The flatmates and I spent the past weekend on the road on an adventure to and from Mt Ruapehu. That meant that we had a good four to five hours to fill on each leg of the journey. What better way to pass the time than with a good old fashioned car game. Eye-spy just didn’t cut it, so the following is what we came up with. We think we are on to a winner.

You will need:

• An MP3 player that you are able to make a play list on, has a shuffle function, and is well stocked with an eclectic mix of great music
• Three or more participants that have an ear for good tunes, and have reasonably varied taste

And here is how the game goes:

1. The two (or more) passengers take turns to add tunes to a play list.
2. Set the play list playing on random shuffle and crank it up.
3. The driver has to guess which passenger chose the song that is playing.
4. If the driver guesses correctly, they score a point. If they guess wrong, the passengers score.

Nice and simple really.

There are a few tricks to it. Firstly, as a passenger you want to try and fool the driver, so maybe you pick songs that you know they would expect the other passenger to pick. But you might also know that they realise this, so double bluff them and pick songs that they would expect you to pick. Secondly, there is a job for the driver in reading the passengers reactions to the tunes as they begin. Of course there is also a role for acting, so who knows if they are bluffing or not.

All in all you end up with a great musical adventure to compliment your physical adventure. Hours of fun for all.

For the record in our game Matt finished with a 54% success rate, and the score was 13 to Matt, 11 to Dayna and I. A very close game indeed.

Great shot of the open road from Trey Ratcliffe from stuckincustoms.com.

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For those who don’t know I recently returned from a 5 week pilgrimage to British Columbia with a few riding buddies. We packed our bikes up, headed over and rode as many trails as we could fit in to our time there. For a trip that had been in the back of my mind for years we actually set off on our Canadian adventure having done relatively little planning. We had all seen the videos and been reading about the riding Canada had to offer, but we kept plans pretty loose.

In some ways that was good, but there were a few things we learned along the way. I thought I would get them down along with a bit of a review of the places we rode just in case anyone else is planning a dream holiday. If that is you, firstly, DO IT, and secondly, I hope this is of some use to you.

It pays to take my trail reviews with a grain of salt. Everyone likes different stuff, and personally I would rather rip jumps, berms, gaps and drops than shred real steep stuff. Keep that in mind, and if in doubt… go ride there!

I would also just like to add before we get in to it that Canada (and Canadians) are super awesome! Everyone was really keen to help out, show us around, take us out riding, or have a beer with us. It was easily the easiest traveling I have ever done.

Tips & Tricks

You are going to break a lot of stuff

Seriously. If you are hitting the parks chances are you are going to be doing a whole lot more vertical meters than you have ever done in this space of time before. This takes a big toll on your body and bike, so you are going to break stuff. I got away relatively lightly (seat, about 15 tubes, brake lever, shoes, hydration pack) but it pays to have a budget allocated to buying new bits for your rig.

As much as you want to, you probably can’t ride every day

You will be excited. It will be awesome. But unless you are used to riding big terrain over and over again for 6 to 8 hours a day every day your body probably wont cope that well. Plan to take rest days. Luckily there is loads of beautiful stuff to see and other cool stuff to do.

Ease into it big boy

There is a massive temptation to get in there and rip. You have just flown half way around the world, the trails are super sweet, girls are watching, and you are feeling great.. it makes you want to push yourself. If you are there for a while though it does pay to check yourself. Both my riding buddies took big spills, luckily one was toward the end of the holiday, but the other resulted in a cracked rib and a week off the bike.

RVs: Great for traveling, shit for most other stuff

Our RV was seriously cool for getting about the place. It was comfortable, ok to drive (for a massive van thing), and meant we could rock up anywhere and call it home. It really sucked as a shuttle wagon though, which was a pain when we hit some places where a shuttle wagon would have been great. Often you can hitch a ride with some locals, but it doesn’t pay to rely on this for obvious reasons.

Be flexible

As mentioned, Canadians are super friendly, and if you leave a bit of flexibility in your schedule you will be able to take someone up on an offer to head off on some crazy adventure that they will almost certainly invite you along on.

The parks

There is nothing quite like being whisked back to the top of a multitude of trails in the relative comfort of a chair or gondola. For someone who is used to pushing to the top, or if I am very lucky shuttling, it was an amazing experience.

Riding park lets you hit more vertical meters than you could ever hope to any other way. Of course that also means that it is super hard on your bike and body, but that is all part of the fun.

The following is a bit of a run down my impression of the parks that we hit on our little adventure around BC.

