Rita Roadtrip: Bouncing

Unlike those Gummi Bears from a fondly remembered childhood cartoon, I no longer bounce upon hitting the ground. Nor do I drink a magic potion to induce bouncing. Now when meeting the earth in an unplanned rush, the symphony of alarm bells coursing throughout various body parts often takes longer to fade, delaying revelation of any damage worse than a dent. My magic potion comes after the fact, typically from a glass bottle or aluminum can. While enough of it may temporarily help me believe I bounced or can still bounce, my potion’s primary action is to blunt lingering physical and/or mental impressions from a body yielding to solid earth and sharp rock.

I can still competently bounce in another way. Place to place. With a trailer named Rita in tow and help from my wife.

Every weekend, the provincial park we camped at near Whistler would fill up with campers who made reservations far earlier than anticipated, leaving our trio spotless. This worked out in our favor; with Rita’s holding tanks simultaneously empty and full, a fragrant laundry basket, draining pantry, and a blog to produce we would return to a Squamish RV park for a weekend of renewal.

Returning to Whistler, our legs and minds finally said enough to pedaling uphill and we spent a day in the world renowned bike park. Lap after lap we hunted out the more natural cut trails, the crown jewel being Top of the World. Accessed from an intimidating wind shaken lift ride over glaciers and cliffs of broken rock, Top of the World is a difficult trail from Whistler’s summit. Following months of dreaming, Keri was anxiously eager to meet the trail’s challenge.

And she met it very well while grinning ear to ear. Me, I failed to bounce. Hard.

Hard enough to bounce Keri, Rita, and myself to our final destination and a day of rest. 

Colorado to Squamish to Whistler to Squamish to Whistler to…Vancouver, BC and it’s famous North Shore.

When it comes to eating it, this is much preferred

The riding was excellent. Trails built 25+ years ago rode better than so many more recently developed trails, leaving no question as to how the North Shore influenced modern mountain biking. They are envisioned with a huge amount of creativity, which is matched only by the incredible work put into their physical creation.

Urban "camping"

Narrow, slick when wet and high consequence, wood work leading up and over boulders, teeter-totters over a marsh, slow speed drops, and rooty staircases provided a challenging, committing, and very rewarding experience.

Upon our penultimate ride with freshly made friends, Keri had a final, spectacular off-the-bike excursion. Her bike bounced. She did not. While it is never easy to watch a loved one crash, I'm proud of her for trying and damn glad she was more or less okay. While Rita babysat her, I did one last rainy ride. Finally satiated, I was ready to go.

Following a sushi dinner with friends, Rita bounced her way towards home.