Just wanted to point out a really nicely produced track by someone who frequents the Ableton Message Board - Jeskola01, also known as Breakitdown on Soundcloud. Low Winter Sun - This track is a great piece of work in the DEEP techno realm. Put on those waders, cuz its going deep...
Low Winter Sun by breakitdown
Enjoy, and support him if you like the track, I did.
11/14/09
11/10/09
The Build pt. 2
So I have my light foundation with the drums, just a shell that I can build over top of - again nothing special, but gives the track its first identity and usually is a good indicator of what type of track it will be. I originally started this track with the idea of a dubstep tune in my head (idea being that I wanted to make a dubstep track, not conscious yet of the elements).
With the bass line, I'm using Native Instruments MASSIVE which is a nice flexible synth and one that is easy to use to get a nice big sound (and I believe it is a well used weapon in dubstep). This is a new synth to me, but one I like because, as I said, it's pretty intuitive to use which is a big bonus. So I set out to make my own patch, something I've been working on lately instead of using presets. The process involves using Oscillators to create waveforms, and then use filters and efx to shape the waveforms into something you would use. I was able to get a decent sound pretty quick and used the LFO (low frequency Oscillator) to make the bass wobble by assigning it to the filter cutoff of the onboard efx (what this does is make the filter cutoff, the frequency which is allowed through the filter, to move in either a synched or non-synched way, giving you a decent 'wobble' effect on the bass). Had this in place and used a simple 2 note bass line with some wobble applied.
Now I have my drums and bass, I usually look to add the synth/keys here or I focus on adding rhytmic elements to the drums to add some depth and movement. On this track, I decided to go with the synth/keys first and use a new Virtual Synth I picked up for a steal (regular $150, got it for $15!!) which is Applied Accoustics Ultra Analog VA-1. Another easy to use synth that resembles the 'analog' world. For those of you who don't know, there is the eternal debate of digital vs analog. Some people think digital sounds like crap and analog is warm and fuller sounding - and you get those who say you can't tell the different. I really don't care as long as it sounds good in the context of my tracks... and digital is cheaper and more accessible. Anyways, a great synth that I wanted to start incorporating into my work flow and what better chance to use it than here!
I found a nice pad like sound and, keeping things in key, sequenced out a simple 2 note synth line. Nothing special cuz my music theory sucks, so I have to keep things simple - hwoever, to me, the simple stuff usually sounds the best (or maybe I'm just biased!!). The riff was sitting ok in the mix, but was hitting the same time as a kick and the bass, so things were a bit clogged in this space. To make things breathe a bit better, I eq'd all these elements to carve out some space and give the sounds room to breathe - this worked pretty good, but had to do something else to bring the kick out.
This brings out another tool from the toolbox which is very handy if used correctly (although this is probably over done in todays dance music). Side Chain Compression. Quick overview - compression is simply the idea that you set a threshold in db, and set a ration (ex. 1:2). What this means is that everytime the signal is below the threshold, it is brought up 1db. If the signal goes over the threshold, the signal is reduced by 2 db - so you can manage the levels or db of your tracks better with Compression. Side Chain compression takes that idea and instead of setting a threshold manually, you use a secondary signal in order to set the threshold. So, in my case, I use Side Chain compression on the bass line track, and set the input (threshold) to the kick drum - this means that everytime the kick drum hits, the bass line track will be turned down based on my setting. As you can tell, this is a good technique for giving tracks room to breath, so here, this gives my kick drum space/room to breath over top of the bass line. You can use this technique in extreme ways to get a 'pumping' effect - something very prevalent in French House (ex. Daft Punk).
I think that's good for today, so in the mean time let me post the finished product of this process. I'll talk about the other aspects of the production in the next couple of posts.
Slow & Steady by Ypsi Kid
With the bass line, I'm using Native Instruments MASSIVE which is a nice flexible synth and one that is easy to use to get a nice big sound (and I believe it is a well used weapon in dubstep). This is a new synth to me, but one I like because, as I said, it's pretty intuitive to use which is a big bonus. So I set out to make my own patch, something I've been working on lately instead of using presets. The process involves using Oscillators to create waveforms, and then use filters and efx to shape the waveforms into something you would use. I was able to get a decent sound pretty quick and used the LFO (low frequency Oscillator) to make the bass wobble by assigning it to the filter cutoff of the onboard efx (what this does is make the filter cutoff, the frequency which is allowed through the filter, to move in either a synched or non-synched way, giving you a decent 'wobble' effect on the bass). Had this in place and used a simple 2 note bass line with some wobble applied.
