Suffering For A Good Cause

At the end of September RBC Asset Management held its annual Grouse Grind Challenge for the Cure which is a fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation. I’ve missed the last couple of years but with crystal blue skies and warm weather it was a good excuse to get out of the office early and a worthy cause for a disease that touches us all.

Not being one to waste a sunny afternoon, I decided to run from Yaletown to the base of the grind as a warm up before tackling the sufferfest that is The Grind.

To be honest I am not a fan of the Grind and even though I grew up on the North Shore I have only done the trail a handful of times. I do however enjoy racing against the clock and it was the first time I have done the Grind with an official grind-timer swipe card. After a group warm up, the team of 100 or so grinders was free to head skyward after swiping our cards one by one on the big rock (grind timer) at the trail head.

Hammering the Grind never feels good but I could tell right away that the run over hadn’t been the best idea. I ran the first quarter of the trail and did a combination of power hiking and jogging to the half way point. At that point I looked at my heart rate which was lower than usual and I figured it would be touch and go for a sub-30 min. performance. Over the last quarter of the trail I started to feel a bit better and ramped up my effort but a calf cramp hampered my ability to fully bury myself on the upper portions of the trail.

I was pleasantly surprised when I swiped my card at the chalet for a time of 28:33. Certainly not a time that would cause any concern for the new grind record holder Sebastian Selas and his smoking time of 25:24, but a respectable time given the circumstances.

A good time was had by all and RBC raised $16,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation.

Style Trends

How do you take your rear cog, fixed or freewheeling? Will you sack up, or take it safe? Brakes, or no brakes? Being stylish isn't easy after all. But, at least you have a choice.

Fixed geared bikes have been quite popular these days, even getting some exposure on the news this year. Giant makes a few Bowery models and we carry the FMX this season for your out of the box style bike. Its a way to get around quickly without the worry of gears or maintenance. The Bowery FMX comes with a flip-flop rear hub that allows you to run a fixed gear or a freewheel, and is equipped with front and rear brakes. I like the BMX styling, and clean look of the white and chrome finish.
Don't show up to the cafe without one.

-Scott

Are You My Rubber Queen?

What tires do you ride? Why do you ride those tires? I have primarily used Maxxis tires, or at least for as long as I've known about them. My tire of choice, the Minion DH F. Why do I ride the Maxxis Minion's? Well they grip harder than a pit bull's jaw, and they are a decent weight. It doesn't hurt that a lot of the top downhiller's use them by choice. Even if they have an other tire sponsor. However the Minion's don't roll the fastest, and there isn't a tonne of option's when you branch out to all-mountain selection. But what else is there?

Brands like Continental are starting to make to fierce competition. The Rubber Queen comes in a few options, but we got a pair to test in a 2.4 tubeless configuration with their black chili rubber and Apex sidewalls. This tire sports great volume, and is a good weight. Althought the tire was heavier than its claimed 1050g, at 1140g it's still a good weight for the size. 1050g would have been impressive, and preferred.
I rode the Rubber Queens yesterday in the wet conditions after the heavy weekend rainfall and was very impressed with their grip. The Rubber queens also rolled well for a large tire of its weight and sitcky rubber compound. I will say that further testing will follow, but initial impressions are good. Watch out Maxxis Minion.
Personally I would run Continental's Rubber Queen in the smaller 2.2 offering on my Nomad as an all-around tire of less weight. Offerings from Schwalbe like the Muddy Mary, and Dirty Dan look good as well.

-Scott

Race Face has a Sixc new Carbon Handlebar

I consider myself lucky to have a NEW Race Face Sixc carbon bar on my new Santa Cruz Nomad! I always thought about trying a carbon bar, but there was never a bar that was wide enough, that had the right rise. As bars started to become wider even the widest carbon bars were looking a bit narrow, at least for a downhill bike.
Race Face has made it their duty to innovate and set the trend of a wider, super strong carbon steering apparatus. I'm stoked to try the Sixc bar on the Nomad, which I believe will be an excellent pairing. The bar is sitting at 28.75" with lock-ons and that ain't bad, especially when it only weighs 220g. In fact it's better than anything else on the market width-wise and Race Face has done some serious in house testing to prove its the strongest as well.
Check these bars out in the store, come January. Until then ask me what I think.

