[XC23]

Hello all,

I will be in Whistler from July 5th - 11th on business and of course I am going to try and squeeze in as much riding as possible.

I have done some research and am looking to ride some of the following trails:

Thrill me Kill Me
Runaway Train
Sh*t Happens and Section 102
Green Lake Loop
Cut Yer Bars

I am ideally looking to hit at least Thrill Me Kill Me and Sh*t Happens, I will only have 3 hours on each day Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday to ride - will this give me enough time to do these trails?

Also how hard are these trails to find? And of the above listed are some easier to find and navigate around? I do not want to spend a lot of time trying to find these trails or time lost due to the complexity of the trails (I don't think this will be a problem).

Is Thrill Me Kill Me a loop or is it an out and back? Are all of the above loops?

Any locals interested in riding on either Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday Evening around 4 or 5 pm? I will provide a round of beer afterwards . . . .

Also who is good to rent from Summit Sports or Evolution Whistler? and What type of Bike will I need to handle these trails?

Cheers

 

[tosis]

See below...

Hello all,

Thrill me Kill Me
- Awesome trail... Whistler classic.

Runaway Train
- Closed (as far as I know) for HWY construction...

Sh*t Happens and Section 102
- **** happens is ok, ride to Big Kahuna though. The whole area is super choppy no flow rocky, and 102 is the worst of them!

Green Lake Loop
-Skip it. Double track baby and chicken heads. Suuuuucks.

Cut Yer Bars
- Short ride. Do it and head over to A River Runs Through It. Another classic

I am ideally looking to hit at least Thrill Me Kill Me and Sh*t Happens, I will only have 3 hours on each day Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday to ride - will this give me enough time to do these trails?

-- Yes.

Also how hard are these trails to find? And of the above listed are some easier to find and navigate around? I do not want to spend a lot of time trying to find these trails or time lost due to the complexity of the trails (I don't think this will be a problem).

-- More or less. Tons of maps available in Whis.

Is Thrill Me Kill Me a loop or is it an out and back? Are all of the above loops?

--- One way (S to N). Ride back on the HWY

Any locals interested in riding on either Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday Evening around 4 or 5 pm? I will provide a round of beer afterwards . . . .

Also who is good to rent from Summit Sports or Evolution Whistler? and What type of Bike will I need to handle these trails?

-- Rent a 5" AM dually... Not sure where... Evo? Summit? Bike / Bean? SnowCovers?

Cheers

email me if you have more Q's... alex -- at-- brodiebikes.com

 

[whistlerrider]

Good Info - but here's some more

Tosis has some pretty good advice but I would add a bit.

First thing you gotta know - trails in Whistler are generally much more technical than many other places. Knowing that fact I would suggest you start with a quick ride to get a feeling for the trails and then be abale to ask the right questions to people at the local bike shops.

On that point, I would suggest that you ride the 'Zappa' trails in Lost Lake as soon as you arrive (Sat evening?) The trailhead is located only about 500 meters from the village and would only take an hour or so (or much longer if you like). (get a Lost Lake map from http://www.whistler.ca/content/view/106/295/ and follow the narrow dashed lines starting at Peaches en Regalia) This has only about 150 feet of vertical but lots of ups and downs - great fun for an intermediate - nad even for experst for a quick 'blast'

Once you do that, it gives you a little taste and you will have a better idea what to expect here.

To answer your other questions - here goes.

Cut Yer Bars is close to the village and a little more technical than Lost Lake - probably spend 15-45 minutes in here depending how you loop around (very little vertical)
River Runs thru it is also a little more technical than Lost Lake, virtually no vertical, and good fun for an hour or so
Kill Me Thrill Me is a step up from the others with bigger climbs and a huge variety of riding (uphill sand, downhill sand, uphill rock, downhill rock, swoopy sections, rocky sections, rolling sections, etc - a bit of everything) - Probably the best trail in the valley - 1-2 hours
Runaway Train - as Tosis mentioned, closed
Green Lake Loop - as Tosis mentioned, 10km of highway followed by 7 or 8 km of double track - good asa 'training ride' but not very exciting - don't bother if you are only here for a few days
**** Happens/Big Kahuna/Section 102 - I have to disagree with Tosis, but its just my preference - I guess you could argue that this area has 'no flow' - but I see it differently - there isn't very much vertical in here but it is extremely rocky - basically you are working the whole way, with lots of fairly difficult short technical ups and down, not much chance to 'let er go' - it's a great workout, great way to work on technical skills and fun - I have heard the same arguments about Slickrock in Moab - some like it and some don't
If you like Thrill Me Kill Me - try the Comfortably Numb/Young Lust loop starting from the Wedgemount parking lot north of town (there is a video somewhere on mtbr posted last year)
If you like the Zappa, Cut Yer Bars, River trails better, maybe try the Riverside & Farside (& Loggers Lake) trails at the south end of town, about as technical as the Zappa trails but a few hundred feet of vertical (same site as Lost Lake for map)

