Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier, Ryan Purcell & Jordan Drinovz

I've always been a fan of the mountain biking in the Fraser Valley. When Eli, Ryan Jordan and I decided to head out there for a day-trip I knew the perfect way to showcase the area. So we loaded up and headed to Abbotsford for a double down in the hills.

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier & Tim Schmidt

After a busy spring on the North Shore, it was time for a change. The coast will always be my favourite place to ride, but one of it's appeals is that a short drive East will get you to an entirely different environment. And so it was off to the desert for a weekend in Kamloops, BC.

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Eli Relke & Brent Hillier

A long time "bucket-list" goal of mine has always been to bike and ski Mount Seymour on the same day without any outside help. I pitched the idea to Eli Relke while we were ski touring this past winter and we earmarked the trip for Spring. Thanks to the MEC Rental program, we got our hands on bike trailers, loaded them up with gear and set off.

After a successful weekend in Whistler with my brother Chad, we woke up Easter Sunday to a wet North Shore day. The girlfriends went for a jaunt through Lynn Canyon Park and we suited up for a classic North Shore Mountain Bike ride.

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier and Justin Bryans

I recently celebrated 8 years of living on the west-coast of British Columbia. The move wasn't done alone, my good friend Justin and I hopped on a plane out of Hamilton, ON and flew into Abbotsford, BC back in 2006. We spent the first few days getting settled, finding a crummy rental unit on the dodgy end of town. By day four our bikes had arrived and it was time to explore. We introduced ourselves to the BC riding scene with a Fraser Valley gem known as Ledgeview.

McKee Peak, also known as Ledgeview, sits in the heart of Abbotsford. For many locals, it's quite literally in their backyard. 

Word by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier & Kelli Sherbinin

This past week I got together with the Endless Biking team for a fun lap in our backyard. It was Darren's birthday, it was sunny and the trails were prime. What other reasons do you need? Darren, Kelli, Eli and myself grabbed some bikes and went for a pedal, but the question was on my mind: With winter still not arriving this year, is this the latest bike season or the earliest? Will winter arrive or has it already gone?

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier & Eli Relke

With just the right amount of gear (we hoped) Eli and I set off for Part 2 of our mountain bike adventure of 2013. The plan was to start in Lions Bay and "ride" up towards the Howe Sound Crest Trail. Our goal was to access the ridge between Unnecessary Mountain and the West Lion where we would spend the night. The next morning we would begin our decent towards the Cypress Ski Area and finally to West Vancouver via the Cypress bike network.

I had managed to hook Eli on the plan pretty early. The planning stages meant the usual pre-trip stop at the North Vancouver MEC. Both of us had at different times worked there. As a result, every shopping trip proves to take five times longer than expected, as we catch up with friends and former co-workers. This visit was no different but each time we explained what we were preparing for, we would receive puzzled looks and confused inquiries. I could see Eli was starting to question my plan but I assured him that if everyone thought it was a good idea then it wouldn't really be an adventure.

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier & Eli Relke

Eli Relke and I had set our sights on a big trip for the season, or perhaps a more accurate way of describing it is that I had convinced him it was a good idea. Never the less we decided to get our feet wet with another trip first. So we headed to where many mountain bikers had gone before, the Elfin Lake Hut. Situated in Garibaldi Provincial Park at 1470m, the upper most parking lot is at 950m, which in the winter makes it a very manageable ski tour. In order to give ourselves more of a ride we decided to start our adventure from the city of Squamish at 40m above sea level. We began our climb at about 8:30 and worked our way through some of Squamish's expanded climbing only trail network. At the top of the new climb we hike-a-biked up Cakewalk and saved some time by cutting out a switchback on the road. After a quick lunch we were back to climbing up the road towards the upper parking lot. From there the climb to Red Heathers was slightly more difficult then in the winter with skis. Something both Eli and myself had exclusively only done in that area.

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier

The concept came while drinking coffee one day at my favourite little spot in Lynn Valley. The End of the Line Cafe has always been a sanctuary from the rain and cold on those wet and miserable North Shore. The type of wet day that by the end of August I’ve come to realize I not only don’t mind but start to miss. While drinking my coffee and letting my mind wander I realized the North Shore was lacking in elevation. Something that when I first moved here 8 years ago I never would have thought. Especially if you asked me that while I was panting at the third switchback on Mountain Hwy.