-Scott

Cyclocross National Championships!

Right off the line Peter Mogg puts in a massive attack. Photo- Rob Jones (Canadian Cyclist)

The Cyclocross National Championships was in Edmonton this year. Only a couple of weeks before the race the weather was over 30 degrees. Locals reported the temperature mysteriously dropped and the snow came, in the days leading up to this race. Just in time for us to suffer.

Yes the race was insane! You would have been in your element if you like riding in ice and snow. I was actually happy with the slippery corners but the stumps I had for hands made it hard to brake and shift gears. I lost all feeling in all my fingers after the first lap.

Every corner had a nice layer of ice and many riders went down.
Photo- Rob Jones (Canadian Cyclist)

At the start I was called up to the line in second row. I was lucky enough to get the spot right behind the last years winner Peter Mogg from Ontario. When the whistle blew I stuck to his wheel like glue and pinned it. I rode his wheel into the first corner and didn't let go for a while until the group started to splinter. He sprinted out of every corner to gain a bit of a gap after the first lap (20 seconds).

Craig Stappler and I battled it out for 3rd spot. Photo- Rob Jones (Canadian Cyclist)

I had second place after the first lap but Stappler and Clark had my wheel. In the second lap Mogg was gone and Stappler and I chased Clark out of every corner. Coming into an icy corner 2/3 of the way through lap 2 Stappler went down right in front of me and took us both down. He appologized (nice chap) and I took the lead. He chased me for a good part of the remainder of this lap but I couldn't gap him.

As we rounded the second lap I noticed that Clark was also gone and now I was in a fight for 3rd. I tried to hold onto my focus but, my hands were totally numb and I could barely shift or brake and, I think from elevation, temperature or a combo of both, I was fully anaerobic and I couldn't recover anywhere.

On the road section near the end of the third lap I noticed Stappler was sitting on my wheel and I dropped back hoping he would try to pass but he didn't. Then through the sand pit he again dropped back. I was sure he was starting to suffer, and if I was going to put in a move, now was the time. I tried as we came in for the final lap...

Every corner it was cat and mouse. I would attack in one corner, he would attack the next. As we hit the fly over I passed him, then in the straight away I attacked and hit every technical corner with every bit of skill I could muster. The final icy run up, I decided to bury myself to get a gap. He had ridden it every time and I had run it, me getting to the top first, so I knew I had to dig deep. I shouldered the bike and ran, trying to make the fastest short strides possible, but once at the top of the ravine, he got past me and put in the final attack I couldn't match, right to the road section and through the sand pit. I he'd get nervous and slow down in a corner but no such luck. We were 15 feet apart and the finish line was nearing. The final 50 meters was in slow motion. He sprinted, I sprinted. The commentator suggested we were sprinting for bronze....thanks, I know I just lost it......dohhh!!!

The sprint for the finish where Stappler stappled me. Ouch! Fourth place for Kimbo.
Photo- Rob Jones (Canadian Cyclist)

Now the part after the race where I couldn't talk because my face was frozen. And when my hands and feet warmed up I was in mortal agony! Soooooo cold! Geoff Kabush said it best when he said his eye balls froze a bit.

BC had some great results! Geoff Kabush, Evan Guthrie, and Alison Sydor won the Pro men, U23 and woman's Elite races! John Fokkema and Norman Thibault were 1st and 2nd in Masters B, and Jay Loder came in 3rd in the Masters C race! Nice work guys! More photos, race reports and results at Canadian Cyclist.

Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers that battled the cold weather to put on such a great race! I hope to come back next year!

