North Shore Mountain Biking 101

When my daughter was little, we’d hop on our bikes and go ride along the dikes where we lived in Port Coquitlam.  We all had mountain bikes that we’d bought inexpensively at a well-known sporting goods chain.  At one point we were actually riding the whole Poco trail – even the parts of the trails that were criss-crossed with thick roots and rocks that made us feel like real hardcore mountain bikers.  I remember the delight of first climbing a curb.

My daughter is grown up now, and now I’ve bought a new mountain bike – a real mountain bike.  I live on the North Shore – apparently this is a mountain biking Mecca – so I want to play too.  At 43 I much prefer to keep my bones in tact, so I opted for a cross-country bike instead of a hard-core downhill bike.

Last weekend, I couldn’t wait a moment longer and dragged my husband out, along with my grown-up daughter and her boyfriend who’s actually a real mountain biker. This wasn’t going to be a real taste of what North Shore mountain biking is all about, more like just getting a sniff of it.  We headed up the Richard Juryn Trail at the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. Heading up the “road” was super fun.  The road is a gravel trail which climbs slowly, has one nice dip and some super muddy sections that just hold on to your wheels.

Then we got to the actual trail. Goodness gracious me!! This is cross-country riding?? The trail was far too technical for a newbie like me.  I walked about 70% of the trail – very, very gingerly I might add.  I’d ride brief stretches and then it would be too steep or too scary or too fast for me, and I’d get off and walk.  I know this is North Shore mountain biking, but surely there are some easy trails???

To get my confidence back, we did a bunch of laps on a short little single track trail that I actually COULD ride. It was so fun to climb up and then go zipping down, more confidently each time.  There’s one step to drop off at the top and then it’s just rocky and narrow.  The trail quickly got boring as I got more comfortable on it.  I practised keeping my body relaxed, leaning forward and keeping my arms bent. Really? I need to lean forward going downhill??

Then we skipped across the road into the forest and did a short circuit with lots of fun roots and dips, loads of muddy bits and even a few tiny little drops. This part was fun!! I loved it and squealed with delight as I practised getting off the seat and trusting my bike.  This was more like it!!

Next week I’m hoping to head out to the trails at SFU to give them a whirl!  I’m keeping my fingers crossed to find some material that I actually can ride.  North Shore mountain biking will have to wait for another day for me.  If I can ride at least half of that trail by the end of the season I’ll be overjoyed.