on biking

year ender ramble

2010-12-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

A great cycling year is coming to an end. There has been some developments in my life that have enabled me to ride my bike more than before and I've tried to take advantage of that. I changed jobs in March and now work for Capital City Cycles in downtown Victoria. This change involved more freedom to attend races all over the island and I had a big season as a result. I attended all XC races in the Island Cup series and a few of the Downhill races as well as most of the CX races. I've raced more this year than I have in my life so far combined, and as a result I've learned a few things which I'd like to share on this log. So here goes: Things that worked: Niner MCR (has worked flawlessly for me) 2009 Trek Remedy 8 (although not a great choice for downhill, it gave me the chance to try my hand at that sport, and has been my all mountain machine all year) Sram X7/X9 drivetrain Shimano XT drivetrain Consistency in racing Training some Slow and steady (don't crash, don't flat) Maxxis Aspen 29" tires for dry conditions Maxxis Minion Tires for all mountain riding Michelin Mud 2 CX tires (they wear super fast, so there is a minus for that) Schwalbe Racing Ralph CX tires (allthough not as fast as the Muds they hook up very well in nasty conditions) Specialized Captain S-Works 29" tire. Shimano XTR, DX Pedals Vittoria Rubino Pro and Rubino road tires Rock Shox Reba (QR version is very flexy, it has held up for 10 months however) Spandex! Things that did not work: Bontrager Race saddle (I thought I was loosing my manhood in the middle of the Test of Metal) Racing hung over... Rock Shox Lyrik 2-step (I jinxed it as I put it in the things that did work list but blew it up last week just before the end of the year) IRD Butted steel touring/CX fork (bent in a freak cx accident) Thinking I could take a break from riding before cross season... Bar-end shifters in cross, and for road riding...only suitable for touring in my opinion (note: those did not fail but are just uncomfortable and slow for racing situations and fast rides) Anatomic bend drop handlebars Deep drop bars in Cross Racing on worn out tires in Cross Low Tire Pressures in Cross (flats galore...lets face it: I'm over 220lbs) DT Swiss 470SL wheels (lots of broken spokes, too flexy) Not eating breakfast before racing... Easton EA70 carbon seatpost (snapped) Maxxis Minions 2-ply as a downhill tire (lots of flats) Specialized Fasttrack 29" tire (got better after I customized the tread with side cutters) Truvative Hussafelt Cranks, junk. Learned: Polo is not for me Downhill is an exercise in patience as well as tolerance for spoiled teenage boys and their attitude. Preriding UP to and down the course in downhill is not necessarily a good idea. Road riding is fun, and amazing training tool XC racing is surprisingly welcoming and unpretentious XC marathon racing is stupidly hard but very good for the soul Roadies in a XC race will not let you pass-wait for the mistake and take advantage I'm not a fast climber Elbows get thrown in cross (it's not a myth) Flat un-technical CX courses make me grumpy (see above) CX: The worse the conditions, and the more technical course = more fun Downhill: the better the conditions and the more technical course = more fun XC: See downhill In 2010 my main goal was to do the Test of Metal in Squamish. So I started riding more than usual in the beginning of the year and then as the XC season started, I decided it would be good for my fitness to race some of those races. I was surprised how much fun I was having in those races and I was placing pretty well, so I got kind of hooked on it. Previously I had some prejudice about xc riders and xc racing, pertaining in part, to their choice of dress. This was narrow minded and stupid of me and I found out that XC racing is really one of truest, and least pretentious forms of mountain biking. I ended up taking the win in the Intermediate category of the series and I did this simply by showing up for every race and being consistent. I did not win a single race! I raced a few downhills as well this year and that helped a bit with my confidence and technical skills, even though my placement was not great in any of them, I believe my best finish was 12th in Port Alice. All this racing whipped me into decent shape for the Test, and I did pretty well in that one too. But after all that racing in the first part of the year I took a big break in July, which accidentally lasted until about mid September. This made for a sloppy Cross season, I think my best placement was about 8th place in Duncan. Although that was disappointing it was a good lesson and I can't wait for the next season. Next year is looking just as epic as this one was and I hope everyone gets as much riding in as possible. Keep your eyes peeled for the Victoria International Cycling Festival in June 2011. That's going to be great for the city and cycling on the South Island. Even sooner though, the annual Blubber Burn Classic CX race is on this month and as always it should be a hell of a time. More details on that one soon! Happy New Year Everyone! May you ride new trails and reach new goals.

on cross and super-d

2010-09-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

My buddy Shayne racing in the masters' category at Providence farm in Duncan see all photos here

The Cyclocross season has started here on Vancouver Island. As I've mentioned before on these pages, Cross on the Rock, is a very cool mix of island casualness mixed with gritty racing and very technical courses. I've never raced cross anywhere else but I've been told that the courses we race on are more technical than what is considered to be the norm. In any case, for a mountain biker like myself they're pure joy. But even though their fun, there needs to be some kind of form in place if you want to do well. This was sadly missing in the first race that took place in Cumberland (one of the coolest mtb riding spots on the island). After a successful XC season and a good race in the Test of Metal I slacked of in July and August and I'm paying for it. The course was amazing though and included the whole Coal Hills BMX track as well as some fun singletrack, conventional whirly whirl, grassy straights and an asphalt section. Frankencross did well in it's latest configuration as an eight speed cross machine, and it was nice to try out some new mods I've made to the rig. After bending my forks during a race in the Wednesday VCL cross practice race in Victoria. I found a Bontrager Satelite fork at a local bike store (Thanks Scotty) and got to work getting the Frankencross ready. In it's current figuration it's sporting second hand Race Light wheels, that new carbon fork and a 11-28/38-46 gear ratio (no longer an eight speed, kept dropping the chain). The only other modifications I intend to make on it is installing second hand Ultegra sti's and a nine speed cassette. That should do it for the next year or so...The rest of the modifications will have to be made to myself! Time to ride more and party less. After the first race in Cumberland, I missed the second one in Nanaimo, after crashing on my fixed gear and banging up my knee. I made it out to the Duncan one though (oct 17th), and my knee was not feeling too bad, so I decided to give it a try. I felt alright in the race but I was feeling sluggish after two weeks off the bike. Managed to finish strong though and came in 8th, which was one better than in the Cumberland race, so I was happy with that. It's awesome seeing my friends kicking arse in these races too. The top four guys in the intermediate category of yesterdays race are buddies of mine. Regan, Mitch, and Scotty from Trek Victoria Pro City and my old coworker and rival (he's destroying me this year) Justin Wolfe from Rider's Cycles. I'd love to be up there with them, but the form is simply not there right now. Yesterday oct. 24th we had a Super Downhill race at the local mtb. park in Hartland. It was called the Dumpster Dive Super-D in a nod to the location of the park next to the landfill. After a near month of great conditions it finally started to rain and this made for a slick and scary course. For some reason I thought I'd ride out to the Race on my Remedy, and this resulted in extra wetness and cold chills before the race. I had lots of fun though and after a practice lap, I did my race run. It was looking to be a pretty good run, but then I snagged a tree with my handlebars, in a slow left hand turn (totally unneccesary) and lost a lot of time. I had a great time racing though and the mud made for a challenging course. Next up, alleycat on Friday followed by back to back cross races on Saturday and Sunday. Should make for an awesome weekend!

on mountainbiking, bike proms, and ritualistic strangeness

2010-05-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

Are you Jesus?

Well it's been a busy few weeks, with racing and riding...This weekend however, the only riding that was done was a long Mtb ride yesterday at the Dump. I finally rode trails that I knew about but had never ridden before. These are off the map and a bit hard to find but they're fun. Even though there is a hell of a lot of climbing it seems like it is easily possible to link up some trails to ride on singletrack for about 4 hours which should be good practice for the Test of Metal. This week I also rode out to the dump from Victoria and did a loop there and rode back. That's an ok ride but mountain bikes are not much fun on longer commutes. Hardpack gravel is fun on a crossbike but gets old pretty fast on a mountain bike. Nevertheless, with a little help from Dave Shiskoff (and when I say little I mean a gps map) I realized that you can ride all the way to the dump with very little time on the road. This makes that commute a bit more interesting. I was pretty tired after that ride though and when I came back into town I was begging for red lights so I could take a breather! The Victoria Bike Prom was on the weekend before, and as always it was a blast. On Friday there was an alleycat and a Midnight mystery ride and on Saturday there was a polo turney, the prom ride and the Prom itself. On Sunday there was some pickup polo and a breakfast. All events were very successful even though the live music that was supposed to happen under the bay Bridge was shut down by the police (surprice, surprice). I took part in most of the events although not the polo (had to work). Then on Sunday I went out for a mountain bike ride with Will Rondoff of Midnight Mystery Ride fame and Gabriel Amadeus from Portland, but he was keen on riding some Victoria singletrack. Good way to get rid of the cobwebs. Up next: Road ride with the Rider's crew tonight, sprints on friday in the Capital City Summer series, and a XC race in Duncan on Sunday. Not to mention a lot of road action to watch from Giro D'Italia! Anyway, here are some photos from the prom weekend:

Will, Shiva and Gabe joined me on a ride on Sunday

Bučan Bučan played during the prom ride and at the prom, they were extremely entertaining.

Friday mystery ride

This kind officer took my beer, but to my surprice, in stead of having a sip...

he proceded to poor it on the ground in some strange police ritual of fertility or to celebrate mother earth or something. Anyway did not make too much sense to me.

Cole wore his fancy shoes

Gabriel wore his bitching Zoobomb vest.

Andreas and Bill

What? This is not a reasonable place to have a concert?

Bay st. Bridge

Andrew brought out the white Stumpjumpers for the occasion

Triane lays down the law for the alleycat!

Colin, BelleDawn, and Annina plot for the alleycat. Serious business as you can see!

on touring your hood

2010-04-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Imagine having your own firehall...how cool would that be? Lots of space for your cars and bikes and what have you, photo by: tourdehood.wordpress.com

I've always been interested to visit Detroit. Not only because the Pistons have always been my Team in basketball or the fact that I'm a car nut at heart, but also because it's a city with an interesting history. It's also a representation of the rise, and more recently, the fall of American industry. Detroit used to be a metropolitan city of 2 million people. Now, it's a city of 700,000. I've always liked to photograph, industrial landscapes, and the more abandoned and desolate, the better. This is also (perhaps strangely to some) part of the appeal for me as far as Detroit goes. But since I can't see myself traveling there any time soon, I travel there virtually every once in a while through http://tourdehood.wordpress.com/. It's one man's photographic documentation of his weekly rides through his beloved city. I'm sure it must be sad at times to ride through neighborhoods that are falling apart, but the author of the blog does a good job of looking on the bright sides, and brings us a very interesting view of a city you never hear about here in Western Canada. To quote the author of tourdehood: "Detroit is [also] a synopsis of America’s rise and fall as one of the world’s manufacturing powerhouses. It was the “Arsenal of Democracy”. Much of Detroit was based on making things – from cars and all their ancillary parts, to giant machine tools, to smelting and banging and forging. That’s all gone now, and the hulking remnants of that 20th Century glory still stand, empty, and collapsing, while someone tries to figure out what to do next. (No one’s come up with a workable idea yet)."

On racing and racing some more...

2010-04-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

I got a puncture a few hundred meters before the finish line but managed to limp to the end. Note the manly bike rack.

Fuel, something I've discovered is rather important. Pix by Jaxattacks

There is a lot of racing going on on Vancouver Island these days. There are the Island Cup mountain bike series, the Victoria Cycling League series and the Capital City Cycles Summer Race series. I have been racing in the Island Cup and C3 series, but I think I might do at least on race in the VCL series. For the last two weekends I've been riding in Cumberland, which is about 2.5 hours north of Victoria. Last weekend I took the Niner up there and raced a punishing XC race. It's always a joy to ride in Cumberland and it is definitely one of my favorite riding spots of the island. The XC race was tough, but not nearly as grueling as the Port Alberni race a few weeks ago. I was also more careful to have lots of gas in the tank before I started the race this time and that made a big difference. The Cumberland XC was a mass rolling start, and I believe my biggest mistake in the race was to not pinning it off the line and get in a good position before the singletrack. Having all skill levels funneling into the singletrack at the same time made for a huge traffic jam on the trails and I was held back by riders with less technical skills. The saddest part was that some of those slower riders, who had to jump of their bike and run, did not have the good sense to make way for faster riders behind them. In my mind it's pretty simple: If somebody is breathing down your neck, you move out of the way. If you cant ride the trail, you move out of the way of people who can. If you're getting lapped, you move out of the way. If you crash, you move out of the way. It's just common sense. The fact that some of the riders were not aware of this unwritten code was very frustrating and I hope next year there will be a different setup. That is, the different classes will be started separately. But in the organizers defense, I made the mistake of not getting myself in a better situation, and perhaps that is what it is all about. Overall I loved the race and managed to crawl my way up to 8th place in spite of long punishing climbs, which I traditionally don't excel at. I also rolled through the finish line on a flat tire which was pretty cool.

The lower part of the top section just before entering the woods. These berms were fun. Photo by Len Martell

This week we had the Cumberland DH race. It was my first DH race and I finished in 31st place out of 60 riders in my class. I'm happy with that, even though I would have liked to have come in in the upper half of the racers, like in 29th place or something like that. DH racing for me this year, is mainly for fun and to practice my technical skills. I rode my Remedy for this race and I was surprised by how well it handled the course. The course had a "pedaly" upper half mostly in a clear cut, with a steep rock strewn lower part in the woods. The course should have suited me pretty well (because my bike pedals pretty well) but I took the chicken line around some of the jumps in the top part and I believe I lost some time because of my gutlessness. The lower part was a combination of rather gnarly rock gardens and rooty creek beds and mud. It was mostly a point and shoot affair and I just tried to keep focused and hold on for that section and luckily made it down the course without crashing or flatting. That's success on it's own right there. One thing I did not like about downhill racing however, is the lineups and the waiting. You want to be there early to ride the course and get a feel for it but as soon as the shuttles start to run, the waiting begins. In the worst period there was a three shuttle lineup for the flatbeds. I did not particularly want to wait for 45min for a 10 min ride in a van so instead of taking the shuttle I rode up the fire-roads twice to get more practice runs in. In the end I got four practice runs in (one hike a bike, two rides up, and one shuttle) and then I shuttled for my race run. I figured that this is what my Remedy is designed for, and again I was surprised by how well it pedaled up the fire roads. I did wear myself a bit thin on those rides though so when the time finally came to do my race run I was a bit tired. But I certainly made it worth my time to drive up there and got lots of riding in. The United Riders of Cumberland did a superb job of organizing this race and set a standard which other races will be measured by. After the race there was a delicious BBQ and bike toss for a six pack of Phillips Slipstream. I wanted the beer but lost to bigger and better bike throwers:

Photo by Strahan Loken

Next up: Sprints on Friday, and Hammerfest XC on Sunday.

