Before I moved out to the North Shore of Vancouver, and immersed myself in the microcosm of mountain biking that’s thriving here, I’m ashamed to say I had little idea how trails were created or maintained - they just seemed to “be” there, and magical Trail Pixies apparently appeared every night to fix eroded sections and build new berms.
Of course, I’m now fully aware that the only way those trails came into existence, and remained rideable year in, year out, was largely down to thousands of man-hours, probably by unpaid volunteers. I’ve got the North Shore Mountain Bike Association (NSMBA) to thank for that awareness. They organise over a dozen ‘trail days’ a year, taglining them “We bring the lunch, you bring the effort”. They’re good for their word too, with sponsors not only supplying some of the best on-hill catering I’ve ever experienced, but also running fantastic raffles for shirts, jerseys, bike parts and even a full suspension frame. When my shooting schedule’s allowed I’ve tried to get to as many as possible, occasionally donating my photos to cover the work achieved, other times getting my hands dirty and actually shifting rock and dirt myself. It’s rewarding (yet exhausting) work that leaves a real glow on the soul - “my” bit of a trail is suddenly my favourite corner or jump on the whole mountain.
The latest day was based on Mount Seymour poster-child “CBC”, a masterpiece of ladders and rockwork that belongs in an art museum, let alone as a rideable trail. Photographer Jenny Lee Silver was handling photo duties, so I pitched in some manual labour, occasionally slacking off to take the odd snap or two (old habits die hard). The official report will no doubt be hitting the NSMBA site very shortly - until then here’s some of the images I captured from the day.
