Arizona and British Columbia, Canada both earned A grades in the 2003 version of IMBA's Report Card, bumping Colorado off the top spot for mountain bike advocacy, trails and riding.
In Arizona, stellar trails and urban advocacy combined with the reopening of the Cactus Forest Trail in Saguaro National Park to bring the state to the head of the class. Whether it be the red rocked trails in Sedona, the alpine routes that ring Flagstaff or the ponderosa pine singletrack near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona offers an abundance of fat tire destinations. Perhaps most impressive are the trail systems near Arizona's metropolises, Phoenix and Tucson, which include hundreds of miles of shared-use trails and 35 miles of "competitive tracks," designed for higher speed non-motorized trail use.
The key to British Columbia's success is a willingness to embrace evolving styles of riding. While Victoria, Kelowna, Rossland, Nelson and Fernie have world-class cross-country riding, what really separates B.C. from the rest of the planet is freeriding. B.C. is one of the few places where freeriding in all of it's incarnations - super-technical trails, big drops and stunts - is fully embraced. The original stunt trails surrounding Vancouver have been improved, and on some days more than 1,000 riders buy tickets to ride at Whistler Resort. |
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