After work rip

I managed to get out after work for a quick rip at the woodlot. On the Legend I climbed up to Cabin trail up to the snow line and rode down from there. The trail is in fabulous natural gnarly shape and was a blast to ride.

I then rode to Snakes and Ladders on the easy line of the whole trail to make sure all was well along the ride around line. Thankfully nothing at all needs any work.

Then it was over to Shotgun for a fast blast down the trail in the light of the setting sun. Almost nothing beats an after work rip on some flowy trails.

It's OPEN

Tim and I met early at The Woodlot today. I was on the Legend and Tim on his Six. We climbed up to the top and rode down Krazy Karpenter and discussed some building options for the trail and how we would go about the work that is needed.

After Karpenter the plan was to ride Tsuga, but we saw a sign on ground written in pine cones saying "OPEN", so we figured we would ride the 'new trail' that is now open next to Tsuga. I'm not quite sure what it is called, but it is a fun flowy fall line trail that is fresh cut and has a few gnarly rock faces as well as a big drop on it. Not really knowing the line, I had a little mishap on one of the rock faces and cut up my knuckles, but overall I had fun riding this new line. I likely won't be riding it a lot as it is a little short length wise for the climb required, but when I need a gnarly rip, it is the one to hit at The Woodlot now.

At the bottom of this new trail we ran into some familiar faces (Dave, Cory and Bryan). We chatted for a bit then Tim and I headed up Goldmine trail. Once we hit snow we ripped down the trail all the way without hesitation. I'd just had my fork worked on by James of Suspension Werx and my god what a difference he made to my Boxxer WC. PLUSH and SMOOOOOTH. The Legend feels like a rocket ship.

At the bottom of Snakes and Ladders we noticed the road was extra clear of debris on the road which was nice. It seems someone has cleaned up the road a little. So up and over to Shotgun it was and it was a game of cat and mouse all the way down with a slight pause half way down.

At the cars we met up with a bunch of people that we had ran into during the ride (Dave, Cory, Bryan and a group from Maple Ridge Cycle) and shot the shit with everyone before we left.

Tim and I had a good ride and were able to chat a lot about the trails, building and riding. Lots of new lines were explored and lots of good things are on the horizon. The desire to get out on the trails to build and ride hasn't been stronger in me for a long time. I am really looking forward to the spring and summer season.

Opening it up

So I hit the Woodlot this morning in the rain. I took an axe with me so that I could cut some trees out in certain spots and then stash it on the trail.

When I arrived at 9am there were a couple cars but nobody to climb with, so I set off up the hill solo on my Legend. I stashed the axe at the Snakes and Ladders trail head and decided to see how far the snow had receded up the hill, so I pushed up Cabin trail until I hit the snow. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the trail is clear of snow on the lower 75% of the line. Nothing until the first bridge on the trail. While pushing up, I did find some interesting lines on the trail that proved to be a blast to ride when my bike was finally pointed down hill. Thankfully the trail was all clear of deadfall and was a total rip to ride. Cabin trail is what I normally use as a base line measuring stick for any new bike I get. If it rides well on Cabin then I know it will ride well practically anywhere. I already knew well ahead of time that the Legend would ride well on Cabin but what surprised me was that in spots where I'd usually just be able to let off the brakes and hang on for dear life, I was able to pedal and confidently ride the trail significantly faster than I ever have on any bike. I'm just now getting used to riding trails at what I consider stupid fast speeds.

By the time I was at the clear cut I was in a total downpour and hail. The weather sucked. So back into the forest it was and down to Snakes and Ladders with the axe to open up the new reroute a little bit.

The reroute that was started a few weeks ago is now 80% rocked in but the entrance to it sucked until today. I moved a log that was blocking the entrance to the line which now makes the line flow a lot better. With a chainsaw I will be doing a little more magic and then I'll shape some dirt, rock a little more and the line will be done. The flow of this line will be significantly improved when I am done and just in time for the spring and summer masses that flock to The Woodlot when the weather improves. I am pleased with how the reroute is coming together.

After cleaning up and gathering the tools, I set off down the trail and over to Shotgun to go home.