Now I have my drums and bass, I usually look to add the synth/keys here or I focus on adding rhytmic elements to the drums to add some depth and movement. On this track, I decided to go with the synth/keys first and use a new Virtual Synth I picked up for a steal (regular $150, got it for $15!!) which is Applied Accoustics Ultra Analog VA-1. Another easy to use synth that resembles the 'analog' world. For those of you who don't know, there is the eternal debate of digital vs analog. Some people think digital sounds like crap and analog is warm and fuller sounding - and you get those who say you can't tell the different. I really don't care as long as it sounds good in the context of my tracks... and digital is cheaper and more accessible. Anyways, a great synth that I wanted to start incorporating into my work flow and what better chance to use it than here!
I found a nice pad like sound and, keeping things in key, sequenced out a simple 2 note synth line. Nothing special cuz my music theory sucks, so I have to keep things simple - hwoever, to me, the simple stuff usually sounds the best (or maybe I'm just biased!!). The riff was sitting ok in the mix, but was hitting the same time as a kick and the bass, so things were a bit clogged in this space. To make things breathe a bit better, I eq'd all these elements to carve out some space and give the sounds room to breathe - this worked pretty good, but had to do something else to bring the kick out.
This brings out another tool from the toolbox which is very handy if used correctly (although this is probably over done in todays dance music). Side Chain Compression. Quick overview - compression is simply the idea that you set a threshold in db, and set a ration (ex. 1:2). What this means is that everytime the signal is below the threshold, it is brought up 1db. If the signal goes over the threshold, the signal is reduced by 2 db - so you can manage the levels or db of your tracks better with Compression. Side Chain compression takes that idea and instead of setting a threshold manually, you use a secondary signal in order to set the threshold. So, in my case, I use Side Chain compression on the bass line track, and set the input (threshold) to the kick drum - this means that everytime the kick drum hits, the bass line track will be turned down based on my setting. As you can tell, this is a good technique for giving tracks room to breath, so here, this gives my kick drum space/room to breath over top of the bass line. You can use this technique in extreme ways to get a 'pumping' effect - something very prevalent in French House (ex. Daft Punk).
I think that's good for today, so in the mean time let me post the finished product of this process. I'll talk about the other aspects of the production in the next couple of posts.
Slow & Steady by Ypsi Kid
11/6/09
Back to Basics
So as you know, I've been hobbled for the last 2 months. While this has been a weird time for me as I've never been this inactive for this long, I'm trying to keep a positive spin on things and focus on what makes me happy... Music. I've finished a few songs in the last couple of months (or somewhat finished, good enough for me) and have been trying to keep the momentum going. I'm currently finishing off a downtempo piece whose bass has been shaped by my fascination with dubstep. I'm going to walk everyone through my process for building this track.
First off, I'm really trying to focus on my mixing skills and getting everything its own place in the mix in terms of frequency range. You see, if you have different sounds that occupy the same frequency space, you begin to get muddiness where those frequencies cross (nice technical term for all you readers - HA!). Until you start to mix tracks or you are an audiophile you probably wouldn't be able to notice the muddiness too much unless you A/B'd it with something that was done correctly. So, that is a point of emphasis now when I sit down to make tracks, especially with the dubstep bass because you not only need the very low frequecies to stand out over top of the kick, but you have mid and hi frequencies that can help to define the sound as well, so getting your EQ'ing and compression right is key. Just a quick point here for non-producers, when I talk about EQ'ing, what that means is either increasing or decreasing the volume (or dB) within a certain range of the frequency band (ex, I want to ensure the kick drum and bass line don't interfere, so I would lower the volume of the Kick drums frequency on the bass line track or vice versa - for an example of muddiness, check out my track called I Will Go (to the bass) - you can see that when the bass comes in, it kind of drowns out the kick drum - not a good job on my part of getting the elements to sit right in the mix). So anyway, that's a big emphasis when I sit down to make a track and something I've kept in mind for Slow & Steady.
