"Ah ha ha ha" cackled the scheming Witchy-Poo Mindy Moo tapping the tips of her fingers together. "Now that we have got rid of Mummy Dearest after scaring her half to death on the scooters, let's see if we can push Daddy off the edge of the Whistler Peak on a mountain bike."

Good opportunity for a a bit of fiction here! But let's get to the facts .

Bottom line - Mindy beat Daddy for the first time in her life at ANYTHING! Despite his best efforts Mac was not the super hero on the day. But he did give it his very best shot.

To be fair, even the fit out was a little intimidating. So much safety and protective gear to get into hardly inspires confidence. There's a helmet, shin guards, ankle gaurds, knee guards, wrist guards and elbow guards and despite all that we know that EXPERIENCED riders still come off the mountain battered and bleeding.

And just for future reference, it should be noted that Mindy and Ian wore long sleeved shirts and long pants and Mac went in shorts and a Tshirt. Think local knowledge was a bonus.

The gondola for "uploading" was just outside the EzyTrail bike store and was an experience in itself. Each gondola had a rack attached to its side. The idea was to "effortlessly" wheel the bike into position and then swing it into the rack. Luckily there were attendants to save the uninitiated.

Mindy and Ian gave details at the top of the run. Basically "Stay on your bike" and "Here is the brake." Who would have thought that going downhill would take so much energy but it really did. With other riders flying past, dust and dirt swirling and every movement captured on the GoPro mounted to Ian's helmet, staying upright and on the path was a challenge.
 
And as for bear sightings - Mac nearly collided with one. They were so close to the edge of the path. In fact, the biking crew went back to get a closer look at the bear - our bus-driver-guide would NOT have been happy with that little act of silliness. Mindful of the probable close proximity of the mother lurking nearby it was just a quick look to confirm that the bears were really there! And of course, they add to the count.

There were many stops on the downhill to catch breath and although the intent was to "rinse and repeat", the single downhill run was more than enough. Mac voted to retire his gear and head to lunch.

Bear Sightings = 3

Total Bear Sightings = 16