Snow Ride

So today was the second ride on my new 2008 Banshee Rune. When I arrived at The Woodlot there were 2 other vehicles with the riders just getting ready to go for a spin the the snow. I recognized one of the guys as a regular at The Woodlot and we all decided to ride together in the snow. In the parking area there was about 6 inches of snow and once we hit the trail up, we realized that the whole ride up was going to be a push.

When we hit Quick Hit there were a few trees down across the road from heavy wet snow, so I got out my folding saw and we removed them. I think a few of the guys were resenting riding with me a bit because I stopped at every blown down tree that was on the trail to clear it.

It was soon clear that we were not going to get very high on the mountain today. The snow was just too deep and really heavy. Once we reached the turn off for Snakes and Ladders we decided that this was as high as we would go. Any higher just wouldn't be worth the effort. We paused briefly for a group shot and then I lead the surge down the trail.......well it wasn't quite a surge.

Group shot

There was allot of pushing involved because the snow was so deep, but closer to the bottom we were actually able to ride on the trail. On the road out at the bottom of Snakes there were a few fallen trees down which we were able to remove with a bit of muscle.

I then rode to Shotgun but the others rode Bloggy Style. The top section of Shotgun appeared to have been swept of most of the snow on the trail. I have no idea who did it but thank you to who ever went through the effort to make the trail more rideable.

I rode at a good pace in the snow down to my truck and packed up the bike to head home. There was one other person getting ready to go for a ride and I informed him of the rather lack luster conditions. All in all not the best ride as the last spin on my bike for 2007 but am sure looking forward to a new year on the trails.

Installation Lap: 2008 Banshee Rune

So I had been looking to get a new frame for the last couple months to replace my aging Heckler. Something new to get me up and down the hills. There were a few different bikes I had been looking at lately and when I was told I was going to be waiting quite a while for a particular frame (Norco Fluid LT) I decided it was time to look elsewhere. I happened to be on a popular website BB forum and noticed that Banshee had redone their website and as it turns out, the bike on the intro page of their site was just the bike I was looking for.

The 2008 Banshee RUNE. It offers the stand-over I am looking for, the travel I am looking for and the weight I am looking for. So I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a new frame without ever seeing the frame in person. I was very pleased when the frame arrived at my local shop (Maple Ridge Cycle) within 1 day from Banshee and I was really impressed by the fit and finish of the frame. It included an extra mech hanger, seat-post and a seat-post collar (plus a few extra pieces of swag.....t-shirt and stickers). As it turns out, I have the very first Rune purchased in North America.


The next day I stripped my trusty Heckler of all its parts and built up the Rune. When lifting the bike I could tell was noticeably lighter than the Heckler using the exact same build.



This then brings me to my ride today. I was at The Woodlot bright and early and I was the first one to ascend into the rain forest. My route up was the skidder to Stovetop to the powerlines and up to Krazy Karpenter.


I normally have a bit of a hard time climbing very first part of the hill because it is so steep and in the past the front of my Heckler tended to lift. On the Rune there was a noticeable difference. I was not fighting at all to keep the front end of the bike down which made the climb much easier. So from the get go I was impressed. The Heckler kind of bobs when you climb and you know when the suspension is moving up and down. With the Rune, the suspension is invisible. You don't really feel it moving at all. The trail is simply smoothed out without the suspension letting you know it is doing it's job.

On the Rune I chose to go with the Manitou ISX-6 Evolver rear shock. It is my first air shock and it likely will not be my last as I am really quite impressed with this shock. As my initial set-up, I went with 150psi in the main chamber, 75psi in the bottom out and set the high and low speed compression settings a little shy of wide open. The bike felt really good, but I know I can tune it to be better.

As I stated, the climb was much easier on this bike than my normal climb. Unfortunately half way up the hill I ran into snow on the trail that I really was not expecting. I say unfortunately because it began to get so deep that I had to dismount and push my bike as I neared the top. I paused to snap a few photos of my new steed and then began the descent on my new bike.