Whistler

The big one – the most famous lift accessed bike park in the world. Having heard so much hype about Whistler, seen so many videos, checked out so much footage from Crankworks (their annual freeride/downhill festival), and just generally been hanging out to get to Whistler for years it had a lot to live up to. It definitely delivered. It deserves all the hype that it gets. In terms of number of trails, size of operation and just general vibe nothing else on our trip came close to Whistler. The number of trails and the ways that you can combo them up blows your mind, particularly once the Garbonzo zone opens up (the upper mountain). It has big flowing jump trails, gnarly, techy rocky rooty trails, and even a smattering of shore-esque woodwork. You could easily keep yourself entertained here for weeks or months alone.

The only minor drawback of Whistler is that because of the sheer number of riders hitting the park the trails get really cut up, real quick. The maintenance staff do a pretty good job of staying on top of it, but be prepared for hitting more brake bumps in a day than you probably have in the rest of your riding life. Nothing can really prepare your hands and arms for the workout that Whistler will give them.

All in all, a must visit, for at least a week.

My fav trails: Dirt Merchant, Freight Train, ALine, Ninja Cougar

Sun Peaks

Sun Peaks is a nice little park based just out of Golden. We rode there on a beautiful sunny day, with only a handful of other riders. The trails were interesting, but no where near as varied as Whistler. You could probably spend a few days here getting the lines down on all the trails. There are some good steep sections, and Steam Shovel is a super fun jumps trail with a couple of nice structures for good measure. Once you are used to the village life in Whistler it is quite different going to these smaller resorts that don’t have anywhere near the buzz. It is good in some ways (no queues, cheaper food/drink, chattier staff), but does feel a bit quiet compared with Whistler. Definitely worth a visit for a day or two though.

My fav trails: Steam Shovel, Sweet One, Sugar

Kicking Horse

Kicking Horse is apparently is the ski field with the highest proportion of expert/black runs of any in BC (maybe even the whole of Canada?). It is not hard to see why – it is steep, real steep. It also features hands down the most spectacular view from the top of the chair the we encountered on our trip. I would have loved to have spent a couple of days more here. While there is not a huge number of trails, there is definitely enough to keep you entertained for a few days. Stick Rock is an incredible piece of trail, consisting almost exclusively of rock joined by woodwork, and probably rates as one of the coolest I have ever ridden. Kicking Horse is worth it for this alone. Spiral Tap is also a pretty unique structure, and something you will definitely want to hit. Kicking Horse is steep, rocky, and fast. Take your armour. It also pays to know that Kicking Horse is actually in the Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) time zone, so don’t end up like us and lose an hour of riding time.

My fav trails: Stick Rock, Time Travel, the one with Spiral Tap in it (Pioneer I think)

Silverstar

I have bad memories of Silverstar, but that has nothing to do with the trails, and everything to do with the beef and mushroom soup that gave Robin and I chronic food poisoning, costing us a days riding (and making the night we spent on the mountain probably the worst of my life). It also didn’t help that the day we did get in riding it was miserable, wet and freezing (snowing at the top of the chair), and we spent over an hour trying to help a guy who had wrecked riding by himself and severely broken all sorts of things.

Having said all that, the trails that we did get to ride at Silverstar were killer, and the ones with lots of wood work that we could only look at because it was so wet looked rad too. There were lots of super flowy jumps and berms, and just enough steep stuff to keep you paying attention. Jason was raving about his day riding while we lay in the RV unable to move, so would definitely recommend checking out Silvestar for a few days.

My fav trails: Rock Star

Outside the Parks

We managed to fit in a bit of riding outside the parks, although probably not as much as I had hoped before we left. The truth was that the parks were easy, convenient, and a hell of a lot of fun. Also, an RV does not make for a great shuttling wagon.

Having said that the trails that we did hit were rad without exception.

The Shore

Fromme

Fromme was my first taste of Shore riding, and it didn’t disappoint. No doubt if you are heading to Canada to ride you will have seen hundreds of videos of guys riding amazing terrain and man made made structures that have made the Shore so famous (and since been replicated around the world). There is nothing that can quite prepare you for what the Shore is actually like though. You have to ride up at Fromme, and it is a bit of a slog up to 7th Secret (the trail that we rode), but it isn’t too grueling, and is well worth it.

Mt Seymour

How awesome is it that within 20 minutes of downtown Vancouver there is a mountain that you and your buddies can shuttle on?! Just like Fromme but with more trails, and more vertical meters to play with. That leads to a few steeper trails, and some pretty amazing structures. I can’t really remember the names of any of the trails we rode, but they were all great. I could have spent a couple more days riding Seymour easily. You will need a shuttle wagon (or a friendly local with a shuttle wagon).

