Steed Cycles Blog

Last Trail Day of 2012

2012-01-20T20:20:00.000-08:00

A section of trail near the top of Boogieman where water needed to be drained.

2011 marked the start of the TAP initiative on Mount Seymour. Steed Cycles along with Giant Bicycles Canada adopted the longtime classic trail Boogieman. This trail marks a little piece of history on the North Shore Mountains, consisting of the technical terrain the area has become famous for. Over the years Boogieman has been braving the elements of Mother Nature while at the same time bringing enjoyment to the many riders that have ridden it. It is now the time that the trail receives the rejuvenation it deserves so riders can be challenged on its varying terrain going into the future.

So far a lot of work has happened on Boogieman with the help of great individuals and head trail maintainer Sean Gerke. A quick recap of what has happened is the restoration of woodwork including: building new sections to older features and increasing their traction, clearing of debris off the trail, and filling in sections of trail that have eroded over time. To see a more detailed look at what has happened so far click here.

The final trail day of the year saw a dedicated group of six individuals out to support the cause. The main objective for the day was to focus on the drainage of some key sections where water was accumulating and clear out fallen debris.

Jordan and Tristan tackling the previous section building a water drainage route
and constructing a rock supported corner increasing trail flow.

Here is myself working on diverting water off of the trail.
Creating an elevation change so the water runs to the side of the trail is a technique used to accomplish this.

Lauren tackled the final section that required drainage. As you can see with all the precipitation that happens on the North Shore Mountains puddles are inevitable unless proper drainage techniques are used when trail building.

Looking back at 2011 and the work that has been accomplished so far, it is apparent that the trail requires some serious work to get it back to tiptop shape. The work that has been done so far has improved the riding experience on Boogieman. Talking to Sean he seems very motivated to turn Boogieman into a fantastic trail going into the future. With the 2012 season approaching Boogieman is going to get even more of a facelift. See everyone on the trails in 2012.

Branden

To a Fresh 2012, and a Great Start to the Year!

2012-01-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Its 2012 already. Some might tell you that the world will end this year, but others are thinking of new beginnings. If either happens the four of us, Matt, Phil, Tristan, and myself were looking at the first day of the new year with opportunity in mind. The sun was out, there was blue sky, and we had bikes. I can't say that we looked at the day any differently than any other day we would have off together. Any nice day is usually an opportunity for a ride.

I wiped the dirt off my chain, lubed it up, put some air in the tires. It had been a good month or two since my Devinci Wilson had seen the dirt, but I was stoked to become friends once again.

It wasn't the quickest start, it was New Years day after all. But the good 'ol boys were together, and we were just looking forward to riding together. We packed our sleds into the tailgates of the 4 wheeled chairlifts, Phil's "great white unicorn" and all!

We started in the snow, and at first it was like learning to walk again. But, in no time there was hollerin' and good times were going down. We got to the first trail, and as we started rolling down the fresh dark soil, and shimmering slippery roots, I started to feel my feet beneath me again.

The look on Phil's face says it all! We had a great time riding, had great company, and that in my books is a great start to what puts a smile on my face through the year.

Riding bikes can turn a bad day into a great day, and a great day even better. Being outdoors, with great people (and a great dog), getting your sweat on, and being able to move these big machines of oil and metal around on the trail just how you want is a great feeling. Its not just a sport its a life style. Its a part of your life like getting dressed in the morning. It can be both a mental and physical recovery, and sustenance.
I've ridden 4 out of the first 6 days of the year, and intend of keeping that percentage up as best as I can, surrounding myself with the outdoors, and great friends. I've got a few goals for the season. Racing the Nimby 50 again this season, and going down to Oregon for the Ashland Super D will be some of the highlights! I'm stoked! As much as I'll be on my bike, I am fortunate to have other great reasons to put the bike aside. I'm looking forward to a full and balanced 2012! and wish the best to everyone!
I gotta run, a noon shuttle lap calls!

-Scott

New Demo Bikes are for riding

2012-01-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Lately we've had a pretty good dose of good riding conditions. Sure it may not be 20 degrees out, but considering its January we've been doing pretty well.
The boys at work have been keen to get out and ride. There has been the odd downhill shuttle, but frankly the pedaling is much better this time of year. There are some guys at the shop, I won't name names, that don't often go for these types of rides. okay, Jordan is one of them, that lazy bugger! Although he may look it, Jordan definitely isn't lazy. He'll actually pedal his downhill geared Turner DHR up tot he 7th switch back on Fromme. He just doesn't have an all-mountain or trail bike to come on most of the pedal rides.

But, just look at what there is to offer one these rides! Scenes like this, you often have to pedal to. As much as I think it would be great for Jordan to have a bike that he can ride on these rides we commonly do before work, or on our common days off, I think its also important for our staff to know what our demo bikes ride like.

Jordan, the DW-Link advocate grabbed the reigns on our Santa Cruz Blur TRc, (Trail Carbon) for a ride with Tristan, Matt and I. The Blur TRc can weigh as little as 22 lbs. but averages about 26 lbs. with pedals. Its seems like Santa Cruz has designed the Blur TRc for the downhill rider that wants a cross-country bike. The bike offers inspiring angles, suspension, and chassis regidity:

We gave Jordan a good taste of climbing on the Blur TRc, and some descending down Pangor. Its always good to take a demo bike down a familiar trail to get an idea of how the bike compares to other bikes that you have ridden on that same trail. The great work provided through the the nsmba's TAP program (trail adoption program) made for some fun flowy sections where Jordan had great comments about the TR.

We stopped for a coffee break at Bean Around The World, while Tristan went to meet his Grandpa, and Matt went to work. Then Jordan and I went for a second rip on some lower Seymour trails! We had a chance to open it up on both of our bikes, and and get the bikes in the air too! Woo! Jordan also played around with the trial's bonking of the TR.

The great thing about having demo bikes is that we get to know the mannerisms and capabilities of these bikes that we are able to pass on to our customers in the store. The bad thing about these demo bikes like the Blur TRc, and our Santa Cruz Tallboy is that we can't keep them! In Jordan's case, it might be "I can't keep this one, but I can buy my own..."

You can tell us for your selves what you think of our the Blur TRc or the Tallboy c by demoing them your self. $75 per day, gets you out on either bike. You can take them for more than one day as well, if you like. The money invested into the demo, come of the purchase of any bike at Steed Cycles.

Happy Trails!

-Scott

Ultimate recovery activity

2012-01-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

What could possibly be the best recovery activity for muscles thrashed by a hard ride or run? Something that's non-impact, pulls heat from the swollen muscles, provides compression and lastly supplies the blood stream with over 100% oxygen...

When I retired (quit) from pramateur/amafessional road racing (the kind where you spend more time racing and travelling than you do at your actual job), I finally had the time, money and energy to pursue "fun" activities that I'd abandoned in favour of suffering, training and not-winning. One of these was SCUBA diving, which I'd been certified to do since 2000 but only used when I was in the tropics for racing or vacation. We have amazing SCUBA diving right at our doorstep here on the coast, albeit freakin' cold diving, and with some extra funds from selling bikes I finally invested in a drysuit and other cold water gear. After two years of being somewhat sedentary I started to train again, this time running; I've always enjoyed it and with a little one at home, my ability to disappear for 5 hour rides is fairly limited. It was purely coincidence that I ended up heading out for night dives the same days as I'd been banging off some hard running workouts, but it became obvious how much better my legs and knees felt the day after diving.

Of course, why wouldn't they feel better? What do fatigued and damaged muscles like more than rest, cold, compression and high oxygenation?

When in proper trim (ie flat in the water) a diver's legs a nice and elevated relative to the heart helping circulation in the lower legs, flushing the muscles and reducing fluid build up. Even with a 400 gram Thinsulate undergarment, there is still significant amounts of heat pulled from your body, especially the extremities like legs and this also combats swelling associated with muscle damage. At the limit of recreational diving, the ambient pressure is four times that at the surface and although the gas used to insulate your drysuit resists compression to some degree, it still feels like wearing a pair of good compression tights further combating swelling. Lastly, even staying within recreational limits boosts the partial pressure of oxygen from .21ATA at the surface to 1.28ATA at 30m/100'. That's like jamming oxygen down your muscles' throat! With some technical training however, you get the added benefit of breathing gasses like 50% oxygen at depths of up to 21m/70' yielding a partial pressure of oxygen of 1.55ATA. Oh man, muscles love that sh1t!