Tons of other options too - but that is a god guide for 3-5 days of riding
Tons of bike shops for rental - pick any one
If you have time Monday evening - try a Wild Willies ride - sponsored by Wild Willies bike shop it is a group ride of tourists and locals with a beer after - four different skill levels, but you do need to buy a WORCA membership (about $40)

 

[XC23]

Thank you very much to both of you . . . .your help is appreciated greatly.

I agree with you that the trails out west are going to be much more difficult than the trails here in Ontario - so I will take you advice and ride the Lost Lake trails first to get a good feel for it.

I think Kill Me Thrill Me will push my tech skills, the climbing should be fine, but some of the descents might be out of my league - I assume these descents are walkable if they are indeed out of my range????

Thanks again for all your help and I will let everyone know how it turns out when I return.

Cheers

 

[Sweetness]

For X-country bike rentals, I would go with Cross-country Connection. They're a little harder to find as they're not right in the village, but have the best selection of X-country/all-mountain bikes. The other shops tend to cater more to the DH crowd, although they will have bikes as well. When I rode past the shop in June, they had a bunch of Specialized Enduros outside. Also, the start of the Lost lake loop starts literally 25 feet from the shop. I agree with Whistlerrider, the Lost Lake Trails are the best place to start. Cross-country connection will sell you a map of the rest of the trails in the valley.

Danimal is a great trail right now. With a map it's really easy to find. About an hour round trip from the village. It's down-hill, but best ridden on a X-country bike. Very old-school with some fresh updates. You could easily ride this one day, and if you're not tired afterwards either ride up the same access road to Beaver Pass, or head over to River Runs Through It. All these trails are in close proximity.

Comfortably numb is an absolutely fantastic ride, but it may take you longer than 3 hours and I wouldn't recommend starting out on it late in the afternoon/evening as you've mentioned. You could ride the first third of the trail though and then bail out down Young Lust. Still a great ride. Hope you like climbing!

 

[XC23]

Hello all,

Just got back from Whistler/Vancover yesterday and thought I would post a ride report on the trails and riding I did.

In terms of XC riding, I hit up the Zappa trails in Lost Lake (Peaches, Dinah Moo Humm, Dwarf Nebuls etc) the riding here was good a little tame, but I totally agree that it was a good starting point to get a taste of what Whistler XC trails are like.

I then hit up Cut Yer Bars and River Runs Through It and let me tell you these are some great trails, with good technical (especially in the Black Diamond sections). THese trails brought a smile to my face. My only regret about my XC riding was that I did not have enough time to make it out to Kill Me Thrill Me and Comfortably Numb/Young Lust loop - but I will be out there next year and plan to hit these up.

I also hit up the Downhill park (first time riding Downhill) and it was a blast, I stuck to the blues since I was a newb, but I still had a blast on the B-Line and especially enjoyed Crank it Up. Maybe with some more DH riding I can work my way up to the Blacks, but the Blues still provided a lot of enjoyment. I am in no way giving up my XC riding, but Ihave to admit the DH riding was a nice change of pace and was really fun/exciting.

Overall, Whistler is biking paradise with so many options to ride and so many amazing world class trails.

In terms of renting I found the best XC bikes at Cross Country Connection (Specialized Enduro's) and I rented my Downhill rig from Summit (Rocky Mountain Flatline). Both shops were great and really helpful.

Thanks again for all your help, and I just have to say how lucky everyone is to ride in Whistler - these are truly the best trails I hve ridden.

Cheers All