It was only 9 days ago that I finally decided to bite the bullet and basically "just go" ... to Whistler (BC, Canada) for some mountain biking that I've always wanted to do.

When I bought the tickets my flatmate Adam, in his Canadian accent, said "Dude, the time is going to fly by."  No kidding because here I am now thinking about the fact that I'm going TOMORROW.

I had a few minutes of panic the other day while out riding.  2 days out from leaving for Whistler I had all but finished taking the bike out for a thrash (Melbourne is full of steps that are sweet for jumping down).  Riding along the banks of the Yarra River - totally flat - there was suddenly a PING from the front fork and I immediately had almost ZERO rebound in the front suspension ... uh-oh.  Thankfully the guys from my new local bike store tore everything apart and fixed it for me.  PHEW.

So anyway, my bike is dismantled and boxed up, my flights are booked all the way from here to Van and back as well as the shuttle that will take me from Vancouver to Whistler tomorrow afternoon (local time).  Accommodation turned out to be easier than I thought thanks to Owner Direct, a website for owners to use for renting their properties.  Dan, the guy that owns the Whistler condo I'm renting, is a great dude and finalised the arrangements for me in less than 2 hours - awesome!

Speaking of bikes, for those that know anything about bikes or that care to know, I'm taking one of these with me ... it's a bit of a gamble taking a freeride bike to Whistler but considering it's free to take it I figured why not (the luggage allowance to and through the US is enough so that the bike comes in well under the max allowed weight - sweet).

Orbea Rallon FRX

All I need to do now is make sure all the clothes I've prepared are packed, my iPods are charged, my cameras are ready for use and the myriad of crap I always carry with me is within arm's reach.

Seeing as I've wanted to go to Canada for some filthy MTB action for as long as I can remember I'll try and write in this trip as often as I can.

Wish me luck!  :)