Patients Pedal Past Parkinson

2010-04-08T09:10:00.001-07:00

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while: Patients pedal past Parkinson's: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/patients-pedal-past-parkinsons-10264680

trials via Milano Fixed

2010-04-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

On niners and the dark side

2010-04-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

Self portrait in church...

I knew it would happen sooner or later. The fact that I'm 6'3 and the 21,5" bikes I normally ride seem kind of small beneath me made this a logical progression. Yes, I now have a 29er. I got the first ride in the night before the first XC race this year at Hartland in Victoria. I went up there and prerode the course in the dark with my lights and tried to get a feel for the bike. Since then I've raced the bike twice and I've taken it on rides two other times. The bike is a Niner M.C.R. 9 Steel hardtail, with a Rock Shox Reba fork, Juicy Five Sl's, x7/x9 shifters and derailleurs, carbon bar and seatpost, and Dt Swiss 470 Sl wheels. It's strange being back on a hardtail but just as I enjoy taking my old singlespeed, rigid Cannondale out for spins at the Dump this bike is also a blast. Sure enough, you can't go off any big drops and it's not exactly built for fast and rough downhill sections, but I'm surpriced at how comfortable I'm on the bike. It also forces you to be smooth, which I can definately use at times. Don't get me wrong, a hard tail will always beat you up a bit, but the Reynolds 853 steel helps out a lot. The big wheels also do help, and even though I have not experienced the "roll over anything" feeling that some 29ers talk about, I have noticed a difference on technical climbs and other bumpy sections. The big wheels come in handy on steep rock rolls as well, since the transfer from rock to ground is evened out a bit by the wheels. I wouldn't say it makes up for the 72 degree head tube angle, but the bike is surprisingly capable on rolls. The bike also climbs really well, something that you'd expect from a hard tail of this sort. It's not overly light though and I've read reviews where a seated climb in a low gear is recommended. I disagree with this. One of the things I've noticed riding a 29er, is the increased distance you can get out of a single pedal stroke, and this comes in handy on difficult climbs. So I like to climb in the middle ring and 1st. The only issue with that is tight uphill cornering, where you really have to keep in mind the added difficulty of getting those big wheels up to speed before you hit the next obstacle. This is the only time I get that feeling however, I can't say I notice it anywhere else. It's a joy to climb on the bike and the only thing that's holding me back on that front, at least as far as the bike is concerned, is the rear tire. It's a Specialized Fast Track, a tire that is definitely not designed for the greasy conditions we experience here on the west coast. So that will be one of my updates in the future. Another thing I'm considering is going to a wider bar for more stability at high speed. I'm currently running a Syncros Gain Carbon bar and it's not narrow at nearly 26" but I feel I could go a bit wider and gaining some leverage and stability. Another drawback is the Reba QR forks. Even though I've dialed in the suspension too my liking (running it way under the recommended psi ratings) the problem lies in the lack of stiffness in the forks themselves. I guess this has to do with the big wheels and is undoubtedly the reason for so many through axle 29er forks (mine is a 9mm q/r). I'll probably run this setup for this season, but I'll be looking to upgrade in the future. One other drawback is the wheels. they feel very light and so far have held true but I believe they in conjunction with the forks, are the cause of at least half of my already numerous crashes on the bike. They are not stiff enough to withstand tight cornering on steep downhill sections. The combination of a noodle of a fork and those wheels I've actually seen the wheel flexing towards me in a hard turn, before it locks up and then in a split second I end up sitting on my ass on the outside of the turn. This is not acceptable. It looks like the wheels are built up using light weight 1,8mm spokes, so for now I'll get my boss to lace them up on some heavy gauge 2mm spokes and see if there is a difference. If not, I'll put the forks up for sale. But overall, the bike is a blast and I'm sure I'll enjoy this one for a while to come.

Forest bike

on racing xc and suffering (kind of the same thing)

2010-03-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

practicing a track stand at the start line, Tyler Johnson is behind me (out of the frame) trying to throw me off my balance. He eventually succeeded.

Coming onto the bridge on crossover on my first lap, post crash. (photos: Dave Shiskoff's camera shot by Alyssa)

It's been a while since I've posted here, but I'll try and regain some regularity in posting from now on. Lots has been going on since I last wrote here, I'm in a new job and racing has started on Vancouver Island. I'm working for Capital City Cycles now and things are going great there. I'll be posting on their blog as well, and as it was with Rider's, there will be some overlap of posts from the Capital blog and this blog depending on the subject matter. The first race of the season was on March 14 at the Dump in Victoria. It was a xc race on a really nice course laid out by the Trek Victoria/Pro City Racing guys. This is going to be a huge season for me (basically from now until the end of november), and I'm more focused on racing than ever before. I've cut back in other areas which feels great for everybody except the closest liquor stores! The race at the Dump was my second ride on the Niner MCR bike that I just got for racing XC/Marathon and the Test of metal this year. The big tires and steel frame are a cool change from full sussers and aluminum, but it sure beats you up when you have not been on a hardtail for awhile. I prerode the course the night before the race and made some adjustments to the bike. But what I had not gotten used to before the first race, was the steep angles of the frame. Those help in making the bike nimble and quick in techy singletrack, but you have to be aware of how they change seemingly intuitive stuff like going hard into sharp turns etc. I was doing pretty well at the start of the race, after the climb to the top and was preparing for the descent down Crazy horse and into Rolly ridge. This is were I usually make up some lost time from the climbs so I turned on the gas and had this idea that I'd probably gain a couple of places before the next grueling climb. This was not to be the case as in the third turn of the downhill I went over the bars and slammed into the ground so hard and so fast that I saw stars and had no idea what had just happened. "RESPECT THE 72DEGREE HEAD ANGLE!"-Said the bike god at that time. I got up as quickly as I could, checked myself for injuries and kept going. But at this point I had already lost a few places. So now my strategy was all messed up. I had planned on going a little easier on the first lap and making a real push for it on the second but now I had to hammer hard to make up for that crash. All tactics were now down the drain, so I just rode as hard as I could for the rest of the race. I had a small crash later on but nothing as drastic as the first one. I ended up in eight place in the Intermediate category which I was very pleased with. After the racing I got my camera and took some shots of the experts. Check them out here:

http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/nn169/h-gunn/Vic%20xc%202010/ Drew Mackenzie one of my heroes, he's the two-time Single Speed CX champion of the world. Capital City Racing boys. Angus' face better represents how we were feeling after the Port Alberni Race. Photo by Regan L. Pringle.

Next up was the XC race in Port Alberni. Me and Angus went up there and arrived in time to do a prelap of the course. On second thought that time may/or may not have been better served by getting some food in our bellies, but we'll get to that later. The course was long for the race and the Intermediates only did a lap and a half. The preriding was awesome and we'll definitely be back there to ride just for fun. The course had a lot of climbing, and nasty technical sections with a sprinkling of fireroads climbs and insane downhills. All this suits me pretty well except for the climbing part, but the downhill part was obviously a favorite. Since I had done surprisingly well on the first super techy climb, I was in a pretty good position before the rest of the long fireroad/singletrack climb to the top. At this time I was really starting to feel the lack of fuel in my system but I managed to get to the top (was passed by a couple of guys on the way there) and then gained a few places on the downhill. I was looking good aside from the fact that I was almost totally blown before I finished the first lap. Poor pre-race planning has a lot to do with that I'm sure and I think I went a bit too hard on the first lap. However, it seemed as though I had built a bit of a gap from the guys behind me, so I had a chance to finish well if I did not totally bonk. I was probably in 4-6 place after the first lap. So off I went up that torturous climb again, but this time we only had to go half way to the top or so. I was riding in a considerably lower gear for the second turn around and at the same time was trying to maintain some speed through the descents so I would not fall too far back. In the end I got passed by a few riders, but did surprisingly well given the fact that for probably the last 15-20 min I was just grinding away in low-low, and trying to think about nothing except to keep turning those cranks while trying to ignore thoughts like: "why am I doing this" and "Oh my god, if this is so horrible, how is the Test of Metal going to be?". This method got me through to the finish line, where I suffered for a good half hour before I started to feel vaguely human again. The mixture of a tough course, tough conditions, and poor pre-race preparations made this the hardest race I've ever done. But it sure was fun, in a strange masochistic way. Also, I took a couple of lessons home with me after that race: Race and Learn.

Blubber Burn Classic 2010

2010-03-06T14:37:00.000-08:00

Blubber Burn Classic 2010The Blubber Burn went well. We had a pretty lame show of people, but I suppose that's to be expected if you only give people a one week notice. Some people may also have used the hockey game later that day as an excuse, even though they could well have done both. A real surprise was the lameness of my own people (Andrew, Shayne). But this lameness has reared its ugly head too often in recent months, a situation that I hope will remedy itself with the rising sun.

At least Justin and Cam showed up and kicked ass in the race, and jax, Colin and Mitch came out for support and to photograph (Colin could not get his own frankenbike together in time, Mitch is battling an annoying wrist injury, and Jax does not have a cross bike (yet)). I don't know. If you're doing an event for a bike shop that you work at, is it unfair to expect everyone from that bike shop to show up? Anyway, I'll try and put that one behind me (on to the next one). Because of the small field I decided to race in the race myself, and therefore got a taste of my own medicine, and by the second lap that drug wast tasting mighty sour. I had an advantage over the rest of the field of course, since I'd ridden the track numerous times when I was scouting for it and marking it out. This helped me work myself up to the second place behind Cam, where I was quite comfortable. After seeing Cam disappear over the hill ahead of me in a cloud of dust with a thundering roar and the mad laugh of a man consumed by racing, I thought to myself: "I'm not going to try and catch him, cause I wont. I'm going to keep it smooth, try not to crash and try not to get a flat." I was perfectly ok with the second place, but figured that if I was lucky, Cam would have a flat or a mechanical or something and I would be able to steal the win. Sadly for Cam, this is what happened. He got a flat on the third lap I believe and I stole the race. Dave Shiskoff came in second on his Vegan power Salsa, followed by Justin who had to sprint to the finish to hold back Cam who was battling back after his puncture. Some prizes were dealt out, and overall I think everybody had fun. here are some photo's: http://pbckt.com/s4.u9V So, over all I think the race was a success. I might hold this race as an annual thing, so be prepared to shed your housecoat of winter next year around the same time.

on clunkers and new bikes

2010-02-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

Well, this is how the Ladies Raleigh ended up. I sold it the other day, but did not really make too much money on it. If I'd think my labour was worth anything I'd be loosing money on this one so I try to ignore that fact. The girl that bought it was a cute little pixie from Nelson that had just moved here with her boyfriend and I felt like helping them out. In any case, she looked awesome on the bike and was polite and eloquent in her e-mails to me. That goes a long way in my books. Now I have two other ones to sell:

Good Year Hi-Way Patrol/Columbia Roadster

Raleigh (Sprite I think, but with wicked "aftermarket" drop bars)

I'm still not sure about the age of these bikes, but they both cleaned up nicely. I've been having a lot of fun cruising around on the Columbia, and If it ware a bit bigger I'd probably keep it. You would not think it, but the Columbia rides like a dream. Steel frame, steel rims and nice 26 1 3/8" tires equal a super smooth ride. There's also something about baskets and coaster brakes that just puts a smile on my face. I'll sell these for cheap too, because I need the money for this: That's a 2009 Trek Remedy 8 that I'm working on getting. It's a nice compromise for me since most of my riding will be done in all mountain situations but I seem to be drifting a little bit into the freeriding category as well. This will be a bike that I can pedal up the hill and then cook down it. I'm not blown away by the "Rootbeer and white" paint scheme but I don't mind it either, it's a little different and I think I can learn to like it. With the introduction of the Trek Scratch for this year the Remedy has been changed up a bit. It now has steeper angles and a 32mm fork as opposed to the 36mm fork on the 2009. So that's why I'm going for the 2009 version. Of course the two old clunkers wont pay for a new mountain bike, so my old one has to go too. It's served me well, but it's time to move on.

ON training, and old clunkers

2010-01-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

Cycling for me has always been a rather relaxed affair until now. Sure I've raced and been serious about doing my best in the races that I've taken part in, but I've never really trained. I've just gone out for rides and ridden to work and wherever else I go during the week and that has been my "training." This will have to change fairly soon however, since I signed up for a race that will force me to show up in decent shape or I'll get a DidNotFinish. Yes, I've signed up for the Test of Metal this year and will be racing in Squamish this june. I've always been interested in doing this race and now I'm finally doing it. It's a 67km point to point XC race with 1200m of climbing and 35km of singletrack. So I better buck up and start some sort of a training routine. Problem is that I have no idea how to go about this so I'll have to seek advise from friends. I understand that building a "base" fitness is essential and this is achieved by steady, long rides. Therefore the Frankencross will go through a bit of a morphing in the next few weeks. Lime Green Vittoria Rubinos, 50t chainring, left hand bar-con, new bars and front derailleur will go on the bike along with donated gold SKS full wrap fenders (for group rides). So Frankencross will become a winter road machine for a bit. I also plan to take a longer route to work a couple of days a week to give me about an hours ride there in stead of 20 minutes. That should help a bit. The dilemma is what bike I'll be racing. I'm kind of on the fence now, on whether or not to get a new bike. On one hand, the Trek Fuel EX-8 that I currently have would make a nice Test of Metal race bike, if I got rid of the Rock Shox Lyric 2-step for something a bit lighter. On the other hand, The Test of Metal will most likely be one of two XC races that I'll do this season. The rest being Super D and depending on if I get a bike or not, Downhill. The problem is I can't afford to have two bikes and the bikes I'm looking at are six to seven inch bikes more meant for All mountain/Freeride and would be horrible for a XC race. So I have a big decision to make. However, I think I might just get a freeride rig and deal with the TOM when I get to it. Perhaps I can build something up in those 5 months ahead. We'll find out I suppose.

This is one of the Raleighs I'm working on now.

I sometimes buy old bikes when I come across them, either in the shop or somewhere else. I like fixing them up and selling them again to make a little extra money. Since we don't really sell used bikes at Rider's, there's not any conflicting interest there, so the owner does not have a problem with me doing this to supplement my meager income. Right now I've got two Raleighs in the works and an old Columbia built Goodyear Hi-Way Patrol. The Raleighs are usually easy to date since the year of manufacture is often engraved in the Sturmey Archer rear hub of the bikes but in my case neither hubs have a year on them. So I've been trying to narrow down the age of the bikes using incomplete serial number charts and other resources, but I have not yet been able to pinpoint the age. I did find the coaster hub that is on one of them, to give me an estimated year of manufacture to be in the late sixties to early seventies. Not a bad hub if they used it unchanged for 15 years!

