Because of weather forecasting and wind affects on Hardline’s serious sends, the qualifying/seeding day and races were moved up a day. 

     I woke up Thursday morning to an email discussing the event changes and the associated transportation logistics with my tickets. Instead of a ride on my own Thursday, I drove to Cypress to watch all the remaining practice runs and then the Seeding runs. There were no crowds yet and  I found several favorite locations to watch the lower half of the course. 

     All the riders were so fun to watch! At the bottom of the final BOOTER ramp, RedBull put a speed trap so the riders can gage their speed and make a Go/NoGo decision on the send. Speeds varied from 45-70 km/hr when I saw them! I still haven’t gone that fast on the easiest of downhill logging roads! Asa and Jackson were phenomenal and you can see it all on YouTube now. Gracey was wonderful also and in a league of her own this time. All my visits to Cypress were so fulfilling and one of a kind! 

      With all that said, I don’t know if I would have to go next year. The scale of the course construction was enormous to see and the performances were extraordinary. However as a live spectator you only see a fraction of the whole day. A well designed live stream is the way to see it but the shear magnitude of the distances and speeds can get lost. Jackson’s preride POV was incredible so look for that on YouTube if you haven’t yet!  

     Go see this event at least once in your mtb endevour! It was worth it, at least once, for me. 

      To decompress after Hardline, I went to Sumas Mountain, west of Chilliwack for a black diamond ride after rains overnight. The trails drained well but the wood and roots were slippery. You can see that Trailforks Activity Log here. For a great view of the Fraser River Valley, climb to the towers and hike to the best viewpoints another 300 yards.