Mountain Bike Ontario Trailblazing Festival 2011

It was one of those "If you build it, they will come moments" as Mountain Bikers arrived from all over the Province

Numerous dealers were there to let you try out any of their bikes on the trails

Sacred Rides were offering skills sessions to help you fine tune your riding

The ski lift was running all day to get you to the action quicker

Beautiful view from the lift

I was blown away by the excellent trails at Kelso

Andy Drummond from Skiis and Bikes

Plenty of action for downhillers

Had a nice little tour by Lora Woolner of IMBA of the work that is being done on the Snakes and Ladders trail

It was so dry on "Snakes & Ladders" there that the new berms hadn't solidified yet. The top portion could still be moved with your foot. The IMBA crew (and volunteers) did a great job in such a short time. Instead of a really quick drop near the end, they have done a "modular" improvement by winding you back and forth across the face of the hill. Should be great fun!

I ran into Dean an old rally buddy of mine and he gave me a tour of Kelso. He had helped create the "Fire" trail (which still holds a fond place in his heart), so when you go bombing down it, thank him (and others) for slugging away at creating it.

Chatted with a Kelso Trail Ambassador, who said the day was very successful, aside from maybe a derailleur to the leg incident and a few heat exhaustions, there was relatively no trouble to speak of. I found everyone on the trails very polite and quite a few "You go first...", "no... after you" moments.

There was something for everyone out there, and I hope this event runs again next year as I had a great time! Thanks to Thai Pham for creating this event, all the volunteers that helped out and the organizers for bringing us all together for what we all love... Mountain Biking.