Sturmey Coaster 1963-1978!

Sturmey has a great "heritage" site that's fun to check out. Pretty nerdy stuff but I like it: http://www.sturmey-archerheritage.com/history.php Managed to estimate the age of my Raleighs to be between 1963 and 1978. Not super accurate but I'm getting closer.

On sci fi and cartoon strips

2010-01-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Avatar is a movie that takes place on the planet Pandora. Humans are mining for the mineral Unobtanium on Pandora, which is said to be the solution to the energy crisis the humans are facing. The main character then has to battle with following his orders or his conscience. The movie is well worth watching but what has that got to do with a bike blog such as this? It does not even have a single bicycle in it! Well, as clever as the moniker Unobtanium may sound, it has already been in use by Rick Smith, the creator of Yehuda Moon, for quite some time now. Weather or not he came up with it before the Avatar guys is another matter all together, but he most certainly published it first. You see, Unobtainium is the Rival Cycles (The Kickstand's main competitor) name for the ultra light but unstable alloy used for the Kickstand's prototype racing bike. This bike was built from a material that the Shakers (The Kickstand's frame builders) named Arborium and is so light that the bike will float away if you don't tie it down, or sit on it. This may cause some problems, and is the reason why the Rival Cycles guys got their dirty mitts on the prototype, copied the meterial through reverse engineering, and renamed it "Unobtainium." This will mean disaster for Rival cycles if karma has her say. But we have yet to find out... Albeit Mr. Smith makes no mention of the energy component of the Arborium, he does let us in on the fact that what makes this Alloy so special is that the Shakers use a meteorite to crate the alloy blend. So who's really to say that we're not talking about exactly the same material here? Who knows? But in any case Yehuda is a must read for every bike nerd.

Arborium prototype ridden by Joe

Unobtainium announced

run bike skillz

2009-12-29T17:57:00.000-08:00

RUN bike skillz!!!

on drill presses stuck cleats, gags and "cats"

2009-12-28T19:53:00.001-08:00

A drill press is a great tool to have in every shop. Not only is it great for making polo mallets and drilling into all sorts of things for fun in a safe and controlled manner...ever wondered what a sealed fluid trainer looks like on the inside? Carbon bottom bracket shell? All in all, wonderful tool for goofing around. It's also useful for more serious stuff like making custom brackets for fenders, racks or baskets and for drilling out stuck screws and bolts on components that you can clamp in the press. Cleat screws tend to get stuck in spd shoes, even if you grease them before you mount the cleat. I had this happen on my beat up mountain bike shoes:

Class all the way! Ahh... the glorious life of a bike shop employee

not only that, the cleats were so worn that I could not even get an Allen key into the socket on the cleat screws. Our shop guru, Steve, told me that I could dig out the edges of the socket with a hard metal tool such as a file. So I dug out the sockets and then got every screw loose, except the last one, of course. To the drill press Batman!Off come the cleats lickety-split! The drill press rocks, it's almost as cool as Stevie's magnets. Speaking of the shop. The bathroom is located at the shop right next to Mitch's bench. This location is a bit perilous as we can see in the following picture of Andrew S.K. -Andrew likes to fix his tires in the bathroom (for whatever reason, we don't hassle him at all!). On a totally unrelated note, I came across this down in North Caroline the other day. It was mounted next to a fancy restaurant menu on one of the main drags in Raleigh. Some people down there have a really good sense of humour...I hope

dis aint no cat Bubba!

"...For example, asking the roadies if they have put on a few pounds because they are looking a bit tubby." - bwahahaha!

2009-11-19T16:23:00.000-08:00

I saw the following interview on Cyclocross Magazine's website and I'm publishing it here in it's entirety. Bad breach of publishing rights but hey, at least I'm advertising their magazine right? Geoff Kabush rocks!

"This is what you’ve all been waiting for from Pro Cyclocross Rumors and Rumblings: this season’s transfer whale. Last year it was Sven Nys and Erwin Vervecken, this year, an Italian makes the first major splash in the transfer market. Also, take a chance to get to know Canadian Cyclocross Champion Geoff Kabush of Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain. All that and much more!

Geoff Kabush has won some of the biggest bicycle races the world has to offer. Just this past season he reached a pinnacle in his career by winning the Bromont Mountain Bike World Cup in Bromont, Canada. Kabush’s World Cup victory stands alongside numerous cyclocross victories, including multiple Canadian National Cyclocross titles. Kabush, who rides for Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain, has been a consistent podium threat this year in the sport’s major events, and has been for some time now. Kabush will look to the podium once more this season at the Stanley Portland Cup, the final stop on the USGP tour, on December fifth and sixth, where he will draw his season to a close, hopefully with a win.

I had a chance to chat with Kabush this week, and we’ve got that interview for you today. What’s your favorite race of this season been so far? What about of all time?

Favorite cyclocross race…probably Granogue for the course, Portland for the atmosphere. I love the technical speed on the hills in Granogue; kind of getting tired of fairly flat and soft courses. I can’t wait to hear the drums beating in Portland. That really gets me fired up to pound it out in the mud. Favorite race so far this year is probably the Planet Bike Cup in Wisconsin. It was a really well laid out course, I just wish we got a few more thundershowers during our race and not on the ride home.

2) You’ve just won a big race, what’s your ultimate post-race meal?

Ultimate post race meal after a win…It would probably start off with a nice Belgian beer right after the race; maybe some pumpkin pie or something salty. Then I would go get cleaned up and meet up with everyone at a relaxed restaurant for some good grub….probably something saucy, maybe a gourmet burger, with more drinks, and a simple, maybe, chocolate desert. I say a relaxed restaurant because after a race the engine is usually still burning and I start sweating bullets when the food goes in. Once I get really soaked, I like to slick my hair sideways like Freddy Mercury. I have actually had some good sweat-offs with TJ.

3) What’s your biggest career achievement to date?

In my cycling career it would have to be winning the MTB World Cup this year up in Bromont. On the cyclocross bicycle I guess it would have to be winning the Gloucester GP back in 2004. It has been a bit too long since I have won one, so I hope to change that in Portland.

4) If you could be anything besides a bike racer, what would it be?

I am a big sports fan so if I couldn’t be a bike racer I probably would have chased another sport….maybe soccer, or ping-pong. Maybe poker: the pay-outs seem to be higher.

5) How did you get your start in cyclocross? What’s been your biggest influence?

I think I did some of my first cyclocross races down in Seattle with a couple friends, Pinner [Andrew Pinfold] and Carter Hovey. That was in ‘97 when the SuperCups were going off. There was a lot of excitement around the races so it left a little bit of an impression. I started getting into it again about five year later with my teammate Peter Wedge; he was one of the original godfathers of Canadian cyclocross who stuck it out in Europe so I learned a lot off him.

6) What was your first bike?

First real cyclocross bike was a Yellow “Jake the Snake”

7) If you could win one race, which would it be?

I would really like to win a USGP in Portland. I really love hanging out there, drinking coffee at Albina, breakfast at Gravy, and I love the atmosphere at the races. I will have a lot of family and friends coming down from Canada as well so it would be nice to win in front of them.

8) Who do you consider your biggest rival?

Based on this year it seems like every race I do I seem to be battling it out with Chris Jones. I wouldn’t really say we are rivals though as we are both just fighting together trying to get to the front. I don’t really know Chris well enough yet to truly heckle him like a rival. My biggest rival, or the guy I like to trash talk the most, would probably be Treboohoo. I like to give a fist to the neck before the race or ask him if I can borrow his brain…because I am building an idiot. It is mostly in good fun but I have one strategy I am not going to reveal until I beat him again; probably in Portland. Hopefully he doesn’t cry.

9) Who is your biggest idol?

Idol is a pretty strong word. I don’t know if I have a bike racing idol. There are guys I really looked up to as role models when I was younger….Dave Wiens, Jonny T, Shandro, and I would like to emulate T-Brown or Ned Overend after bike racing is finished. I am impressed by guys that can reach the top of the sport and still enjoy themselves. I am impressed by Sven Nys’s cyclocross riding but then he kept sitting on my wheel at MTB Worlds so I had to abuse him verbally. Also he was wearing tight jeans and a cowboy hat around after so I can’t call him an idol. I was really into basketball when I was younger, so I was pretty inspired by Steve Nash who, like me, was a relatively short white guy from Vancouver Island. He went on to achieve great things against the odds by working incredibly hard.

10) Got any crazy pre-race rituals?

Before a cyclocross race I like to have some good coffee while trying to come up with a few heckles to use on the start line to break up those awkward competitive silences. For example, asking the roadies if they have put on a few pounds because they are looking a bit tubby."

on public transit rain and fixed gear

2009-11-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

I went over to Vancouver on Monday to have my passport expiry date extended. Since I'm heading down to the states next week it's imperative to have the paperwork in order. The Yanks are a bit uptight on the borders. Anyway, even though it was pouring down I decided to take the Soma with me since I could ride around if I was to early for my meeting with the passport person. I also wanted to check out Super Champion, and yes, I don't much care for walking.

Getting on the ferry

There were two bikes on the boat

Only one bike on the Canadaline rapid transit. Each coach has their own "bicycle area" which I was reminded to use. The design is stupid though, in stead of having a system to hang your bike vertically in the space, you're supposed to park it horizontally in those little slots seen just behind my messenger bag. No system to help the bike stay in place either. So not only does the bike take up a space that could easily accommodate 4 bikes, but it can also easily slide out and fall over one some little old lady and brake her toe. Nevertheless, I'm pretty impressed with Canadaline.

Tamara Leigh's photos were on display in the Waterfront station. Really nice stuff!

The Soma found a friend at Super Champion

My travel companion for the day. I'm having a hard time with this one.

The ride back from the ferry was dark and wet.

on bike traveling

2009-11-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

How cool is this?

BIKE WRAP made by Jooks from STEADFAST on Vimeo.

The long road north

2009-11-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

The long road north is a Documentary depicting a cycling journey from the Southern tip of Patagonia to the northernmost reaches of Canada. It's screening in Victoria on the 13th and 14th of November and should be an interesting watch. Check the trailer below:

On parks management and trailbuilding

2009-11-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Went for a nice solo ride at the Dump on Tuesday. The trails are still remarkable good in spite of the wet weather lately. I've hiked on a lot of trails in parks here in the Victoria CRD area and even though only one park and a part of another are open for mountain biking, the CRD crews could learn a lot by studying the Hartland trails. There are things or two that can be learned from mountain bikers about trail building, especially here in the wet northwest. What impresses me the most about certain areas of Hartland is the erosion control and water management of the trails. This is something that sets a standard that should be aimed for in other parks in the Capital district, and is far better than most other parks. But however well the trails are built and how well us mountain bikers treat the parks, there is NO discussion or even thoughts about opening up more areas to mountain bikers in the vast park network in the CRD. This is shameful, and I for one am not just going to be happy about being allowed to ride in one park. CRD needs to step up and aknowledge that we (mountain bikers, SIMBS) are good stewards of the parks and should be rewarded with more riding areas.

on The Nutcase intercontinental single speed cx championships of the universe!

2009-11-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

Mr. Lumberjack in action, note the axe ziptied to the frame

photos courtesy of Danielle Stevens

The Nutcase Intercontinental Single Speed Championship of the Universe was fantastic! It was a joy to see everybody else having to suffer up the hills like myself, instead of seeing them spinning by me in a blur. The course was fantastic with lots of interesting features such as fire pits you had to jump, extra many barriers (10 in all) and fireworks. It started out in a field with three sets of cones. We left the bikes at the first set of cones, the front wheels at the second and then went to the third where the race was started. We then had to run and pick up the wheels, run to our bikes, install the front wheel and then ride to the barriers and then we were finally on the course. The race was not a part of the Cross on the Rock series,so some of the top contenders on the island did not bother to show up. That was kind of lame in my opinion but I guess they were the ones missing out. It was a long race course, I think I heard somewhere that it was about 3,4km. On top of that, the race was extra long or 60min, but surprisingly, this seemed to suit me pretty well. I ended up in 13th place (-1 lap) in the men's category after being lapped by Drew MacKenzie (SSCXWC 2008, No shame in that):

Drew MacKenzie destroyed the field and claimed the win, much like in 2008's SSCXWC. pictured above with Sue Butler who took the ladies golden speedo in 2008.

I'm happy with my result and it was well worth taking the time off work to go up to Errington and race. Next race will be a double header in Victoria on sat. and sun. 7th and 8th. Even though I'll only be able to race on Sunday I'm super excited about it. For more pics from Errington check out Roland's excellent smug mug page here.

Peacock Groove

2009-11-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

Cool video on Eric Noren of Peacock Groove.

Peacock Groove - Erik Noren, the world's most misunderstood bike builder from Bill Palladino on Vimeo.

On new trails

2009-10-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

Top of Mt. Quimper, old forest fire lookout in background.

I'm too fast for the autofocus...cough cough..,

ahh the classic Gustavsberg style shown here by myself...

Nose manual off the skinny...nice

New trails are always great, and on Monday I got to ride some at the Harbourview park in Sooke. Harbourview is located about 30km (20miles) out of Victoria, and is a relatively new destination for me. I have ridden there once before but the last time I was there I broke my frame at the top of the hill and had to nurse it down (see here). This time the frame held up and the longer travel fork that I currently have on my Trek EX8 made for a more pleasurable ride. Some parts of Harborview are right at the limit of my abilities as a mountain biker. Tt made for a very challenging ride which was great. I took a couple of spills on the way down the hill, but nothing too scary. My riding partner for the day was Mitch, but he's a mechanic at Rider's and a great mountain biker. It's always fun to ride with someone that is more skilled than you are. Not only do you get to see how much you can improve as a rider but you see how it's possible to tackle obstacles and lines in a way that never even occurred to you. It was very cool to see Mitch floating down the trail ahead of me when I was fighting the bike and the terrain and my own fear. I would rarely get to see much of Mitch since I lost him out of sight pretty fast. Then he'd be waiting around the next corner, trying not to look like he'd been there forever, which was nice of him. Harbourview is a great riding destination but it definitely helps to have somebody with you that knows the trails and can tell you what to look out for.