Krazy Karpenter was the trail where the true test for the bike was to happen. I was not disappointed at all. Plush is the word, super plush. In the past when I grabbed the brake on a descent I would feel the suspension stiffen and squat but on the Rune it simply floated over the gnarl of the trail. The bike was really snappy in tight corners between trees and over rocks. The head angle was just right for riding steep sections of trail without getting even a hint of a flip flop front end. The angles and mechanics of this frame are spectacular.

After Karpenter I rode Upper and Lower Toadstool and found that it railed the turns with ease. The Heckler sometimes felt like it would wash out on some corners where the Rune stayed hooked up and on line. The lower section of Lower Toadstool has tight smooth switchbacks that can cause problems with poor steering bikes. I had not an issue.

At the bottom of Lower Toadstool I raised the seat of the Rune and pedaled over to Snakes and Ladders. The climb, effortless, the descent, dreamy. Once again I stopped for a photo at the trail head and ripped the trail top to bottom taking my usual lines. This bike makes riding fast far easier and way more fun. On choppy sections the trail is smoothed over by the fluid suspension and because of that, you then ride faster and look farther and farther down the trail to pick the fastest line popping off any little rock or hit you can find.

On the last section of Snakes on the the new line there are 2 corners that when railed in succession give me a feeling of exhilarating because you get shot from one to the other. On the Rune this feeling of getting propelled out of the corners is amplified when compared to the other bikes I have ridden. It rails really well, especially in the tight spots.


I then headed to Shotgun where I ran into Ewan who was doing some maintenance on the trails. I said hello and I was on my way. Shotgun was a total hoot. Not a single complaint from the bike and not a single complaint from me about the bike. My initial impression of the bike is that I am blown away by how good it feels. It is light, snappy fast and smooth. I am really impressed with the performance of the bike right out of the box.

I am sure I will remain impressed with it in the future and I am sure I will get a lot of use out of my new bike.

Dark, wet, cold and a beer

So Tim and I hit The Woodlot tonight for a ride. There had been a little wet snow in the area, but I didn't really expect the slush that we encountered on the trails. In the parking area I was really glad that I had brought a good jacket as there was several inches of wet slushy snow on the ground.

Even in the rain the climb wasn't bad and on our way up we chatted about life in general. Riding has an effect on people, especially during the climb, you just seem to talk about things that are on your mind and actually mean something....so much better than idle BS chit chat.

Because the snow was getting deeper than our shoes and it was getting a little colder than we both...........well I had prepared for, we stopped our climb at Tsuga and started down.

The bikes poised for the ride in the snow.

Tsuga was wicked in the fresh wet snow. The trail was neither too slippery or too wet, just right for making the roots invisible and keeping us on our toes. Tim started the descent and then half way down I took the lead at one of the rock faces. Tsuga is a nice natural run with a mixed bag of terrain to ride on.

Of course after Tusga we hit Snakes and Ladders. There was a lot less snow on Snakes, but by no means was it a cake walk. The darkness, the snow, rain and slush made the ride one where we were having to keep our wits about us. The end of the trail was especially fun chasing each other through the blackened forest.

We then headed to Shotgun, where to our surprise, someone had cleared the 3 fallen trees off the trail near the clearcut. It was clear sailing the whole way down.

At the parking lot we loaded the bikes and I broke out a couple beers for us to quench our thirst after a sweet, sweet ride in the wet snow.

mmmmm, beer and a smile

Using my built in bottle opener

First Tracks in Fresh Flakes

This morning I woke up early to get in a good ride and build on Snakes and Ladders. I planned on going to the top, riding down and filming my ride on all the trails.

When I looked out the window as I was getting up, I saw snow.......:-) I had a happy face on when I saw the white stuff falling. I love snow rides and it had only just been snowing about an hour or so as there was not much on the ground. This meant it would be an easy pedal up.

