Snowy Farewell

So this morning was my last ride before Depot. Tim, Rob, Dave and I hit The Woodlot.

Rob picked me up bright and early in the morning and we were greeted with little bit of falling snow when we arrived.

Nobody was all that eager to go all the way to the top today.....each of us was super mellow in our own ways. I was on my hard tail because I had given Rob the shock on my Heckler to use while I was away. We made it up to Tsuga and decided this was where we would begin the descent.

Tsuga was sweet. It was wet but the trail was draining well and there were not issues of fallen trees or anything so we all just had fun.



Snakes and Ladders was a rip with the 4 of us riding in a pack. Over to Hoots and we all paused for a quick photo and then down the trail it was.

The boys in the snow: Dean, Rob, Dave, Tim

Riding the open area of the trail with snow on the trail was a total hoot....on Hoots.

Shotgun was once again a total blast and out to the cars it was. This was a really short ride but some of the guys needed to get going home a little early. It was great getting a little send off at The Woodlot from my buds.

Tim and Rob came over to my place for a few minutes and a quick beer and to get a few bike parts n tools to use in my absence.

I look forward to when we can all ride together again.

The Cedar Surprise

Well today was a bit of an escape ride for me. My life is really hectic right now and I am leaving town soon for a while so I figured I would get out all by myself on the hardtail and ride where ever my wheels take me.

On the way up I had a quick look on Quickhit to see that Tim had cleared a large fallen tree from across the trail.

A nice clear trail

I had been hearing of a trail up in the woods here for a while now and have never seemed to find it. Triple H. Apparently Digger built it at some time up at The Woodlot, but I have personally never seen it. So I went looking.

I have always been curious about where the heck the trail on the opposite side of the road to where you turn into Platinum goes. I have seen tracks come from there, so I decided that was where I would have a look. It was an old abandoned dirt bike trail that lead to a skidder road that definitely leads somewhere, but I did not have the time to go looking too long. The area that I went to turned out to be a plateau and there was nearly zero elevation change so I had a pretty good idea that there was no trail where I was looking. One day I will find it. I just have to ask the right people.

Once I turned around and headed back to the skidder road and then back along to Karpenter I ran into a group of guys heading to Platinum that asked if I was lost. After a brief explanation I was on my way to Karpenter. Given how wet it was, Karpenter was a ton of fun. Then Blood Donor and over to Lower Toadstool.

I then rode Snakes and Ladders and could not wait to ride what Tim, Rob and I had built recently, but was I in for a surprise. Timmy had been up to the trail during the week and extended the woodwork. Nothing but cedar sweetness.

A cedar snake

mmmm cedar

cedar extension - by Tim

The finishing touch

Running on cedar

I finished my ride on Shotgun and out to the car.

I love surprises.

Do you smell bacon?

Today was a ride with my two main riding buddies; Rob and Tim. We hit our local riding spot....again and had a great time. Our route on this really fine day was Krazy Karpenter, Upper Toadstool, Lower Toadstool, Snakes and Ladders and finally Shotgun. On the way up we noticed someone had wrote a nice message on the end of a log that had been removed across the trail.

Thanks

The weather was sweet today with the sun shining and a little snow left at the top.

Sweet view

The snow is almost gone

Rob and Tim on the last part of the push

The 3 Amigos

I was riding my Ollie today; I felt like riding with a whole lotta cush under my tush. The ground was dry in the woods and the woodwork was super grippy so we were all happy with the riding conditions. Once we finished Krazy Karpenter and were on Upper Toadstool my phone started ringing in my back pack so I stopped to answer it. It was my wife telling me I needed to call someone back about some important information I was expecting. I made the call and it turned out I got the call for Depot. I gave out a big WHOO HOOO and rode the rest of my ride on a big, BIG high.

To be honest I don't even remember the rest of the ride as I my mind was consumed by what lies ahead of me. I was scheduled to leave for Depot on February 25, 2007.

