So throughout the trip, I've been wrenching a lot. A whole lot. Wrenching lots, riding little. So whenever we arrive in a town where i know the riding is rad, I take a break from do anything, break out my Imperial, and ride. The stretch from Olympia through Whistler was supposed to be a dream for me. Olympia and Seattle have awesome scenes, then BAMMO! right into Vancouver, and then the big daddy, Whistler.

All a bust.

Olympia was busy. Seattle was...well, to be honest, I can't remember Seattle, but I didn't ride for some reason. Vancouver was spent looking for riders, and walking up and down Broadway looking for bike shops, and van keys. Oops.

Then came Whistler. The day I had been waiting for throughout the trip. Steve and I drove into the Village at around 5-ish. Not 5 mins into walking around, i see April Lawyer, a pro DH racer. Wow! So I'm all super pumped, ready to tear up A-Line and Dirt Merchant (2 of the big lines at Whistler). Head back to the camp site, pick up a few folks, then we head back to the Village (Whistler's a resort town), and.....man. What an awesome place. I'm lead to the main gondola by Tommy, Scott, and a few other folk. Who do I see? Pro rider Hannah Steffans. This chick can do backflips with ease. She was riding some street stuff, which i won't go into. Then, I see Sanjay Shanbag (I don't really know how to spell his last name), an awesome rider out of NorCal. Pick up most mountainbike magazines, and you'll see his face somewhere on one of the ads. Awesome. So yadda yadda...

Wake up the next morning. I'm ready. The rest of TX4000 is heading to Lillooet, while I'm hanging back at Whistler. Pack up, get ready to roll out, hop on my Imperial, roll to a stop sign, and roll right through it. Confused....I tighten the cables, and the problem remains. What the crap? Long story short, the pads are shot. No riding for me unless I can find a set of disc pads. Hit the shops in Whistler. Nothing. No one in Whistler sells Avid Mechanical disc brakes or pads. I was offered Shimano Deore hydros, but passed, 'cause i don't really dig hydrolic brakes. They have the ability to get really, really messy. My bike is useless. 50-some-odd days of waiting. Saddened, I walk around the village with Paul. Visit the pit area where I spot a few prototype forks, some sweet frames, and Nate Rennie (World Cup DH champ last year...or the year before). Walk around some more and see Cedric Gracia (World Cup DH champ the year before Rennie), and Wade Bootes. All in all, it was a good day, but, man....not being able to ride Whistler because of brake pads is such a downer. Not to mention a simple fix.

I shall return on the way back, though. I'm already counting the days.

Besides that, the ride has been fun. I did get to ride at Virgin, UT, which was awesome (go to www.redbullrampage.com to see what Virgin, UT is).

And Williams Lake turned out to be one awesome town. Thanks Safeway.