Sunshine Speed

While in Nelson I had the opportunity to go mountain biking. Actually, to go riding I needed to take my bike, and to take my bike I had to get a hitch installed on our car, and buy a bike rack. Expensive bike ride! In reality we were wanting to make those purchases for a long time.

The destination trail was 49’er. It was a short drive from where we were staying to the bottom of the hill. I was going with Sox’s two brothers, one who lives in Nelson and rides there a bit, the other who lives on the Sunshine coast and doesn’t mountain bike.

Since it had been hot lately we chose to get up at 6 and head out early to beat the heat. Leaving the house around 6:30 was a little difficult but I was looking forward to the ride.

Unloading the bikes I strapped my armour to my bike and to my pack. I wouldn’t need it on the ride up. Here I was with my 40+ LB bike riding up a logging road with two hardtails. I got dropped pretty quickly, but that didn’t bother me. I knew the DH was going to be worth it.

The climb took just over an hour, and right near the top we got a few rays of sun. The instant those hit my body I could feel the temperature go up. Good call on the early ride.

Dropping in to 49’er I was sort of prepared for what was to come. From previous rides in Nelson I knew it was going to be steep and have stunts. B’s description mentioned some good stunts too.

The first section was flowy and smooth. Lots of twists and turns and carving. We crossed the road to get to the next section. B warned me that a stunt was just ahead. Dropping in to the overgrown trail I wasn’t sure what to expect, when suddenly there was a log ride. I got on it, then when I looked up I saw an uphill climb up a ladder to another log. I jumped off since I didn’t have enough speed and went back for a second go.Didn’t make it that time either.

The trail continued down and down. There were a few log rides and ladders along the way that were really fun. A few jumps along the way kept me pumped too.

There was one log ride feature that had a few different exit options depending on what the rider felt like. I did the 3 foot wheelie drop. There was one option that went up pretty high that required a small drop to a ramp.

I’ve been having some issues with my front brakes on my Bullit for the last couple rides. I think I need new pads, but the lever goes right to the bar. If only have 1 finger for braking, the lever will hit my other fingers and not engage the brakes.

Sure enough I did a jump off a ladder and landed with lots of speed. The lever hit my finger and I couldn’t slow down. Unfortunately there was a big rock in my way. I used the rock as a ramp and jumped again, pickin up more speed. I shifter my fingers and jammed on the brakes as fast as I could. I was approaching a left turn with a log on the outside. I had slowed considerably, but not enough. I hit the log and got catapulted over the bars.

Landing I tucked and rolled down the hill, laughing. When I came to a stop I looked up the hill to see my bike tumbling toward me. I stopped that with my foot.

B rolled to a stop next to me, and I could hear a hissing noise. I assumed I had a flat in progress, but it turned out to be his fork. He blew some seal and the pressure was causing the oil to seep out. We were 1.3 of the way down.

For me the rest of the trail was awesome. Steep and switchbacky. I had a blast. There was one section that had four jumps in a row that I had to do a second time.

Eventually we came out of the trail to the fireroad. From there it was a downhill coast to the car and the end of the ride.