Unless you've been living under a bridge in the woods—and not riding over one—you've heard by now that British Columbia is among the world's premier mountain biking destinations. Canada's westernmost province has earned Mecca status in the fat-tire world, and if you don't believe it just ask the 20,000 people who showed up at Whistler's base-area village for July 2007's Crankworx Slopestyle finals. It was a banner year for the judging-based Super Bowl of the adrenaline-fueled freeride scene, which broke event attendance records and drew all-time-high number of riders to the famed chairlift-served Whistler Mountain Bike Park.

But riding in British Columbia is not the sole realm of Red Bull-swigging teenagers wearing full-face helmets and riding 40-pound freeride bikes. This year also marked the debut of the B.C. Bike Race, a seven-day cross-country epic that led an international field of riders on a testing 300-mile journey from the southern tip of Vancouver Island up into the mountains around Whistler.

Together these two events shined a bright light on BC's stunning variety of mountain biking terrain. Whether you're looking for skill-building beginner singletrack or a courage-testing expert adventure, British Columbia is a must to-do on any mountain biker's life list.

Here's an insider's look at six of the province's top riding destinations, all within a daytrip of cosmopolitan Vancouver, the country's third largest city.