[Ridemonkey.com]

A serious budget, like broke-ass-university-student type of budget. Yes, it can be done.
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Words by David Peacock
Photos By David Peacock and Jake Muffly

First off, there are certain concessions that must be made, and the ability to keep the final cost below x depends on ones starting and finishing points. One of my saving graces is that I can drive to the bike park, albeit a 10 hour commute. For some, a 10 hour plane ride is in order, and judging by the amount of people affected by the enchantments of the WMB, a space shuttle may be in service for the mountain biking martians willing to blow the budget. Heck even people from New Zealand might want to ride there!

Worldly wisecracks aside, it is evident that the Whistler Bike Park is of great importance to our small, adrenaline fueled world. Perhaps it could be likened to a mountain biker’s paradise; unfortunately, the price of paradise remains high, as a result of various inconvenient capitalizations on humankind's desire to have fun. So how does one keep the biking bill by the belly of the snake? Frugality doesn’t seem to be a strong suit of many patrons of the WMB.

The new and improved Freight Train, now with more dirt (cheap) jumps!

Gas: 90 dollars total, that’s a ten hour drive if you don’t step out of the car no matter how imminent the onset of Vesicoureteral reflux becomes. How did the gas cost so little? Volkswagon Golf’s are totally the new Chevy Silverado for shuttle vehicles. Like I said, lady luck lies in my corner on the commuting portion of the budget.

Food: Whistler lends itself to the distinguished and refined palate, but there is the obvious ways to keep the food down. “Dups Burrtios” is always there doling out 10 dollar Mexican feasts for the weary biker, and Splitz grill is another perfect way to unwind in style, whilst keeping the price down. Apart from that, and the amazing calzones at the pizza place next to Splitz, name currently evading my memory, cooking meals at the campsite (I’m getting to that) saves a ton of money.

Living: Undoubtedly the penthouse suites of the Fairmont and Hilton will appeal more to some, but given the 10 dollar a night price tag, the Forestry Service campsite that lies just 10 minutes drive from the base of the park is perfect for the purposes of the poor. Pitch a tent, roll up in your Winnebago, whatever you want; it’s the best way to stay in Whistler. Name o’ Callaghan Cheakamus Campsite, after the conjoining rivers at the sites waterfront.

Rock wall ride on Original Sin.

Tickets: This is an obvious must. You can’t go to Whistler and not rock lap after lap in the park. Personally, the best deal presented is always the triple play card. 3 days of funder, but 3 days of not necessarily consecutive riding is the bee’s knees. 10 AM until 8 PM, you don’t have to stop for anything but the ride back up. That said, it’s definitely worth it to check out the local trails as well, and a map at Evolution or any of the other shops will cost you about 10 dollars, but advice and directions from a local is free, so take it when available. The air dome is an absolute must. 15 dollars for a 3 hour session will dominate any other way of learning to control your bike in ways unimaginable. The sampler ticket is also an interesting option that WMB introduced last season. 23 dollars for 3 runs, and 3 runs to the top of Garbanzo is more than enough to satiate at least a portion of the bike park hunger.

Variables: The equation of cheap bike parking, or riding the bike park to avoid any ambiguities, is fraught with them. Chiefly, bike repairs: a broken fork or frame can produce a dangerously high repair or replacement bill, as we all know, and if there is any place in the world capable of handing out broken parts it’s Whistler. I suppose the best way to deal with this is to make sure that the campsite fee doesn’t drain the last of one’s monetary reserves. A second obvious variable is the duration of the stay. I have found that an excellent stay is about 4 days of riding, 3 in the bike park and one to sample the “loc trails” or the air dome. Unfortunately, to keep with the mathematical gibberish, the chance of bike parts meeting their end increases proportionally with an increase in the amount of time spent in the bike park. But hey, since when have repairs dampened the intrepid spirits of mountain bikers?

All told, through this thoroughly unrefined method of riding in Whistler, four-day trips usually cost 200-250 dollars. Think you can get the final tally below that? Any missing expenses or necessary treats? Spew ‘em!