Whenever I sit down to write a track, I usually always start with the drums. Why do I do this, probably because I'm pretty good with rhythm and not so good with melody - do my rhythms usually drive the track as opposed to melody. I find that by doing things this way, melody usually falls in line with the groove of the track. Kind of an ass-backwards way of doing things as I know most people start with a melody and derive the key and then go from there. My lack of understanding the melodic elements is probably the sole driver for my approach. No formal music theory, so I try and and go with rhythm and use my ears as to what sounds good to me - I find this usually works out well for me.
For this track I decided to use Ableton's native drum rack and used one of the CR-78 kits. This kit has some nice percussion and a nice kick that I though I could work with. I'm bad in that fact that I start out with a 1 bar loop and because of this my stuff (or at least the drums) tend to be a bit tracky - my formative years in Detroit has made a mark on me in this respect! - so I do some other things to get movement and add interest whic I'll get to later. The obvious I start with is the kick, snare and highhat. True 4 to the floor style which usually hits nicely and gives a lot of options in terms of rhythmic structure for other percussive elements. For this piece I movement the 4th kick to change the rhytm a bit and added a rim shot in the space that was not occupied by either the kick, snare or HH (this is another approach I use, I like to have things sit in their own physical space within the track, especially with drums).
Now I have the drums, I usually go after the bass next since I like the bass to be one of my main elements and also because a bassline does not need to be very dynamic in terms of melody. Great basslines are usually pretty simple and interact with the rest of the track in a unique way (at least in my opinion). I'm going to stop here for now and will continue with the rest of my track buidling process with the next post. I'll also put the track up so people can take a listen.
So, until next time. Turn up the bass and do a 2 step.
First off, I'm really trying to focus on my mixing skills and getting everything its own place in the mix in terms of frequency range. You see, if you have different sounds that occupy the same frequency space, you begin to get muddiness where those frequencies cross (nice technical term for all you readers - HA!). Until you start to mix tracks or you are an audiophile you probably wouldn't be able to notice the muddiness too much unless you A/B'd it with something that was done correctly. So, that is a point of emphasis now when I sit down to make tracks, especially with the dubstep bass because you not only need the very low frequecies to stand out over top of the kick, but you have mid and hi frequencies that can help to define the sound as well, so getting your EQ'ing and compression right is key. Just a quick point here for non-producers, when I talk about EQ'ing, what that means is either increasing or decreasing the volume (or dB) within a certain range of the frequency band (ex, I want to ensure the kick drum and bass line don't interfere, so I would lower the volume of the Kick drums frequency on the bass line track or vice versa - for an example of muddiness, check out my track called I Will Go (to the bass) - you can see that when the bass comes in, it kind of drowns out the kick drum - not a good job on my part of getting the elements to sit right in the mix). So anyway, that's a big emphasis when I sit down to make a track and something I've kept in mind for Slow & Steady.
Whenever I sit down to write a track, I usually always start with the drums. Why do I do this, probably because I'm pretty good with rhythm and not so good with melody - do my rhythms usually drive the track as opposed to melody. I find that by doing things this way, melody usually falls in line with the groove of the track. Kind of an ass-backwards way of doing things as I know most people start with a melody and derive the key and then go from there. My lack of understanding the melodic elements is probably the sole driver for my approach. No formal music theory, so I try and and go with rhythm and use my ears as to what sounds good to me - I find this usually works out well for me.
For this track I decided to use Ableton's native drum rack and used one of the CR-78 kits. This kit has some nice percussion and a nice kick that I though I could work with. I'm bad in that fact that I start out with a 1 bar loop and because of this my stuff (or at least the drums) tend to be a bit tracky - my formative years in Detroit has made a mark on me in this respect! - so I do some other things to get movement and add interest whic I'll get to later. The obvious I start with is the kick, snare and highhat. True 4 to the floor style which usually hits nicely and gives a lot of options in terms of rhythmic structure for other percussive elements. For this piece I movement the 4th kick to change the rhytm a bit and added a rim shot in the space that was not occupied by either the kick, snare or HH (this is another approach I use, I like to have things sit in their own physical space within the track, especially with drums).
