Costa Rica mountain biking

the witches toe nail

JANUARY 2005, WE DEPARTED VANCOUVER’S YVR AIRPORT ON A COLD WINTER DAY WITH A MOTLEY GROUP OF FRIENDS ON OUR FIRST-EVER TRIP TO COSTA RICA THAT INCLUDED PRO RIDERS DAVE WATSON, WADE SIMMONS, THOMAS VANDERHAM AND INDUSTRY LEGENDS GABE FOX AND CODY SWANSBOROUGH…AND MORE. A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF SHUTTLE-DH LAPS IN THE JUNGLE, A FEW CERVEZAS AND (ATTEMPTING) TO SURF CR’S POWERFUL WAVES…

PHOTOS: IAN HYLANDS. WORDS: CODY SWANSBOROUGH

YVR airport 8:00am: we’re waiting for the rest of the group to arrive so we can check in and catch our flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. The boys are pumped, we  know it’s going to be a sick trip, shuttle DH runs, new trails, hot sun and the beach. The anticipation already reached an all-time high and with the humor and group dynamics firing, we haven’t even left Canada yet and already laughing our asses off! After a quick transfer in Dallas we reached San Jose, load up the bikes and head off to the hotel, stopping on the way to grab a couple six packs of Imperial Cerveza to celebrate our arrival. What we didn’t know is how beautiful the hotel was, a 5-star hotel tucked away in the mountains of San Jose. Right off the top Big Mountain Adventures had raised the bar. Everybody unloads looks around and just starts laughing and shaking our heads at the vaulted glass atrium beside the huge tike wood lobby and marble floors. After a long day of traveling we hit the sack.

Day one.

Dave Watson and I assemble our bikes in true hotel room fashion. Paulo, our Costa guide and ripper extraordinaire pulls up in a van and we start loading the DH bikes on the roof, we pile into the van and pull away for our first DH shuttle.  We climb the steep hilly roads traditional to Costa and arrive at the trail head ten minutes away from the hotel. While some make last minute adjustments others play keep up soccer with a local grom and wait for the rest to suit up and ride. We shuttle the first trail three times and later name it the The Witches Toenail after its evil rocky and dusty characteristics. The last ride of the day would deem to be a memory hard to be forgotten as we rode from the top of one of CR’s highest volcanos. We shuttled the van up a very steep road to the near summit then hiked to the summit where we would be greeted by panoramic vista’s, cows and a trail head that looked like the start gate to an Olympic bobsled track. High speed banked corners, loose floaters ending with putting green like grass that runs parallel to the fine Costa Rican coffee plants and easy swaying palm trees. The banked grass made for an endless wall ride experience and the fresh smell of coffee was just like desert on your bike. This place is officially unreal.

Day 2.

After a good sleep we awoke to Day 2 to brush our teeth that were dry form the perma grin that we went to sleep with. Bluebird and ready to go, we head to Escazu, a small town in the hills known for its witchcraft and steep hills. Simmons, Watson and I would room up for this stay, that’s fine with me considering our room was the size of a shopping mall and we had poker chips. My hands are getting red… all these high fives and suntan lotion application, I wasn’t ready for this. We hop in the van and drive to the trailhead. Steep and rocky like the last one, we pinned it down for two runs and returned to the summit for a fresh chicken lunch and unreal views. After lunch we descended a rocky fire road that fed us right into the mouth of the devil, short wall rides and slippery roots this one was a workout. I think the hardest part of the work out was my stomach, as me and Gabe from Cove Bikes laughed our way down the trail in pure hysterics. Once again we rode to the open door of the shuttle bus and snaked back to Hotel Verde, our jungle retreat for the night.

Costa RIcan Breakfast

“Ah yes crew.” Nothing better then waking up to a traditional Costa Rican breakfast “gallo pinto” and the sounds of the local birdlife. We eat, we pack and we pass our big bikes up to Ne Ne the driver. Off to La Carpentaria where we drive through the gates into the foot of the steepest shuttle climb in a van I have ever done. “O.K Ne Ne… just get on the roof and swing the machete like a windmill, that’s the only way were going to make it through the thick of the canopy,” says Paulo. Finally after a skilled drive up we summit and make are last leg by hike a bike to the champagne infused meadows of La Carpentaria. A few photographs by Ian Hylands and we disappear into the darkness of the rainforest. We rode a quick XC loop ending with a steep technical DH run and coasted down the road into sunset. Did I mention were doing DH shuttles in Costa?? Just checking, cause I had to, everyday of this trip it was that unreal. After a SOLID day of riding we were headed towards our stay at Hotel Milvia, an art rich hotel with a very boutique feel to it, a perfect setting for another poker game referred by Vanderham, “all I can say is, I’m all in boys”.

Morning came and Dave from Ottawa woke up 25,000 colones richer. The group loaded into the van and headed to an undisclosed location for a major event in mountain bike history. We drove for 1.5 hours up and up and up until we reached the summit. Everyone rushed to the souvenir shop for coffees and warmth, hoping for a break in the clouds and a glimmer of sun. “Alright,” waved Paulo, “let’s vamoose.” Zipping up my Sombrio jacket, I headed straight for the trailhead and began my 7,000-ft descent through thick clouds and mist. This was the endless DH run with everything to offer for terrain: singletrack, double-track, high speed, low speed, wall rides, corners—it was like riding Garbo at Whistler Bike Park but on steroids. For more insights into different styles and destinations, check out our guide on the various types of mountain bike trips. A quick ride to our next descent to Santa Maria in the beautiful Dota Valley, home of good cooking and the one and only Smoke Show, followed. This was our stay for the night at Hotel Cecelia with its beautiful surroundings, optional massage, and your own shared cabin with an en suite bathroom. I settled nicely into the accommodation and soaked up the good food as I listened to fabled stories of the bike world. Simmons, Watson, and I, all in one cabin, reminisced of old times and before we knew it, dawn had come and it was time for another Costa Rican breakfast. After a quick purchase of coffee from the local grower, we headed to Providencia where we shuttled the now-famous Leaf Blower trail, almost like skiing but with the odd ladder bridge thrown in for good measure. Too much fun and seriously surreal at times, we were getting the rides of a lifetime and we knew it. Not only were we gaining riding experience but the cultural experience was really settling in. That night we drove to Hotel Severge to bed down at 2200 m.

A-Class accommodation

That night we settled into yet another A-class accommodation and feasted amazing food while we anticipated our final day of riding, of course saving the best for last on CR’s second highest peak with views of the Caribbean and the Pacific. It was everything we expected: long, steep, rocky, fast and loose, the perfect night cap for a riding trip that had trails looser than a college frat party.

We were officially worn out and ready for the beach...ahh, yes, Mal Pais here we come. I grabbed my beach-size traveller and threw myself into the van for the three-hour drive to the coast; home of Mal Pais which I think translates in Canadian to the best place in the world, ever.

Folks we’re now going to leave our bikes, trade them in for surfboards for a five-night stay in your own beach cabana three-minutes away from the best point break I have ever surfed. This would be a fine place to call home and we would surf our brains out and show off our tans and sun drenched smiles every night, clearly this was paradise after paradise it just can’t get better then this. 

the longest possible trip I have been on

Finally after what has seemed to be the longest possible trip I have been on, paradise must come to an end. We would fly home from our beach paradise via a hang glider with two engines or what ever you call those planes, and leave behind a place with more glory than words can explain. This trip truly was Pura Vida, everything was about the good life… the people, the bikes, the trails, and the experience of having all of them put together in one tropical paradise that I may have to return to very, very soon.

Join us on one of our Costa Rican mountain bike adventures, we have trips running from December to March.

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