On hasty reports and shaky journalism

2009-10-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Looks like I jumped the gun a bit in my last post. I somehow got the idea that Race face was being sold to MEC as a company, not just RF selling it's products to MEC. That was an impression I got from somebody and could not shake it until I got the e-mail from Race Face, explaining their actions. I apologize for the poor reporting and have corrected the aforementioned post. Fair is fair so I'll post RF's letter here for comparison to the Lambert one: As many of you are now aware, Race Face has recently made the decision to sell to MEC in Canada. We want to take this opportunity to explain our reasoning for doing this and to separate fact from fiction concerning this decision. Firstly, by selling to MEC this does not mean we are decreasing our commitment to you, the Canadian IBD. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. We are a Canadian based company that has been in partnership with Canadian IBDs for seventeen years. This will not change. In very frank terms, we decided to add MEC as a customer because the distribution landscape in Canada is changing concerning the selling of bicycles and bicycling related products. MEC has recently made an increased commitment to their cycling business and we believe that they represent one additional sales channel for us to ultimately sell our products to the Canadian cycling consumer. It is really that simple. For us to continue to evolve, and even exist, as a business, like you, we have to change with the times. That is all we are trying to do by selling to MEC - nothing more, nothing less. It should be noted that many top brands already support and sell their products through MEC and as MEC’s bike program grows this will continue to evolve as they build new partnerships with manufacturers and suppliers. Additionally, we are aware that some of you believe that MEC has an advantage versus other Canadian businesses because of their Co-Operative status. To further show our commitment to you, the IBD's, we will offer a specific discount to address this issue. Place a reasonably sized order with us and we will provide a further discount over and above any booking discounts. Call it the “level tax” discount. Details will be released shortly. Also, we want you to know that MEC is only buying select skus from our line. We have many skus that MEC will not carry. Please contact us if you would like to know the exact skus MEC will stock; we are happy to share that information with you. Lastly, when considering your future business with Race Face, please remember that we are proud to be a B.C. based company for the last seventeen years. Our foot print in Canada is still very large as we directly employ 50+ people in our New Westminster office. We still manufacture market leading products in B.C. such as Atlas and Next cranks. In fact, despite the recent tough economic times, the demand for our product is strong and we have just added an additional five people in our manufacturing department. We are a Canadian based company that is committed to our operations in Canada and to supporting the Canadian IBD. We understand for some Canadian IBDs that our selling to MEC is an emotionally charged issue. Our hope, and goal, is that by providing a commitment to the IBD in the Canadian market place, we have addressed the majority of your concerns. As noted previously, we will release details shortly on our “level tax” discount and our 2010 booking program. Please contact us directly to place an order

on sellouts

2009-10-24T11:26:00.001-07:00

The legendary component/apparel company Race Face just announced that they will be selling their products to Mountain Equipment Co-op (the Canadian equivalent to REI in USA). This has pissed off their current dealer Cycles Lambert and rightly so, so they will stop distributing Race Face products immediately. Recently MEC announced that they will be adding bicycles to their product lineup along with the current outdoor gear and bicycle parts. This has served as a bit of a blow to independent bicycle retailers in Canada as they believe that MEC possesses an unfair advantage as a Co-operative, since that format is considerably less taxed than other businesses. So MEC is not exactly a favorite among the bike shop owners or anyone in the bicycle business in Canada in general. See open letter from Canadian Cyclist here. In any case this move by Race Face has a lot of their fans loosing faith in the integrity of Race Face and their commitment to their product and their core consumers. In all likelihood they will make more money by making this move but will that be at the cost of quality? Many people believe so and point to MEC's shaky quality on certain things in the past. In any case people are a bit perplexed by all of this if not downright pissed off!

See letter from Lambert below:

LAMBERT ENDS DISTRIBUTION OF RACE FACE PRODUCTS

Levis, Quebec, October 23, 2009 - Lambert announced today that it has terminated its Canadian distribution agreement with Race Face, effective immediately.

Race Face recently informed Lambert of its plans to sell its apparel, armour and components to Mountain Equipment CO-OP (MEC). Lambert is very disappointed with the decision Race Face has made in this matter. Due to Race Face’s realignment with MEC, Lambert ceased its business relationship with the company.

The importance of specialty retailers for Canadian cyclists is undeniable. Lambert remains firm in its commitment to channels avoiding an every day low pricestrategy which brings down reasonable market pricing. Lambert will continue to privilege brands that support this same business direction.

Don't forget Dave!

2009-10-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Dave in the Juan De Fuca race last year.

In my selfishness I forgot to mention Dave Shiskoff's cross training rides that he has been putting on for free, every Saturday morning for weeks now. If you're interested in cross and live in the Victoria area, this would be a good place to start. Dave does a lot of unselfish work in the Victoria cycling community and deserves to be mentioned in posts about cross on the island. Check it: http://victoria.organicathlete.org/cyclocross

Cross you bastard! Cross!

2009-10-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Cross season is undoubtedly upon us, and all over the net you see reports of races in cities in North America and Europe. Generally it seems that Cyclocross is making a big comeback in North America and this is certainly very exciting. We here in the southwestern corner of Canada have our share of cross nuts and currently there are two series on the go on Vancouver Island. One is the official and sanctioned Cross on the rock series and the other is dubbed as the Victoria Cross Club and is an impromptu cross "practice"(read race) in a somewhat surprise location every week in Victoria.

wed nighters pics:

justin killing it on the XO-1

Shayne cornering and ducking under some branches

Frankencross and owner playing in the sand

Mitch airing out the XO

Geoff Kabush showed up for one of the rases

Mitch, Andrew and Halldor pose for the camera

The cross on the rock series is very official, at least on the surface, but the attitude and overall feel of the races is definitely very characteristic of Vancouver Island. You can race what you want, be it mountain bike or whatever and everybody is friendly and laid back. This makes for a great race experience for everybody, especially new racers. I have yet to hear a negative word from anyone at these races, even though and justly so, sandbagging is frowned upon. The race courses are always tough but fun at the same time. I think we have it good here in the west as we get to race a lot on singletrack in the woods. This gives guys like me, with a mountain bike background and poor conditioning a chance to give the fitter roadies a run for the money. It also makes for beautiful scenery, that can be enjoyed both as a racer and spectator. The Vic X club races are a bit of a different beast. They're held in a different location every week and the location is only issued to the racers on race day. This makes for interesting races, but since it's only half sanctioned (racers have to sign a waiver if they don't have a race licence from Cycling BC) sometimes "races" get shut down before they're over, or in last weeks case, before they start. This can be frustrating and you have to wonder how hard it would be to just get a permit to hold those races. However, knowing that in Canada, bureaucracy is a national sport in the same way that rioting is in France, perhaps it would not be that simple. Nevertheless, the races that I've attended have all been great for racers and spectators alike, and the fact that the organizers can show up a half an hour before the race starts and set up the course has to say something about how awesome cross racing is. It's so deliciously simple! Cross is the cycling world's soccer. Like soccer, it can be played/raced anywhere and with minimal equipment, although the great majority of racers are ridiculously decked out in full kits and very expensive bikes. But what you really need is some course marking tape, racers on bikes and a place to race. The last item is probably the most difficult to come by in this day and age. I've raced two races in the Cross on the rock series, and three in the Vic X club series. It's been great so far and there is almost a month and a half to go. Frankencross has held up so far which is somewhat surpricing but very exciting at the same time. Fall is great, and Cross is tasty like blood!

On commuting

2009-10-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

Fall has finally hit us here in the Northwest. After last weeks cold snap and the rains for the past few days it's no escaping it: it is here. The leafs are starting to fall and the roads are getting wet and slick. To my surprise, this has not thinned out the throngs of commuters that I pass every day on my own commute. I commute mostly on marked bike routes so I always have a healthy amount of commuters joining me every morning and despite the weather they were out in force today. Perhaps they're just being stubborn or they're simply getting ready to fight old man winter, but there was a lot of them this morning. Certainly there is no reason for Victorians not to commute year round, and a I was happy to see the masses out, even though it was drizzling rain. The prevailing type you see on those wet days is the "Super commuter." this character can be recognized by the trademark brightly coloured rain jacked, the abundance of reflective material on clothing and bike, pant clips or reflective Velcro straps, and a bike with fenders, a rack and panniers (mirror optional). This is the stereotype, but individualism does exist among those types. One of those individualistic types crossed my path this morning. He had all the hallmarks of the Super commuter proudly displayed. However there was one anomaly to his getup. This particular commuter did not have any use for pants, or even shorts for that matter. No, when he woke up this morning and looked out the window he somehow figured that this weather would call for his shortest of short shorts. Akin to these: This choice in clothing struck me as a bit strange, and I contemplated what the reason for this could be, as wished I had an Iphone to capture this fantastic moment. These are the possible options I came up with: 1 The cyclist is always super warm and if he wears pants he will overheat, pass out, crash and drown in a pool of sweat. 2 The cyclist is proud of his sculpted cycling legs (they were pretty muscular, and shaved) and wants the world to know. 3 The cyclist lost a bet. 4 The cyclist has a good sense of humor. In any case, this odd commuter, a drooling Boxer in a car at a red light, and the homeless man that was screaming obscenities at cars but said "good morning sir" to me as a I rolled by made for a fun commute this morning. And top of the morning to you sir!

on custom bike builders...

2009-10-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Cool video about two bike builders in the Boston area:

Metrotuned: Geekhouse x Igleheart from metrotuned on Vimeo.

polo hauler update

2009-10-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd write a short update in the polo/laundry bike. That project has been kind of sidelined for a while since Frankencross took up all of my time, and available funds. This is still the case so the future of the polo bike is uncertain at the moment. However the will is there and somehow I'll get her done. There is talk of a polo tournament in Victoria this winter so I need to learn how to play the game. Anyway, here's the most recent shot of the project: Since that shot, I've installed the cranks, bb, cable housing and cut the fork steerer tube. I will probably use a different front wheel and I'll need to figure out a way to mount the basket via some kind of a home brewed quick release system. That way I can use the bike to haul and once I arrive at the polo court I'll just dump the basket and voila! game on. How's "The Polo Hauler" for a name? I like it.

Frankencross!!!

2009-10-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Snapped frame:

The frame before going in for repairs at Willi Fahnini's shop, Sidney Propeller:

work in progress, note the weird bars. They're Salsa Bell lap bars, 46cm which have a shallow drop and short reach as well as a 12degree flare on the drops. If that's not weird enough, someone had chopped about an inch of the ends of the drops, don't ask me why.

roughly how it looks now: None drive side because the bontrager cranks are nasty and need some work.

Frankencross is rideable! I've taken this beast to two competitions already and it performs, well, much better than expected. The problem lies not with the bike, but with the motor of the operator. After plans to get a "real cross bike" fell through because of the eternal brokeness, I had to work something else out. Frankencross is what I came up with. It's a Bianchi Volpe Frame which I had laying around and seemed perfect to make something happen. The frame was snapped by the rear dropout but since it's steel, it was not too hard to get welded up and ready for action. I took it out to Sidney where Willi Fahnini welded it up for me. Willi is a really nice guy and it's cool to go there and meet him. He's also made quite a few custom frames through the years and still does, but it has always sort of been a side project of his propeller/marine work. But back to Frankencross. After having Willi weld up the frame for me I went scrounging for parts. I bought a Tange fork from Capital City Cycles, found a bar, stem, housing, tires and brakes at Trek Vic. The saddle was from Rider's as well as the seatpost, bb and cables. The cranks and pedals I had laying around, and Steve was kind enough to forward his donated wheelset to me. I only had to rebuild the rear wheel on a hub that I found in the junk bin at work. At this time I'm running it single speed, but hopefully I can score a bar-end shifter somewhere and run it as a 7 speed sometime in the future (old hub only accepts seven cogs, one chainring just because). But I'm in no rush, singlespeed is good for building form and strength, even though it is painfull as all hell.

Sam Brown RIP

2009-10-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

Sam Brown was an amazing character. check out this story in Rolling Stone about the man and his demise. A sad, but powerful tale. http://pro-webpage.com/kathy/SamBrown.php

on zoobombs, polo and such...

2009-09-21T10:04:00.001-07:00

Fine canadian (Taiwanese) steel ehem...

frame sanded down and redy for primer....primed and first coat of paint on half the frameThe finished frame

Lately my goal has been to cut down on bikes, and try and have a staple of a few good bikes, in stead of many bikes of various quality. This has resulted in many sales of bikes and currently I'm down to six. Soon to be five. My latest project is a Bianchi Volpe Cross/Touring bike which will replace my Cannondale rigid mountainbike as my Cross machine. I don't have any pictures of that at the moment but they will soon be posted. Another project I'm working on is my polo bike! Yes I know I've said before that the Cannondale would become my polo bike, but since that one has gone trough so many incarnations and has been with me for such a long time, I don't want to kill it in a stupid polo crash. So the Cannondale goes into storage and will be pulled out for single speed mountain biking. I had an old Rocky Mountain Hammer frame kicking around and I thought that would make a perfect candidate for Polo, so I started trowing parts together. I thought I'd paint the frame green and was going for Forest green when I went to the hardware store. However when I came across the "Hunter Green." The choice was obvious. I'm a huge Hunter S. Thompson fan so I have a tendency to find strange connections to him in the most obscure places. So Hunter green it was. I sanded the frame down, just enough to make the primer stick, primed it with non-sandable primer (big mistake) and after a second sanding, on came the green. I'm pretty happy with the finished frame. It's a disc brake only frame so I'll be running an old Shimano mechanical disc brake in the rear with the lever mounted on the left side (right side will be holding the mallet). The spec will roughly be as follows: Rigid steel fork (traded a Motobecane for that at Bicycle-itis, a great shop by the way). Syncros stem, flat bar with Ouries, Easton seat post, WTB saddle, deore rear hub on old double track rim (complete with green nipples) bontrager front wheel, off my Fuel EX-8. Crappy altus cranks from the recycle bin. Steve, the mechanic at Rider's, straightened those in the vice for me. Old Deore LX derailleur off of the Cannondale. 7 speed casette, and thumb shifter. I'll post more pictures as soon as this monster comes together. To make it even more monstrous I will be adding this basket from Wald to it, once I've devised some kind of a quick release system to it for polo. The Polo bike will then double as my Laundry/Delivery bike. Perfect for cruising to the garage sale or delivering two flats of beer to the Barbeque etc. zoobomb!

Zoobomb Freeride from Billy Meiners on Vimeo.

Cyclocross!!!

2009-09-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Geoff Kabush is a demigod. He showed up for last years Juan De Fuca race.

Cross season is upon us and I still don't have a Cross bike. This is hardly an excuse for not showing up for races, at least not here on the Island. The Cross on the Rock series is a very laid back affair, and you can race your chopper bike with coaster brake if you want to, although you'd be unlikely to have any sort of succes on such a contraption. However, mountain bikes don't make unusable cross machines and I have the Cannondale SS to race on. I have done one CX race in my life and that was on that particular bike, so I might as well continue riding that untill I get the cross bike. So I'll be switching back to 1:2 gear ratio and throw on some new bars, and presto!> cross bike. Nevertheless, I'm hopeful that I can get a race or two in on an actual cross bike. Hint hint. Dave Shiskoff the Vegan powered racer is doing cross clinics on Saturday mornings over the next couple of months and he's urging everyone to come out and practice their cross skills. Dave is putting this on for free (how wicked is that?) so if you're not doing anything on Saturday mornings I'd check it out. Unfortunately, us bike store employees have to show up for work on Saturdays. Hope to see you out there on the cross circuit.

