YES!!

I love it when plans work out. Yesterday we rode and hoped to ride again today, and we did!

I took the SkyTrain in to town for 10:30, meeting Terry at the 'Main Street/Science World' stop. We then headed up to Seymour, and met Alex, Adam & Sam there. Terry works with Adam, and Adam invited Sam.

We loaded the truck up, and rode 'CBC' to 'Pingu' to 'Team Pangor'. Pretty much the usual warm up run.

As you may know, poor Alex broke his collarbone earlier in the season, and this was one of his first times back on the bike, so he was not his usual speedy self.


A rare still photo of Alex riding; normally he's too fast, and all you get is blur!

About 3/4 of the way down Adam got a call from his friend Matt (somehow heard the name Michelle?), so Adam invited him to join us for our next lap.

Once we got to the bottom, Alex took Terry back up to get the truck, I grabbed a sandwich, and then before I knew it we were back at the top again!!

'CBC' is the only way I know how to get in to the trails from the top lot that we park at, so it was that trail in again. This time though, before hitting the road, we snuck on to 'TNT'. A very old school trail, a bit more pedally than anything I've ridden on Seymour before, and super fun!

'TNT' was our way to get over to 'Severed Dick'. Don't get mad at me for the trail name, I didn't name it, we just rode it. It was one FUN trail, and well worth the trek across to it's head. Lots of sweet drops and jump on it, mixed with a bit of great steeps and roots. Check out the video of some of the riding from today below!

Sterl's Take Two

Dom, Terry & I met at about 11:30 to ride our bicycles.

We started off by heading up and hitting "Sterl's Trail". I wanted to show it to Terry, so that he'd know it for the future.

The weather was great, nice cool fall weather. Both TB & I nailed some of the steeps, as well as the gap jump. Super fun!


What the forest looks like around the trail.

The adventure began at the end of the run though. This being only my second time on the trail, I ended up guiding us out the wrong way. We wound up being 2 exits past where the entrance to the mountain parking spot is!! The right way out takes you right to the spot. Ah well, we got some road saddle time in!!

Dom took Terry back up to grab the truck (thanks Phil!!) so that we could hit one more run and call it a day. And that we did! The run we did was a bit shorter, and I knew where to go when we popped out on the road. A great day all around.

Stay tuned, I may be hitting up Seymour tomorrow with TB!

Woodlot Take Two

Fall is upon us. The riding is cooler, and the trails are damper. So why not use people power to go up for a change!?

Terry came over about 10a and we loaded up and headed out to The Woodlot out in Maple Ridge.

This is the second time we've been out there now. The last time was two years ago. Terry, Pasko & I ventured out one evening. We had no real good idea where we were going, and it got dark on us. As such that Woodlot experience wasn't as fun as we'd hoped.

This time was better. We got there before noon, and had a clearer sense as to where we were headed.

Using the map we had from last time, and paying closer attention, we managed to find our way to the trail choosing wheel. Since we had no idea about any of the trails anyway, we used it. We were directed to ride "Cabin Trail" to "Snakes & Ladders".

Terry walking up a path by the hydro cut to figure out where we needed to go.

The trail choosing wheel

We met a couple of other guys at the entrance to "Cabin Trail" and they suggested we hike half way back up to hit "Tsuga" before finishing off with "Snakes". We took their advice, and the hole experience was much better than last time!

Some of the views around the trails

Another nice view

We will visit The Woodlot again. Maybe even again this year!?

Terry is giving the thumbs up on riding here again
Here's Terry riding through the clear cut

Thanksgiving in The Puddle

Isabelle & I spent Thanksgiving in Williams Lake with our friend Amber, some other friends and her parents. It was so nice of them to have us up, housing and feeding us.

The riding in Williams Lake is something else. Very flowy in some cases, very steep and sandy in others. My favourite was riding through trees on very shallow grade trails, with super soft ground.

The weather treated us super well, no rain the days we rode and the temperature was great on the Sunday. We arrived the Saturday about 2p and rode until nearly 6p, that was a bit cool at around 5 Celsius. Sunday was much nicer; very sunny and around 15 Celsius.

Have a look at the videos and photos below to get an idea about what went on!!


Click Here To See All Photos

Whistler Season Shutdown

Last Whistler weekend of the year and it was a good one. Phil, myself and Jake (from BSP) headed up for the last sunday of the year. What can I say other than, "Best day of the year".

Sun was out, temperature was awesome, no whistler dust storms......just pure awesome.

We were there for first chair and must have gotten in at least 8 or 9 runs. Conquered some fun stuff and nobody got hurt. Jake got some photos, so there might be some to put up if they find their way online.

It's going to be a long 7 months till the park opens up next spring, maybe I'll take up shuffle board....or knitting.

-tb

Last Weekday Whistler Ride of the Season

Today was my last weekday Whistler ride of the season, for I start my new job on Monday!!

Iz, Phil, Jake & I headed up for a day of fun. The weather was phenomenal, and we got off to a good start getting in to the lot before noon!! A first for a weekday trip for us. Usually we get stuck due to construction, but not today.

