We're all for mountain biking. Love it, froth it, slap us in Merino and throw us down some hills and we've never been happier. But watching Shiggy ride his latest trail build, Cowboy Town? Jump scare after jump scare. Built by the madman himself, Shiggy's latest trail is exactly the heart-in-your-throat, just-vomited-a-little-in-your-mouth thrill we live for.
Naturally, we supported Shiggy with a fresh mountain bike kit (holler, Diversion), watched him build the trail, shit ourselves watching him ride it, then sat down for a yarn about the whole process. Check out the full conversation below.
What inspired the features and general choose-your-adventure style of this trail?
The original trail line was awesome, but had fallen into disrepair as the original builder had moved out of town. I moved to Squamish from North Vancouver a couple years ago, and had been looking for somewhere to build a few features that had been rumbling around in my mind. I was stoked to bring some Old School shore flavor to Squamish, with some new twists.
How do you think your background in freeride skiing affects the way you look at a mountain bike trail?
The way I read terrain is inspired by my skiing background, and it translates both into the way I ride and build. I love using the natural terrain and materials to enhance what's already there. Also, having worked in terrain parks in the past, I wanted to bring some of that jibby vibe to the trail. The side hop onto the first feature is inspired by jumping onto a street rail on skis.
What's your favourite part about designing and building a new trail?
The satisfaction of bringing an idea to life is so rewarding, especially when it works out so well. Which is not always the case, haha. Once I get a shovel in the dirt and start to see progress, I am addicted to the process. Then getting others to ride it and add their own flavour is the cherry on top.
I also really enjoy making trails interesting. Whether it's navigating a unique natural piece of terrain or building teeter-totter activated saloon doors, let's keep it weird and fun out there. All due respect to blue flow, but the bike days I will never forget are when the trails got a little sketch and had the crew howlin'. I hope this makes some memorable experiences for people out there, even if they aren't riding it.
Let's keep it weird and fun out there.
Take us through your last few days building and finally riding this trail.
Building this trail over the winter was awesome. It allowed me to spend a bunch of days out in the forest with my buddy, Lorne. Big shout out to him for all the help making it happen and being the sounding board for my wild ass ideas. Half the fun is braving the weather and getting outside with friends.
When the day came to test ride the larger features, I leaned on my friend Isaac to bring in the stoke and some confidence. There are few better feelings than the first time linking a new line from top to bottom. She goes!