100% Flowing Cedar

On this fine chilly day in February, Rob, Tim and I took a day off from our regular jobs to do a some work on our favorite trail of all....Snakes and Ladders. Rob picked me up at my place at 7:30am. He borrowed my hard tail because he had a flat on his hard tail and the shock on his Heckler decided it had had enough and died on our last ride in the snow. I was on my Heckler and with me I had a chainsaw that my fine buddy Pete lent to us so that we could do some serious cutting of logs today.

A Husqvarna 359 (3.9Hp, 59cc, 20" bar) Sweetness!!

So after the short drive from my place to the Woodlot, Rob and I loaded up our packs with nails and gas and other necessities for the day ahead. As we there just departing up the hill, three guys pulled up on big bikes that were taking advantage of the stunning weather we were having today.

I must say that my pack was ridiculously bulky and heavy. I had my normal gear with me that consisted of my Dakine Nomad pack with my full face helmet, tools, leg and arm armour, 2L of water, but on top of that I also had the saw, 6 pounds of 10" & 12" spikes, 2L of gas, a bottle of bar oil and a few tools for the saw. I would have gladly paid for a Sherpa today but I put my nose down to the grinding stone and toughed it out.

We made our way to Quick Hit to see about some trees that had fallen across the trail. It turned out that they were some rather significant trees that will require a fair bit of time and a good saw to remove. We decided to leave them for today because our focus was Snakes and Ladders and these fallen trees would only delay any progress that would be made on Snakes.

So back down the road we went to the bottom of Snakes and Ladders. With all the gear we were carrying and the location we were working on today it was far easier to access the trail from the bottom. I could only push my bike up about 50m before I had to leave my bike and just hike my pack up and come back for the Heckler later. At the top I left my pack, looked at the area we were going to be building in and then went to get my bike. I have found that planning what you are going to be building for the day in your head well in advance of the build save a great deal of time and also give you a focus on what needs to be done. In my brief survey of the area I could see that we were going to need a lot of rung and a few more stringers for today's build.

After I retrieved my bike from the lower part of the trail I went back to my pack to unload the saw and get my camera to snap a few pictures. In no time at all Tim showed up riding down the trail so I snapped a quick picture of him riding by.

Tim riding to the build early in the morning.

After we gathered the tools for today's build we hiked up the hill a little ways to start bucking up some large fallen trees that would be used as rung for the bridge. The Husky saw that I brought turn out to be a real monster and ripped through the logs with total ease. After getting 5 or 6 big chunks cut on on log, Tim went to work splitting the wood into rung while Rob and I found another log a little ways away. Fortunately for us this area is wood and rock rich which makes building a lot easier. Rob and I cut 5 or 6 more chunks out of a huge fallen tree and then worked together to split the rung. In no time at all we had all the rung we would need for the day. As the 3 of us were tossing the rung down to the trail, the three guys that Rob and I saw in the parking lot were now coming down the trail. It is common trail etiquette to stop and offer help to anyone building on a trail, but it seemed as though these guys weren't up to speed on this idea. So as they rode through and stopped at the ladder down I kinda yelled in their direction to ask if they could help for a few minutes. They came back to us, picked up a handful of rung each and were on their way in no time at all. Tim, Rob and myself were somewhat amazed that they were really going to just roll through without saying thanks or lending a hand but I asked, they helped and all is good in the universe.

The layout of this bridge was absolutely critical to keeping the flow and speed of this section of trail. We spent at least half an hour figuring out angles and camber on the turns for this bridge and in the end we were pretty happy with the results. Once Tim did his traditional trimming magic the new ladder was ready to ride. You are now able to carry a fair amount of speed over what used to be a very wet muddy section of trail while enjoying a flowing bridge section.

The before shot and the finished product.

A little camber here and there of 100% Cedar

Looking back up the newly finished product.

