Whistler ’05 Day 3: We’re with Richie

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We’re settling into a rhythm: get up, ride for a few hours, eat lunch then ride some more. And today was a biggie.


Clown Shoes


Doctor Sloan forced us to ride his kind of trail: Steep and tech, with silly bridges and a big drop. I had a heart attack every time my tires rolled onto wood. The other guys — including Racer Boy Curtis — killed it. I ride Clown Shoes once a year, and that’s plenty for me.

Angry Pirate

Aaaarrrr!!! I’ve been wanting to hit this new trail because I enjoy saying AAARRRRR!!! We’re talking single black diamond starting near the top of Dirt Merchant and dropping to the Boneyard slopestyle area. Steep, tight, curvy and bermy. Good stuff.

We’re with Richie


At the end of the day we hooked up with local hero Richie Schley for a little something special. He led us off Garbanzo, down sections of Original Sin, Freight Train and a fire road to a new-and-not-yet-open trailed called Side Track. As we rolled past the heavy machinery the drivers looked us funny, but we were like, “We’re with Richie,” and it was all good. Side Track will a doozy: moderate grade, fast berms and perfect jumps — pretty much a standard Whistler trail.

On the way down he showed us a line he rode for the new New World Disorder video. Crank twice onto a little pier then drop 18 feet to back side, pump a transition, step up onto a huge rock slab, fire yourself into space, land hard then hit a berm at 100 miles an hour. Just looking down the final 25+ footer made us all dizzy. I asked Richie to hit the line, but he said “Buy the video.”

Chris is talking about hitting it tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Saved by Keene

While the Schley Train motored through hill and dale, Curtis broke his chain. I stopped to loan him a multitool. When he finished I clipped in one foot and prepared to roll off a tangle of roots and down a big slab of granite into a muddy hole. This was one of those 100% commitment moments. Just hop on the bike and let it roll. Any brakes and you die.

I was just about to roll it when Curtis said “wait” and pointed at my rear wheel. An inch-thick root snaked from the soil and tangled in my spokes. Whoa. That would have been bad.

Amid all this action we railed a whole lot of A-Line. This jumpy trail is fun and easy, and though it’s a guilty pleasure I still enjoy it.

Tomorrow is our last day. We’re sore and tired, but we’ll do our best to give ‘er.




Too Tight is … well … pretty tight. Brandon gets some.

Early on Clown Shoes a steep rock slab terminates in a 90-degree right. Curtis.

The roller coaster rollers on Clown Shoes. Things are about to get elevated.

Schleyer banks against a huge rock then rips a few sweet turns like this one.


Chris likes the final table on Crabapple Hits. BRAAAAPPPP!!!!

“Buy the video.” Richie looks down the first, smaller, drop in his New World Disorder line.

The crew wonders about this drop. Richie wonders about his light.