05/11/2008

I'm still south of 40 but occasionally I get a bout of pre-emptive melancholy thinking about the day when I have to stop riding the North Shore. Luckily I have Peter Morin to fuel my optimisim. He hasn’t started collecting his pension yet but his Golden years are only about 6 pairs of tires away. Not only does he get up to ride the trails 3 times a week, while his peers are minding their petunias or handicaps, he does it well. He has mastered some burly moves, like Big Stupid on Ladies Only, or Lobotomizer 2000 on The Circus, and would be a shoe-in for this column for his riding prowess alone. When you add in his trail building masterpieces Peter Morin seems destined for MTB sainthood. Upper Oilcan, once a rooty, eroded slugfest that was more work than fun, is now probably the most popular trail on Fromme; it’s rare to arrive at the entrance and meet less than 5 riders padding up. Thousands of solitary hours have turned it into a challenging float through the woods with beautifully integrated rock and timber stunts. Be sure to give him a pat on the back next time you see him. Peter - my helmet goes off to you. Cam McRae

Peter on one of his creations. Photo Chris Rollett You'll notice that Peter rides on his bar-ends and uses custom brake lever extensions that he builds himself.

Vital Stats
Name: Peter (the old guy) Morin
Age: 62
Hometown: Burnaby, BC
Occupation: Millwright

Where do you ride?
I mostly ride Fromme since that is where I do my trail maintenance. I also ride CBC-Boogieman and the Whistler Bike Park. I also really enjoy high alpine cross-country riding. My favourite trail is Upper Oilcan and I really enjoy 7th Secret all the way to McNair.

How long have you been riding? First bike?
I have been riding since 1990 when my wife bought me a Raleigh 'mountain styled' bike. I don't know if she would have done that if she had any idea how I would get into the sport. My first real mountain bike was a '91 Stump Jumper and by the next year I was on the Shore full time. I usually ride 3 times a week and I love fast downhills, technical riding, and skinnies.

What do you ride now? What is your favourite style of riding?
I ride a Brodie Devo and a Brodie Holeshot. I'm best at freeriding and both are awesome freeride bikes.

Strengths/weaknesses on the bike?
I am practicing riding 2.5 inch wide rails in the park where I live and I am working on launching which is coming quite well. I find the Whistler Bike Park is the best place to practice launching

Peter cleaning up the U-turn. Photo Chris Rollett

Who do you look up to/respect in the riding community?
Trail builders have my greatest respect because without them the riding wouldn't be what it is today. Digger has built some awesome trails. I remember the first time I saw Semi Retarded and Big Stupid. I said there is no way I would ride them, but I rode Big Stupid 3 days after my 60th birthday. I don't say, 'no way' anymore, I just wait and see. Dean has done a great job on both Crinkum Crankum and the Kirkford trail and Dave Kelly is doing great things with the Whistler Bike Park. Wade (Simmons), Dan (Cowan), and young Ian (Moult) are riders I respect. They are pushing the limits of the sport.

Do you participate in trail days?
I started repairing trails about 8 years ago. At first it was just fixing mud holes on Upper Oil Can because I was going through brakes and rims at an alarming rate and I wanted to save some money.

Road Side Attraction was the first trail I fixed up from top to bottom and Pipe Line was next. I started working at the top because it was a good place to work while waiting for my friends to find me to go for a ride. I'm an early morning rider so it was great to fix the trail while waiting. Then I got carried away and worked on the whole trail. Eventually though, I got frustrated becuase riders kept opening up a short cut so they wouldn't have to do a climb. It was a mud hole and the short cut was wrecking the trail where it joined up again. So, I moved back to working on Upper Oil Can, fixing the trail and building the stunts that are there now. As the trail got more popular it took a lot of work to armour it so it could stand the traffic. It is fairly easy to maintain now with a few repairs to do next year This past year I have been working on the Leopard Trail and 7th Secret. Dean Read and I built the bridge on the Leopard Trail together and he has done the work from there down. He has done some awesome work with some fun launches. .

Peter calls this one 'Big Smooth.' Photo Chris Rollett

What was your worst injury ever?
The worst injury I had was three broken ribs although I've had alot of cracked ribs over the years. I also had a concussion this past summer.

Who rides in your crew?
I ride with Cam Rogers, Betty Birrell and Rob but mostly I go up alone and ride with anyone I run into. I get to ride with a lot of great people.

What parts on your bike do you seem to break the most?
I bend and break a lot of dropouts and derailleurs. I do all my own repairs on my bike including building my own wheels.

Log riding Nirvana courtesy of 'Old' Peter Chris Rollett

Do you have any sponsors?
Raceface, Brodie and Hope sponsor me with Simons Bike shop and Cove bikes looking after me very well.

Do you race, have you raced, or do you plan to in the future?
I have only raced once, the Whistler Freeride race and I was the only one in the over 50 class. I might race again.

What goals do you have as a rider one year from now? Five years from now?
My plans as a rider is to keep getting better. In less than 3 years I should be retired so I should be able to ride 4 days a week and do more trail work. (Hooray! ed.)

Do you have someone special in your life? If so, how do you balance time in the saddle with spending time with them, or are you one of the lucky ones with a partner that rides?
I have a wife and 2 boys who are grown up. It is hard to get in all the riding I want and still do all the things I need to do. I try to balance out spending time with Frieda and riding. I also ski every weekend during the winter. I'm lucky that I'm allowed to get away with it.

Questions Trisha Petrella