-Kimbo

New Brighton / Vanier Cyclocross Weekend!

This weekend's cyclocross races were intense and as luck would have it, full of sunshine! I often think of cyclocross season as muddy and wet, but this year we have had late summer conditions. So far all three of the first races have been dry and well attended.

(photo Ryan Morasiewicz)

Saturday's race was at New Brighton Park, and in it's second year Dave Cressman has put together what some say the best course in the series. There was just the right amount of technical features to mix it up and really keep you on your toes. Dave had us riding through two long and loose sand bogs, that many had a tough time riding through. Some tried and with too much weight forward...over the bars face plant!

As far as Steed Team turn out, it was a virtual sea of green out there. In masters Andy Eunson, Iain Mant, Rob Mulder, Kevin Macdonald and myself were all scrambling up the field.

After the 1st race of the season I was in 1st place in the series for the masters division. I had been battling a wretched cold all week but decided the race would clear out the sinuses and rattly chest, and quite likely would get chewed up and spat out of the lead pack early on. I thought I would give it my best and at the start put in a good pace to get the group really strung out. For some reason I ended up leading and shared 1st and 2nd position for a good part of the race. As laps started to rack up, I found I wasn't feeling too bad with exception to the cramping in my quads developing.

In the final sprint Brad Collins got in front of me and sprinted to victory. I thought I had captured 2nd place as I approached the line as I stopped pedaling and the throbbing in my head pounded like a jackhammer...then when I least expected it, Bob Welbourn passed me by 2 inches at the line!!!!! Doh! Oh well that'll teach ya!

Scott McGregor won a set of Mavic Ksyrium wheels! Lucky guy!

Rob Mulder was the guy to draft off of.
Not only is he big, he is a power-house on every corner and straight away!

Every corner counts in cyclocross (photo Tom Craik)

Ok, Sunday rolls around and everyone who raced Saturday has legs of lead. The venue is at Vanier Park, a new course and with a few tricky, unassuming hills, sure to make the legs burn with lactic acid on every one of the 9 laps of the race. I had the call up to the front row at the start and sat right in the middle.

When the whistle blew we were sent straight into a head wind around the field into a run up. Off the gun Chris Sayers pinned it and rode out front solo for the first half of the race. The group splintered as laps started to add up. The usual speedsters like Brad Collins and Bob Welbourn stuck close by. My plan was to sit behind a few guys and not loose a break but mainly to not over do it too early. In cyclocross, every corner, every hill, every barrier matters. If you can gain a few seconds here and there, you find yourself gaining on competitors. This race was all about that theory and before I knew it I was in a three man break with Bob Welbourn and Chris Sayers. We worked together for a few laps to get a good lead from the rest of the pack and watched them slowly slide away from us.

Andy Eunson makes the leap of faith over the barriers! (photo Ryan Morasiewicz)

In the final lap I tried to both conserve energy for the ensuing sprint, and keep the pressure on so the other guys didn't get too rested. Bob and Chris started to slow down at the 2/3's point in the final lap, seeing who would go...I decided it was me, so I surged and put in an attack leading to the barriers and the uphill run up. Again I focused on every corner, every pedal stroke and tried not to touch the brakes. It was working perfectly until Bob got past me in the 4th to last corner and I couldn't get by him. This time though I wasn't going to slow down in the sprint and when Chris tried to get past, I stayed on the gas!!!! Second place!

Overall I was happy with the weekend. In the days leading up to the races I was ready for maybe 10th place but I was able to maintain 1st overall in the BC Cup series for Masters. This weekend I get the opportunity to do the Cyclocross National Championships in Edmonton! The temperature is supposed to be hovering between -13 to -1. Brrrrrr!

-Kim Steed

Fall Haul!

And we're off! The Fall Haul is NOT an easy feat! but from the start you don't know just how grueling it is. Mt. Seymour was the start of the ride, where 10 of us blasted off from Bean Around the World in Park Gate, fueled by caffeine.

