The Matt Hunter Freeride Camp went off, and it was great to see everyone’s riding progress over the past five days. We had our first girl attend camp this year, and also campers from as far away as Manitoba. It was amazing to see how amazing of a role model Matt is, and how much it meant to the kids to spend the week riding with him. Props to both Matt and Justin for making the camp such a success. Check out the slideshow for the latest pictures from camp.

On the trails the Bike Park crew has also had a productive week. DH is now open from top to bottom, so get out their and start working on your times for the Canada Cup. To ensure the course holds up the crew has put in a brick armour section on DH between Road 04 and the bottom of the Elevation Chair. You guys also spoke up, and we have removed the gap jump at the top of Insanity One. Keep the Bike Park feedback coming. On Home Run we shovelled in a bunch of dirt and raked out the trail, so layoff the brakes this weekend. The wall ride on Steam Shovel has been titled back. It’s amazing what a little horse power can accomplish. With the new angles on the wall ride and enough speed, riders are now able to red line the feature. If you don’t know what we mean by ‘red line’ you just have to get up here and ride to figure it out.

Next week is going to be an exciting one for us. Decline Magazine is coming to the resort on Monday for four days. Joining Decline will be Ryder Kasprick, Ross Measures, Kurt Sorge, and Geoff Gulevich. Be on the lookout for these guys, and give them a Yeah Bro!

If you’re not able to make it out on the trails today check out our latest Bike Park video to get your fix. We’re stoked because this movie showcases the diversity of our trail system, and the impressive level of riding from our home town crew. Thanks to Graham Agassiz, Chayse Marshall, and Bryden Cook for killing it in front of the camera.

Thanks for reading the Sun Peaks Bike Park Update, and have a great weekend!

The crew shut down Steam Shovel on Wednesday for repairs, and to get another feature open. The crew was able to rake out the brake bumps, and repair the worn berms. Steam Shovel is one of our most popular trails so wear is going to occur. The guys also rebuilt the gap jump that directly follows the step up to wood to drop shortly after the two rock faces. The jump has been rebuilt with a steeper down transition making for a smoother landing. Get out there and ride the trail this weekend, and let us know what you think.

The crew also continues to go after the 2008 mandate of continuous trail maintenance. Barn Burner, Mach, and Arm Pump have been cleaned up with the rakes. Seriously though, minus the tree roots, Arm Pump has never been so smooth. And really tree roots just make the trail that much more fun.

We’ve also given the events team a serious beating for having to cancel this past weekend’s High Roller. Apologies to anyone this inconvenienced. The events team has rescheduled the event for Sunday, August 10. Click here for more information. As well, the details for the Yeah Bro! Biker Cross have now been finalized. The Yeah Bro! Biker Cross will drop on Saturday, August 9, and Saturday, August 30. There is some serious cash and a ton of product from Sombrio on the line, so definitely check it out. Click here for more information.   
  
On a closing note we’re excited for NSMB.com to be riding the Sun Peaks Bike Park this Saturday and Sunday. When you’re out on the trails this weekend be on the lookout for the NSMB.com team, and give them a wave.

Thanks for reading the Sun Peaks Bike Park Update, and have a great weekend!

Wade Simmons will be making the trek back to his home town of Kamloops, and he’ll be bringing Andrew Sherry, Jarrett Moore, and Brett Tippie with him. These guys aren’t going to be sitting around either, because you are going to get to ride with Wade and the team throughout the day. When your friends ask you who you went riding with, you’re going to casually drop, “Oh, today I went riding with the godfather of freeride, Wade Simmons.”

Sun Peaks Resort is going to show some love to all the Rocky Mountain Bike owners who show up on Saturday, July 26, by giving them a free Bike Park lift ticket. To get your free lift pass all you have to do is head to the base area of the Sunburst Express with your Rocky Mountain Bike, and look for the Sun Peaks tent. This offer is limited to one ticket per Rocky Mountain Bike owner. This offer is not valid with Rocky Mountain Bike rentals at Time to Ride. On Sunday, July 27, 2008, we’re also going to offer all Rocky Mountain Bike owners a two for one pass, so they can bring a friend. The second person using the two for one pass does not need to be riding a Rocky Mountain Bike.
   
