Whistler Outback Adventures - Hiking, Mountain Biking, Rafting Tours in Whistler British Columbia Canada

Blogs of our Whistler Life
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July 12th, 2010
Nimby and Test of Metal - By Graham Bottomly
It’s summer of 2010, and in order to kick-start my second summer season of biking in Whistler, I entered myself for two cross-country mountain biking races in the Sea to Sky corridor. The two races were the inaugural Nimby Fifty in Pemberton, and the infamous Test of Metal in Squamish. Sign up for the Test of Metal is almost as much as a challenge as the race itself, with this years 800 places selling out in under 25mins, on New Years day. Nimby Fifty however was a late entry for myself, with my co-worker Luke bringing it to my attention in early April.

Nimby Fifty was the first of the two races on May 29th. Based in Pemberton, this race is centered around epic BC single-track with minimal road or fire roads. Being the inaugural race, and one of the earliest races of the season in the Sea to Sky corridor, Nimby Fifty caught the attention of many big name riders primarily from greater Vancouver and Washington State. This unforgiving race tested every aspect of mountain bike racing, and taught me a lesson or two in biking. I rode my Specialized Stumpjumper Elite, very similar to what we rent out of Whistler Outback Adventures and was an ideal bike for the race. The Stumpjumpers are equipped an adequate 5 inches of both front and rear suspension for the descents, and this is also adjustable which assisted me in the grueling 11km climb that is “Big Nimby”. I had entered Nimby Fifty in order to initiate my summer of biking and it certainly provide me with some extra motivation to get out and ride. It was also a great practice for my next, and longer race, the Test of Metal.

Coming into the Test of Metal I felt a lot fitter and confident than the Nimby Fifty three weeks prior. The 67km long Test of Metal was a much larger event, and unlike Nimby Fifty, for this race the weather was on my side. The evening prior to the race saw an epic thunderstorm, and we woke up to a perfect blue sky, with the temperature in the mid 20’s. These conditions left Squamish trails in ideal shape. Setting off to the sounds of a full marching pipe band, and a police escort heading north along Highway 99, the Test of Metal fully met my expectations. The climbs were long, but the descents were oh so sweet. What truly made this race for me was how involved the population of Squamish was. They lined the climbs at the feed stations, and cheered us as we pushed our limits on their technical descents. Finishing this race was a relief however I beat my expected time which was a great feeling.

Now in early July and in full swing, my thoughts are looking towards one of the worlds best bike festivals that is Crankworx!! I’m particularly excited about the Ken Quon XC race, and also the Canadian Enduro both of which I plan on entering. Looking forward to lots more time in the saddle. - Graham

July 9, 2010
Video - An Introduction to the Lost Lake Trails

June 29, 2010
Introducing 29er Rental Bikes in Whistler
We will be introducing Norco's Jubei 29 inch wheeled mountain bikes into our rental fleet in the near future. Keep posted here or send us an email if you are interested in reserving one of these fast, big wheeled bikes.

29er rentals are only available via our online registration or by phoning ahead at 604-935-7566.

See ya soon

June 15, 2010
Tuesday night pumptrackin
A quick video of Julian from Chromag Bikes rippin the local pumptrack

June 10, 2010
The Whistler Mountain Bike trails are soo tacky right now!
Today we hit up some of the trails around Lost Lake or as they are know to the locals; the Zappa Trails. They were really tacky and are drying out nicely from this break in the rain we have had. Pinocchios Furniture is always a favorite as it has great flow and very well constructed wood features. We also had a chance to get to Function this week and ride the newly rebuilt Train Wreck. I must say thank you very much and NICE WORK to the trail builders who have obviously spent heaps of time working on this. It has a very River Runs Through it feel with a bit more fun/flow I think.

Sunday is our day for EPICS. This past week we headed to Squamish and rode the brand new Half Nelson Trail, to Another Mans Gold, to Powerhouse Plunge, to Hoods in the Woods and then all the way back up to where the car was parked at the bottom of Half Nelson. It was a great ride! This coming Sunday we are heading out to a bunch of the trails in the Emerald area. The plan is to ride Section 102 and then link it into Thrill me Kill Me. Most of us will ride home via the road but there was talk about heading up the Cougar Mountain Fire Service road and then shredding Gargamel back into Emerald. Heck, if yer gonna be that masachistic you may as well follow that up with a quick loop around Shit Happens!