 

[cecil]

for the rest of us;
air fare $750
shipping bike 80
modest hotel 450
food 150
lift tickets, and
misc expenses 450

total $1880.00 +/-
four days of biking in bc with out climate controlled place to sleep, shower and sh** what about washing the gear? giving the bike a little tlc at the end of every day hard riding. lets just say it rains ill put the bike in my tent leaning on my rolled up sleeping bag to check, tighten, and lube?!
in my opinion riding a place like whistler you cant be tired and groggy, stressed cause your sleeping in a tent with your dh rig locked to your ankle. i want to be well rested, well fed, and on the top of my game.
imaging saving all that money then you or your bike break from lack of proper living facilities

 

[GordonShumway]

Huh? So camping isnt proper living conditions? What's so bad about tuning up your bike outdoors? You realize this is an outdoor sport, right?

I think the camping idea is great - you can easily get 2-3 more trips in over a summer when you're not spending 100 a night on a hotel. If you can pack a few guys into that 100/night room then it makes more sense to rent a condo, but if you're by yourself or with 1 other guy you can save some good money by camping, and have a great time doing it

 

[cecil]

if thats your thing great, but after a 6 hour flight from the east coast, then take a cab to the camp grounds or rent a car then the time involved setting up. then you have to figure in the added cost that the airlines charge for the extra bags. tarp, sleeping bag, blankets pillows, one of those fold up chairs other misc supplies. (buying them there is out of the question) i have to pick up my bike from the shop i mailed it to
when im on a vacation i put a price tag on time and yes ill choke down $100 a day not to have to deal with all that.
working on your bike outside is fine as long as you have daylight, and no rain, (im not replacing wheel bearings with a coleman lantern in a lightning storm)what if you find out you need a part i can leave it disassembled in any fashion in my hotel room until morning when i go get the parts
im not trying to be an a** just to many variables that you have no control over when your in a tent, do i lock my bike in the rental car? well the hotel cost is not much more than a rental car, and where do i charge my cell phone? i pod? laptop?
now in the other hand if i am driving my personal truck 3 hours to plattekill, diablo, blue mountain, hunter, 6 hours to sunday river, or highland ill throw my tent and gear in the truck and im good if the weather go bad i have options, i can remove my front wheel put the bike in the front seat sleep in the back seat, i have an inverter to supply power.

 

[LambMan]

“We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed”
Thomas Fuller

This guy was just trying to help people enjoy Whistler. Just because it doesn't work for you, doesn't mean his plan wouldn't work for most of the people that look at this forum. Some people prefer to get out and ride their bike rather than find reasons to complain and excuses not to. Which one are you?

 

[rigidhack]

Dear Cecil,
For me 4 days in Whistler would cost less than half what the OP says it would, most of it in lift tickets.


Suck it.

 

[Runner]

For those of us who have to fly from the east coast for our once a year chance to ride whistler, we need to make damn well sure we're not going to have any problems that keep us from riding, so the security of a hotel room is worth the money any day. Platty? camp

 

[cecil]

“We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed”
Thomas Fuller

This guy was just trying to help people enjoy Whistler. Just because it doesn't work for you, doesn't mean his plan wouldn't work for most of the people that look at this forum. Some people prefer to get out and ride their bike rather than find reasons to complain and excuses not to. Which one are you?

lets see i did a 60+ mile ride on thanksgiving all trails so im a rider, and if you really read those words i wrote im am stating facts that were left out. at whistler i want to ride from when the lift starts till it shuts off so i will make my off mountain living conditions simple
if you live within driving distance well then his article fine if you fly, there are facts, important facts left out
here is a big one how many people reall know the logistics of getting from airport to town?! its not like the hotel shuttle picks you up at the airport and you are at the base of the mountain in 5 min.
how about the names of the local bike shops that you can ship you bike to?as i stated before rental car?
i feel an article that claims how to go to whistler on a budget needs to inform the reader of all the facts so when they step off the plane there are no surprises

plattekill, hunter, or diablo on a budget; i get in my truck drive buy lift ticket all for under $45.00 maybe you should come visit us up here its $45.00!!!!! come on everybody you dont need anymore info what are you waiting for!