We had a great group for the ride. Not all of us knew each other but we got a long well. We saw a couple old friends join us as well. Shawn Pettersen who used to race on our Downhill team showed up to scale Seymour with us. Shawn was bobbing a weaving his way down Ned's like a pro.

Big rides like this can sometime get the better of us. Is Michael pushing Andrea off the road? not a chance! These two make a great team, and both rode strong the whole ride.

It couldn't have been a better day for a ride, and didn't seem like fall at all. The sun was warm on our skin and clear blue skies were above us. At some points you could catch some incredible views, like this from a Seymour look-out.

This is the 2009 Fall Hall crew, at our summit of Seymour, CBC. All smiles at this point, we were keen to rip our first descent!

Here's Dan getting his front wheel up on the wall ride in a CBC corner. Everyone had a good rip. No flat tires yet.

Roz, looking smooth through this rocked in turn, had a great ride. I never heard a complaint out of her the whole ride, and no mechanicals, all the way to the end.

Corkscrew and Ned's followed CBC, where (at no one's surprise) a couple people got flat tires.

The End of the Line, but not of the ride. We stopped at this nice little cafe at the end of Lynn Valley road to refuel for two more mountains. We checked over our bikes, and pumped our tires up for the next long slog up to Grouse Mountain via the Fromme fire road.

A few of us lead the pack up Fromme still having plenty of power left in our legs. Well that didn't last all the way. Some of us realized, if we were to make it up all three mountains today we'd better back off the pace and let the really fit guys hammer on. Dan really surprised me cleaning the Warden's trail on the way to the top. That would have nearly ended my day if I was to attempt that.

More beautiful views waited for us as the Fromme road opened up to Grouse. In the distance we could see Grouse Mountain's new wind turbine that is meant to produced about 25% of the energy needed to power the resort. I would suppose that the turbine either looks like an eyesore, or is an example of green energy production to look up to, literally.

We stopped at a point on Grouse to wait for the pack before we made or way down. Most of us were still pumped at this point, feeling great to have made it half way; In good time at that.

Some of us stretched, while others ate to keep their energy up, and some of us just use the time to relax and take in the scenery.

While closer up we could see just how humongous this wind turbine is. It makes the chairlift towers look like pencils in comparison. We even noticed an observation deck near the top.

You didn't need to be on the observation deck to catch the views as you can see here. Roz climed to the top by Paul was not by her side. She had been riding with him until now, but Paul had only a single front ring and getting to the top of three mountains was not as easy without a smaller gear to drop down to.

So, as we were now, 8 of us stopped for a Group photo. The views behind us extended out to Richmond and beyond.

Another descent was ahead of us before yet an other long climb. The descents made the climbs so worth it.

Cypress was our final peak and we all made it there, joined by Paul who got a second wind! At times we were powering along, and sometimes it felt like you might now make it, but at the top all you had to think of was down.

As you can see Brett, Jeff, and Dan were stoked to be on top of the hill and, what felt like, the top of the podium!

Waiting for all our parts, as a good group does, we chatted it up and re-capped some of the comedics events of the day. We had a lot of good laughs, and learned a few things, like: some people like to climb into a belly-boat and fish in their backyard lake.

The trails went on and on until we got to the bottom. It was a great rip down, all of us having a great ride, and great time. Some of the guys only had hartails, where are Michael and Andrea both had Santa Cruz Blur LT2's, Andre had a Santa Cruz Blur LT Carbon, and myself with my new Santa Cruz Nomad (the bike of all bikes... in my mind). Jeff really impressed me riding his Cove handjob with his fork dialed down to 4 inches of travel, down pretty much anything in front of him.

Casing the light, we were almost to our destination. Timing can be everything on a long ride like this, on fall hours.

We came off the trail and legged over the highway barrier to time-trial down to Horseshoe Bay. The sun was setting, and so was our energy, but that didn't stop us from hammering the whole way down.