Pemberton

Stimulus

The day we rode Pemberton was scorching hot. We ambitiously set off without a trail map. We had a plan, to tackle a few of the shorter DH tracks that all fed off the same climb, starting with the one we had to climb furthest to. Of course we missed the entrance to this one, so continued on climbing this fire road for what seemed like hours. Finally we reached the top, which also doubles as a paragliding launch site. We talked to a couple of friendly local paragliders, who recommended this trail Stimulus. They said it was a fun, steep, fast track, with just enough tech to keep it interesting. They weren’t wrong. Unfortunately for me I flatted 3/4 of the way down, and had somehow lost a tool out of my pack, meaning that I couldn’t change my tube. In the end I had to walk the final 1/4. That was only the beginning though. At the bottom I had to walk for hours to get back to where the van was parked. At one stage I was convinced (through a combination of heat, dehydration and exhaustion) that I had taken a severe wrong turn, and also that a cougar was stalking me. Luckily neither was true, and I lived to tell the tale. In summary, the riding is great, just get yourself a map from the excellent local bike store (Pemberton Bike Co.) and don’t lose your tools.

Kamloops

Rio

Kamloops is another name that will no doubt be instantly recognised by most freeride mountain bikers. It is kinda like a hot (very hot), dusty dessert. This trail Rio was recommended by the lovely folk at The Bicycle Cafe because we would be able to shuttle it (more or less) with our big ol’ RV, which we could. We waited to hit it till about 5.30pm because it was so hot (probably still well over 30 even after 5). But it was well worth the sweat we spilt. We each got a couple of runs in, and loved every second of it. Even clothes-lining myself on a tree that was falling over the track couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm. Fast, dusty and loose, this trail runs through a little valley. There are a heap of corners, little kickers, and natural wall rides. Super fast and super fun. Would loved to have spent a few more days checking out the myriad of other trails we saw branching off around the place. Definitely worth planning to spend some time in Kamloops.

Whistler

A River Runs Through It

While it is tempting to spend every day in the bike park in Whistler just because it is so rad, it does pay to check out some of the awesome trails that litter the forests surrounding Whistler Village. A River Runs Through It is another pretty famous trail, and I am glad that we took time out of the park to do it. Almost completely flat, the thing that makes this trail is the insane North Shore woodwork. Pretty much everything has a couple of lines – a black and a double black, and the double black really is double black. A great trail to spend a couple of hours on mastering the various stunts. Just watch out for the mosquitoes that are the size of small birds.

So that’s it. Hopefully there is something there that is useful for you. Obviously that just scratches the surface when it comes to the riding you can do, but that might give you some ideas.

There are also a whole raft of other websites to check out that we found helpful in planning our little adventure:
www.nsmb.com
www.pinkbike.com
www.evergreenmtb.org
www.bikeparksbc.com

You can also check out all my photos over on flickr, and a couple of videos over on vimeo.

If you are thinking of going, definitely, definitely do. You wont regret it.

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Tyler Thompson got sick of looking at ugly, confusing boarding passes, so he had a go at redesigning them. He also put the call out for others to do the same. The results are excellent, hopefully the airlines are listening (although our own Air New Zealand actually does a reasonable job in comparison to the Delta one that Tyler started with)

It is also well worth checking out Dustin Curtis’s well thought out redesign of the American Airlines homepage that was part inspiration for Tyler’s efforts.

It has been around for a while now, but Slinkachu’s Little People Project is rad. It must be incredible coming across one of his installations “in the wild”.

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The Kings Whistle (Blowholes)

One of the most awe inspiring natural sights that I have ever seen. The individual blowholes are amazing, but looking down the coast to see 5km of them all shooting spray in the air, and making an eerie whooshing sound roused my best Sir David Attenborough impersonation to say “this is a fantastic example of the raw power and majesty of nature.” Yes, I am a geek.

Wreck snorkeling 10m off the beach at Pangiamotu Island

I have always wanted to dive on a shipwreck. On Pangiamotu Island you don’t even have to be able to dive. The wreck, complete with a ton of sea life, is just 10m of the beach, and is easy to snorkel.

Food at Friends Cafe

Of all the places we ate in Tonga, Friends Cafe was the best. It was reasonably priced, the food was great, and the service friendly.

Fruit (with the exception of papaya)

I ate more fruit in the week we spent in Tonga than I have eaten in the past year. Eating fruit every morning for breakfast made me feel great. Fruit is totally awesome, except for papaya. Papaya is smells like vomit, and tastes not much better. Apparently Tongan’s only really serve papaya to tourists and pigs. Special mention goes to custard apples, and star fruit.

Papaya jam (especially with Vanilla at Heilala Resort)

In some weird twist of nature, papaya jam is a taste sensation. Tonga should be producing and exporting this by the ton, metric or otherwise. Seriously.

Tongan bread

Tastes a bit like Maori bread (which is also delicious). Great with lots of butter.

Fales at Fafa Island Resort

The Fale’s at Fafa Island are amazing. They have an open roof, no curtains, outdoor bathrooms, luggage rooms, massive king beds with futon mattresses, and outdoor bathrooms.

Fafa Island Resort in general

Fafa Island was awesome. With only 30 or so people on the island, pretty much the only time that you see people is when you go to get food from the restaurant. Palm trees everywhere, and coral reef right on your doorstep.