If you're already a diver, great! Get out there after a workout and dive! If you're not certified, or it's been a while since you completed your training, there are a couple of options ranging from a$400 PADI Open Water Course (aka "how not to die") to a $1100 Global Underwater Explorers Recreational Diver 1 course (aka "how to become a safe, competent, solid diver"). For current divers looking to take the next step, GUE' s Fundamentals, Technical Diver 1 and Technical Diver 2 maybe just what you're looking for.

We live next to not only the best riding in the world, but some of the best diving as well; get out there and dive!

Jono

Christmas Wrapping!

2011-12-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Keeping Busy

2011-12-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

Leaves are on the ground, and maybe some snow. Its winter. Which has its pros and cons. Ya it sucks that its getting colder, but we have clothes that help with that. Its getting darker sooner, but we have lights for that. Yes the wet terrain is slippery, and for that we have tires. For all the excuses out there, there are answers.

The fall weather may not stop you from getting out and riding. There are many good reasons for it. Its nice and cool, so you don't have to worry about sweating out buckets while climbing the Old Buck. At the landscape is painted with colourful leaves, rich soil, and lush greenery.

If the weather isn't perfect that is always the pre and post ride coffee to bail out a rough cold ride. I recently went for a ride with friend's Connor Macleod, Jeff Hunter, and Jordan Manley. When leaving the weather was a typical grey fall day. Once on the way from Lonsdale over to Seymour the rain found its opportunity to pounce upon us. We ended up tackling a grueling climb up the powerlines, with wet snow to add salt to our wounds. Coming back from the ride we we all talking about what a good ride it was. We were all stoked to have been out riding, that we pushed ourselves, and rode some great trails.

Some days however, you have to leave the bike at home. If its going to be anything like last season, I`ll be leaving my bike at home once or twice a week to ski. We are surrounded by mountains, and sometimes its best to take advantage of the snowy ones. I still feel like I`m keeping active when I'm out skiing, especially when I throw the skins on and go for a walk.

I do still find myself looking for an outlet during the week, and the conditions aren't always great for night riding after work. So I try and keep in shape over the winter by getting in the gym or the climbing gym. Climbing is something I just started taking up with fall. I had been going to the rec center and weight training for many years. And although its a means to and end, keeping strong to prevent injuries, I wanted something new and challenging. Climbing is something I never thought I would get into, but the challenge is addictive. I think if I keep it up, I won't be feeling the arm pump at Whistler anymore!

I'll still end up doing the odd gym day to mix it up this winter. Going to the gym might seem like a simple way to keep fit and work on strength, but guess again. Just like picking up and bike for the first time and fumbling down the trails, we can all be gym joey's I'm sure. Weight training isn't just lifting heavy objects. You've got to know what muscle groups you want to target, and it probably would hurt to know why you are targeting them as well.

Once you know why and what you want to do, you probably want to know how to correctly go about doing this. Ya ya, I know what you're thinking... What kind of protein powder should I buy and do I get a T-shirt with a popular spinach eating cartoon's name on it when I buy said protein powder? It true, we all want to look cool shaking our protein drinks around in our Tupperware, checking out eachother's lats, and talking about the last UFC fight, but more important than all of that is knowing the right technique. Stacking on all the weight, getting buff, and hitting the tanning beds comes after.

If you add all of this together I would suggest considering a good trainer. I was fortunate enough to request the knowledge and experience of Monika Marx of Marx Conditioning. Monika and I first spoke about why I was looking about training in the gym. I was looking to keep fit and stung with a focus on exercises directed towards cycling. We talked about previous injuries I had, and checked out my strength and flexibility. She then gave me a few exercises to focus on and and showed me the correct technique on how to execute them. I found this really interesting and helpful at balancing out my strenths and weaknesses. I would highly suggest that if you want to work on your fitness over the winter and really benefit from it, check out marxconditioning.ca.

Keep busy over the winter and have fun doing it!

-Scott

Cold! CX :: BC Cup #4

2011-11-24T15:58:00.000-08:00

Derek Shiers and Kim Steed fighting for 2nd place behind Bob Welbourne.
Yes I am gritting my teeth, jaw frozen shut. Photo- Doug Brons

The Cyclocross season is slowly coming to a close with the Provincial Championships this coming Sunday November 27th, at Mahon Park in North Vancouver. This season has gone by in a flash!

At the last BC Cup in South Surrey, the weather was lets just say, interesting. The rain was monsooning and the wind was howling like you wouldn't believe. With the temperatures around 3-5 degrees celcius the combination was bone chilling, colder than the 2009 National Cyclocross championships, in Edmonton. This race was above zero, but within five minutes of the race start, my hands were completely numb and I couldn't even shift or brake properly. Of course the excuse I give for coming second place, seeing as I would have most certainly chased down Bob Welbourne and challenged him like never before! But I was frozen, hands but mere stumps, unusable to shift and brake. Truth is Bob was off like a rocket and withing a few laps was gone! He is really riding well this year, coming first at every race!

See you this Sunday!

North Shore Mountain Bike Association AGM 2012

2011-11-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

Words by Morgan Taylor.

Date: 2011-11-18

(Post from NSMB.COM)

The message that came through loud and clear last night at the 2011 AGM is that the NSMBA is moving forward as a cohesive unit in 2012, with clear goals and a plan to execute them. The NSMBA is supported by three pillars: Trails, Advocacy, and Events. For 2012, each of these points has been considered and a plan put into place.

2011 was a successful year for the volunteer-run charity; with a new branding strategy and hard work both behind the scenes on the ground, the "Trails For All, Trails Forever" vision brought clarity to the NSMBA.

Trails

TAP Trail Adoption Plan
The single biggest piece of news at last year's AGM was the implementation of the Trail Adoption Plan. With nine trails being taken in by a business in the community under the guidance of an experienced trail builder, TAP was a great success. While the NSMBA did still hold four trail days independent of the program, TAP saw 42 trail days and 4400 man-hours (whoa!) of work logged. Mt. Seymour's trail network is looking great with all the work, but as always, trail maintenance is an ongoing issue.

Under Digger's supervision, nsmb.com took on Dale's trail on Mt. Seymour with the TAP program.

For 2012, the goal is to "Double TAP." Hoping to expand the program to Mt. Fromme, the NSMBA is looking to build on the success of TAP's first year. As the NSMBA held the permits for the TAP trails on Mt. Seymour in 2011, and they will need to arrange this with DNV for Fromme in 2012. Moving onward and upward sounds great, but how are they going to implement this?

NSMBA President Mathew Bond has, for the second year in a row, one of the creepiest manstaches on the circuit.

1. Hiring a Full-Time Program Coordinator
Mark Wood, who has already been putting in a ton of work on a very modest stipend, will be paid for 30 hours a week for the next six months. Under Mark's more focused guidance, the NSMBA's projects will be considered five days a week rather than at the monthly meetings of the Board of Directors.

Mark hopes to continue the positive direction in working with land managers and local government. While hiring a person in this position may be new to the North Shore, that is not the case in other trail associations across North America. This adds legitimacy to the NSMBA's work and puts them on par with other successful trail associations.

Mark Wood has taken on more responsibility as the NSMBA's full-time Program Coordinator.

2. The Watchmen Program
The NSMBA identified a need to regularly assess trails and report back to the Board, land managers, and trail builders. The Watchmen program will put a set of eyes on the trails, scrutinizing trail structures and ground conditions on an ongoing basis. This is good for everyone involved, but most importantly to the land owners, who like to see responsible stewardship of the trails. The Watchmen will help identify potential problems and perform spot maintenance before they become larger issues.

3. NSMBA Trail Crew
A paid trail crew dedicated to projects that wouldn't necessarily appeal to the average builder. A good example of this is the work done recently on 7th Secret, where 170 feet of rotten woodwork was replaced. Having a dedicated trail crew to take care of such issues will allow the permitted trail builders and TAP trail builders to focus on their respective projects. This year's project was funded by the proceeds of Wade's Excellent Adventure, though the NSMBA will be seeking active funding sources moving forward.

Matt Preston and Mark Wood with the newly completed bridge work on 7th Secret.

4. Builders Academy
Only a handful of trail builders have the skills and experience necessary to lead a TAP team. NSMBA is looking to change that, by creating a mentorship program. Apprentice builders will be paired up with a master trail builder, with the intention of improving trail building skills in all areas. This project will work in conjunction with the Watchmen, as the apprentice builders will be assigned trails to regularly assess and perform spot maintenance on. The goal here is to cultivate the culture of trail building as an investment in future skills.

