They say you don't get a second chance to make a first impression - but if you knock 'em dead on your first try, who needs a second chance?
This was the case when Dan Koeppel, the editor of Men's Journal, (one of America's most successful men's magazines) came to town for the first time to ride the famed Squamish singletrack.
Koeppel was so impressed with what he experienced that he, along with a panel of judges, rated Squamish as the third best place in all of North America to be thrilled and spilled on the seat of a mountain bike.
"I completely fell in love with your town," said Koeppel, during a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "It wasn't just the beautiful trails, it was also the fantastic hospitality. The amount of fun I packed into three or four days was amazing."
In the September 2004 issue of Men's Journal, Squamish finished third in the ranking of 10 best fall mountain bike rides, behind Downieville, California and Austin, Texas. Squamish was the only Canadian destination to make the grade.
"It's the first place I think of when visiting Canada," said Koeppel. "I've mountain biked quite a bit in B.C., Quebec and Ontario, but Squamish was really the only place I thought of when we began this project."
Koeppel didn't base his decision on just one visit, however. In 1999, he visited Squamish to write a city profile for National Geographic Explorer - and was introduced to the many attributes of the community.
"Not only can you have fun riding your bike, but you can have fun doing so many other things besides mountain biking," he said.
Koeppel also noted that he felt part of the riding community, rather than just another full-face-helmeted, knobby-tire, chairlift-riding downhiller, which was one of the reasons Whistler wasn't named to the list.
"I met some local riders and Al Ross from Tantalus Bike Shop. Everybody was super-friendly. I would recommend to anyone who visits Squamish to attend a toonie race and the post-race party," he said. "They would get to experience the kind of riding B.C. is famous for and get the feeling that you're part of the community."
The criteria for the ranking was based not only upon the quantity, quality and characteristics of the trails and rides themselves, but on what else each specific community had to offer the visitor. Because Squamish boasts such a wide variety of outdoor recreation possibilities, the panel of professionals from Men's Journal chose to pick Squamish in the top three.
"If Squamish had been in the U.S., there's no question it would be number one," said Koeppel. "As it was it was definitely a strong contender for number one. If someone were to come up to me and ask me which one of the ten places I would go - I would certainly pick Squamish. It's my favorite place to ride in North America."
