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GET OUT THERE: Dancing among the trees

In the mountain bike world, the end of April is a bittersweet time here on the Sunshine Coast.
Mountain Bike
Students from this year’s graduating class of the mountain bike operations program at Capilano University celebrate their success.

In the mountain bike world, the end of April is a bittersweet time here on the Sunshine Coast.

On one hand, we celebrate the legacies that the Capilano University mountain bike operations (MBO) students have created as they graduate from their intense eight-month program. However, we also say goodbye to these young students who in their short time here have made such a positive impact on the community.

Since September 2013, they have designed and built hundreds of metres of trail in two parks; put on four successful community events; worked with small businesses, organizations and local government; and maintained dozens of trails across the Lower Sunshine Coast — all this while going to school and taking nine courses — four of which have a strong academic content.

As a way of marking this time, I chose an article written by one of our graduates, Justin Truelove in his communications class. For me, this piece captures that freeing feeling of riding the trails on our beautiful Sunshine Coast. It’s also one example of the variety of skills the MBO students acquire while in the program.

I hope you enjoy it.

•••

As I shift in my saddle and prepare to drop-in, I look out onto the beauty laid out before me. The purity of Mother Nature’s playground surrounds me and I am amazed at what the builder’s vision has become. The beautiful ribbon of brown single-track seems to dance its way through the trees and the vibrant green of the forest is pulsing with its own energy. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for what I am about to experience.

As my wheels begin to turn, the ground churns underneath me as if it is coming alive. My smile grows as the trail tells its story.

Each berm, root, roller and drop; perfectly placed, not only enhance the terrain but come together to form a beautiful masterpiece. The outside world seems to disappear, as I become one with the trail and my focus narrows as I follow the ribbon of single-track through the trees.

With each pedal stroke, I am drawn in more and more to the terrain on which I ride and I am amazed at how the trail takes on a life of its own. Each passing second and minute only adds to my excitement, as my bike becomes one with the trail. It is as though they were meant to be together in perfect harmony from start to finish. Each twist and turn speaks to me through my bike and beckons me to keep going, enticing me with its beauty between the trees.

As I reach the end, the trail seems to linger only slightly as if it did not want its story to end. The beauty that was laid out was the perfect embodiment of what the builder wanted to express. It is a perfect harmony of dirt and tire, man and nature, which come together to from the ultimate experience; the dance among the trees.

Goodbye and good luck class of 2014! We hope to see you out on the trails again someday!

Editor’s note: Lydia Watson is the convenor of the MBO program and writes this monthly Get Out There column for Coast Reporter.