Panorama V

We do this every year. Load up a bus, drive through lovely Saskatchewan and Alberta in order to hit our most favorite gravity-assist playground on earth: Panorama for 6 days of tremendous gravity-assisted mountain-biking with a pit-stop in Calgary at C.O.P. for a warm-up along the way. We take 30 or so of our best riding buddies and let it ride… It’s the highlight of the season for many of us.

This was our 4th annual visit to what some of us have arguably called our favorite place on earth. Panorama is our kind of big mountain riding. Tight, steep, technical with just enough ‘features’ to keep us interested. Every year we come is one more reason to come back. This years’ trip was even happily devoid of our mandatory check-in nightmare (thanks to the lovely Danielle).

Just so you’re in the loop: Year one (2004) we had the brilliant idea to load up JF’s Ford E350, a few cars and decided that Panorama would be our destination. We showed up seriously unprepared (nothin’ but spandex) Year two (2005) 21 of us loaded up JF and Jeremiah’s pick-up truck as well as a few cars and created a little convoy of sorts to do Pano again. This time better prepared. Armor, full face helmets, beefier bikes… What a blast it was. Except for the driving part… So in 2006 we deleted our personal vehicles and enter Bob Marshall from Kelsey Bus Lines and save for a busted cooling system that provided a unique 24 hour experience on the way back home it was a MUCH more fun and relaxed way to get to the mountains from WPG.

Armed with a flashy new bus (we use the word “flashy” in an understated kind of way, this thing was downright garish) 33 peeps and three years experience we set out for a fourth stab at “crazy train” “bender” “Quadzilla” and the ubiquitous “insanity”… and so, without anyone but Jeff visiting the hospital, we managed a pretty-much drama-free trip that could best be described by Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan as “most excellent”. This, like all other trips were gleefully filled with challenges, laughter, personal bests and happily the complete absence of Chrissie and Tripat mud wrestling.

Pano added a few runs this year, not the least was our favorite high-speed run appropriately called “let it ride” where more than a few of us pushed pass the 60km/h wall… What a rush. Also on the top of our list was Bender (aka Binnndrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) with it’s wicked table tops, nice wide features and nice steep switch backs… we liked that one quite a bit. My personal favorites remained “locals only” a non-marked pure gravity descent that on more than one occasion allowed me to make good use of the word “h_ly sh_t” followed by “Denali’s drop” where I managed to NOT wreck a pair of shorts this year and the aptly named “insanity” and “Punisher” two runs I still dream about daily… That’s the beauty of that place for many of us… Lines ye- to-be-tried, sections yet-to-be-conquered and the eternal search for better “flow”.

The cherry on the sundae to me is when I finally relax, sitting quietly on the bus on the way back (wonderfully uneventful, by the way) and hear the newbies such as Ryan Marien, Jeff N. and Mitch mumbling phrases that invariably contained the words “next year”. Of course they’ll be invited, of course we’re going back… of course I can’t wait. For nothing to me beats riding with my buddies, nothing is more fun to me that spending time on a motherf___ing steep mountain with the likes of Dean Rideout, Dave Degelman, Catherine Horbatiuk, Ming Li, Matt Goyer, Gavin Morrison, Paul Paul Kohlmeier and Jerry Legbacon… (yes, I intentionally left out people like Annandale, Jenn1, Thomas, Rodney, Coppens, Woody and Tripat… because I simply can’t stand the sight of these people anymore)(yes, I was just kidding).

No but seriously, while I have you here mesmerized by my insanely articulate and entertaining account of our 2007 visit to gravity-assist heaven… I’d like to extend a very special thank you to Ryan Stimming from Panorama groups (what a guy, love him!), and the uber helpful Danielle for being so generous and accommodating as our hosts at Panorama, Coppens for doing more work than he should have, Catherine for dealing with me, Paul for excelling at the role of shepherd on his infamous “Team Patio”, Dean “The Man” Rideout for his putting up with Jeff as a roommate (what a nutjob) and the myriad of responsibilities associated for co-leading “Team Common Sense” and lest but not least a big thank you to all who rode with me and made this trip what it was: Just about the best damned vacation a guy could ever hope to have. Now if I could just find a solution for my lack of cojones.