Peaty wins and riding in Iceland

2009-09-07T12:10:00.001-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Halldor Gunnarsson <halldorphoto@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 12:00 PM Subject: Peaty wins and riding in Iceland To: post@posteros.com

Not much to say this morning so I'll post a couple of videos instead. Steve Peat took the gold after a few years wait, proving to the young pups that he's still The Man.

And then some mountain biking in Iceland!!!

. <p><a href=" ">Icelandic Mountain Biking</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1891126">Joe Schwartz</a> on <a

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Police contacted cyclist before Bryant collision

2009-09-02T12:05:00.001-07:00

Interesting how much the media focuses on weather or not Sheppard was drunk or not...yet they try not to focus on the fact that Bryant was trying to leave the site of an accident. Now why was he running? the Police say he was not drunk, but I'm a little suspicious of that... Police contacted cyclist before Bryant collision Shared via AddThis

On Alleycats, birthdays and Pro Riders taking on Iceland

2009-09-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Shayne rocking the Jordan

Mitch hates riding his bike

Justin's tri-suit comes in handy once again. Andrew in background

Group Shot at King George Terrace

We watched Macaframa at the shop after the race.

A group of us went out for an alleycat/birthday party on Friday. The Alleycat started from Capital City Cycles where the birthday boy works as well as owning the shop. Me, Justin, Mitch, Shayne(still recovering from injuries) and Andrew (still recovering from injuries) showed up for the race. We decided to race as a team and enjoy each others company while riding between points and so off we went. The race was a lot of fun as always, and just about the right length. It took us about 48min to ride the course if memory serves me right, and we came in 8th place as a group. Which is alright I suppose, especially given the broken wings on the team, not that they had much trouble keeping up, but it's an excuse anyway. Here's a rough map of the course, although we took a slightly different course. View Larger Map Also Check out Matt Hunter's Blog, he's been riding in Iceland lately with, Andrew Shandro, Joe Schwartz, photographer Sterling Lorence, and writer Mitchell Scott. Their Guide in Iceland is an acquaintance of mine Magne Kvam. I've been seeing Facebook updates from him and he seems super stoked on the riding they've been getting in. http://www.i-am-specialized.com/gravity/rider/matt-hunter/398/#/blog

Tuesday nights, and alleycats

2009-08-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Mitch on Switchbacks

Rigid singlespeeds make things interesting

Not much of a challenge for Nic

We had a good group ride on Tuesday. I've been riding solo for much of the summer on the supposed group rides since people are busy and have other engagements. This is to be expected in the summertime and not an issue at all. However, I will be out there every Tuesday as long as I'm healthy, and in town. So if you ever feel like going for a ride or get introduced to the Dump, I'll be there at 7pm. Last Tuesday, Mitch, Justin, Colin and myself showed up for the ride, along with Nic and Mitch's better half, Claire. That's the biggest ride we've had in a long time and it was good to have more people out. We Picked up Al from Cycle BC, on the trails and did a pretty standard loop. We rode to the top of Twister via Switchbacks and then came down Old payoff and Snakes and ladders. No spectacular crashes although Justin had another battle with his rockgarden nemesis on Little Face, and Colin took a bit of a spill on old payoff. Neiter one was fantastic enough to take the crash trophy but in all honesty I can't remember who is the current trophy holder. Andrews crash on his road bike was pretty fantastic though so I have to say that he must still clench the trophy with his one good arm. In other news... there is an alleycat tomorrow in Victoria. Meet at the Chain 7:30pm, mash the pedals and empty the cans.

Warriors race vs. MXC

2009-08-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

The Warriors Race from morehartfilms on Vimeo.

The race is on Labour day weekend, sat. September 5. The day after there is a MXC race in Campell River (50 k and I've heard its a point to point) in the Island Cup so I'm contemplating doing that in stead. It would be fun to see hundreds of racers and fixed gear fiends on the streets of Vancouver though. So I'm a little torn about this issue. Sure, I'll die if I try the 50k MXC, but I think that the race in Vancouver would require much consumption of beers which would be equally bad for me, and slightly worse for the budget. So we shall have to wait and see...

Street sprints

2009-08-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Street sprints tonight! Meet at Capitol City Bikes@ 7:30. Talk of a new venue and some fantastic racing for sure. Sweet! I'll post photos tomorrow. The unofficial street sprint series in Victoria, have definitely put their mark on the summer in this town. The idea is to hold those races every two weeks or so, and everyone is welcome to race. Although most seem to prefer fixed singlespeeds, everyone is welcome to race whatever bike they want. The sprints are so short that you won't really have time to shift anyway, so those running geared bikes seem to usually choose a gear and stick with it.

Singlespeed mtb, and housing

2009-08-19T21:08:00.001-07:00

I sent my shock off for servicing last week. But since I can hardly go a week without mountain biking (or I'll risk my mental health, which is unstable to begin with) I had to ponder my options. Sure I could borrow some of the demo bikes we have at the shop, but I've been riding those for quite a bit and I wanted to try something different. So, out from hibernation came the Cannondale that I've had since 1998. This bike (a rigid M400 mountain bike) has gone through many transformations over the years and has served me well. The last incarnation was a singlespeed version that I used for a cyclocross race last year and for commuting in the snow last winter. I was running a 34x16 gear on it for that purpose but decided to lower that a bit, so I threw on a 32t chainring and headed for the dump. I've ridden this bike as a singlespeed, ever since the original drive train finally gave up the ghost a few years ago, but I've never ridden it on mountain bike trails as a singlespeed. Although in it's early years it saw a lot of action on the mountain.
The trails at the dump are not friendly for heavy gearing as I soon found out. I managed to ride up most of the trails that were not to steep, but once I got into technical and steep climbs, things got a little rough. This resulted in much sweat and many stops. I immediately decided I should lower the gearing a bit but I must say that I was blown away by how much fun this was. Every little thing is a challenge on that rig, even just riding on the fire roads. I enjoyed being forced to ride smoothly, or I would pay for it. I rode up to the top of Twister and that's where I discovered a bit of a problem. My fancy pink "brake" housing was splitting on me..."Now why was this happening," I thought and then realized my rookie mistake. I had been so mesmerized by the colour that I didn't check if the housing was a brake or a shifter cable when I installed it after salvaging it from the garbage can at work. Using a shifter housing for a brake cable is not a smart idea, since shifter housing is designed to have as little friction as possible and for that it sacrifices strength. there was a good story on this in Urban Velo a while back: Brake VS Shifter Housing
But I digress. I temporarily fixed the brake issue by switching the housing around, back to front, which provided me with enough stopping power to get down the hill. The day after I rummaged around in the parts bin and found an old 18t cog and some yellow (!) brake housing and went out again, after work. That gearing is much better, but since the cog was out of a cassette, it was not quite as wide as the singlespeed cog that was in there before. I did not realie this until I was on the trails and kept throwing my chain off. I solved that problem, by sacrificing an inner tube and having my chain tensioner pulling up instead of down, thus engaging more teeth on the cog and getting rid of the annoying chain throwing issues. That configuration worked well, and the hills were a little easier, so I'll keep that setup for now.

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Durian Cup

2009-06-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

There's a fun event coming up tonight at the Dump. Dave Shishcoff of organicathelete.com has organised 4 races in cooperation with SIMBS. The first of the 4 race weekly series is on tonight. Signup starts at 6:30 and racing starts at 7:00. The race fee is a meager $3 if you have a Cycling BC insurance. If not you can buy a day licence for $40. http://www.organicathlete.org/blog/durian-cup. Unfortunately I don't think any of the Shop staff will make it out tonight, but I'm sure we'll be there next week. This is a nice develoment. There have not been a lot of races at the dump for awhile, but after the first super d there last year and the second one this year there seems to be an increased interest for putting on races at Hartland and this will train the Capital Regional District in being more accepting of such events. It's a constant struggle to keep the little land we have for riding in the CRD and events like these, that show that there is a big group of energetic people using the trails might help in developing more land for mountain biking. What seems to elude the CRD is how much is to be gained from having a nice network of trails within the city limits. CRD tends to focus on liability issues, but forgets to think about how much mountain bikers contribute to the local economy...Somehow this goes unnoticed. BC is a Mecca for mountain biking and there are thousands of people that come here (BC) specificly to ride our trails, and if the city of Victoria is interested in keeping a healthy tourist population they should expand the riding in the region, not limit it. Mountain biking adds to a list of nice sustainable things to do in Victoria and it would be great if those that travel here would have more options in trail systems to ride. but that's a whole different story...Go out there and race the Durian Cup... It should be great fun and I'm sure there will be some beers afterwards...

On beer, with bikes on the label

2009-03-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

How can any self respecting cyclist resist this sort of packaging? I don't think you can, if you are indeed self-respecting, a cyclist and over the age of 13. I sure as hell can't, but I have a bit of an edge on anyone not familiar with Phillips Brewing Company. I've been drinking their product from when Blue Buck was still Blue Truck. They are a great local company brewed within 10 min from my home here in Victoria, and they only use top notch ingredients (also check out their history section on the website, its very entertaining). Slipstream Cream Ale is quickly becoming my favorite beer, not only because I like looking at the label, and believe me I do...but also because it is an excellent beer, not too dark, not too blonde and with a nice strong malty flavor...mmmm a perfect, post ride beer. But then again I did not have to stray to far from my former favorite, The Blue Buck. Ahh life is good, how can you complain after a 2 hour nightride and then getting to sit down and have a beer and ramble on about beer and bicycles on some blog. Not bad, all things considered. Now I just need to figure out how to make money doing this. Damn elusive money.

On locks, bike security and Polo

2009-03-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

The cut in the lock... the replacement...Kryptonite evolution

Victoria is notorious for bicycle theft. I have not been affected by this yet (knock on wood). But as the above photo illustrates, I've come close. I did not notice the half-assed cut in the lock right away, but one day when I arrived at work I realized there was a huge dent in the down tube of my Cannondale M400. At first I thought somebody was throwing it around in the storage locker, but when I finally noticed the cut in the lock I realized that whoever was trying to steal my bike, probably managed to dent the frame while hacking away at the lock. The lock held up however, and I'm glad about that. It's has since been replaced by a u-lock. The bike is not really safe to ride in any sort of serious way, so I think it's racing days are over. So what do I do with that bike? Well, I've always wanted to try Bike-Polo and the Cannondale seems like a perfect candidate for a polo bike...So here's the plan with that one: Replace the flat-bar with the risers that came on my Bianchi, retain the hot pink Ouries. Scavange the shop for a decent v-brake, and replace the Cantis with v's, no brake up front/rear brake on left side of handlebars (I need the right for the mallet). Replace the Jones XC tires with my old trusty Tioga City Slicker slicks, these are hefty but I have never had a flat on them in over 3 years. Perhaps replace the 34t ring up front with a 32t but for now I think I'll keep the 34t (CX gearing) and see how it works out. This will be the fifth incarnation of the Cannondale. First it was my mountain bike, then my commuter, then my singlespeed commuter (once the shifters wore out), CX machine and now...Voila! here's a Polo bike. Now I'll just have to show up at the polo rink and make some friends...should be interesting. I'll post some photo's of this morphing soon.

A very lovely bike...

2009-03-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

I fell in love yesterday... I mean, would you look at that thing. It's gorgeous, looks fast standing still. Traditionally I'm not a huge track bike guy but this bike sort of changes that all for me. Aero tubing, deep section rims and a beautiful color scheme...who can resist gloss red on gloss black? I know I sure as hell can't. If I had a Check it out here.

Color for Sturmey

2009-01-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

So the date for the SunRace-Sturmey Archer new 3sx three-speed fixed hub has been pushed back once again, apparently because of a redesigned driver. They're now going for March as the unofficial and vague release date. But for us that are waiting for the hub, there is something to feast our eyes on, since they've released what color options will be available: That red one looks tasty.

On surly packaging

2008-12-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

I received a nice pack from Surly the other day which means that I really have no excuses anymore for not getting my Bianchi back on the road. The Surly Components look great and the bearings in the rear hub feel super smooth. I also really like the packaging they came in. The hub came bubble wrapped, but the lock ring and the cog were twist-tied onto a piece of recycled paper with the Surly logo printed on it. The three parts were then delivered in a brown paper bag, and it looked more like a sandwich was in there rather than bike components. I think this is a cool choice of packaging and one that illustrates the company's commitment to the environment. Or does it? My co-worker pointed out that the homey packaging might be to make the company seem like a Mom and Pop operation, and then went ahead insinuating that it's not anymore. This might, or might not be true but I think that the idea that Surly is all about simplicity comes across pretty clear with the packaging. As an added bonus a paper bag breaks down in a landfill and it does somehow suit the company. Perhaps it makes me a sucker for marketing, but I loved it. I got Steve our Zen master mechanic build the wheel for me for a six pack the other day, and now i just have to put the whole thing together. I'll post some pics of the resault once it's running.