On the way down Shotgun I noticed the front end of my bike was feeling harsh and I was getting bounced around. At my car I compressed the fork a few times and noticed I was only getting 4" of travel and then the fork got stiff. Looks like I need to have it worked on. [EDIT] I took my fork ('08 Boxxer WC) to Suspension Werx and it turns out I ripped an o-ring in the rebound cartridge and the fork dumped all its oil into the lower chamber.

Over all a good little ride with some building thrown in there for good measure.

Playing in the woods

This morning I got out of bed with the rising sun and headed out the door with the wife and kids still sound asleep.

My ride today started at Bear Mountain in Mission. I headed to the top on my Banshee Legend with a few cameras in my pack and a body full of stoke for the ride. I experimented a little with the filming today one camera on the bike and another on my helmet. The result is the video below.

My ride at Bear was done by 10am and back at the parking lot there were a dozen or so people just getting ready to hit the trails but I was on my way to go for another ride but this time at The Woodlot.

Upon arrival at The Woodlot I saw some buddies of mine (Dave, John and their wives), so I hooked up with them for the climb. On the climb, Dave and I talked about this and that and of course bikes. Unfortunately I only had time to ride a couple of the lower trails so I split off from them early and wish them a safe ride.

I hit Bloggy Style, which I am beginning to really like and then onto Shotgun which is was a total blast. The Legend has certainly enabled me to ride a lot faster than I ever have before. Knowing I have a bike with capabilities that exceed my riding abilities allows me to push harder and ride faster with complete confidence in my equipment. I just love playing in the woods on this bike.

Norah makes Daddy proud

Well today was the day where Norah rode her bike for the first time without any training wheels. She'd been ready for a while, so we went down to the workshop and took the training wheels off her bike. We then went out on our road and with some encouraging talk and trust that daddy was close, she rode her bike all on her own for the first time today. I think I was smiling more than her when she came to a stop. No spills and no tears.

Then when we went inside, she did the most amazing thing ever. She picked up her training wheels and handed them to her younger sister telling her that she didn't need them anymore and she can have them. I happened to have my camera on and ready for the shot. One in a million, one in a million.

Snow ride with Tom

Today I rode with Tom Thornton for the first time. He and I were introduced through Keith of Banshee Bikes so we hit The Woodlot for a ride and a building session.

Tom rides a Banshee Scythe and is a very solid rider, in fact I'd say he is damn fast. Most times I bring someone out for their first ride at The Woodlot I wait on the trails for them to make sure they are okay or don't get lost. Not with Tom. He was on my wheel no matter what we were riding.

We rode Upper and Lower Toadstool (covered in snow), Snakes and Ladders, Bloggy Style x2 and then Shotgun (covered in snow).

On Snakes and Ladders, we roughed in the new line around the washed away section of trail. A really good start was made on this section and it should be complete within no time at all.

I had a really good ride and it was nice meeting someone new to ride with on the trails.

Legend Photos

Dave, a buddy of mine called me up the other day and asked if I'd like to do a photo shoot with me riding the Legend. I've done one other photo shoot before on my Rune and got a few banger shots so I was really looking forward this.

I had just got new forks for my Legend (Boxxer World Cups to replace Fox 40s) so sessioning sections was alright with me for dialing in my fork during the shoot.

We shot on Lower Toadstool and Bloggy Style for a few hours. 40 or so shots were taken which means 40 or so times up and down a section. In the end there were a few very nice shots taken by Dave. He had to leave a little early so once he was gone, I went up to Snakes and Ladders for a quick ride and then down Shotgun.

Overall it was a great day of shooting and I had a good ride as well.

All photos are property of Dave Mackie

Woodlot filming on the Legend

Well this week saw me riding with the same guys as last week, but this week they decided we would do some filming.

So with that in mind we made our way to The Woodlot again and rode Snakes and ladders and Shotgun. When filming for people you tend to do a lot of repeats for different angles and additional footage. In other words you really get a workout and do a lot of riding when filming.

Brody made up a 'webisode' and it was featured as a PinkBike video of the day. Most of the riding was shot over two days where I attended for one. Overall the end product turned out pretty good.

During the day we were shooting, we saw LOTS of people on the trails because of the decent weather and the fact that the Woodlot is the only place locally where there isn't a ton of snow anymore.

Overall a great day of riding and good time filming and once again the Legend Mk1 showed me just how much fun and easy it is to go really, really fast on a bike.

