On the longest day of the year it seems fitting to tackle the longest ride in the Sea to Sky corridor. Brett and Juneau joined me to sample the alpine rock and loam on the airy Disneyland trail. This area is a special place and truly demonstrates how beautiful the coastal fiord of Howe Sound is. The forecast called for some hot temps but instead we experienced some dark high ceiling clouds with some rain showers. This made the 5 hour ascent much more manageable.
We settled in on the long climb / hike a bike and Juneau came close to her first Grouse encounter.
There were a few uphill riding sections....
But way more uphill pushing sections....
Brett just picked up a brand new 2015 Norco Range Carbon C7.2 from Republic Bicycles in Squamish. This was a pretty good first big ride!
We came across a tree that was a real Dick!
And after a few hours the grade eased and views of Howe Sound far below started to open up....
We meandered around some pleasant alpine tarns...
Midway through the ride the sky became angry and dropped some precip on us. This is typically a place you don't want to ride when wet....
The rock features in the high alpine are spectacular in this place....
Far below in the small town of Squamish, many riders were just rolling in from the test of metal....
The Sea to Sky Gondola looked pretty cute from here. If you look closely you can see it in the upper right hand corner....
Juneau was having the best day of her life!
The weather sorted itself out somewhat and we dropped in for a very long descent....
And steep.....
With my ongoing knee problem I installed a One Up Components 44T X-Cog. This thing was amazing and shifted buttery smooth. Highly recommended if you want to save some energy on the climb!
Once we re-entered the forest we got loose in the loam....
And Juneau did her own version of loam hunting....
With more daylight left in the day Brett and I enjoyed a few pints poured from my Squamish pub and celebrated the epic ride. Brett gifted me this custom tap handle last week. Who knew he was an artist! Long live Long rides!