So when we were finished building for the day we decided that we would push up the trail a little ways to get in a bit of a ride before heading home. We made our way to the wooden berm, turned around and the 3 Amigos were ripping Snakes once again. We stopped briefly at the new ladder to pick up the chainsaw and were on our way down to Shotgun in no time at all.

Rob volunteered to carry that saw down in my pack so I was free to ride at a good pace with Tim on my heels. Shotgun was a hoot and at the cars we cracked open a beer and toasted to a great build and ride.

Forgot my snowshoes

Rob and I decided that today was the day we were going to venture to The Woodlot and have a close look at the top of the hill to determine how much snow there was at the 'peak'.

We arrived at 7:30am and were completely prepared for a day in the snow with our bikes. Lots of layered clothing, good boots with gaiters and something warm on our heads. Slow and steady was our plan to get to the top. We weren't in any race and there was no need to get over heated during the climb. As we left our cars to start the climb, another group or early morning riders pulled up ready to ride. during the first part of the climb we were met with about 4 inches of wet crunchy snow and a layer of slush beneath. This was not the sweet light fluffy stuff of last week, but it could have been much worse. Once at the flat section of the climb I was expecting to easily be able to pedal, but the snow was not cooperating and the pedal up was far more work than expected.

Once Rob and I were at Quick Hit we could see that one of the guys in the truck that arrived when we were starting the climb had caught up with us...but without a bike. He was a rider that injured himself last year and is still recovering from a broken neck so he hikes while his buddies ride. At his pace he was easily able to keep ahead of his friends on the climb and on the descent he is able to keep up to his buds in almost all situations. After a brief chat Rob and I depart up the hill. The further up we went, the more snow there was. From what we could tell there had not been any other riders up the hill at all, just hikers in the snow. A good way up the climb in the trees the hiker caught us again so we stopped to have a chat and his buddies on bikes then caught and past us on their way to Tsuga. We were standing there talking so long that we each began to get a little chilly and decided it would be wise to start moving again before we froze.

Onward and upwards it was for what seemed like forever. At Tsuga the snow was starting to get ridiculous with a bike. At the power lines we were seriously considering turning around and riding down the road, but we had come that far so we pushed on. With more than 2 feet of snow at the power lines it was impossible to push the bikes in the snow. It was now time to carry our bikes on our shoulders. So with our gear and helmets on our packs we slung our bikes over our shoulders and marched up the hill.

Rob with his bike on his shoulder.

Me with my bike on my shoulder.

Deep snow.

The picture above somewhat shows the depth of the snow on the climb. All kidding aside, we should have been using snow shoes.

Rob posing doing a One Footer Lander

Rob posing doing a No Hander Lander

As we neared the top of the climb at the power lines it was like mother nature knew exactly when to let the snow fly. The timing of the snow made the last bit of the climb seem like the climax of an epic arctic movie. We didn't pause long at the top and ducked into the trees to get on Krazy Karpenter right away. Once geared up we began the decent / walk on our bikes. The snow was deep, really deep and really heavy so on all but the steepest sections at the top of the trail we were obligated to get off our bikes and walk down a good portion of the trail. Once we made it to Upper Toadstool we were actually able to ride some of the trail and pedal. There was far less snow at this point on the hill, but there was still too much to really ride.

Once at Lower Toadstool we were really able to 'ride'. The trail was is great shape with only a few inches of snow on the line so riding it was wicked. On the bottom third of the trail we met up with Greg and Denise who were out building a new ladder section to enable people to ride over a wet area on the trail. We chatted for a bit and then made our way down to the road.

At the road we realised that Rob had a problem with his bike. His shock was blown and had no control through compression or rebound. He was riding a pogo stick. So to be safe and use our time wisely we rode down the road and down to Shotgun. At the trail head of Shotgun I ran into a guy (Marcus) and his buddy that had contacted me earlier in the week about trail conditions. We passed on the info about the trails (ride the lower ones only) and ducked into Shotgun.

