Hello all

I’m off to do a project in San Francisco for a client, and whilst there, I thought a trip to Whistler would be good.
The more I think about it the dafter it sounds:
£220 for a flight, bike hire £150 for bike hire, £50 for day pass. Plus travel time.

What do you all suggest – worth it for a weekend?
Anywhere else, nearer?
What is the best locations etc, seeing as I will be traveling alone, I don;t want to waste time wondering where I should be going.

It’s worth noting I am an average rider, been to Morzine area and loved it.

Cheers all

When do you go? Bike park closes on 9th October.

Moab is closer, will haveots of shuttles and probably decent weather fly to slc and drive in, did it 2 years ago. Also for the dates check out rampage tickets down in zion

I went at the end of September last year and the Garbanzo & Creekside lifts were closed.

Also I just did a 4 day trip up there couple of weeks back from SLC, was a very pricy trip as you actually need to get to whistler from the airport (bus didn’t run late or early so I hired a car 1.5-2hr drive if you get through Vancouver easily), flights back out of Van to US were a pain as you do US immigration at that end. so for a weekend probably not.

Moab is a decent drive from SLC too, how about something Cali way, some great riding out there

I don’t know about the practicalities, but it’s a great place to visit.

Unlike PDS they do, do it till the death though. They usually open when there’s snow on the ground and by the end of the season all bar the first lift will be closed, it’s not too much of an issue I’d say there’s more than enough to ride for a weekend.

It’ll be colder than summer and possibly wet, but I rode the bike park in the pouring rain and apart from the complete and utter lack of other riders it was pretty much the same, the flow trails are hardpack almost mirror smooth, way more so than say BPW so you rarely see any mud.

Looking at your costs and the times it’s not massively different to flying to Geneva from the UK for a weekend in Morzine, I’d have no problem doing that.

The only reason to say no would be a better alternative as above.

I can’t believe there is no good riding in between San Francisco and whistler?

Mate of mine was out there recently and did what looked like a pretty epic road ride out through the redwoods

What about here?
I haven’t checked the opening times
or have a look on
http://www.worldbikeparks.com/

October in Canada is a funny season and very variable… personally I’d be thinking Moab or Sedona which is where most of the mtber’s in Canada (including me) are heading for at that time.

All 3 of these photos taken on Canadian Thanksgiving in different years…

SF and one weekend away. I’d go for Downeville. Shuttles and bike hire in town. Should still be snow free then, but anywhere high has potential for early season snow in Oct.

http://www.yubaexpeditions.com/index-yuba-expeditions.htm

How about Santa Cruz? There are some great trails there e.g. soquel. Dunno where you’re visiting, but it’s not much more than an hour drive from the south bay area (San Jose for example). I’ve not ridden there, but Tahoe is a 4-5 hr drive and I expect has nice stuff. (Just back from Whistler myself ,

Sedona or flagstaff are both much closer, and have epic trail biking. I expect some is available nearer San fran

May not be the most epic riding but if you have time, pop over the bridge to Marin and ride up Mt Tamalpais. Apart from the pilgrimage aspect the view is fantastic.

I’ve been out for the last week of opening a couple of times and it’s been great.

Yeah it rained a bit some days, but mostly that just makes the trails better.

Cheap lift tickets, cheap hotels, great riding and you’ll pretty much have the place to yourself!

What’s not to like?

Garb zone will be closed but plenty in Fitz for a weeks entertainment.

Take a jacket and a merino thermal and you’ll be grand. If you’re lucky it’ll be glorious autumnal sunshine.

DO IT! If I could mget the time off i’d be there with you!

If you have spare days then stay the last weekend too and check out the turkey sale for cheap ski gear 🙂

Big Bear? Mammoth? Both California. Did Big Bear years ago (hire bike was a K2 Animal years ago) so no idea if they’re any good now…

https://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/best_trails.php?new_state_id=385
https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-trails/five2ride-5-of-the-best-mountain-bike-trails-in-california/
Saving the flight cost 12 hrs of travel etc. I think I’d be hitting some of these spots first before heading to the airport especially if it’s just a Fri/Sun jaunt. The Fri/Wed trip worked for me as I hit Crankworx and met some friends up there and even that felt like a massive effort, great trails but they were flogged in August and with bugger all rain since then http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?StationID=43443#legendT not sure how much fun the park will be by then (it was great for dusty blown out photo stuff 😉 )

I’m with those suggesting local to San Fran riding.
If whistler on the must do list, get some riding mates and come back for a proper trip.
For now though, with just a couple of days to burn, there really is some killer riding in CA, UT and AZ
When you do come back to Whistler, drop us a line and we can sort you out a sweet catered and guided accommodation package 😉

As usual, that’s great advice.

THANK YOU ALL.

Looks like there is some great riding nearby. Which sounds more sensible. I should also probably visit San Francisco itself.