Entries RSSEach year, Bike Parks BC (www.bikeparksbc.com), gives away a special week of mountain biking at their spectacular British Columbia resorts. Two women were awarded trips this year, Wendy Morriseau of Nanaimo, BC, Canada, and Sue McBride of Palo Alto, CA, USA. We heard from Wendy just recently about her awesome trip.
I will not forget opening the e-mail from Bike Parks BC announcing “Congratulations Wendy, you have won the 2008 Ultimate Road Trip”, and the excitement leading up July 26th departure, reminded me being a kid at Christmas. I was about to experience the best week of mountain biking in 13 years of my riding experience, as the icing on my cake.
My riding-buddy Brenda and I were picked up at Kelowna International Airport, in the Okanagan of beautiful British Columbia. We met the crew (all guys, I might add) that we would be sharing the next seven days. Hmm, an interesting group, that’s for sure.
We had a seven-hour trip ahead of us to Panorama Mountain Village, located in the very eastern regions of BC, so to break up the long trek we stopped at the Enchanted Forest, near the Three Valley Gap and Revelstoke. We knew a fun time would be had for a bunch of 29 – 46 year-olds visiting this BC attraction of nursery rhyme themes and childhood memories.
Our team arrived at Panorama late in the evening and settled in for the night, but up bright and early to have breakfast and head out riding the next day. Panorama’s trail system is set up for beginners to advanced riders with breathtaking views where they say you can see 1000 Peaks from the top of the park. The mountain is geared for the whole family with resort activities that include waterslides, swimming pools, hot tubs, hiking along with biking.
We got to ride Marin Quake XLTs, courtesy of Shaums March of MMR Bike Camps and Marin Bikes and we had Opio packs, which we got to keep as souvenirs of our prize week.
From our first few laps down the mountain, we soon discovered that we all loved to ride the same technical trails with jumps and drops included. I’m sure we impressed the boy and I know my riding skills improved that day. Yours would too, with world reigning down-hill masters champ, Shaums March riding behind, coaching you on how and what you should be doing all the way down the trail. I know, from my Ultimate Road Trip experience, I became a more skilled rider. We finished the day with beers and grins all around.
We moved on to tame Kicking Horse Mountain Resort up the highway near Golden, BC. Kicking Horse is a mountain in progress, geared for more for the intermediate to advanced rider, but with the hard work of the trail crew, it won’t be long until all levels of rider enjoy it. We had a very warm welcome from the Copper Horse Lodge, it’s still a small emerging destination but shares a big resort heart with all its guest.
We arrived to find the gondola had been hit by lighting the night before and was out of action, but being VIP visitors, permission to shuttle to the top 7,700 feet was easily granted. Wow, we had Kicking Horse Mountain to ourselves with a guide thrown in to show us the best way down. Who could ask for more?
The riding it Kicking Horse was sweet from steep to flow and alpine to forest. I rode ramps and steeps I know I would not have attempted before this trip. I was stoked with the level of riding that I had achieved in two days and we still had four days of riding to go. This bike park’s my favorite place to ride on the tour, so far.
The gondola was fixed and running the next day. After a visit with Boo, the resident grizzly bear, and a lost flip-flop off the chair (it was recovered by one of our guides) we geared up for another day at Kicking Horse.
Our first run down, Shaums coached us with a lot of sessioning on the dirt jumps; definitely not one of my comfortable skills. By the time that said and done, all Brenda and I wanted to do was ride. We stopped for a short lunch and proceeded to ride for the rest of the afternoon. The guys had quit after three laps but the girls had the flow going and we rode until the lift stopped, completing six full laps! This all followed with a tour of the hot tub with our fun group, leading to a big night of pints and shooters….enough said.
It was a slow, lazy morning and after breakfast we had the privilege of being shuttled to the top of Mount 7. This is where the “Mt 7 Psychosis” race is held. So with some sore heads we decided to take the easier route down and then joined up with the Psychosis racecourse. This is must-do return visit for next summer.
Our next Ultimate Road Trip mountain destination was Silver Star Mountain Resort, above Vernon back in 
BC’s semi-arid Okanagan, arriving late in the afternoon. A brief meeting with the resort manager and presentation of Silver Star Mountain season sasses (this means we can come back later this season) we were off to enjoy a great dinner. All this riding and touring meant we were tired and ready to check in for the night at The Snowbird. Each room has its own king-size beds, kitchen, and a hot tub on the deck!
We were very keen to ride here and put all our new technical skills to the test. We rode hard and fast all day, with grins from ear to ear as we raced to catch the last chair at 4.30pm. An afternoon recap including a few drinks with my new friends, followed by two hours of intense paintball with a group of guys full of testosterone was a great way to wrap our day. Girls or no girls - I know we challenged the men.
The next day (# 6 of riding) the girls were up and ready to ride, and we hit Silver Star’s trails. The boys (we 
called them the girls as we were always waiting for them) were taking too much time so Brenda and I hit the lifts to do a couple of warm up laps. We finally hooked up with the crew and blasted through the day. What a thrill to be riding with the best in the sport and being a woman of 46 who has now ridden all the Bike Parks in BC, this has been an amazing adventure for me. We finished off the evening with a beautiful meal.
Saturday was our final day with a relaxing breakfast with the crew and a review of our awesome week, we are then off to the airport with goodbyes to all of my new friends.
I encourage all women bikers to go ride in the Bike Parks of BC, young or old. Mountain biking is my passion and to be a winner of the 2008 Ultimate Road Trip was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. I’m still grinning!
Wendy Morisseau
Nanaimo, BC
Canada
