Friday, April 26, 2013

Sprockids Mountain Bike Park - April 26, 2013

It has been a gorgeous week for getting outside. Wednesday, Sprockids Mountain Bike Park was home to the North Shore League Mountain Bike Series. Some friends were helping to organize the race, so I stopped by to give a hand (and enjoy the sunshine).
Entrance to Sprockids Park
Over 100 students were on the Coast to test themselves. I have to say that it was a pretty cool event to watch.  Like cross country running, you really can't watch the entire race.  The course was set up on some of the easier trails near the bottom of the park, but older students had to ride additional laps of the course. Some students were very series and focused...immediately wanting to know where they placed. Some students fist-pumped as they finished, proud of their ride. For others, just finishing the course was an achievement and even though they were exhausted for a few minutes, the pride of conquering the course was clear on their faces.
High School Students preparing to ride
Today with all the students gone, I decided to hike much of the race course.  The first leg went down Ankle Biter and over to Stinger on the south edge of the park.  I must have never gone all the way along this trail, because look what I found. Isn't this the cutest picnic spot?
Picnic area with a live tree in the center
 The birds were singing on such a nice spring day.  This picture is along Stinger.
Love the "faces" in the trees
It was nice to hike along trails I haven't done in a while: Rock n Root, Skoolz Out, Technical Ecstacy.  It was also fun to see all the new signs throughout the trails that were installed last month. They don't all have their "you are here" dots installed, but it really helps when navigating this extensive trail network. Can't wait to find the new trail being created right now by the Capilano University Mountain Bike Program students. They've been working hard this month and if previous projects are any indication, this new trail will be great.


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