Whitefish Mtn Biking

So my brother calls me up and want to know if I want to go biking in Whitefish with a few friends of his.  You know, some downhill stuff.  Will an OK from Dora I call back with an "I'm In!"

Now this is where it gets interesting.  I'm thinking a Saturday at the ski hill and then maybe some shopping Sunday and an early departure home.  To my surprise, the actual plan is for a little cross-country biking on the Saturday and the downhill on Sunday.  I can work with that.... or so I think.

Turns out the cross-country they have in mind is an 11 mile climb.  Oh wait, that's just until we turn around for the return trip.  22 miles or 40km.  Considering the preparation for this trip was buying a $10 used downhill helmet on my way through Columbia Falls, I figure I'm screwed.  Turns out I was right!
I'm exaggerating a bit, considering I was lucky to have a nice family pick me up on the way up.  They were doing it right, having their mom run shuttle for them.  So in the end, I missed a bulk of the climbing, but still did enough to have me gasping for air.  Where the heck did my cardio go?!?

We finished the run and then decided that a BBQ meat platter at Piggyback BBQ would be an appropriate meal to follow up with after the ride.  You know, 1/2lb of pulled pork, 1/2lb of ribs, 1/2lb of beef brisket and a whole chicken.  Not to mention the sides.  Man, I'm glad we're done for the day.

Wrong.

Turns out they want to do a 6 mile ride to finish the day.  Oh wait, make that 12 miles round trip.  After about 4 miles I call it quits and let the younger generation speed off to their future while I start planning my funeral.  I hate those kids!

The next day was a better with me holding my own on the downhill.  I crashed more than the rest of them, but I held my own.  Come to think of it, I might have been the only one who crashed.... repeatedly.  Regardless of the crash count, I had an awesome time and would do it again.  I just have to find a shuttle bunny!

The rest of the pictures are here, hopefully the rest of the people can link to their pictures in the comments.

2011.09 Bike Trip