Now I have the drums, I usually go after the bass next since I like the bass to be one of my main elements and also because a bassline does not need to be very dynamic in terms of melody. Great basslines are usually pretty simple and interact with the rest of the track in a unique way (at least in my opinion). I'm going to stop here for now and will continue with the rest of my track buidling process with the next post. I'll also put the track up so people can take a listen.
So, until next time. Turn up the bass and do a 2 step.
11/3/09
Bromont Pics
I thought I would throw up a couple of quick pics from the biking trip in August:
That's me hitting the Road Gap with Fergie lining up the table
That's Colin hitting the 50 footer (I broke my foot on the jump to the immediate right)
That's me hitting the Road Gap with Fergie lining up the table
That's Colin hitting the 50 footer (I broke my foot on the jump to the immediate right)You can see the teaser video footage in the link I have in the last post (nice work Colin!). I'll post a couple more pics some time over the next month, but this give a quick glimpse as to what we were up to. Fun stuff.
11/2/09
Snap Foot
So, I was saying I got injured. Here's a shot of my foot when I was waiting to see a doctor in an Emergency room on Bromont, Quebec. Check this out:
As you can see, my ankle and foot looked f*&@#d to put it mildly. Your probably asking, 'what the hell happened?' right?! Well, me and the boys were on a biking trip up in Bromont, Quebec, which has some awesome trails, not to mention an insane bike park. We had planned for 3.5 days and had just about gotten through the last day when we were ripping down a trail and decided to hit the bike park in the rain (more like light mist). I was hitting everything nice and decided to hit the road gap, hit it with good speed and landed it big. But I was going pretty fast and had a zesty moment trying to hit the bridge for the next section... hit the bridge and was carrying my speed nicely and decided I was going to hit this 20/25ft table. Hit the table and both my feet slip off my pedals - I managed to get my right foot back on, but ended up landing and my left foot slammed into the ground and twisted inward. I stayed on the bike but knew something wasn't right so I stopped before the next jump and got out of the way. When I tried to put my foot down, I dropped in pain and new I had at least broken something. Managed to make my way down the hill on one pedal and then pretty much collapsed in the medical center, the pain was getting to me and I knew something was messed up pretty bad (as you can see from the pic above). I ended up in the below after 2 shots of morphine and the doctor saying I just broke a bone in my foot (although my foot did hurt near as bad as my ankle - more on that later). This is after the nurse said to me "we may have to rebreak the foot/ankle, it doesn't look good). All things considered, I'm glad that did not need to be done.
No crutches, so the boys had to carry me!
As you can see, my ankle and foot looked f*&@#d to put it mildly. Your probably asking, 'what the hell happened?' right?! Well, me and the boys were on a biking trip up in Bromont, Quebec, which has some awesome trails, not to mention an insane bike park. We had planned for 3.5 days and had just about gotten through the last day when we were ripping down a trail and decided to hit the bike park in the rain (more like light mist). I was hitting everything nice and decided to hit the road gap, hit it with good speed and landed it big. But I was going pretty fast and had a zesty moment trying to hit the bridge for the next section... hit the bridge and was carrying my speed nicely and decided I was going to hit this 20/25ft table. Hit the table and both my feet slip off my pedals - I managed to get my right foot back on, but ended up landing and my left foot slammed into the ground and twisted inward. I stayed on the bike but knew something wasn't right so I stopped before the next jump and got out of the way. When I tried to put my foot down, I dropped in pain and new I had at least broken something. Managed to make my way down the hill on one pedal and then pretty much collapsed in the medical center, the pain was getting to me and I knew something was messed up pretty bad (as you can see from the pic above). I ended up in the below after 2 shots of morphine and the doctor saying I just broke a bone in my foot (although my foot did hurt near as bad as my ankle - more on that later). This is after the nurse said to me "we may have to rebreak the foot/ankle, it doesn't look good). All things considered, I'm glad that did not need to be done.
No crutches, so the boys had to carry me!Anyways, long story short, the doctors didn't pay attention to my ankle (despite my attempts at asking them about it), and started physio 1.5 months later to find out I had 2 tendons detach from the bone. That would explain why I still can't walk right. So no physical activity for me, it will be a long road to recovery - I'm hoping sooner rather than later.
