WHISTLER, B.C. —

It was 80 degrees at the base of Whistler Mountain, but the black ankle-to-knee, wrist-to-elbow padding I was wearing wasn't the only reason I was sweating as the rental clerk adjusted the seat on my Giant Warp silver dual-suspension mountain bike.

A face guard and chest armor would be $10 extra. "Better safe than sorry," he warned. I declined.

A helmet, a pair of shorts and my own city bike, which I transported from Seattle via Amtrak train and Greyhound bus, were all I had needed so far for exploring the miles of paved paths and forested off-road trails that transform the Northwest's premier ski resort into a cycler's playground in the off-season.

Now I was literally turning up the heat with a trip up Whistler Mountain to the Whistler Bike Park, where, in place of snow and ski runs, there's a network of 36 dusty, downhill bike trails with names like "Crack Addict," "Hornet" and "No Joke."

As I loaded the Giant Warp and myself onto one of the gondolas, I remembered a conversation I'd had the night before with Grant Lamont, 43, a member of the Whistler Offroad Cycling Association (WORCA).

"It's like playing hockey out there," he warned me. "The bike park is really about taking aggressive riders and putting them in a controlled space."

Think downhill skiing vs. cross-country; motocross without the motors; guys (and a few girls) careening down steep rock faces, navigating switch-backs and jumping over obstacles onto dirt tracks no wider than a few tire widths.

Or that's at least what I thought until the gondola swung toward Olympic Station at the 3,350-foot level, and I found "EZ Does It," a gentle, five-mile-long wooded path with a 1,200-vertical-foot drop to the base of the mountain.

This was the bunny slope, and it seemed perfect.

It's not only a guy thing

Guys outnumber women by at least 10 to 1 in the park, but the first riders I met were a group of women on a two-day women's bike camp sponsored by Whistler-Blackcomb, the company that operates Whistler as a downhill ski resort in winter.

"It can be perceived as an aggressive sport because of all the big armor," said the group's leader, Sally Carmichael. The women were practicing some moves on an obstacle course strewn with wooden beams, bridges made from boards and platforms for jumping, but Carmichael assured me that anyone who can balance herself on a bicycle can ride the beginner trails. What about chest plates and head gear? "That's for when you want to take some air, big hits and drops."

There would be none of that on EZ Does It. All I had to do was squeeze the hand brakes and negotiate a couple of tight turns. Still, as I started down the trail, I was glad I had rented a bike instead of taking my own Specialized, a mountain bike with fat tires but no shock absorbers. The path was wide, but rutted with rocks and stones, and the heavier, dual-suspension bike felt safer and more comfortable.

I tried to remember some tips I had picked up the day before when I joined Jim Boudreau, 32, of Whistler Eco-Tours, on a guided biking and canoe trip around the valley.

Boudreau showed me how to lean into the curves and stand on my pedals, knees slightly bent, for balance.

"You have to adjust to the terrain," he said. "It's like dancing with the mountain."

Now that it was actually time to face the music, I wasn't sure who was leading.

I got off and walked my bike around a couple of turns, and stepped to the side as the face helmets and chest-gear crowd barreled by in places where "EZ Does It" intersected with the more aggressive trails. Then about halfway down, I started to relax. I stopped watching the path and started looking ahead, taking in the views of snow-capped mountains and inhaling the scent of pine mixed with alpine air.

I obeyed the "All Beginners Ride this Way" signs and reached the bottom in less than an hour without a scratch or a bruise. I thought about taking another run, but my fingers ached from holding the brakes, and I realized that I favor the type of biking that provides more of a workout, less of a thrill.

"The mountain-bike park is great, but a lot more people are interested in the kinds of trails we have right here in the valley, and they're free," WORCA's Lamont had told me earlier.

After experiencing both, I knew I was one of those people.

Bikers keep trails in shape

WORCA members maintain 217 miles of trails in Whistler Valley — many of which double as cross-country ski trails in winter. Some are within the village itself. Others are outside in nearby Garibaldi Provincial Park or on private property accessed through recreational easements.