On getting back on the horse, and SunRace/Sturmey Archer's three speed fixed

2008-11-25T22:53:00.000-08:00

I had my first "post crash" ride into work on Friday. What a great feeling! Even though I have to take it slow and look extra carefully for bumps or potholes in the road. I wouldn't say that I was getting fat by not being allowed to ride like Jehuda at the Kickstand when he lost his bet with Joe and had to drive to work for a week: But I was definitely getting cranky...Oh yes, there's some serious crankiness going on, I don't only feel like an old man, I think I'm morphing into one. Old and bitter. I bitch at the television, people in traffic and at mostly innocent people in the service industry that the old man feels should rather work in dish washing or somewhere their stupidity is not forced upon the innocent public. So far this has not caused any serious collisions in my day to day life, but those close to me keep a safe distance, as ironic as that may sound. There's nothing on this earth that's more relaxing to me than a few hours of riding hard in the woods. Except for Morphine perhaps or other strong opiates, but we're talking legal and socially acceptable here. Anyway, without the bike riding, my mind goes bonkers and the mood turns sour. But now that I can at least ride Basil to work I feel much better. On a different note, I stumbled across this hub the other day on the internet and I have to say I'm quite excited about it. Three speed fixed seems like a fun idea, albeit not a new one. I'm going to try to get my hands on one of these when they'll be released and use it on the Bianchi. In the meantime I'm ordering a Surly flip flop hub and I'll be riding that whenever I'm feeling like I don't want to think about gears. This hub is a new version of the venerable ASC hub made by Sturmey Archer somewhere close to the middle of the last century. This one is made by SunRace/Sturmey-Archer, but SunRace bought the ailing Sturmey in 2001, I believe. The fact that Sturmey is now made by a Taiwanese company upsets some people, but it has been said that SunRace is creating better products than Sturmey was towards the end. The fact that they're bringing back such a unique hub is also encouraging and hopefully we'll see a lot of interesting stuff from SunRace/Sturmey in the future.

on half-wearing helmets and weirdness

2008-11-15T19:38:00.000-08:00

One of the strangest phenomenons that I come across in the cyclist's behaviour is the cyclist who rides around with his/her helmet somehow attached to the bike or their backpack, instead of riding with it on their head. In Victoria I see this all the time and I just can't for the life of me make any sense of it. It's kind of like remembering to bring a gun to a gunfight but insisting on fighting with a spoon or something. It's bizarre. Now I know there are people out there that will tell you that studies have shown it's actually safer to ride without a helmet than with one. I think what they're trying to convey with those studies is that a person driving a car will give a person that does not wear a helmet more room, and respect than they will give a rider in full kit. I'm sure this is true, since the driver probably reasons that a rider in full kit will sort of know what he is doing and therefore it's okay too speed by him with only inches to spare. This is nonsense of course, but I can see that this might be the case. Nevertheless, if you're riding around with a helmet in the first place, why not store it on your head? It's not only the most logical thing to do, but it also kind of helps out if you crash and hit your noggin and not to mention that helmets are super awkward and annoying to carry in other places than your brainpan. I'm the kind of rider who hates rattles and squeaks and unnecessary junk on my bike. I could not ride with a u-lock dangling from my handlebars. I can't really use racks and panniers either and I certainly cant ride with my helmet flapping on my handlebars. But even if I did not mind all these things and rode around on a squeaky, rattling hulk of a bike I'd still wear the helmet on my head. Not doing that is so stupid that it boggles the mind.

on ironic injuries, stupidity and new projects

2008-11-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

It's ironic that I injure myself just over a week after I write about commuting safely to work. It's the kind of thing I always worry about. I'll say things like, yeah I haven't had a fall in ages and then I have a yard sale on the next ride. Or I'll say that I don't get sick very often, and then I come down with pneumonia. I didn't think karma was after me since I had a spill on one of the night rides recently, but riding home after a few drinks with no front light is just stupid, and a prime example of what pushing your luck can bring you. Not only was I a bike ninja, but an inebriated one at that. This is very dangerous and I soon found out. A silver sedan cut me off two blocks away from home (he probably never even saw me), I slammed on the brakes, slid into the curb and flew over the handlebars. Half an hour later I was at the hospital.

I'd like to state here that I generally don't ride after a few drinks. In fact, I'm a bit bothered by the prevalence of posts and articles on the net that endorse that sort of thing. This time however, I took a risk, and paid the price. My excuse was that I needed the bike for the Cyclocross race on the following day, and that I did not want to go through the hassle of getting a cab and stuffing the bike in the trunk. Yeah well, instead I have to deal with the maddening hassle of missing the rest of the Cyclocross season and not being able to ride a bike for at least a month. Common sense sometimes abandons me in the times of need. It's a personality flaw.

Not all is bad though, and recently I acquired this elegant Raleigh that will be my commuter once I've healed up. It's a 1987 Raleigh Record that's actually made in Canada. Or so it says on a sticker on the frame anyway. Perhaps it means that it was assembled here, like is the case with so many of the Canadian brands. On a side note, Raleigh has seen better days as a bike company and nowadays they seem to be mostly making department store bikes which are soooo not worth the Raleigh badge. It's interesting to see that the Canadian and UK websites advertise themselves as junk mongers, whereas the US one seems to have a bit more ambition. But I degress, the bike is a nice old 10-speed, well not nice maybe since the Record was sort of the entry level road bike and as such, does not sport very nice components at all. However the frame is nice and it's barely been used at all. The guy I bought it from claims he bought it new in 1987 but never really rode it much. I'm inclined to believe him. The frame is ridiculously big at 65cm bb to top of seat tube, but not very long at 61cm c/c top tube. It rides nicely and I love the forgiving flex of steel on the road. I have an old 7 speed road gruppo that I think I'll throw on this one along with some aluminum rims, longer cranks, nicer hubs, wider bars and some full wrap plastic fenders instead of the heavy steel ones that are on there now. That should drop the weight a little bit and I'll have a nice winter commuter. It will be called Basil, as in Fawlty, and I look forward to fixing this one up. The Bianchi which coincidentally is also a 1987 model will get a different treatment as that one will receive the Sugino Messenger cranks I bought for a bottle of Crown Royal, and will be my singlespeed/fixed stupid fun bike.

Shoulder seperation, ac joint injury

2008-11-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

Until I'll be able to type with both hands, this blog will grind to a near stand-still. I'm hoping to be able to type again after a few days, T3's only do so much.

on commuting

2008-10-22T21:19:00.001-07:00

It came as a surprise to one of my co-workers the other day when I told him that I stop at every red light on my commute to and from work. He said he just loves to weave in and out of traffic, and was quite taken aback when I told him that I don't really do that anymore, unless I'm in a big hurry. Nope, I'm all about riding safely these days, and I think it sort of just happened naturally to me. I think I've picked up those habits from reading about how to commute safely, in various bike magazines, and on websites. Some of it has just sort of presented it to me as the best way to ride, for me anyway. The way I ride most of the time, is not only the safest way (in my mind anyway) to get between places on my bike, but it is also the most laid back and stress free way of doing that. I ride aggressively when I need to, I take the lane, I don't ride close to parked cars I always filter to the front on stoplights (unless someone has their right-hand signal light on) etc. Most of the time however, I try and treat the other commuters (cyclists, drivers or pedestrians) on the road with the same respect that I expect from them. Interestingly enough, it even bothers me in the rare instances when people do me special favors because I'm on a bike. For example, I came to a four-way stop today, and there was this lady in a Toyota Camry that came to the stop sign well before me. Now, if I come to a stop sign at the same time as a car I usually go first simply because I accelerate faster. But this time I saw that she came to the stop sign ahead of me so I grabbed the brakes and made eye-contact with the driver, trying to imply that I saw her and was expecting her to go. She didn't go. She looked at me and waved me across, thinking she was doing me this huge favor. At that time I had slowed down to a stop, lost all my momentum, and then had to get going again to cross the intersection while she waited. If she would have just gone ahead like she normally would, my timing would not have been messed up, and both of us could have been able to cruise through that intersection in a far more fluid and efficient manner. I thanked her for the courtesy though, even if I wasn't too pleased with her. I should probably mention here that I contradict myself when it comes to stop signs. I stop at all red lights, but stop signs I regard as slowers, not stoppers. You see, we cyclists are using our own energy to propel us forward, and it takes a lot of energy to stop completely at every single stop sign. So even though I stop for red lights, I don't stop completely at stop signs if it's not busy. Then again, nobody really does that anyway, unless there is traffic that makes them stop. Sure enough, people slow down and look around carefully before going ahead, but in all honesty, not many of us really stop. My excuse for not stopping is to conserve my energy, my tires and brakes. At the same time I believe that cyclists see their surroundings better than drivers, and that notion should account for something. There are no b-pillars in our line of sight, right? But back to the red lights and my bewildered co-worker. "You seriously stop at every red light," he asked me. "Well, yes I do, unless I'm making a right turn," I said. "I practice my track stand." This made my friend understand things a little better. To him, my lame commuting ways all of a sudden seemed like a game. Which it is to a point, it's the "no foot down commuting game," and it's fun. Not to mention useful, as improving your balance on the bike is going to be helpful in every aspect of bike riding, weather it be mountain biking, road racing, or just going to the store to get the paper. www.yehudamoon.com

Vancouver Island Cyclocross

2008-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Russel Anderson hammering on his way to the expert category win in the 3rd race of the Cross on the Rock series. For more pics of the race please take a look at my shots here: 1, 2, 3. And pictures of the 2nd race at Juan de Fuca here: 1, 2. I raced in my first cyclocross race on the weekend. That will make a total of three races I've done on a bike, one Alleycat, one Super D and one Cyclocross race. Hopefully there will be many more to come. The Cross on the Rock is a set of cyclocross races on Vancouver Island, BC and the goal of the organizers is to introduce people to the sport. Therefore the rules are slack and there's great atmosphere at the races. You can race whatever you want to. If you want to race a full suspension 29er, go ahead. I've seen anything from full carbon cx rigs, road bikes and even a touring bike with aerobars which the Bike Snob would most definitely not have given his seal of approval. This time I even saw a Santa Cruz Nomad, which seemed slightly out of place to say the least. So after watching the last race I figured I might as well try this cyclocross thing out, and see what's so great about it. I brought out my Cannondale M500. That Cannondale started out as my mountain bike in Iceland and has been my singlespeed commuter for a few years here in Victoria, and enjoyed a second life as such with chopped bars and slicks. But now it was time for it's third life, so I threw on a flat bar (which is 4 inches wider than my commuting bar), as well as a pair of Bontrager Jones XC tires that came with my Fuel EX-8 and were kicking around in my apartment. After stealing the Shimano DX pedals off the Fuel, the bike was close to being ready. I tried to think of a good gear ratio to run, and was advised by various websites to run a 2:1 ratio which would have meant and 32 tooth chainring in the front since I'm running a 16t in the back. By looking at what was offered stock on commercially available single speed CX bikes I saw that most were running 2,3 to 1 ratio, or 18t cog and 42 tooth chainring. I had heard that the race coming up would be a fast one, so I went with a 36t ring in the front giving me a ratio of 2,25 to 1, "and I even have smaller diameter tires than those CX bikes," I thought. I was worried that the ratio would not be fast enough for that course and I'd be spinning like crazy the whole time. These worries turned out to be unfounded. There was a loooong hill on this course and I had a really hard time with it to say the least, so as my vision was blurring and I had slowed down to nearly a stand still on the last lap, I was certainly thinking about how nice a 2 to1 ratio would have been. The only thing that got me up that hill that last time was picturing Geoff Kabush's amazing show at the last race, as I reported on in this blog. I thought: "if Geoff can ride up unrideable hills, I should be able to ride this lame ass incline one more time," and that got me over the hump. I was so drained by then that I could not get any closer to the leader and had to admit defeat and be happy with 2nd place, some 40 seconds behind the leader. That was in the beginners race mind you, and those four laps we did were peanuts compared to what the other categories did, but certainly enough for me. In fact, I'm surprised I didn't puke. After I sort of caught me breath, I grabbed my camera gear and photographed the rest of the races that day, which was fun as always, even though it was a little bit harder than usually, not only because my legs were reduced to jelly, but also because of the unusually long laps, which meant a lot of running around for different angles. A good day at the races though all things considered. Here's my Cannondale before and after cx modifications. Some adjustments will need to be made to the bike before I race it again, the chain slipped under heavy pressure and I'd love to get some skinnier tires for more mud clearence and lighter rolling weight. These have peaked my interest.

Night Riding

2008-10-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Every Tuesday night I go night riding with a group of friends. This week I did not feel like once was enough, so I got my coworker,Andrew, to go out with me on Thursday as well. I've been meaning to take a picture of this particular part of the Southridge trail at the Dump, and since it was just the two of us it made sense to do it on Thursday, I'll try to do this again in the future and have other riders light up the trail as I'm shooting so it won't be this dark.

Geoff Kabush kicks ass

2008-10-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last post it the cycling facilities at the Juan De Fuca Recreational Centre have been in danger of being leveled for an indoor soccer facility. Everything is still unclear about the velodrome, but the Greater Victoria BMX association managed to strike a deal with the WSPR that runs the facility, to save one of the BMX tracks on the site. This means that the recreational BMX track that is next to the Velodrome will still be flattened as planned but the new one, built in 2007, will be totally redone to work better with the younger age democratic that is the biggest part of the BMX Vic. users. The track will be flattened and drainage issues will be dealt with, and a new more moderate track built possibly as early as next spring. That is most likely great news for the BMX community in the area, although it is possible that some of the more advanced riders will be peeved about loosing the more advanced course. So, it looks like one of the three cycling facilities has been saved, but the other track, and the Velodrome still face demolition. That work will not commence until the court case is settled and hopefully the court will decide that it should not commence at all. On a lighter note: The Cross on The Rock Cyclocross series on Vancouver Island are in full swing. The second race took place on October fifth and I had the privilege of being able to attend. The series are cheap for competitors (I believe about $15) and the racers don't need a racing license. This and the added interest in Cyclocross in general, resulted in a great race with over 80 competitors in 4 skill divisions. The events are free for spectators, and I can't really think of a much better use of my sunday afternoon than to go watch a bicycle race. I have to admit that I'm not all to familiar with who's who in bike racing, weather it be road, mountain or cyclocross, but I was exited to get to see Wendy Simms (kona) the four time Canadian CX Champion, and the olympians Geoff Kabush (Maxxis), and Errine Willock (Webcor). Geoff was amazing and a crowd favorite as he rode up the "unrideble" run-up. I watched him do that two times with a smile on his face the whole time, and he did it with such an unbelievable skill and ease that I was blown away. I think he just did it because he could, since running up would probably have been quicker, but what I show! Here's a picture of Geoff climbing the run-up, I don't think I'd make it up that on my mountain bike and its 2,35" tires, but Geoff made it look easy on his skinny tubulars. I heard cheers from the crowd after I moved locations to get a more complete photographic documentary of the race, so I can only assume that he rode up that hill on all of his ten laps. The great thing about photographing Cyclocross is that you can catch every competitor at all parts of the course, that is if you're willing to work for it and run about a little bit. I had a great time at the race and by the looks of things, so did all of the competitors. I've fallen for just another part of the cycling world, and I'm now dreaming of a Cyclocross bike. In the meantime I'll cobble together a bike to race in the beginners race this coming Sunday. It'll be my first Cyclocross Race and my third race of any kind on a bicycle. I'll be racing my trusty old M500 Cannondale mountain bike with a singlespeed set up. I won't be winning anything, but I'm sure as hell going to have some fun, and then I'll shoot the rest of the race after competing.

