You don’t turn down an invitation to Crankworx Whistler if you are into bikes, especially mountain bikes. It’s one of the biggest events of the year on the mountain biking calendar with a full week of racing and contests hosted by the industry’s biggest brands and attended by the world’s best riders. Think of it as the Coachella of mountain biking. So when GMC, one of the festival’s major sponsors sent Canadian Cycling Magazine an invite to the event, I put my hand up, and then threw my riding gear in my duffel.
All photos: Matt Stetson
Attending Crankworx alongside GMC comes with its advantages—mainly a sweet Hummer EV SUT truck to get from the Vancouver airport to Whistler and to support my time at the mountain biking destination. The Sea to Sky Highway connecting B.C.’s largest city to Whistler is one of the most scenic drives in the country—hugging Howe Sound and then passing through Squamish and by Garibaldi Park’s snow-capped mountains.
GMC’s Hummer EV has plenty of power and space for bikes.
The command center of the Hummer EV.
Along such a route, the road requires that you be attentive especially in the rain that met me. Having only driven an EV for a short distance prior to this outing, I was a little nervous to be tackling the drive in a new vehicle on soaked surfaces. My trepidation, however, began to dissipate after I paired my phone to the truck’s computer and adjusted the mirrors and seat. It didn’t take long before I had my playlists synced, GPS routed and my foot on the accelerator as I went north.
Getting acquainted on the road
On the rainy drive into Whistler, I got familiar with the Hummer’s handling and multitude of features. With my phone wirelessly charging, I was able to activate and operate Google Maps navigation and music all by voice command. The truck will also respond to voice commands for temperature changes, phone calls and traffic updates via Google Voice Assistant. Even though I had a two-hour drive in the Hummer EV SUT, I felt I had only scratched the surface of what the vehicle had to offer when I arrived at my destination. The next day, there was more rain, which led to the cancellation of the races. So, I decided to do what every mountain biker would do in Whistler with free time: go riding!
Instead of lapping the lift-access bike park like most visitors to the area, I opted to throw a bike in the back of the Hummer and drive to the trailhead instead. I got some local intel and settled on an area that was decidedly difficult to access. “There is a road, but you will likely need a 4×4 to get in there,” is what I was told. Perfect. But I still had one obstacle to overcome: the battery of the eMTB I had borrowed was close to empty. Luckily, the Hummer has an AC outlet in the bed of the truck that I could plug the bike into and charge on my way in. This whole EV thing started to make a lot more sense at this point.
Later GMC brand director Jamie Dewhurst summed it up well: “You can look at a GMC EV truck as not only a capable vehicle, but also a standalone power source.” It saw that in full display back in the village where Red Bull bar was completely powered by a GMC Sierra EV truck. I’m not talking about just a mini-fridge either. There was enough juice to run a full-service bar housed in a shipping container with lights, regular-size fridges, and three point-of-sale and debit/credit machines. It got me thinking of all the bike-specific applications an EV could bring to the table on top of charging an ebike. I envisioned bringing my espresso machine with me for pre-ride coffees and a chest-style fridge for cold post-ride beverages. A slightly more practical application might be plugging lights and/or tools in on-site or at races for a mobile work station/bike shop. It could also serve as a charging station for chainsaws that need a charge in the middle of a remote trail-building session. The list goes on because once I started looking at the truck as hundreds of mobile power banks, the possibilities seemed endless.
Power for the trails
With a bike charging in the bed of the Hummer and several kilometres of rough terrain between me and the trailhead, it was time to test the off-road capabilities. Having grown up in rural Ontario, I’m no stranger to off-roading. I wasn’t, however, used to doing it with a full-featured luxury vehicle. The Hummer EV SUT has all the comforts you would expect from a high-end vehicle, but it also comes with the off-road capabilities of a more dedicated 4×4. The most standout feature is Crabwalk steering, which allows both front and rear wheels to turn and helps the Hummer move almost completely sideways, allowing the big-bodied Hummer to navigate over and through narrow, winding trails. The truck also has adjustable suspension height and locking differentials to accommodate for heavily undulating roads and trails. All these features are integrated into the truck’s onboard computer so even a relative novice like me can get the most out of the truck’s capabilities. The Hummer didn’t even break a sweat on any of the roads I took it on, and I would bet there isn’t a trailhead it wouldn’t be able to reach.
By the end of my bike ride and drive back to Whistler village, I had logged several hours of driving since setting off from Vancouver with a full charge. With the distance covered and the bike I charged, I was sitting at 60 per cent battery life, far more than I expected considering the amount of time the vehicle was on as I got acquainted with accessories and features. Even though the truck has a 482-km range, which would give me enough juice to make it back to Vancouver, I decided to err on the side of caution. I charged it up before heading out the next day.
The Hummer EV with it’s giant battery, can power a bunch of electric devices on the go, including your E-MTB.
Finding a charging station was easy thanks to the myGMC app. It loaded the directions into the Hummer’s navigation system and I was on my way to a full battery. Having the charging easily out of the way helped me to enjoy Red Bull JoyRide on my final morning, which finally took place after several weather delays. The tarps were off the course, and the GMC Hummers were shuttling riders to the start gate for what would turn out to be one of the most exciting contests in recent history as Emil Johansson came back from injury and claimed his 14th Crankworx gold medal.
Heading home in style
With the Crankworx weekend in the rearview mirror of my Hummer, I drove back to Vancouver with the best weather of the past three days. I had even better views of the Sea to Sky than before. I absolutely did not eat chicken tenders while testing the Hummer’s hands-free Super Cruise mode, but I can attest that the vehicle fits easily through a Wendy’s drive-thru.