So when we are not slaving away in the office and working on rental bikes we are out and about making sure the local trails are primed and ready for you when you come on your next adventure holiday to Whistler!

Hopefully we will see you soon!

May 31, 2010
Enjoyed some time at Chromag today touring the Shop and gettin some goodies!
Today one of our newest guide bikes arrived. A 2010 Specialized Enduro Comp. Of course some immediate PIMPING of the stock parts was needed. So we went to our neighbors at Chromag down in Function Junction as this is their definate area of expertise. We hooked up some green Chromag OS bars and of course to complement that, a green 50mm Ranger Stem. And just for a bit of class and retro look, a brown Trailmaster seat. Very stoked about the new parts. If you haven't had a chance to check this Whistler based company out yet make sure you stop by a shop in town and take a look. There's some amazing things coming out of that little shop in Funtion. Okay, time to go ride!

May 25, 2010
Whister Outback Article in Whisterl Bike Magazine!
Melanie McManus wrote a great article on one of our Whistler Multi Day Tours in the recent Whistler Bike Magazine. You definatley want to check it out in Print as it looks the best but if you have the time you can download the full article in PDF format here: Whistler Bike Article

Thanks for lookin, keep dry and we'll see ya out there!

Matt

May 22, 2010
$40 Promo Tuneup until June 30th!
We have a special running right now...$40 gets you a full tune and cleaning of your bike. Check out our Whistler Bike Repairs page for more info.

One other thing worth mentioning is that we have a full range of used Mountain, Comfort and Hybrid bikes for sale from last season. If you are interested in any of these bikes please give us a call.

May 5, 2010
Summer Operations in Full Swing - 2010 Specialized Stumpjumpers in stock and ready to rent!
We have been very busy getting our shop up and running for the 2010 summer season. If you arent aware, we are located in the Upper Village at the base of the Le Chamois Hotel. Currently there are massive renovations taking place on the exterior of the hotel so if you see this and think maybe you are in the wrong place you are not! Follow the tunnel into our shop for the largest range and selection of retal bikes in Whistler.

This year we are proud to offer the 2010 Specialized Stumpjumper Comp in a full range of sizes to suite everyone! The Stumpy Comp just won a 6 bike shootout in the June issue of Mountain Bike Action. Check it out. Also available this summer is the women's specific Specialized Safire. Perfect for the Valley trails and designed for fit and performance with the woman trail shredder in mind.

We will use this blog to keep you posted on the happenings around the shop on a regular basis. Pictures, bike reviews and new tours will be first added to this blog to keep you informed. So bookmark this page and visit often!

Peace
WOA

April 15, 2010
Whistler Outback Adventures now has a Yoga Trip for 2010!
Check the multi day tours link on the top bar for more information on this Whistler Yoga Retreat with world renowned instructor Mary Bruce!

Also, the Worca Loonie races are under way with the next one taking place at lost lake. WOA will be in attendance so look for our new gear and say hello. We will keep you posted on the Whistler Outback Adventures sponsored Loonie race in the coming weeks!

see you on the trails!
WOA

December 17 2009
New Feature - We have a blog now!
This Blog will be a very simple way we can keep you updated on new and exciting things happening with WOA.

First up on the list - 2009 was AWESOME!! We had such an exciting year with tours booked to max capacity! Here are some photos from our adventures:

Next up - The Wall Street Journal will be doing an article about us! We were contacted last week by them and cannot wait to show you more of our feature article.

New Sky Camp Pricing - Reduced to $2398 for 2010!! One of our most popular multi day tours is now even better. Experience Backcountry LUXURY!!

Olympics 2010 coming soon! - Our home will soon be BUZZING with excitement and people from all over the world as the 2010 Winter Olympics come to Whistler. Please contact us for custom sightseeing and Nature tours!

So many exclamation points needed on this page because there are so many great things happening with WOA and the Sea to Sky corridor! We will be extremely busy getting ready for next year in the coming months (and enjoying the heaps of powder we have been blessed with this year) but please feel free to contact us at anytime with questions throughout the winter.

See you when the snow melts!

WOA

Norco Jubei 29er Mountain Bike Rental