2nd ride on the Legend with Company

This morning I was joined by Brody and James for a rip at The Woodlot. The snow further receded up the hill and more trails were clear so we decided to get up to Blood Donor.

Now the Legend is a pure DH bike and I have the seat set at a height for me to ride it down hill only so the ascent today was purely a push and at times I was carrying the bike as well.

The ride today started at 7:30am so it was cold and icy which made riding the woodwork on the upper trails rather dangerous. Bets were made as to how many times each of us would go down and at the end of the day, James won with 4 bails in the snow with a swollen ankle and a sacking to the nuts...OUCH!

Even with the slack head angle of the Legend, the bike handles tight turns on wet rooty trails quite well. One attribute of the bike that shined through was the laterally stiff rear end that gave me confidence on the wet and icy roots. Knowing that I only had my tires influencing the lateral movement of the bike and not flex makes negotiating the roots that much easier.

Giant Killer was the next trail on the menu and it was simply awesome. There is an amazing amount of flow on this trail and ripping it on a big bike is loads of fun. Fortunately there were no mishaps on Giant Killer and we then rode over to Snakes and Ladders.

This was the Legends maiden run down Snakes (my trail) and I felt at home on this bike. James and Brody paused to snap a few shots of me riding a couple turns and the photos are below.

So with Snakes now under our belt and we made our way over to Bloggy Style. One thing about the Legend that I have really noticed is how quite the bike is while riding. There is no pinging of the chain or vibration through the frame at all, the only thing you can hear are your tires drifting in the corners and the giggles in your head from having so much fun.



We decided to ride Bloggy twice and on the 2nd run, we put my helmet camera on Brody so that he could record James and I rippging Bloggy Style and straight into Shotgun.

The ride today was a load of fun with two guys I have not seen in a while. The Legend is proving to be a very impressive bike. The bike tracks very well over roots and is extremely predictable. It eats up the rough sections and rails tight corners with confidence. I cannot wait to get this bike on some longer rougher pure DH type trails.

Installation Lap: 2009 Banshee Legend Mk1

Today was first time I've been able to ride the Legend on the trails. The Installation Lap.


All I can say is that it was well worth the wait. After receiving the frame earlier this month, I'd build the bike up and just had to sit and wait for the snow in my area to melt and recede further up the mountains. It has been over a month since I have been able to ride so being able to get out on my new Legend was oh so sweet.

Last week I could have brought the bike out for a ride on maybe one trail, but I thought getting some trail maintenance done was more important and was worth the effort because I was able to ride the trail that I cleared last week of fallen trees.

With the lower trails clear of snow, I made my way up to The Woodlot and did a few shake down runs to get a feel for my new steed.

One word sums up this bike. Speed. It is fast and pedals really, really well. When you mash on the pedals while riding downhill on most bikes you can feel the suspension working but you are met with mush at the pedals, well my friends, not with the Legend. The pedal is firm, really firm. Nearly every once of power you put into you pedal stroke is met with a surge forward and speed on this bike builds up fast.

The Legend is low slung and slack. This makes for a bike that is really comfortable at speed and gives the rider added confidence knowing the bike will be stable and predictable as speed increases.

My bike is equipped with a Fox 40 RC2 fork and a Cane Creek Double Barrel (CCDB) rear shock. The CCDB comes with a nice little manual that explains how the shock works and how to tune it to the riders needs. I brought this manual with me today and over the course of an afternoon got a good start on getting my suspension dialed in.

The trail I rode was Bloggy Style, not a trail that I ride very often, but it is a trail that offers lots of turns, roots, bumps, whoops and sections you can pedal on which are all essential to aiding in tuning a suspension. Six laps later and I am comfortable with the set-up and in the coming weeks I know I'll be getting in a lot more riding to really get this bike up to speed.
installation lap
noun. - An F1 term to describe the necessary lap on arrival at a circuit to test functions such as throttle, steering and brakes before returning to the pits. Also know as the shake down run or the first run of a vehicle or bike.

The initial impression that the bike left with me after it's maiden voyage on dirt is that it is a bike made to go fast. It is long, low, slack, builds up speed very easily and pedals like a dream.

The name is truly fitting for the Banshee Legend.