In the mean time, I've tried focusing on music more - I've been liking dubstep stuff lately (which is a mix of jungle and techno/breaks really). Mostly been loving the deep twisted bass coming from the genre. Trying to emulate that in the studio has been a lot of fun and resulted in some interesting productions (M-Step'n, Broken LFO, I Will Go (to the bass), Game Changer). Also picked up some new gear which I'll talk about in some future posts. So, as you can see, I'll be focusing primarily on the music side of things with the odd biking pic and video thrown on to let you see what the guys have been up to.
In the mean time, I've tried focusing on music more - I've been liking dubstep stuff lately (which is a mix of jungle and techno/breaks really). Mostly been loving the deep twisted bass coming from the genre. Trying to emulate that in the studio has been a lot of fun and resulted in some interesting productions (M-Step'n, Broken LFO, I Will Go (to the bass), Game Changer). Also picked up some new gear which I'll talk about in some future posts. So, as you can see, I'll be focusing primarily on the music side of things with the odd biking pic and video thrown on to let you see what the guys have been up to.
10/22/09
They're baaaccckkkk....
Samsquanch's have been spotted once again. Look for me to make a return to this very spot.
Long story short, I've been injured pretty badly and now have lots of time in the studio. So updates on some biking stuff from this summer, but more importantly, a return to all things production.
In the mean time, check out what I've been up to:
My Soundcloud Account
Long story short, I've been injured pretty badly and now have lots of time in the studio. So updates on some biking stuff from this summer, but more importantly, a return to all things production.
In the mean time, check out what I've been up to:
My Soundcloud Account
8/24/08
Over a Month?!
Wow, I know I'm pretty lazy at times, but it's been over a month since my last post and a ton has happened during that time - from a 2 week trip out west to BC, to a few requests for some DJ gigs, to getting some good work done in the studio - it's been a busy month!
The first thing to note was the riding out in Whistler, BC. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about hitting up the trails at Whistler. When I first arrived, you have a huge, towering mountain shadowing over you, and the chair lifts go out of sight... with bikes! Now I've ridden a mountain - Mount Bromont - but this looked like another level all together! I was also really excited, because if you are a mountain biker, Whistler is like a mecca - everyone wants to ride there at least once in their life time. So with a mix of nerves and extreme excitement I hit the trails on Sunday July 27th.... in the rain no less! So up Colin and I went, and we were literally going into the clouds (and rain!). Arriving at the top, we were a little wet to say the least, we decided to hit a Blue Trail - Crank It Up - to get us warmed up and a chance for me to feel out the rental bike. To my surprise, despite the rain and crappy weather, the trails were fairly dry and grippy - and for a Blue trail, it was really fun! After the warm up run, we decided to hit a very famous and well know trail - A-Line - because we were pretty confident that we could hit it after a solid warm up run (although to be honest, I was still pretty in awe of the place!). Another wet ride up the chair lift and we hit the entrance to A-Line... The beginning was fairly tame with some small table top jumps and berms - I was beginning to relax a bit. Then we started hitting the bigger tables - they were pretty big, and if you carried your speed, you would literally be flying. A-Line is a flow track which basically means it is meant for speed, and to hit all the jumps on the trail with speed and 'flow' your way through. Now, I hadn't really hit anything like this in the past, although similar type stuff, not really as big or as long. Granted, being my first time down, I was on the breaks pretty good and was catching a bit of air, but not able to clear a lot of the jumps (I needed man up and not hit the breaks!). So first run down A-Line was fun, but there was a lot more potential in that trail and we skipped the A-Line rock drop (look big, and it was wet), and we also skipped the 'GLC