I’ve been riding a hardtail up here in Whistler for the last month and half. A lot of bike parts have been rattled to dust but otherwise it hasn’t actually been that big of a deal. It is an odd bike choice though when the rest of the mountain is aboard full-suspension squishy-bikes. 

I seem to be reminded of this every time I hop in the gondola. Crammed into a little box with four bikes and four riders for the lift up the mountain makes the oddball pink hardtail a natural conversation starter. Usually I get asked, “What trails are your riding on that?” in a tone that makes me think they’re really asking “are you crazy?” Sometimes the comments are funnier and I started writing them down…

“Look at that classic! How ancient is it?” [Bike was 3 days old]

“You must be one of those crazy locals.”

Whispering and nudging his friend, “Someone didn’t want to pay for a rental.”

“Where’s your park bike?”

[Uncontrollable laughter from two riders on downhill bikes wearing gigantic backpacks] “What are you going to do on that?”

“That is a beautiful bike.”

Man leaning over to look closely at the rear end of my bike, “I don’t understand this… is the spring hidden inside the tubes?”

“It’s really surprising that Whistler allows people to ride bikes like this here.”

“You must have to stand up for the whole ride down the mountain.”