Its a rare thing for me to get a weekend off in summer. But I got one!!!

Just so happened to be the same weekend the inaugural Unicorn DH race in Kamloops was going down. While my shit wrist (still on the mend from Australia) wasn’t going to allow me to bring the big bike, I tagged along with some friends, a camera, my trail bike and a nice pair of pants….and all these things happened ..

Morning raceday prep.

Candace getting schooled on appropriate elbow pad placement.

Some heavy rain over the last week definitely added some greasiness to the track. Not your typical hot, dusty Kamloops.

A handful of race support tents,

 

Canfield Bros were on site with some of there new bikes. Pretty sweet all mountain weapon

 

 

These lil’ guys kept popping up everywhere!

 

 

 

 

Caught the tail end of some practice laps, Due to some late night/early morning karaoke our team was only able to                                       squeeze in one lap on raceday. Probably enough ?

 

Good decision.

Some race kids sessioning the drop line.

Marcie.

Annie.

Candace.

Pat.

Youth Under 15 lining up for the shuttle.

I think this guy one the whole race.

Specialized supplied the shuttle trucks.

 

 

 

 

Young Rad racer Josh putting in a fast time for the win!

 

 

 

 

The woman caught all the rain for the day. This was a clsose battle between Annie and Candace, Dual Slalom at its finest!

 

Marcie ripping it up for the win, a close finish between her and 2nd.

Stoked Face!!

Drinking as soon as possible post race run is the key to success.

 

 

 

Dirrrrrrty!

 

Pat killing it in his first DH race,

And for some reason getting his pilsner an interview….they are delicious i guess.

View from the commentary booth.

 

Elite athlete survival Brat.

 

Even the young ones were having fun!

Team Radbike. Sorry, no beer for you Josh

Once we were all done we headed up the hill to a nice loose section to get loose ourselves! Elite men

PEDAL!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

This guy may be scarred for life.

Annie telling this guy how it is. She is so fast she poops racers!!

Team Bikeroom had a solid finish. 3rd in the womens and 3rd/4th in the mens.

 

and then it was all over

RIP

Post race podium prize give away brought to you by the Bicycle Cafe Kamloops

U15 podium

U17 podium

Open Womens podium

Masters 40+ podium

Masters 30-39 podium

Junior men 17-18 podium

 

Senior Men podium

Yeah bro!!! you just one a bike!

Post race brew and stare down

 

To the victor go the spoils aka cheap champagne up the butt.

 

KITTY!!!!!!!

 

Banff National Park kind of goes unnoticed in the mountain bike world. But there are a few gems that we are given the opportunity to ride. my favorite one of them is the Lake Minnewanka bike trail. located just outside the town site of Banff it hosts some of the areas best single track and views.

 

Louis Charles and I rode the trail a week or 2 back and conditions were sick.

LC ripping single track sweetness.

This trail is only open to riders  until mid June, then closes until mid September for grizzly mating.  Makes for a great spring and fall riding.

The trail doesn’t have too much in the way of big climbs(just one at the beginning) but is full of constant flow up and down.

Amazing view, amazing trail….

One of the epic views.

LC

You could hear the ice cracking.

LC dropping in on the last descent before the rangers cabin(16km)

Paul rippin some turns.

There are a handful of creek crossings. One big enough to deserve a bridge to walk over. Water levels will vary throughout the day.

A deer was hanging out near us at the ranger station.

 

 

 

 

A  few shots from the epic eye of the telephone on the Highline trail.

One of the few open sections on the west end of the trail. great views, even when its rainy.

Tracks in the mud… spring riding, something we haven’t really had this year. from winter to dusty!

 

Curtis crunching up a rocky climb for his first time on Highline this year.

 

Rad bike…….

 

Gratuitous rubber shot!

 

 

Waterfall creek crossings are common. Getting all wet on a hot day is a luxury! not today…