When I arrived there was one other vehicle in the parking area but the riders had not exited their truck yet. I hopped out and geared up and then 2 more vehicles showed up. A total of 12 riders at about 8:30am on a Sunday all itching to rip it up in the snow. This is what it is all about. I ran into Trevor that I met at the Giant Killer trail day and said hello.

Because I was on a bit of a schedule, I decided to ride solo and made my way up alone in the snow. The climb was nice, although I did not have my climbing legs today at all. I felt kinda sluggish, even with the new riding shorts my mom had bought me for my birthday recently.

I paused to take a shot of the hill and my bike on the climb. It's almost eerie how tranquil it is in the forest when it is snowing.

I rested while taking this shot of the climb.

So the rest of the climb up was pretty standard except at the power-lines where the ground was a sheet of ice covered in a dusting of snow. I found this out the hard way.

Once across the powerlines and back in the trees on my way to the Goldmine trail, I felt so isolated from the rest of the world. I could not hear ANYTHING other than snow falling and the sound of my tires rolling in the snow. Not a single sound from any other soul was penetrating the insulated snow covered forest.

At the trail head for Goldmine I geared up, started my camera rolling and put on my helmet. The following video is footage of Goldmine. It was a pretty fun ride in the snow and ice.......except for the spill I took on the first bridge that is basically a Popsicle. I edited out the mishap.

Goldmine Trail

After Goldmine I made my way to Snakes and Ladders. I had planned on building today, but he ground was too hard/frozen to do any real work, so it was purely a ride. I did however stop to clear one fallen tree near the top of the trail.

Snakes and Ladders in the snow.

Then I made my way over to Bloggy Style to have a rip before hitting Shotgun. I like this trail. This was only my second time riding it so I was a little lost on it at times due to the snow, but it was fun.

Jamie's new creation, Bloggy Style put to some classic Snoop Dog.

Then after Bloggy Style it was down Shotgun which ripped soooo well in the snow and out to the truck. At the bottom I snapped a shot of my filthy, icy but ever so trusty ride. After getting changed I was homeward bound, but not before picking up a Double Double for me and the wife.

Evening Lights

It's been a few weeks since I was on my bike. Getting out to build a week and a half ago on Giant Killer was a nice change, but I always like to get out for a spin on my bike.

Given the fact that the sun sets so early in the day this late in the fall it only makes sense to go riding at night.

Tim and I met up at The Woodlot at 7:30pm. In the last week it had snowed then rained torrentially and for the last 2 days not a drop of rain had fallen so we knew the trails would be moist but not sopping wet. Due to the moisture in the air it felt cold, really cold, the kind of cold you feel all the way to the bone.

I was not feeling all that great on the climb as I've had a bit of a cold for the last week or so. In other words I didn't pedal up as far as I usually do but I trudged on clearing my lungs when ever needed.

At the power lines there was a fair amount of water running down the road, but no snow at all at the top. We geared up under the tower and started our descent on Krazy Karpenter.

Things were damp and slick but all was good. A little TLC is still needed on the trail but she runs well none the less. On the first classic big log ride I kind of had to JUMP off a little early. As I approached the plank up on to the log, I was slightly diagonal and this then translated into a line taking me off into oblivion on the super slick log.

Further down the trail we paused to take a photo or two of a classic feature on Karpenter. Around and through the log we both went taking turns being the photographer.

Me riding around and through the stump.

Tim riding around and through the stump.

At Blood Donor Tim and I rode smooth and safe hitting all the fun nuggets on the way down. At the bottom we made an attempt a certain type of night shot, but it did not really work out the way we wanted. But I was able to take this neat eerie picture.

The eerie shot

At Giant Killer we paused in spots to examine some of the work performed on the trail day and rode smoothly down the line. At the bottom we made our way to Snakes and Ladders and on the way I showed him here BloggyStyle starts.