Velodrome in peril at Juan De Fuca Recreational Centre

2008-10-09T08:17:00.001-07:00

The second race of the Vancouver Island cyclocross series took place in Victoria last weekend. The location was the Juan De Fuca recreation centre, wich is managed by the West shore parks and recreation. The race was a great success and a blast to watch, and I'll write and post about that in the next few days. However, at this point, I want to mention some sad things about the area where it took place. In many ways the recreational area is great. It has a huge indoor swimming pool, Two ice rink arenas, and everything from a Lacrosse box to a Par 3, nine hole golf course. All in all, it's one of the most impressive sports complexes in the Greater Victoria area. However, what makes this one special and sets it apart from the others is the attention they have given to Cycling in the past. There is a velodrome there (1 of 2 in BC and 1 of 7 in Canada), built for the 1994 Commonwealth Games, and two BMX tracks one of which hosted the BMX qualifier for the 2008 Olympics. The West Shore Parks and Recreation which is run by representatives from the City of Langford, The City of Colwood, the District of Langford, the District of Metchosin, the District of Higlands, the Juan De Fuca Electoral area and the town of View Royal, has decided that they need to add an all weather soccer/rugby/CFL arena to the existing facilities. Their choice of location is odd to say the least. They intend to build this complex on top of both the velodrome and the BMX track and have no plans to replace the facilities they intend to tear down. This plan is ridiculous, and when announced to the municipalities of the WSPR there was not even a detailed estimate of how much this would cost. The elected officials in the surrounding municipalities did not seem to annoyed by that, and bleated their support like the good sheep that they are. That is to say all but Mayor John Ranns of Metchosin. Not only did he consult with cyclists in his electorate (which no other mayor bothered to do), and of course the cyclists shot the idea down, but he also had independent parties put together an alternative plan for the all weather field that would not include tearing down the velodrome or the BMX track. Mayor Ranns idea, utilizes one of the three existing outdoor pitches for the all-weather field, and proposes repairs to the infield of the velodrome on the basis that that field is one of the most used field in the sports complex, since it's size is perfect for youngsters and for recreational sports that don't require the full size courts. The Victoria Velodrome society has also launched a lawsuit against WSPR to try and prevent the Velodrome from being torn down. While this is going on, the velodrome has been fenced off and closed until further notice. Hopefully the WSPR will see that there is a need for the cycling facilities. Not only because team sports are not suitable for everyone, and that the BMX track is a great place for kids to get into cycling, but they're also taking away training facilities from some of the nations best cyclists. If the WSPR decide to go ahead with this plan it would be just another blow to cycling in the Greater Victoria area, and we are supposed to be the "Cycling Capital of Canada." Not that we deserve that moniker anyway, but it would just be nice if there was something that indicated that things are turning around for the better not for the worse.

Breaker of Legs

2008-09-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

I spent my summer in Iceland, and since I was not at all focused on this blog during that stay, my readers only got a glimpse of the riding that is to be had on that jagged rock in the North-Atlantic. Since these rides were not portrayed for the readers of this blog as soon as they happened I intend to just throw a photo and a caption from that time on this blog every once and awhile, to mix it up with whatever is happening here in Victoria. This is a shot of our last ride in Iceland before I left for Canada again. The trail is called Leggjabrjótur in Icelandic, which rougly translates to Breaker of Legs. It's an old trail, that has been in use for hundreds of years, and is one of the last legs of the old national routes to Thingvellir where Althingi (the icelandic parliament) resided from 930 ad to 1799 ad. This trail is a part of a vast network of trails all over Iceland that lead from one area to the next, and given the fact that the horse was the only mode of transportation apart from walking, these routes often take the most dircect routes possible (shortest) , no matter if a mountain or two get in the way. This is one of the reasons why mountain biking is so good in Iceland. The network of these trails that are laden with history and hundreds of years of use are there to be ridden, but have seen a very limited amount of mountain bikers, and in some cases none. Apparently the trail used to be quite rough, hence the name "Breaker of Legs". However, thanks to a renegate bulldozer operator who wanted to improve the trail, it is much better now albeit not as historically correct. The Bulldozing madman was not allowed to finish his work for environmental reasons. Evidently he did not bother to ask anyone for permission. This was a great ride, even though we got pummeled with rain for about two thirds of the ride. We were prepared for the rain and the riding was good and the scenery was stunning. My brother and I have a system on which we base the quality of the trails we ride. It's pretty simple: If we ride 70% or more and walk 30% or less, it's a good trail. This was a great trail, about 85% riding. Below you can see my brother smiling loud, even though he's soaked to the bone. We rode for just over four hours in total solitude and piece. We saw swans, geese and smaller birds, the quintessential and ever-present sheep, but no humans.

The the reward for riding in the rain for hours is scenery like this. I know it's a cliche but... This is my church.

music videos with bikes

2008-09-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

I like seeing bikes in music videos, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I love the angst and darkness of this video as well. Right up my alley. Night riding season is upon us, happy trails everyone.

Trail scouting

2008-07-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

I went to look over our trail the other day. Previously I had marked out a trail, using the natural flow of the land and existing sheep tracks, that led me into a ravine. The Ravine looked good from where my marks ended but once I was past that last marker, the flow could not be continued. A boggy creek bed greeted me with sections of loose gravel littered with baseball sized rocks. So I had to backtrack and look for an alternetive route. After a little searching I found another sheep track that was somewhat more obscure and less traveled. Turns out I can utilize that track to take the trail over a little creek and up a sandy hill which will take the trail right to the 4x4 road leading down to sea-level. The problem is that now I have a little creek to cross, and a section of land where there is a natural coldwater spring. To continue the flow of the trail I'll have to build two ladder bridges that are sturdy enough for us to ride on, yet light and simple enough for me to be able to carry them up there alone and assemble them on the spot. I think a big backack is going to be needed. I think I'll try to make prefabricated "flatpacked" bridges that I can carry in the backpack. This will be interesting, and when that Is done I'll have a 10 minute, rideable and flowy singletrack. Nothing groomed and fancy, but still fun. Then there's just the other 4 km left!

Here's a picture from my first scouting trip this summer. I was looking for an alternitive route up the mountain. I did not find it. the trail is actually under the snow where the Ex-8 is napping. Ive been looking up there through the binoculars and the snow is gone now.

Yehuda moon, a cartoon worth checking every day.

2008-07-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

My brother pointed this cartoon out to me. It's funny as hell. I love the "steel is real- guy" vs. the Rodie. They're friends with a common interest but a totally different attitudes towards cycling. Perhaps the funniest thing about this cartoon is that it is such an accurate portrayal of the stereotypes that I've come across. www.yehudamoon.com This adds to my daily dose of cycling related material.

Big change, in more ways than one

2008-06-30T15:41:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been so long since I've posted here that if I had any readership I would feel obliged to apologize for my laziness, but since I don't, I wont. In stead I'll just pretend that my last post was posted yesterday and I'll continue with that in mind. In my last post I mentioned a quantum leap in my cycling life. That leap is this one: The Trek Fuel EX-8. And yes I know the seat post is ridiculously long. My legs are as long as my wit is short, and Trek does not make a bigger bike than the 21 1/5" pictured. So far I love that bike, although I'm not sold on the forks and the quality of the paint is appalling. The paint basically chips if you sneeze at it which blows if you travel a lot, or are subject to colds. What happened soon after I got the bike, however, is that I left my cushy job at Rider's cycles in Victoria to go work at a community newspaper in my native Iceland. So in essence I left the lush forest riding of Vancouver Island for the stark riding that goes on around here, on the somewhat more northerly island of Iceland. Not many groomed bike trails around these parts, more like old horse paths and sheep trails. Those can be very good mind you, but our biggest enemy in Iceland is the wind. I find that nothing drains me as fast on a bike, as the wind. Except for maybe the wind, in your face, WHILE going uphill. Mountain bikes are not built to slice through the wind and it almost seems like the way you sit on a mountain bike, you're meant to catch the wind. Especially with those goofy super-wide bars that are all the rage these days. You kind of look like a sailboat on two wheels going backwards into the wind. It's pretty inefficient. And perhaps a pretty surreal mental picture for most. But in spite of the wind which has very few trees to slow it down, there is some good riding to be had in Iceland. The central highlands are basically an untapped source for incredible mountain touring, there are countless hiking trails leading up and down mountains, old postal routes (think horses), hydro line access roads etc. Lots and lots of all mountain riding to be had if you're willing to brave the somewhat temperamental elements. The interest in Freeriding and trail building in general is on the rise in Iceland as well, and hopefully I'll be able to ride a couple of the trails that are being built here this summer. I'll report on that on these pages. These trails are being built in forests, of which we have a few, even though approximatively three-quarters of the island are barren of vegetation. Yup, kind of hard to compare that to BC. The barren landscape holds some intrigue for trail builders though, and I'm currently trying to clean up a little line that's 6km downhill. Mind you it's 6 to get up there too, but can be done on a 4x4 access road that has a gentle slope to it-plus about 40 min of a punishing hike without a trail. To create a groomed trail that spans that distance would be impossible in the short time I have here (two months left). But what we're trying to do is to utilize trails that have been created by sheep throughout the ages. The good thing about those, is that sheep take the most efficient way from a to b, not the straightest. So you can get some pretty curvy and flowy trails by using the engineering skills of the half-wild marshmallow that are called Kind in Iceland. Belief me though they're not kind. Just stubborn and tough as nails. Occasionally you'll hear a newsflash on the radio. "Two Germans went missing in the vicinity of Landmannalaugar, their tent was torn and some sheep trails mixed with dragmarks and blood lead away from the tent. The Germans are presumed dead. The hunt for the killer sheep has not yet been successful."

Bike Prom and Alleycat

2008-05-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted here, but life got in the way. Since my last posting, a lot has happened in my life, both on the bike side of things and elsewhere. One of my goals for 2008 was to compete in a bike race, which is something I have never done before. So on April 25th, I entered my first alleycat race. The race was held in connection with the bike riders ball of 2008 in Victoria, or the Bike Prom. The race took the competitors from downtown Victoria, to the upscale neighborhood of Oak Bay, some ten minutes away, where we had to find the answers to 28 clues outlined on the back of a map that we all got. The clues were difficult and in obscure places as the race director grew up in this area and new all the cool alleyways and hidden places. My strategy was to do the course backwards and I hammered straight up the hill on my Cannondale ghetto-singlespeed machine. I was off to a flying start, and until the third clue I was doing good I thought. The third clue turned out to be a tricky one though: "Under the light post awaits a friend, who is he?" This was a clue that I don't think anyone got. Apparently, with the right set of eyes, a tree below a light post was shaped like a Giraffe. This escaped me. I rode around in circles for a good 20 min looking for this damn clue but could not find it. A gentleman named Phil made fun of me and gave my some encouragements in the form of a shot of whiskey every time I passed him on my frantic circle around the city block looking for the elusive Giraffe. On my third trip around I thought that the question must be a trick one, and that this likable character with the whiskey flask was in fact the answer to the question. The race directors would probably have given me the right answer for that one. This giving gentleman it turned out, was Rev. Phil Sano who was responsible for bringing The Pornography of the Bicycle to Victoria. Bike Porn is a collection of shorts on the rather racy subject and would be screened later that evening, and below you can see him engaged in the fine game of bike polo the day after, sporting colorful underwear. Anyway after finally giving up on the giraffe I mashed the pedals through the rest of the course alone since everyone else was stuck on the Giraffe at the other end of the race. I answered the last clue and hammered back to the Project thinking I was going to be on the receiving end of the questionable "Dead Fucking Last" award. Turned out I was in 11th place out of about 25 riders, which would not have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that a group of riders gave up on the competition part of the race and went to the pub instead. But the race was an absolute blast. There was a good after party as well, since this was the prom weekend in Victoria organized by the Bike Prom crowd. There was a show on bicycle related art as well as the aforementioned screening of Movies. Also there was some beer, and later, when the beer was all gone, there was some red whine. In other news I've just undertaken a quantum leap in the Bicycle world, simultaneously discovering full suspension mountain biking, disc brakes, cycling shoes and clipless pedals. More on that next time. The crosswords await, and the dreamworld. Lame? Yes I know, my lameness is infinite.

B.I.K.E and Wired to Win

2008-04-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

I watched two bicycle related movies this week. Wired to Win, and B.I.K.E. These movies are very much on the opposite end of the spectrum as far as production goes. Wired to Win uses the Tour De France as a backdrop for a movie that is essentially about the brain. But since the brain is such an amazingly complex phenomenon the short IMAX movie is in no way capable of delivering any sort of comprehensive message about the brain to its viewers. The only thing I seem to remember about the message of the movie is that "the brain learns something every day." Not exactly breaking news there, Bubba. What stays behind however, are the great shots from the race it self. But since I inherently expect these great shots from an IMAX movie, I was greatly disappointed to see shots, that had the potential to be amazing, but were out of focus! In short, Wired to Win would have been better if they skipped the brain stuff and just "focused" on the race. Warning Spoilers.... B.I.K.E had impeccable cinematography, even though the budget for the movie was probably about 1% of the Wired to Win budget. The excellent cinematography is a bit surprising in the light of the rough shape the shooter is in at times, and the circumstances. But that movie misses it's mark, much like Wired to Win. Perhaps it is labeled in the wrong way. It's supposed to be about the main character's (and filmmaker's) infiltration into the Black Label Bicycle Club as an investigative documentary work. I did not feel this was what the movie was about at all. I think it's more of a coming of age - self search kind of a movie. I don't think that Anthony the main character was really trying to infiltrate Black Label in the end, he was trying to join them, to become one of them. He seemed to loose track of his goals and the best thing that happened to him was that the Club did not allow him to become a member. The movie's production, editing and cinematography is excellent though, and a testament of Tony Howard's and Jacob Septimus' professionalism as filmmakers. Verdict: Both movies are worth seeing, but both of them could have been done better.

My new 21 year old Bianchi

2008-04-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

1987 Bianchi Campione Del Mondo is not the prettiest bike around. It's built in the black and Red years at Bianchi, but to me the "celeste" green is the only true color for a Bianchi. Is that to conservative of me? Probably it is. So to attack my own twisted values I'll keep the color. In fact, I'll play with it and learn to love it. Blood and darkness. A bike for $50 deserves some coin thrown at it. What do you think? I think I'll go with a black and red theme for this one. If I had the cash I'd black out all the chrome on the bike, get some black drop bars, black stem, seat post, cranks etc. But for now, on my meager budget, I'll go with what I can "afford" (it's always relative isn't it?). Next step for this one is the front wheel of of my cracked frame Peugeot. The shifters etc. will come of that one as well. There is an old red "loaner wheel" at the shop which I can have for little money. Get a red tire for the back, and maybe some red cable housings. What I'll end up with as a short term result, should be a pretty cool 14 speed. But I think some day I'll do this bike up lthey way I want to. It's not every day that you com across a 63cm Bianchi frame, let alone one for 50 bucks. Might as well have some fun with it.