Events

While the average trail user experiences the NSMBA's work on a regular basis, the association's events present a fun way to get more involved. If you'd like to help with any of the following events, email the NSMBA or fill out a comment form on their website.

Toonie Races
Following in the wake of four successful Toonie Races in 2011, the NSMBA hopes to run 6 – 8 Toonies in 2012. After experimenting with after-work races, the conclusion is that Saturday mornings are the best time to get people out to race. The hope is to run a race on the first Saturday of each month, which would turn the base of Mt. Fromme into a social place supported by local shops where riders can get together.

Wade's Excellent Adventure
As expected, everyone's stoked to see a return of Wade Simmons' event on Fromme. For 2012, Wade promises a change in program, in the interest of fun. Rather than an all-day epic, think one-day stage race with time bonuses for technical features. While the new concept is still in the planning stages, the ride will no doubt test your knowledge of Fromme, with all proceeds going back to the trails.

Wade's Excellent Adventure is a whole lot of fun with a great cause. Check out our recap and video of the 2011 Adventure here.

Triple Crown
Andreas Hestler did a huge amount of ground work to make an all day, three-mountain ride happen on the North Shore in 2011. Unfortunately, the permit process of running an event across three mountains prevented the Triple Crown from becoming a reality last year. With much of the routing finished and communication lines open, Andreas hopes to host the Triple Crown late in the season—likely September.

Gear Swap
A mainstay of the NSMBA, 2011's gear swap was the most successful to date. While Rachid Nayel is stepping down from his position on the Board, he assured us he would be involved with this year's gear swap. The three-way benefit of buying, selling, and supporting the NSMBA makes this a great event that we're happy to see continuing.

Film Fest
Look forward to another NSMBA Film Fest, following a successful first year in 2011. Word is people are already working on their submissions… get yours in there!

Advocacy

The NSMBA works with five main land managers to help keep our trails safely maintained, both in North Vancouver and West Vancouver. The NSMBA is working actively with the District of North Vancouver regarding trails on Fromme, but there is a strong need for the community to make its presence known in West Vancouver.

Alan Bardsley works hard on the advocacy side in West Vancouver, and asks for our help this year.

West Vancouver

In 2007, the mountain bike community showed up in full force to let the District of West Vancouver and British Pacific Properties know the importance of the trail network. Now, in 2012, a threat looms again and we are being asked to show our support. The District is considering extending the 1200 foot elevation development limit on Cypress, which puts the large majority of the trails there in jeopardy.

West Van does support bikes, but we need to voice our support for the current level of trails on Cypress. There will be a public input session February or March 2012, where the NSMBA asks us to put forth the message: Maintain the current riding experience. Keep an eye on nsmb.com and nsmba.ca for more information approaching that date.

North Vancouver

While most of the TAP trails on Mt. Seymour are under Metro Vancouver jurisdiction, Mt. Fromme lies in the District of North Vancouver. NSMBA President Mathew Bond and Program Coordinator Mark Wood have recently been presenting their work to DNV council. Public perception of mountain biking often ignores the work that goes into sustainable trail maintenance, and Mathew and Mark are looking to make it clear to DNV that the NSMBA is making big efforts to turn that perception around. The TAP program is an invaluable asset in showing land owners how the NSMBA approaches sustainable trail maintenance.

NSMBA is also looking to finalize the groundwork done in past years with respect to the DNV permit process for trail builders. Permits provide security for the trails and for trail builders, and plans are in place to make this process easier.

Andreas Hestler and Mark Wood enjoy a post-meeting brew. Thanks for all the hard work, ladies and gents of the NSMBA!

If you'd like to get involved, contact the NSMBA through their website here.

West Maui Loop: Riding in Paradise

2011-11-15T19:24:00.001-08:00

November is a great month to get out of Vancouver and enjoy a little sun. After all , for the good of your health it is worth making sure that your Vitamin D levels are at their peak before we head into our northern winter. I was planning on a trip to Maui to windsurf when I found out that a pack of riding buddies were going to be in the area for the same week. I still hadn’t unpacked my road bike from its last trip so with little planning it was soon accompanying me to the tropical isle.

The west Maui loop is about 100km long and “loops” clockwise around the west end of the island. We looped clockwise in an attempt to miss the vast majority of headwinds that accompany the consistent trade winds that make Maui so good for windsurfing. Starting in Lahaina we headed west and then north up around the island. The traffic around Lahaina, Kanapali and Kapalua is pretty ridiculous seeing that Maui is only 1880 square km with 192 km of coast. It seems that everyone that lands in Maui rents a car and then spends pretty much all of their holiday driving around the island. Thankfully the shoulders were plenty wide and after a short while we passed the vast majority of the tourist enclaves and the traffic died off.

The ride around the west side of the island is very twisty, with lots of short steep kickers. It seemed to me that we were constantly fighting a head wind but I suppose if you are only going 15 kph because of the hills it is better to fight the head wind at slow speeds rather that than the faster speeds you might attain on the flats.

Halfway around we stopped in for “the best banana bread on the planet” and to refill our water bottles. The road down to and out of this little enclave is the nastiest of the ride. One lane, lots of rock fall, and crazy drivers thinking they are in the World Rally Championships. Once back on the road we had one more long climb before we reached the north coast of the island and headed down toward the airport in Kahului with the wind now firmly starting to push us home.

Another quick fill up of water bottles was needed in Wailuku before we started the last 35 km hike back to Lahaina along the highway. The sun was out and it didn’t take long to get pretty dehydrated. The ride across the middle of the island was pretty quick. Slight downhill, 25kph tailwind. Pretty easy to pull a train at 55kph with that kind of assistance. Once back on the west side of the island we headed back north with the traffic again. It is probably about 22km of riding to get back to Lahaina. Lots of beaches to look at, but with the wind on our nose, and 75 km of riding in our legs there was quite a bit of suffering going. We eventually got back and quickly jumped in the ocean to cool off before the traditional post ride beer.

All that riding and still time to get back to the windy side of the island for an afternoon session on the water at Sprecks!

Cyclocross BC Cup #1

2011-09-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Early in the race Bob and I took a lead turning ourselves inside out in the heat! Photo-Dylan Doubt

On September 4th, the first BC Cup Cyclocross Race took place at Aldor Acres in Langley. The weather was insanely hot in the high 20's, which is a drastic change from former years of heavy rain and mud. Luckily rules allow for water to be consumed during the race which was a necessity in this one!

This year Cycling BC decided to split the Masters field into two groups, Masters 1/2 and Masters 3/4. The Masters field had increased in size to over 50 racers per event and was becoming overwhelming to co-ordinate for organizers and racers alike. The new format allows for a more competitive structure and makes the event more fun to watch as well!

In my race, Masters 1/2 we started just after the Pro Elite Men at 1pm...hottest time of the day! The sun beat down as the whistle blew and the 21 of us hammered off the line. The starting gravel road was super dusty and along with the fertilizer smell from the farm we were racing on, made for some extra cloudy lungs. As we came to the forest after the first kilometer, I was leading and the pack and feeling good. I decided to lose the gloves as the temp was so high and thought this would be a way of staying a few degrees cooler. Close behind me was Brad Collins and Bob Welbourne on the first climb / run up. Brad and I put the hammer down and bunny hopped the log at the bottom of the run up and pedaled to the top! Bob dismounted and ran, going almost the same speed as us, except the time it took him to remount.

After the first lap there was a group of 5 or so of us railing along the dusty farm road. I pulled the group around the first bit and again road up the run up but the heat was starting to get to me and Bob stayed with Brad and I once again.

By the third lap Brad dropped back and Bob and I were alone. The rough ground was starting to take it's toll on the skin on my hands as I gripped the sticky rubber brake hoods. I looked down and a big flap of skin on my palm was flapping. The sun was beating down and the dust in the air was heavy. I held onto Bob but I was starting to question myself on riding the run up.

On the 4th and 5th lap I ran the run up and followed Bob who was trying to drop me on the straight away farm road. We had a big lead on the rest of the group and wanted to keep it. I matched Bob's every attack, but feeling weary and my hand feeling more raw by the second (what the hell was I thinking going gloveless)!!!