Ota ika

Traditional Tongan meal made of raw fish soaked in coconut milk and lime, and some mild spices.

The staff I found on the beach

The best staff ever. Gandalf would have been in awe.

Travel Scrabble

It’s Scrabble, but tiny and wee, and the best way to pass drizzly afternoons and flights.

It has to be noted however, that losing the tiny wee peices under your fale (very easy to do), and having to crawl under to get them is most definitely not hot.

Bongos

Cheese flavored snacks. Think Cheezles, but better. They also come in a fetching purple packet.

Ikale (local beer)

A little malty, a little hoppy, and good. As a bonus, usually the cheapest beer in the bar.

Fresh fish

Before Tonga I wasn’t a huge fan of seafood, but eating fresh Tuna steak and Ota Ika has changed all of that.

Cycling on cruisers

What better way to see a relatively small flat island than to hire out cruisers. Ani and I managed 40km+ on our laid back, single speed vehicles, all the while oozing coolness as we went. The Tongan peoples habit of saying both “hi” and “bye” to people passing by was at first charming, and later tedious.

Caves

On Tongatapu you can venture into a great underground cave network that is complete with an underground stream and hundreds of nesting birds. It was obviously (like many of Tonga’s attractions) partly developed into a proper tourist destination (there are remnants of what looks like a ticket booth, and there are stairs and railings inside the caves), before being abandoned.

It is pitch black inside, so if you are going, make sure you take a torch.

Coral reef snorkeling

I thought Goat Island was pretty amazing the couple of times I have been snorkeling there, but it was nothing compared to the coral reefs in Tonga. The coral itself was amazing, with the sun dancing on it, and there were fish of a million different colours, shapes and sizes swimming everywhere.

Outdoor bathrooms

The fale’s on Fafa Island feature outdoor bathrooms. I have never enjoyed showering, or taking care of bathroom business quite as much as when I was out among nature. All bathrooms should be outdoors.

Ani in a bikini

Needs no further explanation.

“Pukekoes” and “running birds”

These two birds are thriving on Fafa Island. They are cheeky, and were often having a bath in our foot washing basin outside our fale, or climbing on our table picking at our left over food.

After a brief search it seems that these birds are actually called Kale and Veka.

Coconut palms

We are so conditioned to associate palm trees with tropical islands that no matter how bad the weather was outside, it somehow felt warm looking up at the palms.

White sandy beaches

Tropical.

Not shaving for a week

Shaving sucks, so not shaving for a week (which turned into two) was great.

Hammocks

Is there any more relaxing furniture device?

Geckos/Lizards

Tonga is crawling with them, and once you get used to their weird little noises they are actually pretty cute. Watching them go about their bug catching business is more entertaining than television.

Beach hair

A week of swimming in the sea with no shampoo left me with the best beach hair which perfectly complemented my week of facial hair growth.

Beach DJ

Destroying sandy dance floors throughout Tonga.

Not

The creme brulee at Fafa Island

Tasted a little like scrambled eggs. Not recommended.

No icing!

Fafa Island has cake for afternoon tea every day. Unfortunately this cake never has icing. What kind of cake doesn’t have icing?!?

The towels

One of the things I like most about staying at hotels is ready access to fluffy towels. Apparently fabric softener is hard to come by in Tonga.

The unfriendliness/rudeness of Tongan hospitality staff

In general Tongan people were really happy, easy going, and full of smiles and greetings. There was one group of people that were a notable exception: hospitality staff. It really felt like they resented having to serve us. The one notable exemption to this was Friends Cafe (above).

The lack of any waste management

That isn’t entirely true, they have got a new landfill, but the grand total of public rubbish bins we saw was 1. At just about every tourist spot/attraction there was a significant amount of rubbish.

Papaya

Smells like vomit, and tastes not much better. Who actually likes papaya? According to our tour guide not even the locals eat it, it is saved strictly for the pigs and tourists. The only exception is the previously mentioned papaya jam. There should be a law requiring all papaya to be made into jam.

The beds at Heilala Resort

Two rickety singles pushed together, with a significant gap in the middle.

Over-priced food

Food in most places (with the exception of Friends Cafe, and the great bakeries) is terrible value for money.

Faumotu International Airport

Crowded, hot and difficult to extract baggage from. It is an experience.

Chickens

Chickens like to wake up early, really early, far to early for holiday time. Then they like to wake people up, all the people, all the people on holiday.

Newly grown “beard” being itchy

Unfortunately this got to me, and it had to go.

Tongan roads

In poor repair and with speed limits of 40km/h and 60km/h. Getting places in a hurry is not easy.

Angry dogs

The main island of Tongatapu is full of stray dogs, some of which are aggressive. They really need to do something about it.

The verdict

Tonga is hot. Do you love it?

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