The dream: To launch down massive mountains with nothing but two wheels and a lot of moxie
Go to: British Columbia
And enroll at: Whistler Mountain Bike Park

If hard-core mountain bikers could design their afterworld, it would probably look something like Whistler's Mountain Bike Park, with 124 miles of lift-served singletrack snaking through the coastal forest of British Columbia. (It would probably have endless beer and free nachos and stuff, too. Can't always get what you want.) Waiting at the entrance to this heavenly land are the gatekeepers of Whistler Bike, who can teach every level of rider the tricks of fat-tire fun. Newbies pick up knobby-tired basics at the three-hour Magic Chair clinics; women roll along the three-day Spokeswomen camps; and armor-clad downhillers storm through six-day Summer Gravity camps. Soak saddle sores in the hot tub at the Adara, a new boutique hotel nearby. Going back to reality afterward? Now that's hell.
Magic Chair clinic, $89; Spokeswomen camp, $354; Summer Gravity camp, $1,949. Rates include guide, lift ticket, and rentals. Double rooms at the Adara Hotel, $179

Whistler Mountain Bike Park
Tel: 866 218 9690

Adara Hotel
Tel: 604 905 4009