13 September, 2021
The Outlaw Sport
With it’s perfect dirt and dense trees – the trails were built with whatever they could find lying around the woods.
The history and legacy of trail building in Vancouver’s North Shore mountains is incredible, few places on earth have had as much impact on the mountain biking community as this Canadian mecca.
The progressive nature of these trails started pushing the limits of mountain biking in the 1980’s and encountered their fair share of obstacles along the way. Skinny wooden bridges and rock slab rolls were the features of choice for the original trail builders in the area.
“It began in the 1980’s when digger and his buddies spent hours in the woods making these trails for a sport that didn’t even exist yet”
“The district was super against mountain biking for a long time, I can’t even imagine the stress of builders back then being labeled as the “bad guys”. With all the crack-downs we needed to get organized and finally in 1997 the north shore mountain bike association (nsmba) was formed”
Geoff Gulevich, Orbea Ambassador – freerider
Rise M Team
Geoff chooses our Rise M Team for his style of North Shore riding. Honestly we would recommend our Rallon or Wild FS for most people but Rise works perfectly with Geoff´s smooth but playful style.
“North Vancouver is an interesting situation because you have wilderness lands right in the backyard of a massive community. When the trail building community looks at the side of a mountain, they see a blank canvas ripe for opportunity. But when a land manager looks at that, they see a mosaic of land with competing interests, rights, existing titles – those are all the things being balanced.”
John Hawkins, Director of rec sites & trails
“My hope is that I made some fun trails and brought smiles to people’s faces. That’s what I want my legacy to be like.” – Todd “Digger” Fiander, trail builder
Todd “Digger” Fiander, trail builder
Although the rogue building has subsided, there will always be people who push against the grain of regulation. At the end of the day most cyclists also have the best interest of the land and people who manage it.
With the help of the entire community of builders, riders and government the hopes are to have these trails around for future generations to enjoy.
Get to know the bikes from Trail Tales
Rise M Team
Geoff is riding the Rise M Team, with the Fox 36 fork being the obvious choice for his riding style. The 360Wh battery keeps the bike as light as possible but gives plenty of power for self shuttling on these North Shore trails.
Trailheads
