Journalism

I initially began mountain biking several years ago. I took the sport up because I’d given up racing motocross and still wanted to get my speed thrill somehow.

When I first started to ride, I was riding an XC bike; mostly because there really wasn’t much in the way of great downhill bikes that you could buy yet. Back then, a trick bike would have cantilever brakes, 18 speeds, and possibly two inches of travel. Of course, they did not cost nearly as much as they do today, either.

As you may have guessed, the bikes were simple in those days since the trails were basic, too. No big hucks and stunts like we have nowadays. Instead, good single track was nothing more than a nice trail using the occasional log to jump over.

As the sport progressed, bikes and trails developed in tandem. As suspension got even bigger, so did the drops. In the neighborhood where I grew up, we were also fortunate to have the Whistler Bike park less than 2 hours away.

The Whistler bike park is probably the premier bike park worldwide. They’ve been creating trails there now for more than 8 years and each and every year the park improves. Attendance also keeps climbing and the bike manufacturers are very well aware of this; hence why the mountain bikes keep getting tricker each year.

Had it not been for the Whistler Bike Park, Im not sure that I would’ve become such a fan of downhill riding. For the period I was not riding Motocross, downhill definitely helped me to get my thrills in the dirt!

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