Rocky Mountain Bikes is bringing their freeride and DH lineup with them for you to demo in the Bike Park. This is a great chance to discover firsthand what it feels like to hammer down Insanity One on a Flatline, or flow through Steam Shovel on the Slayer SS. Although demoing the bikes is totally free, riders will need photo id, and a credit card to demo any of the bikes. Riders demoing bikes will only be allowed one run to ensure everyone gets a chance to try out the bikes. Riders under the age of 19 must have a parent or guardian sign a waiver on their behalf.      

To make The Homecoming even larger we’re going to have a free BBQ at the base area, hand out a ton of Rocky Mountain Bikes merchandise, give away a Rocky Mountain Flow Bike, and set it all to music with a massive sound system setup at the base of the Bike Park. All park riders who own a Rocky Mountain Bike, purchase a lift ticket, or have a season pass can enter in the draw for the bike. Visit the Sun Peaks tent at the base area to get your ticket. The draw for the Rocky Mountain Flow Bike will take place at 4:00pm at the base of the Sunburst Express.

Come ride with the godfather of freeriding, and sample some of the trails that make the interior of British Columbia famous throughout the world.

For more information please contact Guest services at (250) 578-5474, or guestservices@sunpeaksresort.com.

This past week the two major trail projects were Route 66, and the upper section of Sugar. The Trail Crew was fortunate to receive rain on Tuesday evening allowing them to get on Route 66 with the rakes, and clean up the brake bumps from opening weekend. To make the trail even smoother all of the loose rocks on Route 66 were removed. The second project was to get the upper section of Sugar open and ready to ride for this weekend. All of the dead fall has been removed, the trail has been cleaned up, and Sugar is now open from the top to the bottom.

While out on the trails please respect trail closures. Riders have been dropping into the currently closed DH trail, wrecking the water channels that have been built, and punching out the trail. Riding this trail before it is open is only increasing the length of time that the trail is closed. We urge you to respect trail closures.

Trail conditions are presently varied throughout the Bike Park. Trails exposed to the sun are starting to become dusty and drifty, which is pretty typical for the Kamloops area. Make sure you bring your goggles. Trails sheltered from the sun are very tacky, so don’t be afraid to let your bike ride a little faster. Get on Sweet One or Kaboom to enjoy this first hand. With the heavy rainfall we received on Thursday evening, and the mild temperatures this past week expect great conditions on the trails this weekend.

Yesterday we made a little movie in the Bike Park. Graham Agassiz, Red Hare, Chayse Marshall and his brother Tyson came out to do some riding for the camera. We plan to release it on sunpeaksresort.com by next week, so stay tuned for it. Until then check out the slide show for the latest photographs from the Bike Park. 

Thanks for reading the Sun Peaks Bike Park Update! See you on the trails.

The Trail Crew has reported that with the warm weather this past week the trails will be in solid riding shape for opening weekend! Throughout the Bike Park the trails are hella tacky. We tried to get the crew to give us some trail suggestions, but all they said was to get out there and ride it all.

This past week the Trail Crew has been working on the upper blue trails in the Bike Park. Gummy Bear and Mach have been buffed, and will be ready to ride this Saturday. Due to erosion, the upper section of Mach needed some serious Trail Crew hours to get the trail ready to ride. The guys rebuilt the trail wider and smoother, and improved the drainage to ensure this don’t happen again. These upgrades on Mach are going to make for a much faster and safer trail, so get on it and pedal. 

On opening weekend please respect all trail closures. Cahilty, Big Rock Ride, Way Out, Way Back, Around the Corner, Upper DH, Heifer’s Grunt, and Upper Sugar will all be closed. To stay up to date on trail statuses (open / closed / upgrades) during the season check out our Trail Status Report. The Trail Status Report is updated every Friday by 4:00pm. 

On the events side of the Bike Park, the Marshall camp from the Full Boar Bike Store and our Events Team are presently developing a biker cross series for the latter part of the summer. Time to Ride, the Bike Café, and Spoke and Motion are also getting involved, so this series is going to be all about getting everyone in our mountain bike scene together. Any other shops interested in getting involved can email our Events Team at eventsassistant@sunpeaksresort.com. The race will consist of a best of two timed runs through the Marzocchi Biker Cross Course with the fastest rider in each division (17 and Under Men / 17 and Older Men / Women) taking home all the cash. This race is open to everyone, and is suitable for all levels of riders. Dates and more details will be announced shortly.