Shogun was a blast all the way to the clear cut. In the clear-cut section the snow really sucked as it was wet and heavy and virtually impossible to 'flow'. However once we were back in the trees that trail was saweeeet! The gap over the log was a sketchy move on my part with the slick conditions, but I nailed it as smooth as silk. A little bit of pedalling and we were at our cars.

After changing clothes and warming up the cars I remembered that I had a little gift for Rob. 2 weeks ago he and I made a bet that I lost so I owed him a 6 pack. Out of my trunk I pulled out an ice cold 6 pack of Prince George's finest TNT beer so we cracked one each and toasted our adventure in the snow.

The pursuit of fresh tracks

My ride started in the late morning around 8:30am. When I arrived my car was the only one in the parking area and I had the hill all to myself. After putting on the appropriate clothing for a good long hike and ride in the snow, I was on my way up the hill. After a close look at the tracks in the snow going up the first section of the hill I could tell that I was the first person to bring his bike to the Woodlot since the snow started falling earlier in the week.

Even though the snow was quite deep (12+ inches) it was perfect to hike in. It was very light and dry. The first part of the hike up wasn't bad at all however when I reached the first flatter section of the climb where it is usually an easy pedal I was not able to pedal at all because the snow was so deep. At that point I prepared myself mentally for a long arduous push.

I was pleasantly surprised once I reached the intersection of the skidder roads. There had been an excavator and trucks on the road to clear the fallen trees on the road so there was a nice compact ribbon of snow for me to pedal up on. This ribbon of snow was my friend all the way to Quick Hit where it looks like the work on the road stopped and there were only a few sets of footprints in the snow from there. In the clear cut just past Quick hit the opening in the forest affords you a beautiful view of Mount Baker on a clear day. I paused for a minute to snap a photo before I continued on.

Mount Baker in the snow.

So onward and upward I went into the forest following the tracks of what looked like 2 hikers and a dog. Once I was at the corner where you can turn off to Snakes and Ladder the tracks veered off and the hikers must have taken that route. From that point mine were the only human tracks on the skidder path up. Even in the trees there was a good 10-12 inches of snow but the conditions of the snow were ideal for the climb. It was by no means an easy climb and I earned every inch of vertical on this fine day.

Looking back at my fresh tracks climbing the hill.

It is amazing the number of animal foot prints you see can see in the snow if you look carefully enough. There were tracks from deer, coyotes, rabbits and mice running all over the trail. and fortunately for me I did not see any bear or cougar tracks.

My trusty steed.

At the top of my climb (the top of Upper Toadstool) I paused to snap a shot of my bike perched on a mound of snow. I must say that my Heckler has surprised from the day I bought it. It had easily been the funnest everyday bike I have ever ridden. Every time I ride it I have an absolute blast and it has made it very hard for me to ride any of my other bikes.

So down Toadstool I went kicking up the fluffy white stuff, grabbing a handful of rear brake and drifting through the corners. I just love the snow. The signature feature of Upper Toadstool is the long log-ride about mid way down the trail. I was able to ride up the ramp and along about 10 feet of the log before the laws of physics that govern traction took over and I just slipped off the log completely. I then chose to ride the squid line around the log which is actually quite fun. A few turns later there is a 4 foot drop to tranny that is wicked in the dry or wet but I had never had the pleasure of trying it in the snow. So I figured no better time than now and nailed it smooth as silk. Nothing big, but so much fun in the snow. Very soon after this drop is the end of Upper Toadstool and the beginning of Lower Toadstool. Once on the trail I was soon stopped by a fallen tree which I had to removed from the trail before I could continue. Lower Toadstool is a fun, flowy all natural rip that has seen some recent work by Greg and Denise. The lower section that was a real eye sore has been re-routed with quick switchbacks that flow well and add a bit of fun in the fern lined rain forest. From what I could tell, I was the first person to ride this newly build bridge.

