cup, and stopped for a few photos on Walk the Line before hitting some technical trails like Dag’s Downhill and Double Dog. Rock Star is good fun, intermediate size jumps that you try to send as high as you can. Walk the Line, a double black jump trail takes things a little further and a lot higher. After riding the sharp janky rocks of Quebec, Dag’s was certainly a favourite, with fast drops and jagged rock sections that seemed to hold endless line choices. 

Charging drops on Double Dog

We ended our Silver Star experience with the IMBA Epic Beowulf. The IMBA Epics are trails that offer a backcountry riding experience, through technically and physically challenging terrain that provide plenty of beauty and are worthy of celebration.

Beowulf is a 35km XC loop that leads the rider into classic BC backcountry. The trail sign tells you to expect 1,928 metres of decent, along with 1,928 metres of climbing. What goes up must come down, but in this case you follow beautifully crafted single track down through the alpine into a big cedar grove lush with green vegetation before climbing back up to your starting point. The climb is not technically difficult but the remoteness of the trail and the sustained elevation gain make it a considerable challenge. 

It is recommended that riders carry food, water, first aid, and avoid undertaking the ride solo. With Beowulf the challenge is well worth the reward of stunning views and the satisfaction that always follows such an adventurous excursion into the wild. We finished the ride late in the afternoon, just in time to have lunch and plan our next move... but that's a story for another day.