North Vancouver’s Triple Crown, linking Seymour, Fromme and Cypress, is hard on a road bike. The mountain bike version is brutal. So, when Matthew Fairbrother did back-to-back-to-back Triple Crown rides his first thought was, naturally, if he could do four.
So he did. But as he was mid-way through his fourth consecutive Triple Crown, the New Zealand rider thought What’s One More?
From here… Photo: Jake Paddon
The Quintuple North Shore Trip Crown
Well, one more is roughly another 90km and ended up being nearly seven extra hours on the bike beyond what was planned. While Fairbrother says the ride wasn’t about accumultating stats, the stats are staggering.
453.33 km. 15,005m of elevation gain. 29:38.31 on the bike (27.43:29 moving time). A remarkable 16.4 km/h average speed over endless climbs and slow, North Shore tech trails.
… to here. Photo: Jake Paddon
If not about the numbers, what was Fairbrother chasing through the dark woods above Vancouver?
“This ride wasn’t about numbers or records. It was about following curiosity wherever it leads, even when it takes far longer, hurts far more, and makes far less sense than anyone, including yourself, could imagine. That’s the story I want to share,” Fairbrother says of his mind-bending feat. “The original plan this time was four laps. Five only became part of the picture during the fourth loop. That’s probably the detail that best explains the whole project: I was already working toward something bigger than I’d done before, and somehow another question was still forming. I’d come back to answer whether I could do four, and now I was wondering about five.”
and back down via this. For more than 29 hours. Photo: Jake Paddon
Wondering is one thing. Turning around after 22 hours and 41 minutes on the bike and starting extra full Triple Crown is … somethign else entirely.
“There’s something interesting about making that decision while you’re already deep into a ride. Before starting, everything is hypothetical. During the fourth loop, I had a much better understanding of what another one would involve. It meant committing to the same three mountains again, with all the riding already in my legs. “What’s one more” sounds quite casual until you think about what that one actually contains.”
And then again, another 14 times. Photo: Jake Paddon
Thinking about any of it makes us feel very tired. Hats off to Fairbrother for a huge, huge ride.
What’s One More Ft. Matthew Fairbrother
From Lazy Sunday Studios:
What’s one more? One more lap, one more climb, one more descent, one more hour.
It’s a simple question, but after nearly 23 hours, it’s not as simple an answer as it may seem. At a point, it stops being a physical limit and becomes a conversation with yourself. How far are you willing to go, and how much more can you squeeze out of the already nearly empty tank?
That’s a lot of salt. Photo: Jake Paddon
“This ride wasn’t about numbers or records. It was about following curiosity wherever it leads, even when it takes far longer, hurts far more, and makes far less sense than anyone, including yourself, could imagine. That’s the story I want to share. The finish matters, but so does the thinking that gets you there: where the idea comes from, how the goal changes, and the decision to commit again when you’ve already done a huge amount.”
Rider // Matthew Fairbrother
Cinematography, Edit & Color // Aedan Skinner
Audio // Futurebarn Audio
Photography // Jake Paddon