A new built bridge on Lower Toadstool.

Fresh tracks across a bridge are something sacred so I really hope nobody takes offence to me riding this sweet new addition to the trail. A few more turns on the trail and I was on my way over to Hoots. It had been some time since I last rode Hoots but it is a trail that I have liked since my first time at The Woodlot. In the clearcut section I had one of those WTF just happened moments. I was scooting along at a good pace and suddenly I am flying over my bars into the snow head first. I look back and I can see a branch that is now peeking out of the snow that had broke off a tree in the windstorms and landed across the trail. Then snow fell on the branch camouflaging it from my view. I had zero warning about its location but face full of snow is always good for a laugh.

The rest of Hoots was wicked. I did stop twice to cut out some fallen trees on the trail, but the trail was as fun as ever.

Once at the bottom it was a nice easy pedal up to Shotgun and as aways it was a fun rip. I did notice that a VERY large tree had fallen next to the trail and its 10 foot root ball may force a little work to be performed on the trail. Once at the parking area I loaded up my bike and drove home thoroughly exhausted.

I have completely understand why back country skiers and snowboarders are always in the pursuit of fresh tracks in the snow. There really isn't any other feeling quite like it.

Chose your route wisely

First ride of 2007 took place at....The Woodlot 8:00am, snow ride. Rob, Dave and I decided that we would get out in the cool weather and head to the top of The Woodlot in a bit of snow for an early morning ride. We were easily the first ones up the hill and once again we made fresh tracks in the snow that had fallen the night before. Last night there had been another large wind and rain/snow storm and we were expecting to be met with allot of fallen trees on the trail. As a precaution I brought my small axe and folding saw to remove any trees that we would encounter on the ride.

The route that was chosen by Rob was Cabin Trail, Snakes and Ladders and finally Shotgun. To get to the top we decided that it would be much easier to hike up Cabin Trail rather than access it from the top. So up past the entrance to Snakes and Ladders we went. We stopped on Snakes to clear one fallen tree near the top of the trail and then continued on up the hill. The nice thing about hiking up a trail is that you can clear all the fallen trees on the way up and ride down in relative comfort.

Once we reached the power lines it was soon apparent that we had likely picked the wrong riding route today. At the power lines there was at least 14" of snow with a hard crust on the top that couldn't quite hold your weight while walking on it. However the view was spectacular with the sun shining and a clear blue sky. So we crossed the power line section and made our way back into the snow covered forest and proceeded up the hill. The push was anything but easy and we stopped multiple times to cut out fallen trees and remove debris from the trail.

Cabin Trail also known as Goldmine was given these names because there really are Cabins on the trail and there is a real goldmine with a shaft that you could descend into if you are daring enough. As we pushed up the hill Dave looked up and low and behold.....a Cabin. His were to the effect of,"...............so there really are cabins on this trail!". I had passed these so many times that I thought everyone knew that there are real abandoned gold miner cabins off the trail. So for Dave's sake we stopped to have a look at the cabin.

It wasn't too long after the stop at the Cabin that we decided that we had all had enough of this brutal climb in the snow and that we would turn around and start our ride down. Rob guessed that it was around 10:30am and I guessed it was 9:30am so we bet a 6 pack of beer........Rob won. I was shocked that we had been going for close to 2 ½ hours. So once we were geared up we started our descent, our slow, get off your bike and push unless it is steep descent. This was the first time that a snow ride actually sucked. The snow was not very conducive to riding on anything but a steep downward slope. I was shocked at how hard it was to ride down the hill and lets just say I will never get used to pushing my bike down hill.

Once we were out of the forest and back under the power lines the ride changed for the better. There was noticeably less snow on the other side and the trails have a steeper slope to them so gravity and momentum were now starting to work on our side.