First run down was our usual "Crank It Up" warm up run. About 3/4 of the way down, I landed and heard a wicked screech in my rear end. I got off, and found that my rear wheel came out in the air, and when I landed it didn't go back in correctly. Damaged rear brake was the result.

I brought it over to Fanatyk Co Bike Shop, and they got it fixed up pretty quickly. We had lunch while we waited.

A few more laps were had. No one got hurt badly, and no more bicycle carnage occurred. All in all, a great day. It's always good to just be out when the weather is so nice!!

Iz had a couple bails today, and got some wounds.


I try my best to keep up with Phil down "Dirt Merchant" to "A-Line"

Seymour w\ Friends

This afternoon Phil, Iz, Joe, Cam, Krista & I went for a ride up on Seymour.

We did your usual CBC->Pingu->Salvtion->Team Pangor. Fun times, no one got hurt, and a lot of challenging stunts were conquered.

Both Phil & Joe rode the big drop off the end of the skinnies on Salvation. I nailed some other skinnies that I'd not ever ridden. And since this was only Iz's second time on these trails, she conquered the demons that bothered her last time!

Some photos.

Phil looking cool while we wait for others to catch up up on CBC.

Iz rails a corner on CBC.

Check out the video!

Forced Vacations Rule

For those of you reading this, but not in the 'know', I was let go from Strangeloop Networks Wednesday, September 3/2008. It was a huge shock, as I thought I was doing very well. They cut half the sales team (3) and are moving to a different sales model is what they said, which I apparently didn't fit. Ah well, it's forced me to take time off, and it couldn't have worked out better!

Isabelle recently quite her job (around the same time as I got canned) and doesn't start her new gig until the 1st of October. I just accepted an offer to work for FinCAD, and don't start until October 6th.

This time off together has given us more time to ride, and it's been great! We really couldn't have planned it any better, as the weather has been amazing during this time too!

We were up in Whistler this week, Tuesday the 16th staying overnight to the 17th, and got lots of runs in.

I'm not going to bore you with a blubber blabber about what trails we rode over the two days. Let me just say this; Iz has improved SO much, it's awesome. She was timid, to say the least, of "skinnies" and was not too keen on steep stuff either, but that's all changed as you can see in this video.


Some highlights are that we rode "Goats Gully" together, as well as "Fatcrobat" which Iz is telling me now is one of her favorite trails! We hit up "Schleyer" and "Dirt Merchant" a bunch. Great times!!

Whistler With Iz

Another gorgeous day out west. This forced time off has given me more time to ride. And, since Iz has time off between jobs too, we're able to spend time together. What better place to spend time together than riding in Whistler!?

Today we got up around 8 and took our time heading up. With construction stoppages, we arrived close to 1!!

The day almost didn't happen though, for at one of the construction stoppages (if that's a word?) Iz & I decided to pee. No big deal, right? Well, Iz went deeper in to the woods than I to avoid showing off to the other folks stopped, and stepped in a wasps nest!! We had to run out and around for a couple of minutes until they left us alone. Iz hadn't been bitten/stung in a while, and felt a bit of an allergic reaction. Thankfully a Benadryl solved it.

First run of the day, the classic warm up run of Crank it Up to Heart of Darkness. Love it!!

Next we headed to the top and did a jumpy run if Freight Train to Dirt Merchant to A-Line. Sweetness.

Another gondola ride to the top, and another Freight Train ride but this time to Duffman in to Side Track, finished off with A-Line.

Next run was a midway run of Angry Pirate to Whistler Singletrack to Devil's Club to Heart of Darkness.

Iz was rockin' out today, so she decided we needed to step it up a notch. Thus we headed to Schleyer next. We did the top bit and then tore off to Smoke & Mirrors. Near the bottom we linked up with A-Line again as Iz wanted to hit the GLC drop again, and she did it so nicely.

Next was a sweet booter down Crank It Up. We got half way and saw that the bottom was closed at the drop center. So we zipped over to World Cup Downhill and then finished off with Monkey Hands.

A sweet day, finished again with a burger at Splitz Grill, where we witnessed an electrical fire...we almost didn't get our burger!!

Whistler in the Fall

Terry, Phil, Jake & I headed to Whistler today.

The drive was a heck of an event, taking us 3+ hours!! We left on good time, but weren't on the him until after noon!!

No matter, this time of year there is NO line up to speak of, and we got 5 solid runs in before lift closing.

First was a warm up down Dirt Merchant. A sweet jumpy and flowy trail.

Next we headed to the top, and did a top to bottom run of jumps. Starting with Freight Train, heading in to Sidetrack to Renegade. We the finished off with Dirt Merchant and A-Line.

Back to the top we went, for a sweet technical run. We dropped in to Original Sin which put us in to Goats Gulley. Then we headed to In Deep which took us to Fatcrobat. We then took Too Tight to the mid station.

Phew, we're not done yet, and I'm getting tired describing the run!! Imagine how draining it is riding it!!

