Big Bikes Rock!!

Last week I rode my Rune. It's a solid 6x6 bike that climbs well and rips on the downhill. Today I rode basically the same trails I did last week, but this time I was on my Legend MkII and what a difference the bike made on the downhill.

The ride started around 8 am where I met up with Curtis and Mark where we started the push up tot he top. Pedaling the Legend just isn't in the cards and Curtis doesn't really like to pedal, so we chatted during the push to Cabin Trail. There was a little less snow on the road this week compared to last week which means I can soon start doing some epically long rides into the wilderness.

The three of us (along with Mark's dog) rode Cabin Trail down to Snakes and Ladders. We then stopped for a few minutes to fix a section of trail that was in need of a little repair. Once we were done, we finished riding the trail and pedaled over to Bloggy Style. However on our way to Bloggy, we made a little pit-stop to check out a new line that someone has started working on. This trail is unsanctioned and work needs to be stopped. Fortunately for me when I walked down the trail there were two guys working on the line. I basically told them the reasons why they needed to stop building and about the options they had if they want to work on trails in The Woodlot. Hopefully they will stop building and remove their tools. If they follow my advice, I'll be able to get them working on another trail and show them some better trail building techniques.

Curtis, Mark and I then headed up to Bloggy Style where I put my helmet camera on and chased them down the trails.

The good times were topped off with a beer at the cars.

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.

Rockin on Giant Killer

My ride today took me to the Woodlot where as part of my ride I decided I was going to work on rocking the top part of Giant Killer.

Today I chose to ride my pedlally bike (Trance) and made my way up to the top. I started my ride on Karpenter and then down Blood Donor. Though the Trance is capable of taking on these trails, riding the trails at speed is a little hairy on a bike that is kind of meant for XCish riding.

Once at the top of Giant Killer, I surveyed the area to see what I wanted to get completed which extended what Ryan had started a few days earlier. I then gathered the tools and went to work laying rocks and dirt in place. In no time at all I was done the work I wanted to do for the day so I packed up the tools and snapped the photos below to see what I had completed.

The section rides a 1000 times better and should last a long time. After riding the rest of Giant Killer I hit Bloggy and then Shotgun were I hit the jump near the end of the trail a little too fast and aired way past the landing.

It was a super productive day of building and a good rip to finish it off.

Death to Gordon!!

Such a wicked ride! The day started with a pedal up to Blood Donor and then a mellow rip down to Giant Kiler and a traverese over to Snakes and Ladders.

Today I finished off the apporach to the bridge that I have been repairing and began some of the clean-up of the area. All I really need to do is trim the edges of the bridge, but I ran out of gas for my chainsaw, so finishing it off just wasn't in the cards.

Steve after a couple rounds of chemo.

As I was finishing up, I was greeted by a whole pile of riders. Craig and Jeff came down with Steve Sheldon and his nasty tumor Gordon. Steve is in the middle of chemotherapy to treat a tumor he has in his chest that he has called Gordon. Words cannot begin to describe how much life he brings with him wherever he goes and to see him enjoying a ride made my day.

Another group of 9 riders showed up and in total there were 12 people mulling around at the bridge. So as not to miss an oportunity, I put them to work moving some HUGE watersoaked logs that were in the way of where I was building. Once all the logs were moved the Steve and the other riders continued on down the trail.

Riders finally crossing the fixed bridge.

All it needs is a trim.

I finished cleaning up the tools and then headed down to Shotgun and home.

Death to Gordon!!!

Winter Drainage Work

10am at the Woodlot. I meet up with Ryan and we head up to look at the entrance of Giant Killer to determine how to handle the issue of water flowing down the trail when ever there is heavy rainfall.

On our way up we fixed a few quick spots on the trail and then at the top we discussed some options and went to work on the most appropriate solution to the problem. In no time at all, it was fixed. A HUGE drain was put in as well as a grade reversal/damn to stop water and make sure it flows where we want it to.

After the water control was complete, we discussed how to fix the current state of the rooty mess at the beginning of the trail. My guess is that after a couple days worth of rock work, the trail will gain its flow back and you'll be able to ride the first section of the trail without any worries of going down on a root.

By the time we had finished the drain and the other little stuff we were both soaked to the bone from the heavy rainfall and were getting cold pretty quick. It didn't take up long to decided we'd just ride down Giant Killer, Bloggy and Shotgun to our vehicles.