Hacking bikes for less hassle

2008-04-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

I travel a lot with my bikes and I know all too well that traveling with bikes is a bit of a pain in the rear at times. There are very few airlines (zoom airlines is one of those few) that have the decency to allow sporting goods on planes for free, and more often than not, a rather hefty fee is to be expected. Air Canada charges $50 for example and others treat bicycles as excess, oversize luggage and charge accordingly. In general, airlines seem to be looking to get to your bucks in any way possible. But that's business I suppose. S and S couplings (sometimes called BCT couplings) are the light at the end of the pitch dark tunnel of flying with your bike. The couplings were developed by S&S Machine Company of Roseville CA. The bicycle torque couplings allow you to break down your bike to fit a normal suitcase. The couplings are placed on the top tube and the down tube and only take minutes to take apart with the specialized wrench that comes with the couplings. This allows you to travel with your bike without any of the typical hassles of oversize luggage, such as extra costs and major headaches. All of a sudden there are no issues with bus drivers, cab drivers or just people waiting in line. No one gets to give you the "stinkeye" because no one realizes that you're traveling with a bike. All they see is another suitcase. S and S couplings have been around since 1994, and seem to be getting more common and popular. The only downside seems to be that the couplers will only work on a steel or titanium frame. The couplings will not affect the stiffness or strength of your frame and they have been approved by big names in the industry, including the lately gossip ridden Greg LeMond. I want S&S couplings on my next steelie, but it will have to be a nice one because the couplings are not cheap to install. According to Billenky Cycle Works which has been "hacking bikes" since the introduction of S&S couplings, the price for a single bike is roughly $450. But perhaps that is a reasonable price. The couplings will pay for themselves in about 5 flights with Air Canada.

DH Nainaimo, and minor frustrations

2008-04-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to uploading some of the shots from the Nanaimo DH on March 23. I had some issues with Flickr.com which were holding me back. Case in point; you can only download a limited amount of pictures on flickr unless you go for the pro account which of course you have to pay for. On flickr you can upload 100mb per month, but you can only display 200 pics at any given time. Which means that if I posted the pictures from the 23, the Super D pics will disappear. Clever?...I don't think so. I've left flickr, and I'm sure that a lot of people have as well, and for the same reasons. Lets not forget that flickr like any other photo sharing site is an advertising agency, not a photo sharing site. So why should I pay them for trying to sell stuff to me? Does that sound right? Not to me. And so much for all that. The First Downhill Race of the Island cup season was held in Nanaimo on March 24. The course was in a different area of Nanaimo than the Super-D, and the course was just as impressive as the one in the Super-D. Which means that the good people of the Harbor City have two trail systems, minutes from the downtown core of the city. That's not to be sneezed at. Once again I had a great time photographing. This time I had no bike to ride down the trail so I took the shuttle to the top and shot my way to the bottom, twice. That was a good workout in itself so I assume that the contestants got a lot out of the race. There were 138 rider's that raced that day. 12 Ladies, and in the men's: 27 beginers, 57 intermediate and 42 experts. Quite a few spectators turned out as well, so overall the race was a success. My boss and president of SIMBS, Scott Mitchell, came in sixth in the intermediate class in his first downhill race. Good work Scott! more pics from the race here: http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/nn169/h-gunn/DH%20Nanaimo%20March%2023/

So long, old friend

2008-03-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

I sold my Brodie on the Weekend. The purchase of this bike, marked the reintroduction of mountain biking in my life. However, in a few years I had outgrown the bike in the sense that I felt it was halting my progression as a rider. Therefore it was time to move on. When I bought this bike, it was a technological wonder in my mind, you see I have always been a bit low-fi when it comes to bikes. The bike before the Brodie was (and is, it's my SS commuter at the moment) a rigid Cannondale with cantilever brakes. So stepping up to a used hardtail with a Bomber up front and.... wait for it....V-Brakes! Was a quantum leap in my world. I felt I could launch of everything and stop on a dime. That feeling lasted for awhile, but a broken bottom bracket and some hairy moments on muddy downhill sections proved that those assumptions were not necessarily a hundred percent accurate. I later broke the fork as well, a rear hub, rear derailleur, cranks, etc. But those are just parts, and granted they weren't always of top quality. But the heart and soul of it all, the 2001 Brodie Spark frame, kept on ticking. After three years of abuse on two continents, it was finally time to give it up. I'd say about ninety percent of my time spent on that bike was alone in the woods. It brought me into a whole new world of mountain biking, calmed my restless mind, and made me forget about everything, for a few hours at a time. You have completed your mission, orange one. Time to fight somebody's else's battles. Thanks for fighting mine for awhile.

Seattle fixies and bike locking

2008-03-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

I went to Seattle for a birthday road-trip with my girlfriend this week. She wanted to get of the island and I was all for it. It was all decided on a whim though and the only real goal was to buy some clothes for my girl. So all in all it was a very uncultured, unplanned and un-bicycle focused trip. That's exactly how we wanted it. We wanted to eat good food, shop, watch motel tv's, and be lazy. However, I got to visit a couple of bike stores and the singlespeed culture is hard to miss in Seattle. I spotted these 4 fixie fans on their way to downtown and tried to chase them in our Subaru, while my girlfriend grabbed our point and shoot and tried to get a couple of photos for me. I lost them after two lights as they were way faster than the traffic, even though it was not congested on this sleepy Sunday in Seattle. the day after coming back from the states I went over to Vancouver to check out a school there. Outside the school's building I saw this very sexy Norco. This Norco illustrated three things: 1 Singlespeeds look pretty cool. 2 Bikes are hard to do justice in a photograph when they're locked to a bike rack. 3 The correct (almost, see below) use of bike lock - lock all the removable items you can, or this happens: I'm always weary of this kind of bike racks though. The coat hanger style of the bike rack, is clever and reasonably easy on the eyes. Nevertheless, they are a bit too flimsy to be safe. I've seen a few of those where the welds where the small diameter rod iron meets the bigger tube, have been cracked open. This is easy enough in cold weather. Just stick a two by six in there and use leverage to crack it open. So if you're using those racks. Lock your bike to the big tube, and not the coat hanger, especially not if there's a construction site close by.

Super Downhill in Nanaimo

2008-03-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

I went to see the season opener in the 2008 Vancouver Island Cup MTB series this Sunday. The event was hosted by Arrowsmith Bikes in Nanaimo with race insurance supplied through GRMBA . The race took place on the Doumont trails, just east of Nanaimo. It was the first Super Downhill race I've been to, and it was interesting to watch. The competitors are divided into beginner, intermediate and expert. Then everyone in each group starts at the same time, which makes for some interesting riding. It's not easy passing someone when you're riding on a singletrack so narrow that you can just barely fit your bars between the trees. The spectators will also see and hear things that you're not used to in a rece. Like someone saying: "no you go ahead," and stopping to let a fellow competitor get past." This makes for an interesting vibe to the whole scene and, seems to me like a pretty cool way to get into racing. However, one thing is sure, this system makes the race hard to photograph. The racers only went down the trail once, and since virtually everyone in each group comes down at the same time, you only get a maximum of three shooting locations per group. Thats if you're scrambling around franticly, trying to get angles. They way I did it was to ride down the race course and get set up for the beginners on the tight singletrack at the top of the course. Once the beginners were past, I got on the bike again and rode down to the next location and shot the intermediate group, got back on the bike, looked for a place to shoot the experts and when my time ran out, dumped the bike in the bushes and tried to work with what I had. It's hard to plan such a shoot if you don't know the trails. So next time, I'm going to get to the race early and scout locations before the race starts. The trail was not that difficult to ride, and about half way down the trail I felt like I should have raced instead of shot. Who knows, maybe I'll do that in some of the upcoming events in the Island Cup. Once the race was over I got on the bike and rode up the paved road to the parking lot. This road has a perfect slope for wheelies, and I think my camera gear backpack helped me balance on the rear wheel as well. Anyway, these ideal conditions contributed to a personal best in distance ridden on the back wheel. I have no idea how far my wheelie took me, but I spent a few minutes on the back wheel, chugging along in the middle chain ring and first gear. I had a great time at the race in Nanaimo, and the drive from Victoria was relaxing after a stressful week. Next race is a Downhill on the 24th in Nanaimo, again, and you better believe I'm going to be there. More pics from the race here

Penny Farthings on the outskirts of Duncan

2008-03-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

I went for a drive with a friend of mine the other day to see a body-guy up in Duncan, about 45min north of Victoria. Cars are kind of my guilty pleasure, even though I don't spend much time on that interest these days. It's something that runs in my blood though, so please don't hate me just because I like cars. I'm really not that bad. Anyway, on our way up there, we came across these crazy looking home-fabricated Penny Farthings. They were basically made of 1 1/2" tubing, some old wagon wheels (or home-made wheels) a tractor seat and some scavenged cranks and pedals. The bikes looked like they were ridable, although they might be a bit on the heavy side. Not the ideal grocery getter, even with those fancy baskets. These bikes were on either side of a driveway, under an arch made from old bulldozer tracks, that had been welded stuck in that shape. Seems like the owner of that place has some time, energy and creative vision to recycle stuff that ends up on his property. Unique driveway, if nothing else.

a slipup, I love the trails

2008-03-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

I finally went out to the Dump, the local mtb park here in Victoria last weekend. The Heartland / Mount Work is a beautiful area just north of Victoria. Beautiful, that is, if you ignore the fact that a great deal of that area is devoted to Victoria's landfill, and that the power lines supplying the city with electricity, slice through the park leaving a treeless, buzzing, electric highway as far as the eye can see. So maybe it's not the most appealing recreational area you could find around here, but mountain bikers take what they can get. And besides, this area actually IS quite beautiful in spite of it's drawbacks and that is Vancouver Island for you. The location of the park, next to the power lines and the dump, is not an unusual one in the mountain biking world, and the thing is, that you can forget about all these things once you're on the trails. The park is managed by the South Island Mountain Bike Society in collaboration with the Capital Regional District. This alliance is a delicate one. Mountain bikers are allowed this one place to legally ride within the CRD's park system of 28 parks. However, this location is not even secure. Every year the CRD has a different issue with the park, and the latest one is an issues with SIMBS's insurance for the trail maintenance volunteers that work in the park on every third Sunday of the month, donating their time and energy to upkeep CRD property. Seems to me that the CRD takes every chance they get to crack down on mountain bikers, who are just trying to enjoy the one park where their allowed to ride. A fair note here is that the Heartland dump, is not even an exclusive mountain biking park, it's a multi use trail system, albeit maintained almost exclusively by mountain bikers. Victoria is dubbed as the "cycling capital of Canada" but the CRD needs to get of it's high horse and treat cyclists better, if it is to stand up to that moniker. Perhaps they're not interested in that. Perhaps the other nickname, "the garden city," requires less effort and is therefore more desirable than anything that might possibly imply that the city is healthy, young and hip?... SIMBS is doing a great job at Heartland and they deserve all the praise and support the can get. The CRD however is looking increasingly sheepish and conservative in all their efforts, or lack thereof, regarding the park. Which is just sad, really. And so much for all that. Where did all that come from anyway? From some deep and wretched place, I'm sure. A place that disappears when I'm out on the trails, along with other worries and annoyances.

New E-zine

2008-02-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

Dirt Rag announced the arrival of their DigiRag today. DigiRag is a Flash supported web-version of the Magazine, that enables web surfers to "read" (more on this later) the magazine and flip through the pages just as if they had bought it at their local bike shop. It's in there in it's entirety, including ads with active links. Maurice Tierney, one of Dirt Rag's founders, is quoted in the announcement: "Our goal is to bolster our online presence and to have the complete content of Dirt Rag, and the brand, available in as many formats that make sense." The Dirt Rag team benefits from the added exposure of ads by doing this and the readers benefit as well. It's a good step forward for Dirt Rag in my opinion, and it's cool that you can "read" (again, more on this later) the whole mag just by signing up. What is not cool is the fact that the necessary sign in info is a little too detailed for my peace of mind. Not that you can't fake your info, but just the fact that they ask you for your address and phone number, bothers me a little bit. The reason for this is that they use the same account for the DigiRag as their Merchandise account, in another suave marketing/income bolstering stunt. The print world is tough though, and you do what you can to survive. Power to them. The fatal flaw in the Digi Rag is that once you come across a page you'd like to read(yes now we'll get to it) , you have to zoom in to read it, and once you zoom in you cant move within the page. So what you get is a quarter of a page with no way of reading the rest, this is annoying beyond belief, and made my morning coffee bitter as hell. I'm sure they'll fix this, but at the time being, the DigiRag is useless.

bike to work if you can

2008-02-27T21:17:00.001-08:00

I used to work at Mountain Equipment Co-op. The Victoria store has an interesting way to encourage bicycle commuting. Some companies will actually pay their employers to bike to work, but MEC does not spend the members money on that sort of "silliness." No! And it's not the great facilities that put the staff on their bikes, either. There are lockers and showers available, as well as a bike wall in the basement. This helps but it's not the reason for the avid collective commuting. So how do they do it you might ask. What incentive is there for the typical Mountain co-op staff member to bike to work? Well, it's simple really: Nowhere to park your car. You can park your bike in the basement, but if you intend on taking your car, you're screwed. Downtown Victoria has an immense, evil, army of meter maids with red hot ticketing machines that will burn a hole through your organic cotton jeans and merino whool underwear, especially if you're on a MEC salary. And even if you're a good monkey and pay for your parking at the local parkade, you're cutting deep into your profit margin. These simple facts, the central location of the store, and mild climate, all contribute to the staff's will to bike, walk, or bus to work. I worked there for the Christmas season, and biked to every shift I had in these three months, simply because it was the most convenient thing to do. So in light of that, one might think that getting your employees to bike to work is only as complicated as to provide safe bike parking, possibly at the cost of some of the car parking, provide showers and change rooms, and in return, get a more alert and awake workforce in better health. How can you go wrong with that? In the picture you can see Geoff's KHS, the Boss's Redline, Adele's Apollo, my Cannondale, Jim's Mongoose, and Scott's Surly. Good times, nothing beats being able to bike to work, so if you can, do it.

first bike, first post

2008-02-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

I've been riding bikes since a very young age and this blog is supposed to be an outlet for bicycle related issues that I come across on the net, in the media or in my daily life. My aim is to have fun with this blog and use it as a tool, and an excuse to dive ever deeper into the swirling bottomless pool of bike culture. That's me on my first bike, a Schwinn Super De Luxe, convertible. I learned how to ride a bike on this one, starting out in the store with training wheels. This bike had a detachable top-tube so it could be sold as a boys or a girls bike. In my case this meant that I could ride it for a number of years, as the stand over hight was almost to high for me when I first got it, and this was even with the top tube off. The first few years I rode it without the top tube, and the last years with the top tube on and religiously keeping it there. I blocked it out of my mind that underneath it all this was really a girls bike. One day I felt like playing with wrenches and loosened the bolt that held the top tube in place... and voila! It was off, I remember being a little shocked and then quietly putting it back into place. Ingenious design, and tough as nails. The frame was built of lugged steel, single speed and coaster brake equipped. I think I remember tightening the chain on this bike once or twice and lubing it, but other than that it was virtually maintenance free. A bombproof ride and kind of cool looking too. Note the two bells on the chrome mustache bars; tres stylish. The springer seat is nice too, you could ride on that thing forever. The Schwinn lasted me a long time, but this was an era when BMX's were all the rage so I got on that wagon in my next step up the bicycle ladder. The next bike would be a BMX but I don't know what happened to the Schwinn. It was probably passed on to some friend of the family.