Whistler Blackcomb describes the annual Kokanee CRANKWORXs festival here in Whistler as “gravity-fueled mountain biking”.  Starting Saturday August 7th, hundreds of downhill bikers sporting ‘Mad Max’ body armour (complete with Mel Gibson testosterone),  will descend on this mountain town along with thousands of fans.  ‘Gravity Fueled’  simply means that even if these bikers choose not to pedal, they are going to shoot down the largest mountain bike park in the world at roughly the speed of sound? 

Apparently this is fun.  Personally, I’ll be on the patio with a cold beer. Fortunately Kokanee is the sponsor!

Iif you are a fan of big crowds, live bands and cold beer but don’t bike, then yes Crankworx is still a BLAST! This year more than 40 bands and DJs from around the world will be ramping up the party atmosphere from August 11-13.  Personally I don’t know DJ Nu-Mark, MIKE RELM, BCDC, Fort Knox Five, Jelo, or any of these others from Adam, but I know when I am sitting on the long-horn patio in the sunshine, with a cold $8 beer in my hand I really won’t care.

My girlfriend is ranked roughly 3rd in BC for women’s downhill, and will be joining some of the races.  That is if she recovers from the last life-threatening injury she got riding in her last competition. Just a few stitches and a big lump on her side… Shes HARDCORE!  Lots of women are riding competitively now, but in the armour, you cannot tell the difference.  She is simply and totally adrenaline addicted and rides every single night, rain or shine.  There apparently are some amazing trails they shuttle both in Pemberton (about 30 minutes away North) as well as Squamish (which is 30 minutes South).  She rides with all boys and shows them a thing or two (according to them?). With some of the best biking in the world I am not surprized that mountain biking is almost overtaking skiing in Whistler. 

Anyway, for more information on CRANKWORX in Whistler see http://www.crankworx.com/whistler …