What happens when you try to ride the heart of modern mountain biking in a single day? Threads in the Dirt follows my attempt to link the Sea to Sky’s biggest descents in
Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish and North Vancouver into one continuous ultra-endurance mission.
I’ve always felt connected to this corridor, long before I ever arrived. Growing up in New Zealand, the films and stories coming out of the Sea to Sky shaped the way I rode and what I believed was possible. When I finally made it here in 2022, the community showed up for me before I’d even landed. That sense of support, progression and shared vision is what makes this place special and why I wanted to honour it through this project.
This ride was my way of seeing the whole region in one go. No shortcuts, no repeats just a single line tracing the landscape that built so much of the sport’s identity. The climbs were brutal, the descents unforgettable, and every transition stitched together another part of the story that has influenced riders across the world, including me.
Threads in the Dirt is more than a record of a long day out. It’s a reflection on the connection between New Zealand and British Columbia, between past and present, between the people who built this scene and the riders who continue to be shaped by it. The Sea to Sky raised the ceiling for what mountain biking could be, and contributing even a small thread to that legacy felt natural.
If there’s one thing I hope people take away, it’s this: honour where the sport came from, respect what you have in front of you, and chase the things that pull you. We all leave something behind even if it’s just a thread in the dirt and that’s how the legacy stays alive.
Rider: Matthew Fairbrother / @matthewfmtb
Photography: Joe Roberts / @jumpintoframe
Videography/Edit: Ollie Jones / @olliegregoryjones
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