The 3 of us rode to the entrance to Snakes and Ladders and proceeded down the snow laden trail to the rock drop section. Neither Rob or Dave thought I was actually going to do it in the snow but it was actually easier than in the dry. The snow actually helped to slow down the descent on the wood ladder. Further down the trail there were a few fallen trees but everything was able to be cleared by hand.

At the long log ride there was very little snow and the actual log planked section was free and clear of snow so it was a smooth blast down the ramp along the trail. Down the rock faces we went and a short stop at the new ladder section to discuss what exactly we have planned for this part of the trail. We all then made our way down and over to Shotgun.

As always almost nothing bad can be said about Shotgun. Such a great trail that holds fun little hits everywhere and sections to pump and pop off of everywhere. At the cars we discussed the dismal ride on Cabin Trail but grinned about the ride on Snakes and Ladders and Shotgun.

Next time we will pick a better route.

Redemption on Mount Fromme

Today the venue was Mount Fromme. I arrived at 7:45am and within 5 minutes I was on my way up the road to climb to the top. Along Mountain Highway I passed a couple other guys but for once in my life my pace was higher than someone else and I never saw them again on the climb. There is something different about riding Mount Fromme solo, it is like the rider vs the ominous mountain. I think this is what draws me back from time to time.

The climb up was not bad at all. The temperature was chilly but not cold. I was not raining but there had been some snowfall over night the snow on the road started at the water tower. Once again I was getting fresh tracks in the snow on the way up as I was the first one climbing for the day. It was only at the end of the 6th switchback and the end of the 7th switchback where the snow was too deep to pedal and I had to get off my bike to push. Once at the 7th Secret I geared up and started the descent on the snow laden trail. Of all the trails I have ever ridden, 7th is by far the most suited for a snow ride. It is as if the trail was designed for riding in the snow. The sweet slippery flow lasted the length of this magnificent piece of trail work. Fun, fun, fun as always. After 7th it was up the road to Oil Can. Oil Can had seen some work over the last year by the NSMBA to bring it up to the high standards that are expected of trails nowadays. I had only ridden this trail once before on Remembrance Day '06 but it was so much fun that I decided to give it another run. Sweet easy loamy flow, 4 words that describe this trail perfectly.

After Oil Can it was a quick traverse on the Baden Powell trail to get to the top of Boundary. The last time I rode Boundary I destroyed my rear wheel on a beautiful feature at the top of the trail so one could say that this was the redemption run.

The stunt in question is at the top of the trail and involves a couple wet slick narrow ladders that need to be negotiated perfectly to lead into the steep down ramp.

Photo by: Doug Chinnery

Well all went well today, I admit I was nervous but the outcome was favorable (in my favor). The rest of the trail involves many steep rock faces that are linked by narrow sloped ladders that require 100% concentration or you go for a ride on your butt. Today I was on and everything seemed to come together for me. The trail is spilt up into sections and at one junction you have a choice of going left or right, well I chose the wrong direction at a particular junction and headed off on my way to Digger. Well this wrong turn in the end seems like the right turn because I ran into the builder of Boundary. Karen is the sole builder on of Boundary and does an absolutely stellar job at it. I would say we chatted for a good 15 minutes about this and that but in the end I needed get home and she wanted to get to work on her trail. This lady does masterful work and deserves a huge amount of recognition for her efforts.....and she rides it on a hard tail!!!!

Once I was back on the right track I made quick work of the rest of Boundary because I was now behind schedule due to the longer climb in the snow and chat with Karen. Once I was on road I climbed up the road at a good pace and descended to where I parked my car. Then it was the 40 minute drive home in Saturday morning traffic.

In summary I had a great solo ride with a quiet climb in the snow, a rip down frosty 7th Secret, a flowy run down Oil Can and I finally rode Boundary top to bottom, meeting the builder of the trail along the way. I don't really see a better way to end my '06 riding season than with this ride.