I'm glad we were able to get the drainage work complete so that now the real rock work can be installed at the top of the trail. It's been a long time coming but should be well worth the wait.

Slushy Mucky Shore

I was out in the North Van area to drop off my shock (Rune) for servicing. Being that I'm not out here all that often and I had a few hours to kill, I decided to go for a ride up Fromme. I'd heard that the snow level was pretty low but it didn't deter me from having a go on Fromme.

Basically the snow starts at the 2nd gate at the water towers and once you hit the first switch-back you have to walk due to ZERO traction. Lately Bobsled has seen a lot of attention and was rebuilt to be a north shore DH pump track. I figured what better time to give it a go than in the snow, on my little Trance, with clipless pedals. One thing is for sure, this trail is a total hoot. Lots of twists and turn and many places to pop and boost for a little added fun. I did however have a bail of enormous proportions off a bridge. It involved a big wedge of ice diagonally across the trail in a corner before a bridge that just doesn't quite line up. I knew as I blindly came around the corner that I was going down. I was just lucky I picked a soft spot to land.

With my bail under my belt and the trail over, I climbed a little further up to ride Natural High which was a load of fun and then I rode a trail I'd never really noticed before Imonator which I'd refer to as an old school skinny wood laden trail that was a load of fun to ride but a real eye opener with clipless pedals. Next time I'm wearing flats when I ride that trail. I know Rob would love to ride this trail.

From there it hooks up to Baden Powell and then out to my car. I was soaked to the bone from the rain and covered with a bit of mud from my bail on Bobsled, but I had a smile on my face having just rode two new trails.

Good times on the slushy mucky shore.

Mucky fun

The weather today started off rather nice: overcast and a little bit of wind. I was free in the late afternoon, so I decided to hit The Woodlot on my Legend.

There weren't really any indications of snow down low on the hill, but once I was a third of the way up the snow and slush appeared on the climb. I decided to avoid the inevitable death march through the snow that would greet me at the powerlines so I climbed to Blood Donor.

At Donor I started my descent with few patches of snow here and there in the corners which made for a few exciting corner drifts as I negotiated the upper part of the trail. Given that there had been a lot of wind lately, I was pleasantly surprised there weren't any blow downs on the trail at all.

I then stopped at the top of Giant Killer to have a look at a few 'problem areas' that I hope to be able to address with Ryan in the coming weeks. Apart fromthe very top of Giant Killer I'd say the trails has not been in this good of shape for MANY years. The trail has seen a fair amount of drainage work and sculpting that has made the trail gain back the flow it's lacked for quite some time. I was truly impressed the work that has been done lately.

I then made my way over to Snakes and Ladders and along the way it began to rain. I guess the gods knew I intended to do some trail work and deserved to be rained on. I rode down the to bridge that was broken a few weeks ago and began working on bracing the bridge I had built. Due to the length of the span this bridge covers and the lack of large diameter stringers available, I had to used mid size wood for the bridge. These mid size stringers flex a little too much for my peace of mind, so I put in a large brace near the center of the span. The bridge is now solid as a rock and only needs a hour or so to finish the approach and clean-up and it will be open for business.

The remainder of Snakes is in okay shape and really only needs a little little raking and TLC to be buff once again. Considering I have not needed to touch the trail for close to a year I'd say I am quite pleased. Next time I come up, I need to bring some gas, bar oil and a chain file for my saw and a few trail supplies (nails and a rake).

The ride down Shotgun was a drift fest for me. I seem to have picked up a few corner techniques that is allowing me to ride a lot faster in turns and drift my bike trough the corners with a little more confidence.

Good times in the wet muck.

Escape to the snow

I managed to sneak out for a quick rip today. I had a very small window of time where I had no commitments, so I grabbed my pedally bike (Trance) and quickly drove to Maple Ridge park. I pedaled from the park into Golden Ears park via the horse trails and up towards Mike Lake.

For the first time ever I forgot my hydration pack. This goes to show just how big of a rush I was to get out and ride (either that or I was just so excited to ride). Fortunately I had a spare set of gloves and a toque in my car for the ride. The climb was rather pleasant and I rode at an easy pace. After a while I ran into more and more snow on the trail until it became a real pain to ride on, so at that point I turned my bike around and headed home.

It took me next to no time to get back to my car and back to reality. Start to finish my ride was an hour and a half. I felt refreshed and ready to get back to the grind.