At Snakes and Ladders I set up my helmet camera on my uber custom mount and we ripped down Snakes like nobody's business. There was one or two trees down on the trail but overall the trail war running perfectly. We rode the new line of course and had a wicked rip. I tailed Tim super close on the new line which made for a hairy ride for me as I could just barely see where I was going being so close.

The helmet cam footage of Snakes at Night
We then headed over to Shotgun and rode that trail chasing each other as well. A few trees have been down for a while in the middle section of the trail, but will likely be removed in the next little while. Shotgun was wicked fun and out to the cars it was.

We had a great ride taking the time to shoot a few photos. Wicked fun in the darkness of The Woodlot.

Woodlot Trail Day - Giant Killer

So in this post on my riding journal I am deviating from my normal writing subject.

Today there was a trail day at The Woodlot on Giant Killer, so I showed up to take part in the trail day and take part in fixing up a trail that gets allot of riders on a near daily basis.

I arrived at The Woodlot 0007 main gate and was let in so that I could drive up to the bottom of the trail. When I arrived there were a dozen or so builders there from the Maple Ridge area and from Mission, Abbotsford area who are all part of the Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association (FVMBA). I was finally able to meet Gary, Trevor, Steve and the old guy Tom ;-)

Ladder Re-Build

I grabbed my pack from my truck with my sharpened axe in hand and headed up the trail to see what I was to do today. After speaking with Cory and Ewan I headed up to the top of the trail to fix a badly eroded corner. With me I took 2 young riders that were there to assist in the building. Once at the top we simply go to work gathering rock. Basically when building, the bigger the rock the better and the more rock you have the better. Once rock gets put in place and locked in with some dirt, you don't really ever need to come back to fix it as rock doesn't erode.

After a while a few more people showed up and the top (Trevor, Jamie, Rich, Gary) and a few other kids who's names I cannot remember. It's really kinda funny.....building that is......everyone has a different take on how to do things. After a little planning and a little give and take the whole section was rocked in with the granite being placed by Trevor, Jamie and I. The younger guns dug all the dirt and the corner was groomed to perfection. It should now run solid for the life of the trail.

Nasty corner now filled with rock

A before and after shot

The progression of the rock work

One amusing thing that happened was a couple of the young guys decided to dig out a HUGE rock. I helped them get it out of the hole it was in, but in the end it was so freaking big that they (5 teens and a one adult) could not move it down the trail. They decided to leave in on the side of the trail as a way to remind themselves of the work they did today.

Trevor and I then proceeded a little ways down the trail to fix a small hit on the left side of the trail, we basically benched the collapsing slope in and cleaned up the jump. With the speed the buffed corner will produce, this rebuilt hit will now easily be able to the hipped or rolled for a little added pleasure on the trail.

By this time it was around 1pm and I was hungry, so I walked down the trail to the bottom were it was burgers and drinks served up by Rob from Experience Cycling. Great guy, good shop and good burgers. I chatted with a few other guys that are a part of the FVMBA and I then decided to put in a little more work so I went back up and help to rock and dirt in another section of trail on the lower part of the line.

Many sections of the trail were worked on today and lots of rock and dirt was moved and groomed. Ladders were fixed and a ton of much needed maintenance was completed. Though I was not able to stay to the very end I walked away after putting in my time knowing that the work done today is going to make Giant Killer run a lot better over the winter and for many more seasons to come.

A great effort was put in by everyone that was there and my hat goes off to those that participated.

Lights In Action

Tonight was the first night ride of the season and man did we ever pick a nice night to get out for a ride, I'd almost say perfection. The moon was full and not a cloud in the sky. When Tim and I arrived around 7pm it was cold enough that here was frost on the ground but not too cold to ride.

Once we were both properly bundled up for the ride in the hills, we started our ascent into the darkness. Ski gloves and a toque are now my staples for a cold weather ride. If my hands and head are warm I am good to go.

