Meet the Builders: Peter Morin | Trail Builder Q&A reboot
Name: Peter Morin
Years Riding: 36 years (started at age 50)
Go-to Tools: A shovel, a mattock pick, a rake, a wheelbarrow, and the NSMBA rock drill
Key Trails Worked On: Upper Oilcan, Pipeline, Seventh Secret, Leopard, Criklecrankum, Kirkford, and the Fromme Climb Trail
How did you get started with mountain biking and trail building?
“My first mountain bike was when I was 50… I got a proper mountain bike, which was a Stumpjumper. And today, I think I should have bought a Brodie or a Rocky, because their geometry was way, way ahead of everybody else’s.
Back then, in the wintertime, we were going through a set of brake shoes every second ride, and rims in about six weeks! So I started filling in mud holes. And then it went from there!”
What trails have you spent the most time working on over the years?
“I started building features… on Upper Oilcan. I built all the original features then… Then I moved to Pipeline, and I worked on that for three or four years. Then I went back to Upper Oilcan and started building all the stunts over there.
After Upper Oilcan, I went to Seventh Secret and Leopard. Dean Reed and I started kind of working together, because Dean was looking after Crinkum Crankum and Kirkford… Right when COVID started, I moved to the climbing trail [on Fromme], which I’ve been working on [for about 10 years].”
Is there a specific feature or project you are most proud of?
“Probably building Big Smooth on Upper Oilcan. I remember standing on top of that rock looking down, and at the bottom of it, there was just a big hole there. So I said, ‘This would make a nice ride.’ And people said, ‘You can’t do the whole thing.’ I said, ‘It can be filled in.’ So I filled it in once, and then it was getting rough, and I kind of tore it apart, and now it’s the way it is. That feature has been filmed a lot.”
What’s the best advice you’ve received from another builder?
“Probably the one that’s given me some advice is Digger. I was doing something on Crinkum, and I was looking at it and I hadn’t quite figured it out. Digger came up while I was checking it out, and he says, ‘Well, you just go like…’ ‘Oh! Why didn’t I see that?!’
When I worked as a mechanic, sometimes somebody just standing by would look at something and see something different… so you listen to people. But mostly, I’ve learned on my own from mistakes and looking at others.”
How have you seen riding styles and trail design evolve on the North Shore?
“I think a lot of people like fast and flowy now. When we first rode on the Shore, I mean, we were riding at 5 miles an hour. It was slow and technical, and big features.
On Upper Oilcan when I was working on it, I think I counted 24 people one time armouring up, putting their stuff on to ride it. Now, every once in a while you see somebody going down. So that kind of riding, I think the Whistler Bike Park changed that—just the fast, flowy stuff.”
How has getting an e-bike impacted your riding and building?
“Riding, since I got an e-bike, that’s opened up everything! Everything I’m doing… I’m 86 now, and is going downhill… except mountain biking! I’m actually improving! I’m riding with people now… I’m so excited about it.
I’m riding with young people and I’m keeping up! In Campbell River, I got to ride all this really neat stuff with an old friend of mine… This guy’s 44 and extremely strong, and we rode five times while I was up there. Because climbing I can keep up with him, and downhill I’ve always been good.
For trail building, since I got the bike, I’ve only been trail building once without using it, and that’s because I needed to bring my tools up to the top of the climbing trail.”
What do you hope riders feel when they ride something you’ve built?
“I want them to be happy, you know, and enjoy it. I can’t believe how many thanks I get. We can’t keep everyone happy!
I remember one guy complaining, and I said, ‘Well, see right there? There’s the trail, ride it! I built this over here, but there’s the original trail.’ Lots of times I built stuff and left the original trail rough, and nobody rode it!”
Previous Editions:
Meet the Builders – Sarah and Sean – 2026
Meet the Cypress Crew – 2026
Meet the Builders – Dave – 2018
Meet the Builders – Penny and Martin – 2018