10/11/2008

Part 1 : : Part 2

In the last year or so I have been talking to mountain bikers from other locales and I have discovered that virtually everybody has heard of the North Shore. They may not be able to tell you that the Shore is located in North and West Vancouver (municipalities that are suburbs of Vancouver but distinct from it) but they know about ramps and ladder bridges and big launches. Beyond that misinformation abounds - the coverage in the American mtb media (and Kranked 3) has stressed the battles between the municipalities and the builders and riders. Bike magazine has had good commentary by Mitch Scott but others like Mountain Bike Action (the Inquirer of the mtb world) have been downright sloppy. As a result many believe that the trails on the North Shore are completely gone, and that there is nothing left to ride here. With this in mind I decided to clear up some issues and then give a sort of primer on the shore scene to get everyone up to speed about the best riding area in the world.

Cam McRae
Elliott Cannon

Geography

The North Shore got it's name because it is directly north across the harbour from the city of Vancouver. The trails are found primarily on 3 mountains; Cypress Bowl, Fromme (a.k.a. Grouse ) and Mount Seymour. Each of these 3 peaks has plenty of trails, some hidden and some easily found. Some are hiking trails that have been around for years and others are use designed mountain bike trails.

Cypress is under the jurisdiction (for the most part) of The City of West Vancouver, which also happens to be Canada's richest municipality. It spreads West from the Lions Gate bridge to Horseshoe Bay, an idyllic forested suburb reaching up from the ocean to the shoulders of the mountain. Much of it was developed by the Guinness family (yes, the makers of the syrupy stout) who paid for part of the construction of the bridge in order to open the area for settlement. They still own and develop land higher up on Cypress under the moniker British Pacific Properties.

Both Seymour and Grouse are under the jurisdiction of The city/district of North Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Regional District. North Vancouver lacks the lustre of West Van but it is a place with a soul and it's inhabitants represent the entire range of our society. It has peaceful ginger bread house neighbourhoods but also an inner city, Indian reservations and industry. You are as likely to see a Mercedes glide by as a throaty Trans Am or 18 wheeler.

These 2 municipalities share mountains, sea and natural splendour that would make Ansel Adams blush. Beyond the uppermost houses in each area you could begin walking and tramp for several hundred kilometres before crossing a paved road. It is important to establish the distinction between these places because their approach to mountain bikers is as different as the bank balances of their inhabitants.

History

Ross Kirkwood is generally credited with building the first North Shore trail in 1983 (although he says he wasn't the first). The Kirkford trail on Grouse is steep and challenging and in it's day was considered the pinnacle of gnarl. It lacks built structures but the switch backs with drops in the middle, tight corners and rocky drops make it (like all of Kirkwood's trails) wickedly fun. This was in the era before pads, suspension and low saddles. If you think Kirkford is an easy trail get yourself a 1989 Ritchey (or Norco for that matter) with rigid forks, put the saddle up all the way, make sure that your 2.1 tires are nice and hard, your cantilever brakes are working and that your stem (attached to narrow flat bars) is at least 130 mm long and then give 'er. Upper Oilcan and Pipeline were built around the same time (perhaps earlier) and were also built specifically for mountain biking. These trails too are rideable today but they have changed over the years. Pipeline is now a favourite of the cross country crowd and riders who are new to the shore. Oilcan has been adopted by a local rider who has upgraded it with some awesome ramps, rocks and log rides. Dangerous Dan Cowan built the Fleshy Wound in 1992 and Todd, The Digger, Fiander (Of the North Shore Extreme video series) began his incredible trail portfolio in 1986. The Digger gets much of the credit for the high standard of trails on the shore. His trails, besides being incredibly inventive and fun, drain amazingly well and can take enormous traffic without becoming shredded. In 1994 Digger showed Dan his first "ladder bridge" which spanned a low, muddy part of Ladies Only where ferns and skunk cabbage grew. A ladder bridge is built by laying 2 pecker poles (preferable cedar) across a gap and then banging split cedar "rungs" into the poles to make a deck. Dan ran with Digger's invention and started building narrow ladder bridges high above the forest floor. This lead to more difficult trails and other builders began using the technique. Today ladder bridges have spread across North America and the shore virus can be detected in tiny pockets even in the Eastern US. Dan is also credited with the discombobulator, a devious series of teeter totters attached together so that if one moves they all move. Dan is an important figure in the history of the North Shore because of the range of his talents. He is one of the best riders around and at the same time one of the most prolific trail builders. When Dan builds a trail he thinks beyond his current abilities so that his twisted imagination comes up with a trail that is more difficult than his last.

Trends

In the early 90's it was rare to see anyone wearing pads and North Shore fashion consisted of lycra shorts and Jerseys for all but a few prescient individuals. Most everyone was riding fully rigid with saddles up, light wheels and tires and cross country race frames. The changes in trail design and the increase in difficulty was first tied to rider skill. As builders upped the ante the riders got better so the bar was pushed higher still. Digger's first video (North Shore Extreme I) had a huge impact on the scene. I remember when I sat down to watch it for the first time - I was slapped silly by what the riders were doing on the trails that I was riding. They were leaping off things that I was too timid to roll and coming down ridiculous inclines. Seeing the best riders performing super human feats lead the rest of us plumbers to think we could do it as well. Moves that were considered huge in NORTH SHORE EXTREME I are now being performed by your average weekend schlep, largely thanks to Digger showing the world what could be done on a mountain bicycle.

Then bike design started to play a part. Initially the wheelie drop was THE move. If you go up and look at The Flying Circus (a Dangerous Dan creation) you can see that for the most part it was designed for heel toe landings rather than high speed hucks. Now as full suspension bikes are taking over builders are putting in larger drops and now they are completing them with transitions. Disc brakes are also allowing riders to go faster and steeper and twisty, tight lines are giving way to more flowing, undulating terrain. The BMX and dual slalom influence can be seen in the gap jumps (including some rhythm sections - watch for NSX IV) and banked corners. Many local riders ride steroid fed downhill behemoths allowing drops approaching 20 feet and beyond (and some are doing them on more modest steeds). At the same time log rides are getting skinnier and higher and those with the finesse to ride a 6 inch plank 8 feet in the air are happier than they've ever been.

Click here for Part 2 of It's the Shore Baby!

Cam McRae