I felt a bit emotional watching you achieve a dream. Dude mountain biking is awesome and full of special people like Jonathon, you meet them on shuttles and at bike parks on the uplift have an epic day together, riding laps together. you may never see them again, but they were part of a day you will always remember. Respect and peace.
Heck yeah! So true. I had a similar thing happen when I went to ride Top of the World. Just met a guy up top who seemed cool and we became bike park buddies for the rest of the day and even had a fun dinner that evening. I love riding bikes, and adding travel to that makes it even better.
I felt every jump!! Nice to see that a 50 year old still reach new goals.. Iam 42 and thats pure motivation to me.. I love to ride bikeparks and hometrails!!! I hope my body make it possible to ride more 10 ten years or more.. Bigup!!
Super inspiring man! I’m 45 and really want to hit A-line and dirt merchant this coming summer/fall. I loved that you showed your progression and end results, and that you just kept at it and had a super fun time. Thx man!
Heck yeah! It was definitely a process for me, and having Nic there was a huge help. I did spend a lot of the bike park season on the jump lines, prepping for Dirt Merchant and A-Line. And in general, I worked on my jumping skills and confidence. That went a long way.
Awesome stuff. Congratulations on pushing your boundaries whilst knowing your capabilities. Positive implications to all things. Makes me wanna ride!!!
I'm "only" 38 but watching you gives me inspiration to keep sending for years to come. I've yet to hit Dirt Merchant, but I feel more ready than ever. Now I just need to find Nick to tow me in 😅
Amazing video, Alan. Great storytelling! :) Congrats on the progression -- Whisler Bike Park can be intimidating, to say the least, but a big part of owning it is in your head.
Was there in July. The only thing more difficult than A Line and Merchant, was the gondola situation. I felt more nervous looking stupid getting into that than anything else 😝
That was just awesome man! Us mere mortals all dream of getting to Whistler one day. Not only did you make it happen, but you put together some nice runs. Nothing like getting a tow from a better rider to boost your confidence. It's a priceless commodity. I have been the beneficiary of just that on many occasions.
Thanks! I dreamt of going to Whistler for a long time. And I finally got myself there. Funny thing. Now that I've gone, I dream of it even more now! 😆 Get up there! You won't regret it. And yeah! Having someone you can trust to tow you in is huge! Tons of gratitude for VanCan!
Really great video dude! So cool watching you progress and build confidence. Looks like having a long travel bike there really helps you get comfortable.
Thanks for this video Alan! I took my girlfriend to whistler this season and it was her first time. Awesome to see how excited you got for it and conquering the challenges
@@mtb_alanshe thought it was awesome and the most challenging stuff she’s done but she had a good time. We live in SoCal so it was a big trip for us but we went to mammoth on the way back. She said she liked that better because it was in much better condition than late season whistler
So glad you were able to ride whistler bike park Alan. You did better than me on dirt merchant for sure even if I’m local haha. Nick is one of our local greats. Hopefully you were able to ride north shore as well on this trip..cheers 🍻👊🏻
Thanks! I'm already looking forward to returning. I owe Nic a lot for my progress in Whistler. Such a solid dude. Next trip to BC will include some Squamish and north shore stuff for sure!
Props for hitting the pro line - amazing progression!! And yeah that step-up is probably the hardest jump in the park (maybe tied with the tombstone jump) they call it a step-up but IMO it's a legit double that claims more than its fair share of OTBs.
Thanks! And you're so right about that step-up. I didn't include it in this video, but one of the times I went for it, I almost got bounced off the knuckle into an OTB. TBH, I think some of it was because I was having trouble holding speed through the berm before the drop. But either way, I'm coming back in 2024 and look forward to clearing that bad boy.
Failure and progression and even more failure is greater than buttery smooth whistler videos. What most of us are wondering about whistler is how do you start, and how do you get better. Not how do pros pro while they pro at pro-ing. Nice vid, good edit. I like that even the most experienced guys are wearing chest protectors. Sets a good example.
I would be nervous following Nic too because I've seen the crazy scary stuff he has ridden before. Great footage and thanks for keeping it real with the splills and casing in the video.
Nic is definitely a gnarly dude, but always in control and so mellow. Thanks for the kind words. I would like to have told the story of how I was able to shred everything...but that'd be someone else's story. 😆
stoked that you got to ride whistler! i was there last summer for just a half day trip from seattle, my favorite trail was Blue velvet but im hoping to go back next summer and ride whistler black diamonds
Super impressive Alan! Rode with you in Bentonville and saw you do a big drop there like it was nothing. Puts the jumps and drops you did in Whistler into perspective for me considering they are a bit scary for you.
Thanks! Oh...I was nervous about Drop the Hammer in Bentonville. But like with VanCan, I had a trusty buddy to tow me in. But yeah...the Dirt Merchant drops are a bit bigger...especially the second one.
Just came back from Whistler, im not a jumper at all but for some reason those jumps help you to progress pretty fast, however A line was insane, the rock drop look like nothing in the gopro but it in reality it is a big feature. The tech trails are amazing, and the smaller jumplines line crank it up and freight train where some of my favorites for my skill level. 👍👍🔥
I agree. I can hit jumps pretty well including all the jumps on Dirt Merchant and A-line. Only issue is I'm terrified of drops. I decided to go to spend some time at the Gatorade skills park (2 practice drops) and the A-line rock-drop simulator. At the end of the day I was doing the drops on Dirt Merch, A-line, and Freight Train. Whistler is awesome (even with the braking bumps).
great riding man! i just got back from whistler last week. i almost didn’t go, because i still can’t jump or drop. i stuck to the black tech. … i gotta learn to jump. that looks like so much fun
Thanks! I'm not ashamed to say I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments in Whistler. A-Line is a level-up from Party Wave and Westridge. A fair number of the A-Line jumps are a bit steeper and the trail is generally faster. So you have to be more active. Dirt Merchant is a level-up again from A-Line. The jumps are more technical and it throws a lot at you. And those big drops...!
I love your videos! Could you also do a video about traveling, shutting, staying there? How much does it cost and all? Been thinking of going, but I'm a solo rider and the cost is high >.
Just got back from Whistler, my opinion it’s over hyped. The braking bumps are atrocious! I think I’ll stick to Europe. I recommend Andorra. The jump and flow trails are awesome.
