I bought my "1986.5" (as advertised by the seller) Blizzard in Whistler in 1989. I rode it all over the Valley, Blackcomb, Fromme, Cypress, the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast. I raced it XC, DH, DS, and hill climb. After a number of years in storage, I got the itch to ride it again in 2009. As I was cleaning it one day, I wiped across the bottom bracket shell and realized I was revealing a lot of zeroes. It was A7B00009. Somehow, I'd ridden it all those years without realizing it was one of the first of its kind. In January 2012, it was back in storage for the winter when it was stolen, along with my wife's 1999 Blizzard.
The crushing blow of losing a bike with so much sentimental value was lessened a little when I learned my insurance policy would replace stolen items with a new equivalent and a bike shop in Edmonton had a small and a large Blizzard LT frame in stock.
By July 2012, I'd gathered the pieces to put together the tribute to my stolen Blizzard. I used as many parts with BC heritage as I could: Syncros headset, FRIC stem, and Hardcore Ti seatpost. Raceface Northshore XS cranks, eNVy 34t chainring, Race, Blackspire 24t Chuck Ring, Chromag Seatpost clamp, NSB brake adapters.
I've ridden it enough that the Marzocchi 44 shown in the picture had its bushings wear out and was replaced with a newer "backup" one. Last year the Syncros post finally gave into fatigue, snapped in half, and was replaced with a dropper.
Anyhow, I better go prep the Blizzard for tomorrow's ride...
