Could this be the first Brit to ride one of Kranked bikes legendary electrified Santa Cruz bikes? Possibly.
Paul, who lives and works in Gibsons is a forty something Dad of two, and is a respectable, although some might say slightly intimidating 6’4” tall and 250 pounds of retired cop.
Being new to the coast and Canada, he bought his first mountain bike less than two years ago, and rides his beloved Rocky Mountain Instinct on local trails, and in the Whistler bike park and trail head.
Bjørn’s confidence in his bike’s all mountain performance was evident, as he dropped Paul right in at the proverbial deep end.
After a short road ride to get the feel for the Kranked control system, Paul who was riding a Santa Cruz Nomad took on an ascent of Boot Hill, followed by Pressure Drop. Two double black diamond trails, full of steep sections, gnarly rocks and roots, all highly polished with a good healthy dose of BC rain.
"There’s maybe four guys on the Coast can ride up this" says Bjørn with a rye smile. It makes you look long and hard at the beauty of these bikes, at which point you realise the stark brutal strength beneath.
You need a good pedal cadence, and you need to know how to ride rocks and roots. Or at least be willing to have a go! It’s certainly not easy, but neither is it unattainable. Getting your weight positioned correctly, approaching obstacles with confidence and commitment, just as you would on any Munson bike. Having an appreciation of the risks of all mountain riding also helps; and a healthy dose of fear doesn’t go amiss either.
This is a sport that gets, and deserves respect. Adding in the E assist lets you ride in ways you hadn’t previously imagined, but these key word here is ‘assist’, you still have to work those legs. And Arms. And core. And lungs….
By the top of this climb, things started to slowly come together for Paul, who was beaming from ear to ear; in between gasping to get his breath back.
Don’t think for a second that these are motor cycles. You need to pedal and pedal hard; you just go further faster. As Bjorn’s tour proved.
After a good few stumbles and swear words, things leveled off into steady trail climbing, and cross country riding. Very quickly 8 kilometres and an hour had passed by and the boys were at the top of Orange and Wicked Ditches; a section of the trail head Paul said he’d never thought to experience.
The tranquility is surreal. Vibrant boreal rain forest experienced by but a handful of riders & hikers. “Electrifying your ride” makes the improbable seem totally doable.
The boys rode on for another 30 minutes, before enjoying a long flowing downhill of over 11 kilometres. Yes, eleven. At this point all E assist is forgotten as the Santa Cruz Nomad and V10 smooth out the descent, flowing through roots and creeks, over bridge and rock. Bjørn’s years of experience shine through, giving Paul tips along the ride to Dell with obstacles they encounter. Steep accents mean step descents!
We asked Paul during a break in the descent while soaking up the beauty of Langdale Falls, what he was feeling.
"Elated and pretty exhausted. I love to ride, but being a Dad, working and family life make it difficult to find time to ride. This has just changed that. I’ve never experienced anything like this, it blows Whistler bike park away! Normally, if I’ve only got an hour or two I might not bother to go add it’s difficult to get anywhere meaningful. I might fit a lap in at Sprokids a few mornings a week if I’m lucky. Now those few hours could be anywhere. It’s crazy. I can’t believe we just topped the trail head, I never knew those trails existed…and I still got a killer work out. I’m buzzing man. On one of these I get to explore more of this amazing Coast trail system in the time I can find."
His final words…”know anyone who wants to buy my Rocky? ”
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