As always, if you have questions or park feedback please do not hesitate to contact us at webmaster@sunpeaksresort.com. Your comments and suggestions during the 2007 season are responsible for increased lift capacity, more focus on trail maintenance, and more signage. Never underestimate the power of the pen. Thanks for reading the Sun Peaks Bike Park Update, and we’ll see you on the trails this weekend.

2008 Bike Park Hours of Operation
Open daily from June 28 to September 1
Open Friday to Sunday from September 2 to September 28
Open daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Extended play hours every Saturday in July and August till 7:00pm!

Although the Bike Park has been quite wet the Trail Crew has been able to work on a number of the single track trails including Insanity One, Sugar, and Sweet One. Insanity One has been buffed from top to bottom. The crew filled in the ruts and beefed up the berms to make the trail even faster. The trenches that have formed on the trail over time have also been filled, and the drainage has been improved to better deal with trail erosion. One of our oldest trails, Sugar, has also received a lot of work. The crew has buffed it, and thrown in a 35’ long skinny with a 4’ drop at the end. This new feature is located in the area that was logged last year. Another classic, Sweet One, will be ready to ride for opening day. The Trail Crew has realigned all of the bridges, took out a ton of dead fall, and buffed the trail. Kenton and his crew are stoked to ride these trails on opening day, so you know they are going to be good! 

As you might already know Sun Peaks is getting back into downhill racing this year. On August 24, 2008, we’ll be hosting the Canada Cup DH Race. The course that this race will be held on is the controversial DH trail that was originally built for the UCI World Master’s Championships in 2006. The Trail Crew knows full well that they have their work cut out for them to get the trail up to world class racing standards. They have been working hard to improve the drainage, taking out the dead fall to increase the safety of the course, cleaning and building up the berms to allow the racers to go faster, and adding lips to the top section of the trail to make the course more exciting. Improvements will continue on the DH course over the next couple of weeks, so please respect the trail closure on opening day.

With dryer weather forecasted and another excavator on the way, the Trail Crew will begin to tackle the machine made trails during the next two weeks. Upon opening, the trail crew’s mandate for this summer is continuous trail and feature maintenance. The crew also has some major feature builds planned for this summer, so keep checking out the trail updates through the season.

If you have any questions, or Bike Park feedback please do not hesitate to contact us at webmaster@sunpeaksresort.com. Thanks for reading the Sun Peaks Bike Park Update. Until opening day on June 28, 2008, have a great time riding your local trails.

We're really stoked to have Matt Hunter return to the Sun Peaks Bike Park this summer to coach another Free Ride Camp! The Matt Hunter Free Ride Camp will take place July 14th to the 18th. All aspects of free riding will be covered in this five day camp. Matt and his team of coaches are going to develop campers skills and confidence so they can hit the wooden features, hammer the single track, flow through the machine made trails, and send it on the dirt jumps. Click here for more information.

Running the Bike Park this year is Kenton Matthews. Kenton comes to us from Terrace, BC, where he ran McBikes for four years, and was also heavily involved with the Terrace Off Road Cycling Association. His knowledge of building trails and experience is quite in depth having worked under the guidance of trail builder Jay Hoots in Terrace and Port Coquitlam. With all this experience, and eight years of free riding we’re confident Kenton has what it takes to maintain and improve our Bike Park trails.

If the weather cooperates and the snow continues to melt in the lower elevations of the resort the Bike Park trail crew will begin operations on May 19, 2008. With 70 km of trails to open up, the Trail Crew along with support from Mountain Operations will be working seven days a week until we open on June 28, 2008. The Trail Crew’s objectives this year will be to focus solely on trail maintenance, rebuilding the older features in the Bike Park to stay with the times, and re-opening the trails on the east side of the Bike Park. With all this maintenance taking place in the Bike Park, please respect trail closures for the safety of yourself and the Trail Crew.

To ensure you spend more time on your bike, and less time waiting in line ups Lift Operations will be increasing bike carrier capacity by 25%. All bike carriers on the Sunburst Express will be fitted with a fourth bike rack. The decision to increase capacity was greatly influenced by our Bike Park Survey. On a side note the power of the pen has also informed us of the need to improve Bike Park signage for this summer. Thanks to everyone who filled out a survey over the past couple of years. Keep on writing, because your comments and suggestions are important to us.  

Until June 28, 2008, get out and ride your local trails.