The last two laps I dropped back but tried to stay at a good tempo, Bob got away from me and beat me by over 50 meters.

Good times at Aldor Acres though, thanks guys!!! All the results from the race here.

-Kimbo

First Impressions: Fox 36 Talas 180

2011-09-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

I originally spec'd my Santa Cruz Nomad with a Rock Shox Totem Solo Air front end. I liked the way the Totem felt, the air spring and single crown were a nice combo for an "all mountain" rig and it proved to be a good crutch for my lack of descending prowess. Just to be clear, I handle gravity better than a Schleck, but riding with Kimbo, Dave Nordman and Mike Guns makes almost anyone feel like they descend with a purse under their arm. 180mm made my purse feel a little smaller and I could grunt it up almost anything.

Two years of Woodlot, Squamish, Whistler and NS riding later, the Nomad was due for a makeover. Coincidently, my regular partner Mike had just swapped his Nomad for a TranceX which left me thinking I was about to get schooled going up as well as down now. Enter the Fox 36 Talas 180...

Briefly, its got the same great air spring and single crown as the Totem and as the name suggests 36mm stanchions, 180mm of travel adjustable to 140mm. Same great slack and squishy front for the downs but now without that pesky wheelie inducing lack of control on the ups!

By "same great squishy front", I actually mean "far better than my totem ever felt" and "smoothest fork I've ever ridden". Objectively speaking, the high- and low-speed compression dampers have a far wider range of adjustment and something about the air spring's design make it far less finicky to set up. I'd always felt the Totem had a 3psi sweet spot: anything above or below and the fork felt completely rigid or non-existent. One of my previous favorite forks was the Fox Float 32, and the 36 Talas 180 is like it on steroids. Silky travel with beefy stiffness, perfect travel options for the steepest ups and downs.

Jono

Boogieman Trail Day #4 :: Final Day!!!

2011-09-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

(Write up and Photos by Conor Coen)
Sunday September 11^th brought the fourth and final trail day on Boogieman for the 2011 season. Backed by Steed Cycles and Giant Bicycle Canada, local builder Sean Gerke took on the task of maintaining Boogieman through the NSMBA Trail Adoption Program, and has since hosted four trail days mostly oriented around repairing structures which are on the verge of failing. This trail day’s goal was to replace two bridges after the swamp log which were beginning to rot, not to mention they were bad news in the wet.

Here's our project for the day (taken in the rain for dramatic effect)

This trail day started as most others, treats and coffee at Bean Around the World in Parkgate Mall as we assembled our team of volunteers. This trail day had a turn out of four volunteers in addition to Sean, they include Shawn, Jeff, Josh and myself. Once we had satisfied our caffeine dependency, Sean dropped Josh off at the Mushroom lot to close the trail, and upon his return we gathered our tools and headed up the mountain.

Sean giving his motivational talk (and safety speech)

Once all the formalities were out of the way we got to work, well at least Sean did. Before we could dive into building the new bridges the old ones were swiftly dispatched by Sean and his friend the Stihl chainsaw.

Sean cuts down the old bridge to make way for the newer less rotted bridge!

After hiding the carnage, the arduous task of bringing in materials began. We had to move 2 stringers, 2 small footing, 1 very long milled log and countless rungs.

Jeff Tran and Sean Gerke hauling a log through the forest.

After a couple hours of hauling timber, we thought it would be appropriate to dig into our lunch which we acquired at Bean Around the World. We enjoyed our lunch on the bridge which was completed at trail day #3

Footing for the bridge

Josh providing an ample gold supply

After a good break we were ready to get right back to it. We installed the footings for the milled log by digging holes, then filling them with small rocks and 'gold'.

Maneuvering the log into place.

Sean doing some custom cuts with the chainy.

Connor getting right into nailing in the rungs!

After the majority of the grunt work was done on the log, we concentrated on the ladder bridge which would serve as the exit to the swamp log.

Jeff putting the final nail in

Mission accomplished, high fives all 'round

The ladder bridge exit to the swamp log

The milled log section which connects you to the rest of the bridge

A big shout out to Steed Cycles, Giant Canada and the volunteers who have made these trail days possible, as well as a big thank you to Sean Gerke who bravely took on Boogieman this season, and will keep chipping away at it for many more seasons!

If you want to see the full set of photos from the trail day, head on over to Flickr!

-Conor Coen

Island Cross Cumberland

2011-09-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

Fabulous, but sweltering hot race last weekend in Cumberland at village park. Went out as a family with a mission, priming our three year old for the kids race, and picking up a shiny new ride at Steed Cycles for Justin, just the day before. Found myself getting caught up in the atmosphere of friendly faces, sunshine on the lush grass, and the exciting events preceding my own. Decided to forgo he comfy shorts early to sport the shammy and partake in a pre-lap ride and watch my son in his own challenge. Chase stole my heart as he lined up with the 15 or so other munchkins who rode the full lap for their race! Number 346, I was hoping for a medal, and there he was, just a month and a half past three years old! Go Chase!!
Nearly missed my own gun shot as I lined up with ten other women and thirty or so masters men at the start line. Hadn't had time to think about the heat or the sprint start before I was already consumed in it. Stuck with the women in the group through the twirly whirly section, one of my favorite for picking up distance on riders ahead of me. But after training the year for my first ironman, I realized I was lacking in any sprint training of this sort. I yearned to stay with the front pack, but secretly hoped I wouldn't be passed by the men. Rolled in fairly at sixth, off a stellar course, so happy to hit he grass without losing any cookies.

Justin's men's open race started right after, so we did a quick kid swap. The field was nearly thirty deep, and with a top 100 finish at the Grand Fondo whistler, the day before, I didn't think he would have anything left in his legs. Unfortunately, there wasn't much opportunity to shine as he pulled in with two separate flats, one garnering an upholstery tack, the other (on my borrowed rear wheel) causing him to sprint the last km to cross the finish line.
"Ne jamais abandonner!!"

Kudos to Norm Thibault for even getting there just five days after the birth of his baby girl, Tessa. Also big bow and thank you Lisa Ludwig and Curtis Saunders for the organization and course design at CoalCross 2011. I hope it will continue to be an annual race in the Island Cross Series, as well as the opportunity to get my awesome CoalCross t-shirt! Great design Lisa!

Cyclocross Clinic #2

2011-09-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

(Clinic will be lead by Kim Steed and Scott Mcgregor)

When: Sunday September 18th, 7:30-9:30am

Where: Inter River Park – North Vancouver

(Meet at Jaycee House, 1251 Lilloet Road, North Vancouver, then we will head down to the soccer field for clinic)

Who: Anyone who wants to do a Cyclocross Race (Cross or Mtn bikes)

What: A two hour clinic covering all of the basic skills of Cyclo-cross riding and racing.

(All abilities are welcome and everyone should be able to learn something or at least practice their skills.)

Topics will include:

Start line plan
Remounting
Dismounting
Picking up and carrying the bike
Barriers and Run-ups

Anyone interested in attending, please email kim@steedcycles.com

Boogieman Trail Day #3

2011-08-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

Giant Bicycles Canada Inc. has partnered with Steed Cycles to take part in the North Shore Mountain Bike Associations (NSMBA) trail stewardship initiative. Given our geographic location and the rich north shore heritage of the “boogieman” trail located on Mount Seymour, the trail stewardship program seemed like a no-brainer to both Steed and Giant.Sunday, August 14^th/11 represented the return of the Steed/Giant trail maintenance crew to the wilds of Mount Seymour to complete phase 3 of the boogieman stewardship project. After a quick application of rider repelling tape and trail closure signage at the boogieman trailhead, it was time to take a quick spin down the trail to meet with the rest of the crew for a quick safety meeting + build plan for the day.

After making my way down boogieman, I was able to creep through the rich north shore fauna while Sean Gerke, trail builder extraordinaire laid down the law to the rest of the group. The lush greenery is truly something to behold on older shore trails like boogieman.

The goal of the 3^rd incarnation of our trail day was to repair a 25 foot section of the signature 500+ foot long log/ladder bridge that runs through the swamp of the lower section of BG. The condition of the section slated for replacement was so bad that it had to be taped off and was no longer safe to ride. In my books, the only place yellow marking tape belongs is either on the race course or to block things off whilst improving them, much like today’s event. Time to get to work and rectify the situation!

