I rode Squamish, BC for the first time in 2013 after moving to Vancouver for school.
Compared to where I learned to ride, on a small undulation in the Canadian Shield known as the Gatineau Park, the coastal mountains of Squamish were an expansive playground with seemingly endless trails. I vividly remember the first time I rode through the Diamond Head cut block, taking in the views of the Chief and Howe Sound. As a kid from Ontario, I felt like I was deep in the wilderness, despite being within eyeshot of downtown.
After graduation, I bummed around racing the BC Enduro, Big Mountain Enduro and several destination EWS races for three seasons, but whenever I was in the Sea-to-Sky, I was parked semi-regularly in Squamish, living out of my van, Elaine. After one especially expensive three-month long racing/riding trip to New Zealand in 2017, I returned home to Squamish broke from spending the last of my savings on real fruit ice cream. To make ends meet, I landed a job on the trail maintenance crew with the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association (SORCA).
During my first spring with the trail crew, I explored more trails and corners of the coastal rain forest than I ever had before. I felt at home in the woods above town, something the wide-eyed Ontario transplant would have never imagined only four years prior. I began to better understand and appreciate the diversity of the trails around Squamish. From the slabs of Penthouse and Intestinal Fortitude, to the berms of Half-Nelson and Pseudo-Tsuga, the jank-tech cross-country in Valley Cliff or the scary fast smashing of Angry Midget and Crouching Squirrel Hidden Monkey, each trail has its own idiosyncrasies. Individually, these trails are carefully curated experiences that seek to instill a particular feeling in riders. En masse, they contribute to one of the most diverse trail networks in the world.
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From Freehub Mag
At our core, we are mountain bikers and adventurers. Luckily for others, we are also storytellers, builders and advocates for all things bike, and we strive to bring mountain bike culture to the like-minded masses through our magazine and website. People are what drive our sport, and their stories are what motivate us to produce our printed publication, short films and web content. Whether it’s the tale of a world-class athlete, legacy of a local trail builder, or delineation of a struggling community turned mountain bike mecca, these are the narratives that drive innovation and inspiration alike—and the stories we love to tell.