 

[cecil]

Dear Cecil,
For me 4 days in Whistler would cost less than half what the OP says it would, most of it in lift tickets.


Suck it.

life is good for you then huh all the skiing/snowboarding you can imagine, the best mountain bike park in the world the only problem i see is that you want a man to have sex with you

 

[DHJUNKIE]

myself and a friend did a whole week in whistler, eating out every dinner/lunch with a condo in the village for 1500dollars. Catay Pacific airlines didn't charge for bikes, and we also rode 5days on the mountain.

 

[GordonShumway]

No worries! Actually, I think if your only way of getting to Whistler is to fly, then yeah, camping probably doesn't make a lot of sense. And don't get me wrong, I love renting a condo wit a couple of friends and having a dry warm bed to sleep in, indoor plumbing and all that. For for people who can drive camping and doing whistler dirt bag style means a few extra trips each year for the same money. And that's really what most of us go there for - riding, and really just time spent in one of the best places in the world!

if thats your thing great, but after a 6 hour flight from the east coast, then take a cab to the camp grounds or rent a car then the time involved setting up. then you have to figure in the added cost that the airlines charge for the extra bags. tarp, sleeping bag, blankets pillows, one of those fold up chairs other misc supplies. (buying them there is out of the question) i have to pick up my bike from the shop i mailed it to
when im on a vacation i put a price tag on time and yes ill choke down $100 a day not to have to deal with all that.
working on your bike outside is fine as long as you have daylight, and no rain, (im not replacing wheel bearings with a coleman lantern in a lightning storm)what if you find out you need a part i can leave it disassembled in any fashion in my hotel room until morning when i go get the parts
im not trying to be an a** just to many variables that you have no control over when your in a tent, do i lock my bike in the rental car? well the hotel cost is not much more than a rental car, and where do i charge my cell phone? i pod? laptop?
now in the other hand if i am driving my personal truck 3 hours to plattekill, diablo, blue mountain, hunter, 6 hours to sunday river, or highland ill throw my tent and gear in the truck and im good if the weather go bad i have options, i can remove my front wheel put the bike in the front seat sleep in the back seat, i have an inverter to supply power.

 

[ivanfiestas]

I just checked airline prices from San Francisco to Vancouver and they are around $ 380, not 700 as someone stated above!

 

[pbr]

Obviously his article was written more from the perspective of NW riders that are trying to squeeze as many trips in a summer as possible. 10 hours of drive time= OSU or U of O student. I know for myself, having moved back to Oregon from SF, that I'm working on a similar plan, and trying to figure out how to justify a season pass. Being only 7 hours of driving away, it is a different situation all together.

In my case, my girlfriend is a factor, and getting her to camp is unlikely, so looking for budget hotel accommodations, or lodging for the buck is the way we're going to go.

Having a lack of high quality lift serviced bike parks in Oregon/ WA makes traveling to Whistler even more desirable.

 

[FlipFantasia]

the cal-chek campground is NOT 10 minutes from the park.....

 

[Peacock]

the cal-chek campground is NOT 10 minutes from the park.....

guilty as charged. I would say it is around 20 mins of conservative driving...

 

[cecil]

dirt mag. "the bible of bike test" issue has an article about whistler and it answers all the questions anyone who has to fly there needs to know. ie. getting from airport to your condo, food, tools, guides to local xc trails. one stop shopping, no fluff just facts

 

[aolujumu]

Lol all need to cut back on things,
The economy is terrible people...

 

[DirtMcGirk]

When I lived in Seattle we often contemplated how to make this work so we could get as many trips in as we could. I think in that year we got 23 Whistler ride days in.

If I remember correctly, we did it this way:
Gas: 145 in my truck.
Hotel: 85 a night
Food: $30 a day
Beer: 12 beers in Seattle per person set us back $20 a piece. We like good beer.

The way we made it work was to always go as a group, and everyone kicked down equal with the exception of the ticket to ride. I think we got it down to about $90 for three days per person excluding tickets. It was worth it for us to get a season pass at that point, and with out a doubt that was my favorite season of riding ever.