Mount Washington
July 18, 2008
Last weekend a couple of friends and I drove up to Mount Washington for some mountain biking. I’d only been once before, and this was my first time on a hill with chair lifts.
I have to say, those lifts really make a difference. It was great to start out fresh on my first run. We went down about seven times throughout the day, and I had a blast. I find mountain biking a lot more daunting than most other sports I’ve tried, because it sucks to fall on rocks, but it’s such a great feeling when you’re flying down a path and around corners.
Here’s a video of me riding. I still suck, and I really messed up that first corner, and I have some really obnoxious sounding brakes that I was riding all day, but it’s still fun to see. One of the guys I went riding with has an HD camera we can bring up next time, so you’ll be able to see every detail of my slow, slow riding.
It’s a really expensive sport that I can’t really afford right now, but in the next couple of years I think I’d like to get more into it. It’s great fun, and good exercise too. Plus the body armour looks bad ass.
Body armour? How much does that stuff cost? Then theres the bike…………..
Thinking of doing cycle speedway myself.
Comment by the ill man — July 18, 2008 @ 5:58 am
It’s really quite expensive. All of the armour is probably about $250 - $300. A helmet is another $250, I think, and a decent bike is around $2000 - $3000 (in Canadian dollars).
Even renting is fairly pricey. A day at the hill, with rentals and a lift pass, was just under $200. I’d like to go up one or two more times this year, if I can. Won’t be buying equipment for a year or two, though, if I decide to stick with it.
Comment by Rob — July 18, 2008 @ 8:08 am
Don’t know if you’ve ever watched any downhill races but take the track you were on, then peddle as you’re going down to go even FASTER! Those guys are crazy, but it sure looks like fun. When I used to MB I would ride the trails in Pacific Spirit Park out by UBC. Lots of good muddy fun! Everyone knows it’s more fun if you get dirty right through to your underwear ;)
Comment by Chris — July 18, 2008 @ 5:00 pm
I have been watching a few videos, and those guys are insane. They make it look so easy, but I couldn’t even imagine going down at half the speed they do.
Comment by Rob — July 23, 2008 @ 7:10 pm