Drop' which was practically down by the chair lift and, if there was one drop I was going to hit, it was the GLC Drop. On our way back up, Colin suggested we take the Garbonzo chair after we hit mid-station (Garbonzo brings you to pretty much the top of the mountain, as high as you can go with your bikes). I said yes, but it took some coaxing - you had no idea where it went because you were in the clouds and the chair just disappeared, it looked pretty scary. On the Garbonzo lift we went, and we happened to be sitting beside an older guy (probably about 55/60). This guy started talking to us about the trails, and suggested that "if you want the best 45 minutes of riding that you will ever experience", to follow him - he made sure that we were comfortable on jumps. So, after about 15mins on a chair lift (that's right, I was getting pretty damn scared at this point), we get off and can see the glacier. Time to follow this crazy old bastard and see where he takes us. From the first turn, we were hitting huge jumps, smooth bermed corners, all while clipping along at a good pace. Then came the first step up. I'm riding a little behind this crazy old guy and Colin, and as I come over this shale rock face, I see them at the far end of, for lack of a better term, a valley, I can hear them yelling me to go as fast as I can. I didn't see it at first, but after mocking down a rock face, and coming up the other side of the valley, I see the jump (a step up is a jump which throws you up, so you are 'stepping up' when you hit the jump). Holy crap the thing is big. I pin it as fast as I can toward the jump and hit it full tilt - I get kicked up pretty high and just manage to make the step, my heart almost jumping out of my chest!! The first section of Freight Train complete. We ride down a shale road for a bit, and it comes up along this huge cliff - I'm thinking about tomorrow when it's supposed to be clear and you can see over this cliff. Then down another shale road and hit a step down, then I hear shouting in front of me again to go as fast as I can - yip, another step up - this one is even bigger than the last. This time I really get kicked in the air (I'd say close to 15 feet), my feet slip off the pedals, but I manage to land on my seat and ride away - any landing you can walk away from is a good landing right - LOL! The next section was pretty much all fire road, so it was quick with a bit of sketchiness with the loose shale and rock. Now the old guy is smiling, saying the next section is where all the fun stuff starts - I was just thinking of survival at this point.... The old wise man was right, the fun really did start here - from nice fast sections to tables to drops and berms - this was turning out to be the ride of my life, everything I would want on a trail and we're not even half way down yet! I can pretty much tell you that I was yelling and screaming the rest of the way down - fun, fast, airtime and built just right. The stuff just kept coming and the smile kept getting bigger (and the yelling louder). Next we linked into Dirt Merchant which probably was my favorite trail - big drops to river gaps (jumping over a river) to step downs and step ups - this had it all and then some. I was going bigger than I ever had before and everything just felt smooth as butter! We linked into the second half of A-Line after Dirt Merchant finishes up. At this point we had lost our guide and my heart was pounding and my knuckles where white. We finished up A-Line in style, getting lots of air and going pretty good - then we hit the GLC Drop, easy and one goal down.... what was I going to try next. After saying that, I also hit a nice big drop on Dirt Merchant which is probably the biggest drop I've ever done (bigger than GLC even!). I was stoked - we had just ridden what we felt was our dream trail, we decided we would probably pretty much only ride this from here on in, it was just that fun.
I'm going to stop there as my hands are sore from typing, and would you believe it, we got NO PICS when we were there (riding pics anyway). So I'll come back soon and finish up the riding stories, although we pretty much did only ride Freight Train to Dirt Merchant to A-Line all week! I also have some helmet cam footage from the trail runs that I will post when I get it up on youtube. So till next time, keep it real!!