Whistler Where Whistler is 220 miles north of Seattle in British Columbia. A passport or other proof of citizenship (a driver's license and birth certificate) is required to enter and leave Canada. Getting there: The main road to Whistler out of Vancouver is Highway 99. Expect delays due to road construction. I avoided the traffic and border congestion by taking Amtrak from Seattle, then a Greyhound bus from Vancouver. Buses and trains arrive and depart from Pacific Central Station, 1150 Station St., in Vancouver. The train from Seattle arrives around 11:45 a.m., enough time to catch the 12:30 p.m. or 3 p.m. bus for the 2-1/2-hour ride to Whistler Village. Make train reservations by calling Amtrak at 800-872-7245 or book online at www.amtrak.com. Bikes are stowed on racks in the baggage car and cost $5 extra. Reservations required. Purchase bus tickets at the station. Room for bikes is on a space-available basis. Round-trip fare is $26.50, based on current exchange rates. Bikes cost an extra $7.50. Phone 604-683-8133 or see www.greyhound.ca VIA Rail in Pacific Central Station will store bikes and luggage for $2 per item. It's a 10-minute ride into downtown Vancouver via the Skytrain across the street from the train station. Biking information The Whistler Mountain Bike Park offers guided tours, clinics, camps, private instruction and packages which include lift tickets, bikes, helmets and protective gear. See www.whistlerblackcomb.com or call 866-218-9690. A one-day lift ticket is $29.50 for adults, $26.50 for youths 13-17 and $14.50 for children. Bikes are transported up the mountain either in enclosed gondolas or on open-air chair lifts. (Every other chair is removed to hold bikes). The park is open daily through Oct. 3 and weekends from Oct. 9-11. Hours are from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays through Sept. 4. Shops in Whistler Village rent all types of bikes by the hour and for a half-day or full day. Regular mountain bikes (about $9 an hour) are fine for the valley trails. Helmets are required. For the beginner trails in the Mountain Bike Park, I rented a dual-suspension mountain bike through the Whistler Bike Co. (604-938-9511) in the village. Cost for a two-hour rental with leg and knee pads and taxes was $29. Heavier-duty (and more expensive) bikes, chest protectors and face helmets are recommended for the advanced trails. For valley trail information, contact the Whistler Offroad Cycling Association at 604-938-9893 or see www.worca.com. The group sponsors free, guided mountain bike rides for all levels Monday nights for members ($40 Canadian annual fee). Proceeds go to trail upkeep. Several outfitters in the village offer tours and lessons. Whistler Eco-Tours age offers four-five hour guided pedal and paddle tours combining easy mountain biking with canoe or kayaking. Call 604-935-4900 or see www.whistlerecotours.com. Cross Country Connection offers off-road biking tours and mountain biking lessons. Call 604-905-0071 or see www.crosscountryconnection.bc.ca. Lodging Hotels offer discounted rates in spring, summer and fall when Whistler is less crowded. Contact Whistler-Blackcomb or Whistler tourism at 877-991-9988 or see www.mywhistler.com. Hotels store bikes in ski locker areas. If noise and dust bothers you, ask if your hotel or condo is near one of the construction projects going on inside the village this summer in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Traveler's tip If taking Amtrak, book a business-class ticket if possible. The cost is $12 more each way, but you're first off the train and through Canadian immigration and customs quickly. More information Contact Whistler Blackcomb at 866-218-9690 or www.whistlerblackcomb.com or Whistler Tourism at 877-991-9988, www.mywhistler.com. Stop by the Visitor Information office in the village for free maps and a copy of the Whistler Mountain Bike Guide. — Carol Pucci, Seattle Times travel writer

The handiest way to explore is by picking up a free copy of the Whistler Mountain Bike Guide and using its color-coded map to alternate between off-road paths and the 20-mile paved Valley Trail that links local parks, swimming holes, lakeside picnic spots and residential neighborhoods.

Bike shops rent bikes by the hour, half-day or full day, but having my own bike gave me the flexibility to mix daytime rides with short sunrise or sunset spins without worrying about returning the bike on time or racking up hourly fees.

Pedaling along the Valley Trail toward Lost Lake Park near Whistler's Upper Village one evening after dinner, I found Tin Pants, a shady, two-mile gravel and dirt trail flanked on each side by rocks and boulders.

"All the trail names have a history," Lamont explained. There's "Trainwreck," a technical trail with rusted box cars to ride through, and another called "Industrial Disease," with lots of opportunities for rock-face riding and rooted descents.

Before skiing and condos, Whistler Valley survived on logging, mining, fishing and the railroads. Tin Pants refers to the water-repellant pants worn by loggers. This was an easy beginner's trail, and I rode uphill in low gear, then enjoyed a gradual downhill descent ending at the lakefront, where I picked up the Valley Trail again for a smooth ride back over a wooden bridge that crossed the rushing Fitzsimmons River.

Skateboarders, rollerbladers, parents pushing strollers and people in wheelchairs use the Valley Trail, and I found that riding it was a relaxing way to learn a little about Whistler's history and enjoy nature without the distraction of having to keep my eyes on a bumpy or rocky path.

One morning I assembled a grocery-store picnic of roasted eggplant and red peppers, olives and pita bread and cycled toward Rainbow Park and Alta Lake, a popular resort built in the 1920s for guests arriving on the Pacific Eastern Railway.

I noticed purple fireweed in bloom as I detoured off-road again for a couple of miles through the forest on a gentle up and down path of packed dirt. Bypassing a spur called "A River Runs Through It," a steep, narrow trail with exposed roots and a bumpy wooden bridge, I finished the ride to Alta on a two-lane ribbon of asphalt highway that was surprisingly free of cars.

Farmers and trappers contributed to the valley's economy in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and signposts along the way tell their stories.

After a lakeside lunch, I stopped at a viewing platform where I spotted a wild heron perched on a rock and a family of mallard ducks. Another signpost told the story of "Wild Man John."

"With his red polka-dot handkerchief and broken nose, John Millar, a hard-bitten wilderness man, had come from Texas to find peace in the coast mountains," the sign explained. "John was one of the more amicable trappers, providing room and board for those traveling from Squamish to Pemberton on the Pemberton Trail."

The trail linked the Pemberton Valley, north of Whistler, to the Pacific coast in the late 1800s.

"His stopping house," the sign said, "became well-known for its food, and visitors often enjoyed items not found on any other menus including possum and bear stew."

Today, A-frame cottages and homes selling for $1 million and up line this part of the trail. Sea planes dock at glacier-fed Green Lake, where golfers fly in for a $125 round at Nicklaus North.

I crossed the water on a wooden bridge and backtracked along a railroad bed, then cut left onto a gravel road called "Hydro Hill." It was a hot, dusty climb to the top, but the nice thing about Whistler is that you're never too far from a duck omelet (try Chef Bernard's), fresh oysters (Happy Hour at the Bearfoot Bistro) or a cool drink.

I parked the bike, flopped on a couch in the lounge of the Chateau Whistler and ordered a mojito.

"Whistler," WORCA's Lamont had told me, "is a good place to come and fall in love with a bike."

I would need a few more dances down the mountain before I could pledge my heart to the rented Giant Warp, but as I sat back and studied the map for ideas on what trails to explore next, I felt like my own bike and I were more in step than ever.

Carol Pucci: 206-464-3701 or cpucci@seattletimes.com