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Katie Burrell takes a hilarious look at the highs – and lows – of dating mountain bikers

What happens when riding partners become romantic partners?

Katie Burrell is a Revelstoke, B.C.-based comedian that’s made a name for herself lovingly mocking the ski industry from the inside. Her movies, Coach, Influencer, Dream Job and the pandemic-era ski town RomCom, Sitll Solo, have earned cult status and wide praise for humorously pointing out some less-than-perfect parts of life in the outdoor industry.

If you’ve been to Revelstoke, you know the trails are just as good in the summer as the powder is in winter. Turns out mountain biking is a pretty easy target, too. Burrell’s series of short clips dives into the space where dating crashes into mountain biking.

Burrell digs into the highs, lows, and funny-in-retrospect moments that happen when you try make a romantic partner a riding partner. Especially when one of those partners might be a more experienced rider than the other.

The quartet of short videos originally aired on Burrell’s hilarious Instagram last summer. Each video skewers a different stage in the timeline of a combined mountain bike and romantic relationship. From courtship to locked down and “when it’s maybe time to start biking with other people.” There’s also two bonus stories taking viewers behind the scenes and telling the “inspirational story” of the comedian/influencer/professional leisure athlete.

Six months later, they’re still a great cautionary tale for anyone considering mixing brake rotors and roses this Valentines Day. Watch all the videos below, then pick your V-Day date plans accordingly:

Then again, many of Canada’s fastest mountain bikers are couples, like Haley Smith and Andrew L’Esperance, or Remi Gauvin and Miranda Miller. So maybe life partner and riding partner can work out, after all.