The first thing to note was the riding out in Whistler, BC. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about hitting up the trails at Whistler. When I first arrived, you have a huge, towering mountain shadowing over you, and the chair lifts go out of sight... with bikes! Now I've ridden a mountain - Mount Bromont - but this looked like another level all together! I was also really excited, because if you are a mountain biker, Whistler is like a mecca - everyone wants to ride there at least once in their life time. So with a mix of nerves and extreme excitement I hit the trails on Sunday July 27th.... in the rain no less! So up Colin and I went, and we were literally going into the clouds (and rain!). Arriving at the top, we were a little wet to say the least, we decided to hit a Blue Trail - Crank It Up - to get us warmed up and a chance for me to feel out the rental bike. To my surprise, despite the rain and crappy weather, the trails were fairly dry and grippy - and for a Blue trail, it was really fun! After the warm up run, we decided to hit a very famous and well know trail - A-Line - because we were pretty confident that we could hit it after a solid warm up run (although to be honest, I was still pretty in awe of the place!). Another wet ride up the chair lift and we hit the entrance to A-Line... The beginning was fairly tame with some small table top jumps and berms - I was beginning to relax a bit. Then we started hitting the bigger tables - they were pretty big, and if you carried your speed, you would literally be flying. A-Line is a flow track which basically means it is meant for speed, and to hit all the jumps on the trail with speed and 'flow' your way through. Now, I hadn't really hit anything like this in the past, although similar type stuff, not really as big or as long. Granted, being my first time down, I was on the breaks pretty good and was catching a bit of air, but not able to clear a lot of the jumps (I needed man up and not hit the breaks!). So first run down A-Line was fun, but there was a lot more potential in that trail and we skipped the A-Line rock drop (look big, and it was wet), and we also skipped the 'GLC Drop' which was practically down by the chair lift and, if there was one drop I was going to hit, it was the GLC Drop. On our way back up, Colin suggested we take the Garbonzo chair after we hit mid-station (Garbonzo brings you to pretty much the top of the mountain, as high as you can go with your bikes). I said yes, but it took some coaxing - you had no idea where it went because you were in the clouds and the chair just disappeared, it looked pretty scary. On the Garbonzo lift we went, and we happened to be sitting beside an older guy (probably about 55/60). This guy started talking to us about the trails, and suggested that "if you want the best 45 minutes of riding that you will ever experience", to follow him - he made sure that we were comfortable on jumps. So, after about 15mins on a chair lift (that's right, I was getting pretty damn scared at this point), we get off and can see the glacier. Time to follow this crazy old bastard and see where he takes us. From the first turn, we were hitting huge jumps, smooth bermed corners, all while clipping along at a good pace. Then came the first step up. I'm riding a little behind this crazy old guy and Colin, and as I come over this shale rock face, I see them at the far end of, for lack of a better term, a valley, I can hear them yelling me to go as fast as I can. I didn't see it at first, but after mocking down a rock face, and coming up the other side of the valley, I see the jump (a step up is a jump which throws you up, so you are 'stepping up' when you hit the jump). Holy crap the thing is big. I pin it as fast as I can toward the jump and hit it full tilt - I get kicked up pretty high and just manage to make the step, my heart almost jumping out of my chest!! The first section of Freight Train complete. We ride down a shale road for a bit, and it comes up along this huge cliff - I'm thinking about tomorrow when it's supposed to be clear and you can see over this cliff. Then down another shale road and hit a step down, then I hear shouting in front of me again to go as fast as I can - yip, another step up - this one is even bigger than the last. This time I really get kicked in the air (I'd say close to 15 feet), my feet slip off the pedals, but I manage to land on my seat and ride away - any landing you can walk away from is a good landing right - LOL! The next section was pretty much all fire road, so it was quick with a bit of sketchiness with the loose shale and rock. Now the old guy is smiling, saying the next section is where all the fun stuff starts - I was just thinking of survival at this point.... The old wise man was right, the fun really did start here - from nice fast sections to tables to drops and berms - this was turning out to be the ride of my life, everything I would want on a trail and we're not even half way down yet! I can pretty much tell you that I was yelling and screaming the rest of the way down - fun, fast, airtime and built just right. The stuff just kept coming and the smile kept getting bigger (and the yelling louder). Next we linked into Dirt Merchant which probably was my favorite trail - big drops to river gaps (jumping over a river) to step downs and step ups - this had it all and then some. I was going bigger than I ever had before and everything just felt smooth as butter! We linked into the second half of A-Line after Dirt Merchant finishes up. At this point we had lost our guide and my heart was pounding and my knuckles where white. We finished up A-Line in style, getting lots of air and going pretty good - then we hit the GLC Drop, easy and one goal down.... what was I going to try next. After saying that, I also hit a nice big drop on Dirt Merchant which is probably the biggest drop I've ever done (bigger than GLC even!). I was stoked - we had just ridden what we felt was our dream trail, we decided we would probably pretty much only ride this from here on in, it was just that fun.
I'm going to stop there as my hands are sore from typing, and would you believe it, we got NO PICS when we were there (riding pics anyway). So I'll come back soon and finish up the riding stories, although we pretty much did only ride Freight Train to Dirt Merchant to A-Line all week! I also have some helmet cam footage from the trail runs that I will post when I get it up on youtube. So till next time, keep it real!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
