It was 3 p.m. when we finally made it back to the truck.
We were all shivering from the cold. Every inch of my body, my bike and my dog was covered in mud. I could barely see out of my contacts for the flecks of dirt embedded on the lenses.
Trying to change into dry clothes was a challenge because my fingers were so numb and there was nothing I could do to stop shivering. It actually took me three wash cycles to get the dirt out of my clothes.
This is the fun of winter mountain bike riding.
The adventure began the night before at a party when four of us decided to go mountain biking the next morning. It all sounded like a good idea, and with a set time and meeting place, we remained committed to our promise despite the looming clouds.
As we drove from Vancouver to Squamish, the windshield wipers had difficulty keeping pace with the ever-increasing rain.
Individually, each of us hoped someone would call the ride off. We reconvened in Brackendale and toyed with the thought of calling off the ride and go for brunch instead, but nobody wanted to be the one to pull the plug.
We decided the best plan of attack was to start at the bottom of the Pseuda Tsuga trail where we could start the ride with a hill climb to get warm. By the time we reached the snow line, we were sweating in our layers of clothes and proud of ourselves for not wimping out.
Of course, by the time we started our ride, the trails were already teeming with other riders who hadn't let a little rain stop them either.
I was hardly surprised to see political signs and advertisements at the base of the trails-only in Squamish would they think of pushing politics on a mountain bike trail.
We continued our ride on a trail called Half Nelson, which is the first government-funded trail in Squamish. Built in March 2010, it was designed to accommodate beginner, intermediate and advanced riders and is best described as a three-kilometre downhill pump track.
Half Nelson was built with a constant flow of banked corners and little rollers (or jumps). It's tons of fun for a rider at any level. Also because of its design, Half Nelson is a perfect wet weather trail as it isn't as susceptible to erosion or water back flow during big storms.
Thank you to Big Red Ted Tempany and the many other volunteers who put in countless hours to create this amazing trail.
You could hear the hoots and hollers as each of us made our way down. As soon as the last rider finished, we began our next ascent up Pseuda Tsuga, anxious to warm up again. The thrill and excitement of Half Nelson made our next climb feel short and we recounted our individual experiences of the ride during our climb. Just before I rolled my front tire down the trail head of Pseuda Tsuga, I thought to myself, "Who chooses to mountain bike in the pouring rain, snow and sleet?!"
But of course I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.
Kristina Bangma is a coach, personal trainer and writer with a love of riding and racing. Email questions to [email protected].