A brief section of the gigantor log ride near the bottom of BM

Chainsaw… Check. Orange safety chaps…. Check. Gentleman Trail Builder Sean, start your engine. Step 1, the easy part, removal of the unsafe section. Please note that yes, it is indeed a large twig barely holding up several hundred pounds of aging lumber and yes…. It was definitely time for it to be replaced. It should also be noted that destroying unsafe stunts is fun, especially when you plan on replacing it with something better J

Sweet success! The easy part is now over and it was now time to get the sleeves rolled up and start the process of digging holes for our supports. This would involve first digging out 2 large holes, bringing over some freshly debarked cedar supports, followed by collecting large rocks and mineral dirt from the surrounding area to pack down the supports. While removing the old support, we were extremely fortunate to stumble upon a queen bee deep in hibernation that was carefully moved to a suitable new location. Much respect to this queen bee for toughing it out on Seymour and where is the honey at?

Alright…. Enough hand holding, it’s time to put this thing into OVERDRIVE….. OVERDRIVE 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Colby Large, BC Sales Representative, father, husband, rider and a keen woodsman!

Sean and a fun-guy hanging out in the woods trimming down a fallen cedar that will be used for the rebuild of the ladder bridge. While one half of the group was busy sourcing materials and digging holes, the other was hard at work producing cedar planks of all shapes and sizes. After several hours of plank production, with the team working a full capacity, an ample supply of planks were created for this and future projects. Jeff, Eric and Nica hard at work below!

Nica Novlesky, inside sales representative for BC and everything in-between western Ontario, making short work of some sweet smelling cedar with the tools of the trade. Not to be outdone in the pane below, C-Large big-ringing-that-thang!!!!!

Fraser swinging the pick and digging deep….. Really deep. Some serious work was required on all fronts to get the two holes dug deep enough; as apparently, there was quite an elaborate root system underneath our dig spot. Shocking…. Not so much. But remember kids, if it was easy, everyone would be doing and it wouldn’t be half as cool. Speaking of the “easy way”, please see below for antonym in picture form. Also, please remember that water from the middle of the stream is always more delicious……

Many large rocks, a couple dozen bucketful’s of mineral dirt and a couple of support logs….. All the ingredients required for a sturdy base necessary for ladder longevity.

Sean propped up on the support making short work of a very long nail as the final preparations are made on the support structure. Finally, the 2 main support beams were installed then it was time to start hammering down the cedar planks. The team could see the daylight at the end of the tunnel and it was all hands on deck as the day’s project neared to the end.

The final rung was being hammered down and it was time to give this badboy a go! So it was time to hit that thing up for the virgin run and fantastic news……..I made it!!!!!! (Even without my training wheels)

In closing, it was an amazingly productive day of trail building and the weather was kind enough to not rain on us, even though it was supposed to. I would like to extend a big thank you to Sean, Nica, Colby, Eric, Martin, Fraser and Jeff for participating and picking up the slack for the author, who decided it would be a good idea to take a sweet digger up in whistler the day before. It was a privilege to work with everyone on this project and help improve our local trail network. Also, a big thank you to Colby and Giant bicycles Canada for supplying lunch for everyone. Trail Day # 4 is just around the corner, so please contact Steed cycles and get involved!

Andrew Armour

Inside Sales Representative

Giant Bicycles Canada Inc.

Cyclocross Clinic!

2011-08-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

(Clinic will be lead by Kim Steed and Scott Mcgregor)

When: Sunday August 28th, 7:30-9:30am

Where: Inter River Park – North Vancouver

(Meet at Jaycee House, 1251 Lilloet Road, North Vancouver, then we will head down to the soccer field for clinic)

Who: Anyone who wants to do a Cyclocross Race (Cross or Mtn bikes)

What: A two hour clinic covering all of the basic skills of Cyclo-cross riding and racing.

(All abilities are welcome and everyone should be able to learn something or at least practice their skills.)

Topics will include:

Start line plan
Remounting
Dismounting
Picking up and carrying the bike
Barriers and Run-ups

Anyone interested in attending, please email kim@steedcycles.com

Giants Big and Small

2011-07-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Yes those are some nice new 12" wheels. The new 29" wheels aren't so bad either.

My daughter and I each got a new bike not so long ago and I've got some great things to say about both. Firstly the little run bike, the Giant pre. Run bikes are really amazing and seem like the completely natural way for kids to develop confidence and balance on a bike. This is the 3rd run bike in the family and so we have had experience with some other brands. A couple details stand our about the Giant. The overall quality, especially the wheels, is really high. This is often not the case with kids bikes where heavy steel and poor tolerances are the norm. Despite having bigger wheels than some run bikes, the stand over clearance is great due to the frame design. Another nice piece is the grips that come on the bike. They have a big soft rubber ball on the end. Considering that kids run into parked cars, each other and even themselves, this is a well thought out detail.

And as for the big bike, the Anthem X29, I have to say that after a couple of months I'm completely sold.

Here we are getting ready for a wicked ride in Squamish. Interesting that 3 of the 4 bikes had big wheels.

I could go on and on about the benefits that I think the big wheels give you. However, I can sum it up by saying that the Anthem X29 descends like my Trance and climbs like my Anthem (only with even better traction). Which is exactly what I was looking for. A bike that I can do a few races on and ride as a trail bike on some more technical terrain.

I'm only going fast because of the big wheels.

When you can keep your speed high, the momentum of the big wheels is amazing and there have been times where I've found myself going faster than expected. Really the only adjustment I've found is if you slow down and lose that momentum you can be reminded that you are actually on an XC bike.

If you haven't tried a 29er, you should. It is an interesting change and a lot of fun at the very least.

Scott McG

Santa Cruz VPP Service

2011-06-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

Boogieman Trail Day #2 :: Building Ladder Bridge

2011-06-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

Time for some love. Broken and rotted rungs stop the flow of a trail.
We spent this June NSMBA Trail Day to fix one of many damaged structures.

Anyone who regularly rides on the North Shore trails will agree that ladder bridges are an integral part of our trail network. We use them to connect sections of unridable trail, to ride over mud bogs, streams, fallen trees, and across ravines, not to mention to reduce erosion in sensitive environments. In the case of Boogieman there are numerous sections that require a bridge to complete parts of the trail. We selected one bridge in particular that was becoming unsafe due to rot and did not have a ride around as an option. Our focus: to re-build a new bridge that was safe, would sustain at least a decades worth of mountain bike traffic, and use all lumber from the surrounding forest that was dead fall.

Clearly this ladder bridge was in need of replacement.
Not only missing rungs, the stringers were rotted through and the supports were not secured to anything structural.

This before shot shows how the roll out ramp had an interesting twist from rotting logs,
destined to take out a rider upon exit at some point.

The rickety old bridge had lasted 13 years, but was time to be cut down and replaced...bring on the man with the plan, and the "Gas Axe"...

Sean Gerke our Trail Maintainer with his old friend "The STIHL 20" MS260 Chainsaw"

A thing of beauty! Nothing like the smell of two stroke fuel exhaust in the great outdoors. Unfortunately not "Fueled by Caffeine" like the rest of us.

A thing of beauty, especially when it's a tool you really need. On this trail day, Sean certainly used it a lot. It's amazing how versatile and essential a tool the chainsaw can be. It was used to cut down the old rotten structure, cut supports to size, create the notches in all the beams and brackets, and prepare the rot resistant cedar logs that were to be turned into fresh ladder bridge rungs.

Simple Bucket?

Simple bucket? Something so basic is the life blood of how the crew moves dirt from the source (trail side dirt pits carefully selected to fill in erosion from prolonged trail use). Again, this tool is an essential item on trail day! I couldn't imagine being without this sturdy pail! Listen to me, I am a changed man!

Dave Nordman wielding the precious pick used for loosening up hard ground.

The day started off with a 30 minute hike in, with all the tools, food and water for the day. It has to be said that hiking in with an armload of tools is a lot more challenging than you expect it will be. Shovels, pics, buckets, nails and a chainsaw aren't exactly designed for hiking. Regardless, they sure are essential to the job and worth packing for the journey!

Here Sean bucks down the old structure with the gurgling, smokey monster.
Then we pile up the debris of the old dead structure to a final resting place, out of eyesight of the trail.

Sean gave us an interesting lesson on how to create the plank rungs in 2" and 3" thickness for different uses. The mini sledges and wedges split the cedar beautifully with the natural grain creating the perfect rung almost every time. As an aside, Dave cut a few thin planks for his barbecue to make salmon taste extra cedar flavored. I was impressed by his cultured palate.

