Spring has Sprung

Spring seems to have finally sprung around here. We've had the coldest and wettest spring on record this year so when the sun was shining today I was ecstatic that I was able to get out and ride wearing only a t-shirt and not my typical thermal layers plus a jacket and a toque.

Several weeks ago I had fixed a bridge on Snakes and Ladders that sustained some damage from a fallen tree. Until today I had not had time to clean up some of the mess in the area or trim the edges of the bridge to give it the finished look. So with my pack loaded with building supplies, I made my way to the bridge and went straight to work finishing it off. Once the bridge was trimmed, I started dragging the old broken pieces away into the forest. Luck for me, three guys rolled up the offered to help me move the heavy stuff. Without their help this work would have taken much longer so their help was really appreciated.

Before and after.

After things were cleaned up, I pushed my bike up the trail and back up to the skidder road. I then pedaled up the road where I met up with a big group of riders that I have known for several years now. We were all headed to the same trail, so I joined their crew for the remainder of the climb.

Once we hit the powerlines there was little snow here and there in the shade, but nothing that stopped us from enjoying the ride.

I rode with the group down Cabin Trail but then split off at the powerlines to ride Snakes and Ladders and then Shotgun.

The weather today was amazing and it was great to do some trail work and get in a nice ride with some fellow riders.

Caution is Mandatory

I hit the Woodlot for a quick ride today on my Rune. I pedaled up to Karpenter which is running really well especially considering the wet weather we've had lately.

I then hit Mandatory Caution. It's been a few months since I last rode Mandatory with Brody and was I ever in for a pleasant surprise. Brody and Craig have been busy on the trail building lots of fun hits scattered along the trail. I wasn't feeling 100% on my game so I skipped a few of the bigger hits, but the trail oozes with flow and fun.

It was then a quick ride over to Snakes and Ladders and finally Shotgun.

Great ride today and a bast to hit some new stuff on Mandatory Caution.

FVMBA Sumas Super-D Toonie Race

Today I took part Fraser Valley Mountain Bikers Association Sumas Toonie Race.

The race consisted of a quick climb up a logging road, and then a descent down some sweet single-track and then another climb and another fun descent.

When I arrive I was greeted by the race organizers and volunteers that make the race happen. There were a lot of familiar faces and I talked with a bunch of people I've met over the years while involved in biking and trail building. Dave showed up and he shuttled a few of us lazy ones to the start line where we did a quick pre-run of the upper course. My knee has been feeling like crap lately so my took it easy and cruised on the pre-run.

Once all the racers were in place, the race officials released racers in packs of 15 in 5 minute intervals to keep the trail congestion at a minimum. I was in the first pack and headed out up the course. My results were somewhat what I expected…….near the back of the pack. I’m out of shape, haven’t been riding very hard and I have a badly torn meniscus, posterior cruciate ligament and anterior cruciate ligament. Needless to say I am happy I’m still able to ride but my ability to haul ass on the climbs is lacking in a BIG way.

Dave attended the race to take photos of the racers and once again he didn’t let us down. He picked a nice spot in the downhill section of the race where people are a little tired but still generally pinning it a rocky section. The photo below was taken by Dave http://www.davemackie.ca/

After the race Dave snapped a shot of me sporting the FVMBA colors.

My trusty steed all muddy after the race.