Words and photo by Angie Ho

The first ride of the year is always a thrill. Anticipation grows while we wait for the snow to melt...

Bikes are waiting to be ridden, new bike gear ready to get muddy, our bodies anxious to feel the winter air rushing through our lungs and on our faces.

This year, I spent my first Christmas in Alberta, and got to experience 30 below weather. The skies are beautiful there - sunrises and sunsets seem to last forever due to the flat land lay out, and there wasn't a drop of rain for the whole three week holiday!

The past couple of days in Squamish I anxiously watched the rain melt the snow away. The plan was to venture out into the trails today, although I wasn't sure how far I will get due to the snow, but I was feeling antsy to sweat off some of those Christmas feasting pounds. So I got geared up and headed out. The sun came out, warming the air and bright sunlight reflections off the wet streets made me squint. Much to my surprise, the lower trails in Crumpet Woods off Plateau Drive were clear of snow. Yahoo!

We're not in Squamish anymore, Toto (Yes, that is Alberta) Calmar, Alberta - December 2003

With a smile plastered to my face, I sweated up the first few hills, noting how sluggish my body felt after sitting around and eating for the past three weeks, yet happy as a dog to be peddling again. Neither photos nor words can describe how happy I felt, or how beautiful the forest was.

All you bikers know what I mean - there is nothing quite like those special days when the trees are dripping with shiny rain drops, prisms of light speckling through the forest as the sun’s rays shine through them making everything twinkling bright like the stars in the sky.

Being away in part of Alberta where there are few trees and few hills, I had taken for granted our beautiful West Coast forests. How lucky we are to have places such as Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, and the North Shore with so many and such varied trails to ride!

Unfortunately for Squamish, as in many other areas, land development is looming. Plans to bulldoze hundreds of acres of forest to make way for projects such as housing and schools are in the near future.

Fortunately our local mountain bike club, SORCA (Squamish Off Road Cycling Association)'s Executive Board is actively communicating with those developers, working to save our trails and plan for re-direction of trail access. We know that in the near future, our playground as we know it will be greatly changed but are working towards a good relationship with the new developers in keeping an active network of riding trails available. For more information, please contact admin at SORCA.

In the meantime, get out there and enjoy the trails.

Cheers, Angie

Angie is the brains and the brawn behind Corerat, a local manufacturer of burly clothing and armour for you and your bike. Corerat gear is produced right here in B.C. and can be ordered from Angie's Web site.

Check out her stanchion protectors for sale right here on nsmb.com.