Biking Nirvana

Today's ride took place at the Woodlot. I had planned on hitting Fromme, but things didn't really work out for that, so I headed off to my local stomping ground instead. I figured I would head up to the top, ride down to Snakes and Ladder and build for a while but the building part didn't really materialize. I headed up at about 9:30am and I was the first biker to start the climb for the day.

Rather than just riding/pushing up the hill the regular route, I decided that I would go up Stove-top and then continue up to Krazy Karpenter once I reached the road. Well going up Stove-top was a big mistake. The recent storms had brought down a lot of trees on it. Someone had gone along and cut most of the fallen trees, but they did not clear them off the line. This saves a lot of time while cutting, but makes the first climber work for his ride. It seems as though I was the first climber. I'd say I cleared 10 or so trees before I simply got tired of getting off my bike so I just pushed up and over the rest of the trees. Clearing the trees added about half an hour to my ride so I was now a little pressed for time.

Once at the skidder I began the next part of the climb up by picking up the pace. Once I reached Tsuga I decided that Karpenter was going to take too much time so I began my descent on Tsuga. Cory had been busy on the trail clearing all the fallen trees so Tsuga was clear and I blasted along without worry. At the usual turn off to Snakes and Ladders there were 2 or 3 large trees that will need to be chain sawed out and then a few more on the connector. The next time the saw is up high on the trail these trees will be removed.

Sometimes when you ride a trail really often you get a feeling where you can relax and just let your bike guide you down the ribbon of dirt and wood, well today I had one of those moments on Snakes and Ladders. At the top of the trail I just let go of my brakes and let my bike be the guide. A wet slippy skinny cleaned without a worry, a drop without a care, a gap jump as smooth as silk. It was like I didn't even have to think......in other words: Biking Nirvana.

Once at the rock face I had a look at the condition of the ground and thought about what I could get done today and whether it was worth even trying to build. I decided that I would spend my time having a look around at other trails today rather than building. So to the bottom of Snakes I went and then I pedaled to an area of The Woodlot I have not been for quite a while. Lets just say that this line that I found has some okay bridges on it and should be a good 'All Mountain' flat line for those that want to venture on it. Of course there will be some harsh critics and yes some things could be better built but the line is there and all it needs is a little TLC and a day or so with a chain saw to remove fallen trees.

So I then made my way to Shotgun where I once again let go of the brakes and let her all hang out. My new brakes seem to be working alright but likely need one more ride to completely bed in.

Mmmmmmm, new brakes '07 Juicy 7s

Shotgun was a blast as always. I have never really thought about it before but the name 'Shotgun' really suits the trail. Having ridden the trail likely a couple hundred times I seem to know all the roots and rocks that hide on this trail, but as always when you least expect it one of them jumps out and bites you. I didn't go down, but it was close so I had a really good look at this root that seemed to have my name written all over it. Next time I will pay a little closer attention. Out to the car it was where a couple guys asked about conditions. All I could say is snow at the top and the wood is VERY slippy.

I had a great ride............Nirvana!!!

Everyone's Asleep.........TEST RIDE

Being the day after Boxing day and home for the holidays I figured I would get out every chance I got to ride. Yesterday I had bought some new brakes for my bike, some tires and some grips. I had everything installed by 5 pm....yesterday. I needed to take things for a test ride. So as soon as the kids were asleep for their naps today and the wife was laying down for a nap, she gave me the nod. Oh how I love the nod. I booked it down to the garage, put on my helmet and pedaled like hell to the trail at the end of the road.

New brakes need bedding in and heat needs to get into them before they work 100% so I knew not to expect much from my new binders but lets just say I was pleasantly surprised. I then headed down the hill to an area that I hope to one day build a sweet single-track line that would go for a couple kms before popping you out at a trail that leads to The Woodlot.

After a few kms of riding I turned around and headed home. I had my test ride and got my fix for the day. Best of all, when I arrived home and got upstairs everyone was still asleep.