Sean in his protective gear required for such plank making procedures.

Dave Norman with a big stack of newly created cedar rungs. This burly lad was of great help! Cedar is the best choice for rungs not only because it is naturally rot resistant but also provides good traction even when wet.

Jake and Sean plan out the structure install with the trusty tape measure in hand.

Skilled trail builder Jake Stein (above in red hat) helped us out for the day, handing down some valuable knowledge to the wide eyed onlookers. Here he and Sean measure up the length of the stringers required and plan the new support post hole locations.


Measure twice :: cut once. Words to live by.

Support posts are installed by Jake and Kim, after the painstaking process of digging in the mountain dirt.

The ground is quite diverse when it comes to what is below the surface. I knew it was a flip of the coin how challenging it was going to be to get a 3 foot deep hole dug for the support posts. These posts were essential to the stability of the whole structure so we dug and dug until we reached the required depth. Yes we hit a lot of rock, roots, and clay, but with the searing arms shoulders and back we managed to get them installed. Jake knew all the tricks to get past the hard earth. We used the bio mass (dirt) to fill in the new landing pad.

Filling in the remaining space around the post with rocks and dirt made it concrete-like sturdy and an anchor of the structure.

The 9 foot long support is lodged a deep 3 feet below the ground to fulfill the 1/3 rule on a structural post. We filled in the space around the post with rocks of various sizes along with dirt to create a concrete like sturdiness.

This custom cut little gem sat right on the top of the support posts
to hold the stringers in place for the top ladder as well as the descending ramp.
Another example of how handy a chainsaw comes in on trial day.

The upper part of the structure was itact and in good condition but we had to reinforce the ground around it and install a more solid cedar log. Andrew and Jake build up the sides of the log with rocks and dirt to stabilize as Sean was preparing a skilled cut with the chainy.

Laying out the stringers to be cut to length.

Above Andrew Armour from Giant holds the supports for Sean to cut to length. Those stringers were incredibly heavy and with a girth of about 9 inches in diameter, will be supporting riders for many years to come. Sturdy. Very Sturdy.

It was an interesting artistic maneuver Sean had to do to cut the notches for the stringers with the chainsaw.

Setting up the landing ramp.

These cedar posts are not only rot resistant but they are beefy and are well supported at both ends. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of how we supported the bottom of the ramp with rocks beneath a cedar log. We filled the landing area with a thick layer of packed in golden dirt with a rock layer beneath for erosion resistance.

Sean empties his Dakine nail pouches, bursting with 5"-10" galvanized nails, to fasten the rungs to the ladder.

Andrew pins the bridge together with the long spiral galvanized spikes, using the weighty sledge.


Man! These nails make a lot of resistance going into the cedar logs! They are seriously securing the position of the structure!

Part of doing trail work and rebuilding is the clean up of the area and stacking unused wood for future use. Here Sean stacks up the extra cedar ladder bridge rungs created by Dave and Andrew. We will make some use of those on our next trail day on other structures further down the trail.

Before the tear down and rebuild :: Ultra rickety ladder bridge structure needing some love.


After :: The new structure with a nice pile of golden dirt in the landing zone ready to be ridden for years to come!

Note: After the trail day, I was exhausted... and I mean speechlessly exhausted. I have run marathons, and have done a whole lot of bike races, but nothing compares to the last couple of trail days on Boogieman. The work we have done is not even a sliver of what some trail builders have spent years and years doing. This stands as a reminder for every time I enter a trail that has been built and regularly maintained and a reminder of how much painstaking work went into the trail. Hats off to the trail builders and trail maintainers of the shore! You guys are my heros! Without you we wouldn't have these experiences! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-Kimbo

Then of course there is the summary on video of Trail Day #2 by Connor Macleod...

Boogieman Trail Day #2 :: Video

2011-06-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

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(Video by Connor Macloed) As it was brought to my attention, building a ladder bridge is much more time consuming that you would think. Part of what added to the challenge, was using all natural wood from the fallen trees; trail side. Going so far as to splitting cedar logs to make the planks to complete the runway for the ladder bridge, added to the craft of the process.

Over the years I have ridden miles of ladder bridges without the slightest idea how many pain staking hours it takes to build just one of these things! Spending the day building one was a real eye opener and was incredibly interesting and an educating experience.

Here is a 3 minute video speeding through the steps of the 8 hours of how this ladder bridge was built by Sean Gerke and the Steed Cycles / Giant trail crew.

-Kimbo

North Shore Bike Fest :: This Weekend!

2011-06-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend is annual North Shore Bike Fest at Inter-River Park. The weekend includes the "Return of the Ripper" races, including a time trial Friday night, a marathon XC on Saturday, followed by a Super D on Sunday!

I am entering all three races and joining the category of riders who are doing all the events on the same bike with the same wheels! My bike of choice is the Santa Cruz Tall Boy with a Schwalbe Racing Ralph rear tire and Nobby Nic up front. My wheels are set up with a Hugi DT 240 hub on the rear with carbon Chubb front hub laced to Stans Crest 29'er rims. I obviously went with a Rock Shox Reverb post as I will need a bunch of seat height adjustments throughout the three events. My full XTR bike weighs in at 26.5 pounds and will be the most challenged in the Super D. The Super D is expected to be about 20 minutes long and if I was able to change out bikes, I would certainly go with my carbon Nomad!

The weather over the past few weeks has been very wet. It should make for an interesting race, although as I recall last year's Bike Fest Marathon XC race course was quite muddy. In my most anaerobic state, decending Severed D. I found myself holding on for dear life, going sideways down the trail barely hanging on!

With the Time Trial race tonight, expected to last under 10 minutes for the leaders, it should be interesting to see how many other suckers like me plan to ride all three events on the same bike. I know my hero Arthur Gaillot will be one of them, as well as fellow team member Scott Mcgregor. Anther cool event tonight is the Ryders Eyewear Vintage Bike Show and Shine. I wonder what kinds of old bikes people will be pulling out of the back of the garage!

Don't forget to stop by our booth on Saturday and Sunday to enter your name for our draw to have a chance at winning one of the prizes up for grabs!

-Kimbo

Lets Boogie!

2011-05-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Steed Cycles has been a part of the North Shore cycling community for over 14 years, and mountain biking has always been a big part of who we are. Of course Kim's presence in early bike videos such as the North Shore Extreme (NSX) series, and Kranked movies showcased Kim's riding and the North Shore Trails themselves. Boogieman is a North Shore classic trail that has been around for about 13 years. We're happy to get the opportunity to get Boogieman back into great shape, and add a couple modernizations.

We're able to get the opportunity to work on Boogieman through the NSMBA TAP (Trail Adoption Program), and with the partnership of Giant Bicycle.

This is how our first trail day went down:

Fuelled by Caffeine

Thanks to Cowboy coffee, roasters of Bean Around the World, The Bean Around the World Park Gate donated coffee and muffins to fuel our trail work! Watching NSX 3, I remember Dangerous Dan wearing a Bean Around the World T-shirt and buzzing about preparing for a big drop. Kimbo looks a little more calm with his daughter hanging around his neck.

The trail crew's gettin' buzzed. Already helping each other out as you can see, as Brett sweetens the deal for Cory. A nice quality coffee is exactly what we needed before our dig!

About a 20 minute hike to the trail with our gear.

We all hiked into Boogieman together. Sean Gerke our trail master, had the tools for the job in his Dakine Builder's bag.

We muffin'd up before taking to the spades, while Sean gave us a little safety talk, and a direction as to how we were going to buff the trail, and how to go about it. Sean's has a lot of experience trail building. He's worked on such local trails as Bridal Path, Sticks and Stones, as well as the Grouse Grind.

I couldn't be much happier than in this photo.
I've got my bike, my Bean coffee, and I'm with my bro's; not too much missing from this scenario.

TAP Line, Do Not Cross!

Brett laid down the law. Trail Day in Progress, closed! Even-though our sign was at head level at the entrance of the trail, we had a few riders come down the trail. People don't always pay attention to these signs it seems, and although nothing happened, it can be a dangerous situation for riders and builders. Earlier during the trail day Sean felled a tree, which we would not want to see fall on anyone that wasn't prepared. We are trying to improve Boogieman, and hope that for future trail days, riders will respect that, and choose one of the many other open trails that Seymour has to offer.

The original Boogieman trail sign, something we won't have to work on.

