The sun was beating down yet again. Cooler but still sunny. We rode the top section and gave Sidetrack a go. WOW.. loved it reminder me of the wooded section of Fort Bill but with bigger drops and steeper step ups.

The first run was a bit of an eye opener but the second time we gave it everything! Brill. The afternoon was spent giving Aline a good peggering but as the afternoon wore on and the number of riders on it increased the harder it was to get a clean run down it. A couple of humorous parts of the day was when I did the GLC drop with Steve right on my bake wheel, as we sped down to the finish we hit 6 to 7” of dust, sliding toward thew railings foot out I lost the bike and skidded to a stop in the biggest dust clud seen this week. The crowds wondered what had happened as Steve and I walked out of the cloud in fits of laughter.The other classic was when I got on the lift next to Sam Hill and Bendon Fairclough, Steve who was waiting in the lift que shouted out to Ian... ‘IAN IS THAT DAVE HALTON, IT IS ITS DAVE HALTON, WOW ITS DAVE HALTON, DAVE, DAVE’ Sam Hills face was a picture as he wondered who the hell the guy Dave Halton was sitting next to him! .. he soon found as as we talked as we went up the lift.. nice bloke as was Brendan Fairclough, I wished him good luck in the forthcoming race, but hope he lost to Steve Peat! We gave up at about 5pm and headed down to the liquor store. Five bikes, four cases of beer and a video camera. The look on peoples faces was priceless as we wheeled our cargo through the centre of Whistler. A knackering great day... Dave Halton photos here