What do National Champ Andrew Mitchell, World Cup ripper Dean Tennant, and World Champ Silver medalist Stevie Smith have in common? They're all residents of the world's 43rd largest island: Vancouver Island. It seems that the combination of steep, wet, loamy, root-filled trails is an ideal breeding ground for downhillers... 'the Island' is a hotbed for riders that like going fast and Dez May is no exception.
Living in Victoria we're blessed with a multitude of spots to ride only a short drive away. For this edit Dez and I revisited an area pivotal to our grom years - Hartland Dump. The Dump is one of the few purpose built AND legal mtb spots in Victoria and while it's more famous as a place for all mountain shredding (
Torpedo Run aside) there are pockets of rowdiness if you know where to look. Hopes were high but I tried to temper my nostalgia with realism, ''that one chute can't be as gnarly as I remember... can it?'' Unbeknownst to us the trails of our childhood had grown like we had. Wind, rain, rubber, and time eroding dirt to reveal vicious rock fangs and gnarled clutching roots. Though the trails looked a little different, one thing had stayed the same: we still love the ride.
 |
| Old growth cedar and a freshly built berm |
 |
| Braaaaap |
 |
| Bit of a Life Cycles poach... |
 |
| Steezin |
 |
| Transfer |
 |
| Whattup Danny Hart? |
Thanks for reading,
Words and Video by: Scott Secco
Stills by:
Esrah Boulton 
Whistler here I come!! 