On the ride up we chatted about all kinds of things; from bikes and cars to our wives and kids. I think I have only gone on two solo night rides and there is good reason for that. Riding in the dark is sooooo much more fun with others.

At the powerlines there was so much moonlight that you could see Mount Baker way off on the horizon (the city lights are Mission on the left and Abbotsford to the right).

The moonlight skyline

So once at Goldmine trail we each took our time gearing up, making sure to set our lights up correctly and down the trail it was. It is like this trail was designed for night riding. We had a hoot. About half way down we adjusted Tim's suspension and what a difference softening things up makes.

Once on Snakes and Ladders it was time to take out the camera and snap some shots of our lights in action on the trail. For my first attempt at shooting at night I am pleased with how the pictures turned out.

Tim zooming past

Tim lighting the trail painting red dotted line.

Riding the new section of Snakes in the the dark was awesome. The line just flows. At the bottom I was practically giggling by how much fun the line was to ride at night.

On the traverse over to Shogun it was amazing looking at the glittering frost on the gravel and small grass that lined our path. It was like our bikes were being lead down a priceless track of tiny diamonds.

At Shotgun we let go of the brakes and shot down the line without a care. Only one large tree remains blocking the line from the windstorm last weekend. At the clearcut opening I had to watch my speed very carefully on the long wooden ladder otherwise I'd likely of ended up in in pieces kicked off the edge of the line.

Finally at the vehicles Tim and I talked about our next possible ride, plans for building and the vibe we had from this ride.

I've once again been bitten by the night riding bug.

Rockin in the Rain

Once again it was raining.....nothing is quite like the fall in Southern BC. I rode at The Woodlot, solo today. I had a limited amount of time and I really wanted to put in some hours getting a puddle section of Snakes and Ladders running dry.

I pedaled to Snakes on my Heckler and once at the trail head I geared up, fixed a little bit of trail at the top and then rode down a a fairly good clip. There were no addtional fallen trees on the trail so it was clear sailing the whole way. Once at the new section I grabbed my pruning shears from my pack and started trimming the labyrinth of roots that were draped over a certain part of the trail. It really is amazing how the proper tools can make building sooooo much easier. With the roots gone I grabbed some tools I needed and headed back to the wet spot below the rock face.

The section I worked on has always been a trouble spot for wetness. I decided it was time to really fix this section once and for all. So I dug up the dirt to gold soil below and stared setting in the stones. In the end I think I did a good 12 feet of rocking that all cambers to the outside and 'should' drain and remain dry for many years to come.



After working as long as I could I dropped off the tools and packed an axe on my back that needs sharpening. Boarded my bike, tested the new rocked in section for line selection and flow (flows nicely) and ripped the rest of the trail. Have I said I like the new extension?!!! Oh god it is fun.

I then had a peek at the trail we discovered a few weeks ago. Lets just say it no longer exists....chainsaw massacre!

I then went to Shotgun and rode out to the truck. Great shot ride, but more importantly I was able to get some work done on a wet spot. Looking forward to getting that whole section finally rocked in with the rock I stacked 18 months ago.

33 second ride with Tim

Today Tim and I decided it was time to finally open the 'new line' on Snakes and Ladders, so we went for a bit of a ride and then did some maintenance on the trail and 'opened' the new line.

There had been quite a bit of wind in the last few days and this morning was no different, in fact it this morning it was blowing even stronger. There were many trees down all over the Lower Mainland causing downed power lines and power outages all over the place.

Once we arrived we geared up and started our climb into the howling forest. I know it is not exactly the smartest thing to be riding a bike in a forest in a windstorm, but imagine the stories you can tell when you are old and gray. We could hear trees and branches falling from time to time and every now and then we'd stop and look up to make sure something was not ready to pop us on the head.

It had really been a while since I'd ridden with Tim and he an I had allot to talk about on the ride up. It really doesn't get much better than riding with friends. The ride up almost always gives you the chance to talk about life or current events or just BS about nothing at all. On this ride up I had a lot of things I talked to Tim about.