We had a couple of flats, and a broken chain, but no injuries, and no regrets. 72 kilometers, 8,000 feet of climbing, and three North Shore Mountains made for one hell of a good time! I had my doubts that I could complete such a ride, but I pushed on. I know that some of us felt the pain of such a ride be we all persevered! We had a great crew, and an amazing day!

Cheers! we all deserved a beer at the end. Thanks to Andre for organizing such a great ride, and to everyone who showed up. We all earned this Fall Haul 2009.

-Scott

Riding the Chilcotin's: Air Drop into Lorna Lake

I was again privileged this year to be invited along with a group of hard core riders for their annual Chilcotin MTB adventure. The “signature” ride this year would be a float plane drop into Lorna Lake. We would then ride out over Lorna and Deer Pass and then down the Bull Creek drainage back to our base at Tyaughton Lake and the Tyax lodge.

Anticipation ran high as we all arrived on Friday night and arranged our groups for the flights the next day. The De Havilland Beaver we would be using to reach Lorna Lake is owned and operated by Tyax Air,

and the owner/lead pilot would be riding with us the next day, thereby letting one of his other pilots do the grunt work. The plane will take the pilot, and four riders plus bikes. Our group of 12, therefore needed three flights. The first flight was at 0730hr and seeing as I was one of the responsible parties for breakfast on Sat morning I was up at 0545hr making sure that we were all fueled up for an epic adventure. With the first group out, and the breakfast dish's cleaned, we waited for our trip and eventually took off about 0945hr. The flight in is about 45 minutes in length and I have to say the father I flew out, the more I wondered if it was possible to get back to Tyaughten Lake by dark.

By the time we arrived at Lorna the wind had picked up, and the landing was a bit bumpy. Our pilot professionally put us down and with a little bit of muscle power we managed to hold the plane on the tiny dock as we unloaded the bikes.

He was soon on his way back and we were left in the middle of the wilderness with a long day ahead. Group 2 was waiting for us at the drop zone, and we quickly saddled up and headed off. Group 1 had already left for the top of Lorna pass and would be waiting for us there. The scenery was spectacular and after a short ride we started the first hike a bike up Lorna pass.

A lot of the trail was rideable but with the slope being very loose and the trail quite steep, most of us decided to save a bit of energy for riding later and walked our bike up to the top.

Once at the top of Lorna Pass we met the other members of group 1 and headed off for the first of the days wicked downhills; this one about an hour in length. The trail was super flowy and fun. Once we reached the bottom we started our hike to the top of Deer pass. This climb was quite difficult and required a lot of hike a bike. We reached the summit in about an hour and forty five minutes and stopped for lunch.

It was now about 2 in the afternoon, and I really wondered whether we had bit off a bit too much to chew. The view from the top of Deer Pass included the Big Dog fire currently burning to the north. Since the fire is in the middle of nowhere, there is no real attempt being made to put it out. There was not a cloud in the sky so that the smoke plume really stood out as it climbed skyward.

The climb up Deer Pass was really our last climb of the day and the rest of the day ripped by in a blur. We rode on for another 90 minutes and after stopping for a rest we asked “how much longer?’ Most of us thought hey maybe an hour. We were informed that we had about 3 to 3.5 hours of downhilling ahead of us before we reached Tyaughton Lake. Oh My God, maybe I had better have another goo.

The rest of the day was so sweet. Fast swoopy flowing single-track with the hammer on.

Short rests to exclaim how much fun you were having and then another session to reinforce your thoughts.

By the time we finished back at the lake around 7 pm I was exhausted. It was apparent that everyone else was also as our feeble attempts at partying burned out at about 1030 and we all went to bed.

From my point of view, the riding I experienced on this ride may well have been the best I have had anywhere including our 13000 ft descent to the ocean in Peru this spring. If you get a chance, don’t pass a trip up to the Chilcotin's. The riding is topnotch.