At mid station we headed to Schleyer, likely my favourite trail on the mountain, and I think it is both Phil and Terry's too.

After Schleyer it was in to Rock City. A great little run in itself. At a split Jake & Phil decided to take Clown Shoes, while Terry & I zipped over to finish off World Cup Downhill. All of us hit Heart of Darkness to get to the chair lift.

That is the epic run, as Terry & Phil call it. Awesome!!

We headed back up for a quick run of Angry Pirate to Crab Apple Hits to A-Line. A sweet flow run that is.

Our last run of the day was a nice green trail run down Crank It Up to Heart of Darkness. Sweet!!

It was a great day with nothing but a flat tire slowing us down by yours truly. Capped off with some sweet burgers and a beer at Splits Grill.


The four of us on the way up the mountain.


I flatted near the end of In Deep.


Phil rides the 'triple hump' on Fatcrobat.

Heading Home

Waking up at about 8:00am, Terry's aunt made us a great big breakfast. Bacon, eggs, blackberry pancakes and juice. Just what we needed to get started!

We took our time getting ready to go, as we were aiming to get on the 2:30 ferry, so no rush.

I felt way better this day than I did on day 2 last year!! Never the less, my goal was to tale it easy, and just make it to the end without bonking!

Heading home was much f the see as getting there. Lots of hills, lots of Alex locking his wheel up on decents, lots of watching Terry & Alex kick my butt up the hill.

In the end we all made it without bonking, and made it to North Vancouver in time for an early dinner at a pub that Alex suggested. It was delicious, and the drinks were great too!!

I look forward to next year!


The three amigos in Sechelt.


Terry & his big drink.


Alex & his big drink.


Mmmmm, big drink!!

Ride to the Sunshine Coast 2008

The day started with me getting up at about 8:00. I scarfed down some cereal and then headed for the SkyTrain. I was to be at Terry's for 9:30 in order to meet Alex in North Vancouver for 10ish. Well the train wasn't on time, and the bus at the other end of the line was nor leaving for 15 minutes, so I rode to Terry's, arriving at about 9:45.

No problem, we then booted to the Lions Gate bridge, and met with Alex. Then the fun really began.

Riding Marine Dr. is a blast. Lots of undulating hills. Terry & I had a blast, but poor Alex was riding a fixed gear bike, with no brakes. He had to work going up and down hill. Not as much fun in my mind, but he was smiling

We arrived at the ferry terminal just in time to make the 11:20 ferry to Lonsdale. Once on the Sunshine Coast it was time to climb. We hammered up the long ascent and got to the Wheatberries Cafe in Gibsons in time for a late lunch.

Back on the bikes for about another 40km of riding until we got to Terry's aunt's place in Halfmoon Bay. Arriving around 4ish, she had beers, guacamole and chips waiting. Awesome!!

After having ridden a bit over 80km, we were tired to say the least. Bed time came at 8:00!!


This was what I saw most of the time....Terry & Alex's backs as the zipped away.


The view of the land around us as we ferried away.


My two riding buddies relaxing on the ferry ride.


Same two goofs, pointing at different things!


I was on the ride too.


The glorious destination.

One Run on SFU

The weather has been super this week, so Iz and I made the plan to ride a few laps on SFU tonight. The only problem was that everyone else had the same idea! The first bus that came was already full (only 2 bikes/bus) and if we'd waited for the next one it'd bee too late for a second run. So we pedaled back home and grabbed the car to get up for our first run. We had a quick lap down "Nicole's" and went back to the bus stop. The bus came, and again, not enough room for us both. So I headed up alone to get the car. Ah well, one run is better than none!! Plus, no one got hurt, so that's always good.

SFU Road Ride

I hit 78.21kmh on my way down SFU on Aug. 27/08

Introduction to Sterl's Trail

Now, I'm not going to tell you where this trail is, but if you're a good friend of mine I will likely take you on the trail some day.

The ride started with a good buddy of mine leading me in to the trail for my first time. It was pouring rain, and we were soaked before we even go to the trail head. Ah well, that's west coast riding for you!

Sterl's is a pretty cool trail, very tight, and has lots of single track on it. There are a bunch of really old stunts built on the trail too, which are in different levels of ride-ability. I didn't hit much of them, as it was slippery to say the least, and I was tired beyond belief today for some reason.

One flowy fun trail that I highly recommend. Sorry, no photos of this one, as it's a 'secret trail' that you must ride with me to experience!

Here's what my bike is looking like after the sloppy ride on Sterl's.

About The Blog

The idea is simple. I'm going to blog bout my riding. I like to ride bikes, and thought I'd use this as a means to share my love for riding, and to describe some of the rides.

I ride mountain bikes, mainly downhill, as well as road bikes. I ride a little folding bike to the transit station too, but I'll not post about it daily as it would get a bit boring quick!

I'll post about my friends who ride with me too, and hope that maybe they'll even want to get involved in writing about the rides from their perspective. I've enabled them to do so, should they want to.

Stay tuned!!