We decided to climb up to Tsuga and ride down from there. At Tsuga there were a few smaller trees and branches down, but nothing that couldn't be cleared by hand. It was a nice rip down chasing each other on the line and we then headed over to Snakes and Ladders. At Snakes we stopped at any fallen tree to clear it or hop over to keep moving down the trail to the tools.

Once we reached the new section and the tools, we grabbed the chainsaw, axe and mattock. Tim carried the chainsaw and I had the other tools and we walked up the trail cutting fallen trees and fixing mud holes. When we were done the trail was clear of blow-down and it was relatively free of mud holes. Those that were not easily fixed will be taken care of in the coming weeks.

We then went back down to the new line and ripped it all the way down. It is crazy how little time it takes to ride a sweet section of trail and how long it actually takes to build it. Tim and I had been working on this section since the summer. Many hours were put in by both parties and in the end the new line is 33 seconds of actual riding time. 33 seconds.

In those 33 seconds there are dozens of corners to rail, trees to dodge with your shoulders, rolls in the terrain to pump and one little jump to hit and duuring all of this you don't even have to do a single pedal stroke. You glide and pump the whole thing.

After Snakes and Ladders we made our way to Shotgun. By this time the rain had started falling and the wind remained as tenacious as ever. For the most part Shotgun was clear........that was until we made it the the clear cut section where another BIG tree had fallen across the trail before the road. After climbing over the tree we ripped the rest of the trail to the jump over the log beside the classic Shotgun rock. Tim was leading and out of the corner of my eye I could see a tree hanging at head level that I had never seen before. Tim hit the jump and immediately upon landing I could see him duck his head down. I being shorter in stature did not need to duck. Had Tim not ducked I think I'd be carrying him out on my shoulders. We stopped and he had a jittery hand shaking holy crap moment to gather his thoughts and we were on our way to finish the ride.

At the cars we decided it was time to get the lights out and do a night ride some time soon. Hopefully we get out in the dark soon. After a further chat about life and other such things we each got in our vehicles and headed to our respective homes.

Great ride, great meaningful conversation and finally we have opened a new section of Snakes and Ladders.

Remembrance Day Ride 2007

Today I went on the 5th annual Remembrance Day ride. Today's ride was different than those in the past. This year I rode solo and the ride was taking place at The Woodlot.

I did a little searching on the internet and planned a long route up into the mountains that would take me to places I have never ridden before. The night before the ride I had my bike ready and my gear packed read for an early morning ascent up into the clouds. Once parked, I pedaled up as far my legs would take me and when I could no longer pedal, I pushed and even dragged my bike up the trail until I could go no further.

Lately I have had a tremendous number of things in my life to think about. Often when riding up I have an opportunity to tune out the elements and the exertion my body is making and I am able to think deeply about 'things'. As I said before, I had a lot on my mind so the extra long climb allowed me to sort out the issues affecting my life. In the end, I ended up going up and over one mountain and then on my way up another. I finally stopped climbing when I was ankle deep in snow and soaked to the bone deep in the forest with a clear mind.

At 11am I stopped at the crest of a mountain and watched the clouds roar past carried by a strong stormy wind leaving a glimpse of clear blue skies off in the distance. These images reminded me of sacrifices that Canadian soldiers made in the wars they have fought have allowed me the freedom to be able to enjoy my life. They have given me the freedom to do what I want to do on a daily basis. Though I may not express my admiration for soldiers on a day to day basis, I completely respect what they do and always treat them with the utmost of respect, because that is what they deserve.

So my route down took me back to the Goldmine trail and then over to Snakes and Ladders, the trail right above Shotgun and then finally Shotgun.

This map shows my route up in Blue and route down in Red

View Larger Map

My muddy bike and gear after the ride

This ride gave me an opportunity to deeply reflect on many things in my life and to pay my respects to those that have fought in wars that preserve our way of life.