Slippery Skinny to be textured with the chainy.

Here are a couple of before shots of sections we worked on that needed some TLC. This Skinny was rather callenging to mount, nevermind riding slathered in grease! We made some improvements there to get onto the structure, and to add some much needed grip!

Classic North Shore mist in the background...

This ladder bridge characterizes North Shore riding, and the Boogieman trail, but the run out at the bottom was pitted, and eroded. There also looked like a possibility of launching off the top of the ladder bridge, so we smoothed out a transition/run out for riding and launching. A must have for the season's fashions.

A short break for lunch allowed us to re-group, re-energize, and have people capture pictures of us looking awkward as we try to explain some random idea. Connor had time to put the camera and shovel down to grab a bite to eat.

Before shot of the hip jump, run down and haggard,
soon to be filled in with glorious fresh loam on top and under armoured with rock armouring.

This launch on the right on the ladder bridge down ramp is one of the few nice airs you can find on trails these days. It was a focal point to bring more flow back to the trail. We spent a lot of time gathering soil and rocks to complete the take-off and landing.
Eventhough it was a small section of trail that we worked on, trail building and maintenance requires a lot of effort. It took a solid effort for the days work. All in all the trail day went well, and we accomplished our goals while having a great time with a group of friends! We're looking forward to trail day number two. Sean has been doing his own little trails days to lesson the work load for our trails days.
In the mean time check out our trail day video, captured by Connor Macleod. It shows the days work, as well as the after effects of the trail day:

Cheers,

-Scott

Two Bucks Goes Along Way

2011-05-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am STOKED on fun racing! Two bucks to have a great competitive "ride" with a bunch of other cool people that like riding bikes, and then they give you food and beer to chuff you further.

This was my first Toonie race, and it was looking to be a track of chocolate pudding on the trail. I needed a new tire anyhow, so it seemed fitting to fit a Schwalbe Nobby Nic 2.25 on the front to cut the mud. They Nobby Nic's turned out to be light, and confident. At one point I was so stoked to be smashing a straight line though some slick mud, passing people, and just ripping!

I had to represent Steed Cycles no doubt, plastered in mud or not, the green really shines through.

The race was a fun mix of trails in the Valleycliffe area of Squamish. Times were between 40 minutes and 1.5 hours. Although passing is difficult, most everyone is considerate and courteous to allow the more competitive riders to move by.
The race finished up and moved to the Apres at the Squamish Ocean Front center.

Nestles in the inlet the location for the after race party had great views of what Squamish has to offer.

Dig in! Everyone worked up an appetite during the spring style races, and Naked Lunch was there to cater to our needs! Thanks a bunch Naked Lunch!

Brett and Dan found a comfortable spot to enjoy the beer, Chilli and Salads.

Fellow Steed rider Bill Letham, who is a Toonie veteran, was sporting the colours on Wednesday as well. It was good to see familiar faces, but the atmosphere encourages people to mingle and chat.

On our cribs tour, we found out that this is where the magic happens, provided by Howe Sound Brewing.

Naked Lunch had more food that we could possibly consume, which is right up my alley. I never like feeling like I'm shorted on food. I think I left feeling like I wish I had left a plate behind... Too much chilli doesn't make for the best car ride home.

Some people come straight from the race, and others go home to wash up first. There are girls at these events you know... You might see some different choices in foot wear. Sweat pants and bike shoes, who's looking?

Brett put him self in a temporary food/beer coma. Contrary to popular belief, that isn't a bad thing.

There was a great turn out for the week's Toonie, despite the wet conditions. I heard there have been around 100 people turning out each week so far.

What more can you ask for? Double-fisting chilli and beer!

We had our fill of chatting and filling our gullets, so we took to the road. But, not without a short stop to one of the sponsors.

A Three Beavers Imperial Red Ale for the road please.

One last stop before we were straight outta Squampton, a stop for some gas. 8 cents cheaper! Chances casino won't be getting any of my savings!

The Squamish Toonie race serious is a great time, and a good way to keep you in shape. I'm stoked to take on this weeks Toonie on Wednesday. Maybe this time I'll bring my B-game, (that doesn't stand for beer game by the way... I think?) and improve my results.

-Scott

TAP Progress Report

2011-05-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is a re-Post from NSMB.com

Trails for all, Trails forever.

Words by: Mark Wood

The NSMBA is proud to announce the new Trail Adoption Plan is up and running. “The Eagle is flying,” says Wade Simmons, NSMBA Trail Ambassador. Recent work has begun on Bottletop and Circuit 8, with more trail days coming this month on Pangor, Boogieman, Corkscrew and Dale’s Trail.

“Many hands make light work,” says Andrew Handford, owner of Different Bikes as he heaves a pick axe over his head digging for gold to patch eroded holes in the trail bed on Bottletop during the NSRide/Different Bikes work day on April 30th. 12 volunteers heaved buckets of gold under Darryl Marlatt’s guidance to repair the entry traverse by removing soggy sections of organic to be replaced with hard packed mineral dirt. Marlatt is head Trail Maintainer along with Geophysicist Daniel Lui and have worked with Metro Vancouver to establish a work plan to improve the trails’ sustainability. The final touch included crowning and outsloping of the trail bed, two simple, modern building techniques that optimize water dispersion. The resulting improvements ensure future maintenance will be minimized while current flow is maximized.

The NSMBA has just purchased $5000 in tools for the task ahead, ensuring every team has the resources to revitalize the trails. Matt Preston, head Trail Maintainer for Circuit 8 and builder of Sticks & Stones, has been busy with Rocky Mountain Bicycles fixing up one of the few XC trails on the shore, despite the wet weather. “Part of the solution is rerouting unfixable or poorly aligned sections.” Preston will be using a combination of ladder bridging and McLeod work to correct drainage and alignment issues, improving the trail experience for all user groups.

Work begins next week on Pangor by the Mudbunnies and Ryder’s Eyewear. “Our goal is not to use any rock armouring,” said Chris Barker, long time Trail Builder who is working with Sven Luebke and a powerhouse workforce of ladies that prove time and again, you’ve got to be tough to wear pink. Jaclyn Delacroix (Aussie Dreamz) has been chief organizer of the efforts of the ladies and it will be exciting to see what this crew is going to do with one of the largest and extremely coalesced work force on this long time favourite and one of the most heavily used routes down the mountain.

Many riders await to see what will become of Boogeyman as Sean Gerke and Steed Cycles grab the bull by the horns on one of the most challenging routes on Seymour that needs some significant rebuilding of woodwork as the many stringers and slats have passed their expiry dates. A late entry to the Trail Adoption has been the addition of Giant Bicycles as co adopter, eager to join forces with Steed & Gerke to get ‘er dun!

One of the most used entry points from the Mushroom Lot is Corkscrew, a well known trail that epitomizes technical North Shore wood work. Rob Hlus, builder of Natural High and Immonator, whose specialty is technical woodwork, will apply his engineering skills to bolster the existing character of the trail with support from the only non bike entity in TAP, Bank of Montreal, who are a welcome addition as the Adopter of Corkscrew. Stan Yee, Branch Manager at Lonsdale & Esplanade, has been a catalytic force in making this union happen. Having the Bank of Montreal being part of the plan underlines the community connection between the residents of the North Shore, the business community and the people who use the trails.

Finally, all eyes will be on SRAM and NSMB.com as they begin work on Dale’s Trail, an old school classic. Digger and Jerry Willows will share the efforts as Trail Maintainers, bringing a wealth of experience to the table, considering Digger was a part of the original effort building the Baden Powell back in the early 70s as a charming little Boy Scout, whom I’m sure had the same twinkle in his eye back then filling his first bucket of gold, and Willows is a long time shore builder who has also starred in many NSX videos.

The plans for the trails will be posted soon on this page http://nsmba.ca/trail-adoption-plan

2011 is a year of revitalization on the Shore as the NSMBA works hand in hand with the Trail Adopters and the District of North Vancouver, Metro Vancouver and BC Parks to improve the trail network utilizing modern, sustainable techniques, while maintaining the original character of the trail. Trails for all, trails forever.

Carbon Puzzle

2011-05-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

Carbon fiber is cooler that a popsicle in a snowstorm, we all know that. Its got that cool weave thing goin' on, and it's light right? There's a lot more to this fancy material than that. Who better to know than Giant bicycles.

Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer. Not only do they make a tonne of bikes, they start from from scratch on all of them. That means making the alloys for their aluminum bikes (think fire and melting stuff), and manufacturing their own carbon sheets to make their carbon bikes (think large loom of wondrous lightweight material).

This top-end TCR Advanced SL is a great example of Giant's ability to manufacture some of the best quality bikes available.

Being such a large manufacturer Giant has incredible buying power, and the budget for advanced engineering, and development.

They don't only make their bikes, but other large brands as well. If someone else is claiming supercalafragilistic-carbon-nano-tubular material, and its made by Giant, don't think Giant would use that technology or better in their own frames.

A frame that is as clean on the inside as it is on the outside means optimization of strength to weight ratios and ride quality. If a frame has a bunch of junk in its trunk that you don't see on the outside its only weighing it down. If its got all this plugged up inside, but its still competitively light, could it truly be as strong and a better finished frame? And if the material is lumpy in some parts, with air pockets in the carbon, and thick resin in some parts, but not in others is it going to have a consistent ride quality?

Giant's attention to detail is second to none. We were fortunate enough to get their highest quality TCR Advanced SL frame in stock in the different sections that its produced in to see the details for ourselves as to what sets the Giant frames apart from the crowd.

By having all these details in line, Giant can produce optimum frames that are highly engineered, made with quality materials produced in house, assembled by hand; with Strength, Weight, Stiffness, and Ride Quality in mind.

And by Giant producing all the frame and material in house, they can bring the value up and the price down. Whether its a Trinity time trial bike, or a defy 3 the same values go into every bike.

-Scott

Sick New Bikes Coming from Santa Cruz!

2011-03-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz just did a press release on some awesome new additions to their line up. Here they are:

Spring 2011 Blooms New Bikes!

It is springtime, and just as sure as the blossoms are going to get blasted from their trees by violent sideways rainstorms here in coastal California, this is the season we love most, because it means one thing – New Bikes

We'll keep this short for now, since we've got a bumper crop of two-wheeled mountain bike goodness to show off. If you want to get more details on each of the bikes featured below, click on the pics.

The sales staff will be ready to start taking orders on these bikes April 4th, and we expect to have bikes shipping out from here toward the end of May. US pricing is included in the individual model breakdowns.

Blur TRc

An entirely new addition to our family, the Blur TRc is a fresh take on the broadly defined trailbike category. Crafted from carbon fiber, featuring our proprietary lay-up process, the frame weighs a scant 5 pounds with shock included. Patented VPP suspension offers 5 inches of travel, smack dab between our existing Blur XC and LT models. The inherently flex-free VPP design combined with the carbon fiber frame results in chassis rigidity second to none. The top tube length and riding position are evolved from our climb-happy xc bikes – a bit more stretched out than on our longer travel rigs – but mated to a relaxed head angle that is sure to make any dedicated gravity fiend weep with joy.

Highball

There are still those times and places where the best way to light the fuse and blow everyone else into the weeds is by riding a hardtail. Bigger wheels have revived the venerable double diamond design, and by mixing the smooth rolling hoops with a feathery 2.4-pound carbon fiber frame, we've come up with a potent race weapon. Anyone who complains about a bad day climbing while riding this bike needs to find another sport. The Highball is insanely light, razor sharp, nimble but surefooted, stiff as a plank, and designed to do two things: 1. Race. 2. Win.

Tallboy Al

Tallboys have become mighty popular bikes in the relatively short time since we introduced them, and they have been getting rave reviews from the press and, more importantly, from the thousands of riders who've rolled off into the sunset aboard them. The pairing of VPP suspension and 29” wheels created a fast rolling, crisp handling, versatile bike that exploits the benefits of big wheels to the best of their advantage, at home anywhere from remote alpine singletrack to crowded jittery start lines. Now the tall can is available in aluminum – same geometry, same lines, same great suspension, teeny bit more weight, whole lot less money.

Dirty Duo 2011 :: Deja-vu!

2011-03-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

The Santa Cruz Tall Boy was rocking the course! As my buddy Arthur says, it's the bike that allows you to bake your cake and eat it too. I have to agree.

This past Saturday March 12th was the 10th year of the Dirty Duo! I have done 9 in a row and loved them all. Well, I shouldn't say that as a few years ago I herniated a disc in the solo category and lost the feeling in my left leg...that year wasn't so fantastic for me. As with many previous years many years the snow cleared within days of the event and allowed for a nearly snow free course! There was a bit of snow at the top of Ned's but other than a slushy 100 meters of hike a bike, it was all ridable.

Mike Murpy won the solo division and Tom (runner) and I (biker) won the men's team division!

Kevin Calhoun ripped the course in record time after his finance tagged off from the 25k run

Justin Mark rolled in after a 5 hour race time...this man pushed it to the max and beyond. If you know Justin, this photo says it all. Justin had been sick all week and lost over 10 pounds but still found the energy to show up on race day and put out a solid race time. Now that's dedication!

Tyson raced in the mountain bike division and pulled of a solid time!

Mike Murphy won the Solo division and his run was the fastest in the course history of 2:08.

Jamie Biluk hammered off the line of the 30k bike race only to break his chain
in the first few kilometres and drop out.

First place in the Bike Race Division!
Serious racer Arthur Gaillot destroyed the course in 1:43 and showed us how it's done. Not only does he ride the coolest bike around (Santa Cruz Tall Boy), he also wears Icebreaker wool, which is the newest trend in cycle wear (did I mention we just picked up the line?).

Here Arthur cools himself at the finish line! My Hero!

Ahhhh, Kimbo at the finish line, after a two hour lap of the mountain. Good times!

A Merry February

2011-03-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

It is now March. Time has been moving quickly; maybe I had better have one less coffee each day. Of course if it means cutting out my post-ride frappacino, I think not!

February gave us a great variety of weather. We had rain (no surprise), snow, and... sun! Yep, there were some great sunny riding days in February and I am currently longing to re-create them.

Getting out for rides in February was easy! People were more than up for riding any day of the week and we would go and ride for hours until there was no more light. Right now, with the cold weather, rain, and snow it's not so easy to push your self to get outside and ride in the slop!

Sitting outside and sipping on coffee in the February weather was a great way to spend the afternoon.

I was stoked to ride even after riding! If a buddy like Jeff came along and was headed for a ride, I was always game to keep going.

The trails were damp (but not wet) and the forest was bright and green. Who wouldn't want to keep riding?

It's fun when people are up for taking photos too but it's not always easy to stop riding and capture what we're doing.

So basically it's March and it's cold; snow is on the ground, and riding is crap.

And now I have pictures of the sweet days of February reminding me of how badly I want to ride my bike. Come on March, are you really going to let February put you shame like that. Let's see some sun!

Until the weather shapes up I'll be at Whistler in search of pow on my days off. That said, I need to get on my bike! The Dirty Duo is only a couple of weeks away and I need to be in shape and get rid of this cough.

Looking at pictures is not helping.

In hopes of sun,

Scott

Shop Renovations Complete!

2011-02-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

Bursting clothing section with all the clothing you need for 2011.

Five years after we moved into the new store, we finally got the clothing section looking good! New flooring, clothing racks and the right displays for the goods. Troy Lee, Chromag, Sombrio, Sugoi, Gore, and Icebreaker!

We've got new display boxes to showcase our new Giant, Santa Cruz, Devinci, Turner, and Electra Bikes!

You want to try on an outfit, no problem, the new change room is very accommodating!

We are STOKED, stocked, and ready for you! See you soon!

2011 Tall Boy Time

2011-01-23T22:45:00.000-08:00

Yup, Time to get a 29'er. I had the opportunity to demo a Santa Cruz Tall Boy down at the Interbike Trade show last year and really took to how it handled. At first, like most people, I didn't really know what to expect in terms of performance, for climbing, technical descending, and whipping it around. The bigger wheels just looked weird to anyone who has been riding mountain bikes since the beginning...

By the way, if you know Seb Kemp, he is one of the reasons why I showed so much interest in this bike. Every bike has it's limitations, and I'd decided 29'ers weren't shore worthy until I saw some of the stuff Seb was putting this bike through. Of course Seb could make a shopping cart look graceful so I had to test it myself to be sure.

We decided to order a demo Tall Boy in for us to test out and put through the ringer, to see if it was going to be a contender for our tight sales floor. The demo bike we chose is the SPX complete with an Fox RP23 rear shock and Fox Float 32 fork set at 120mm of travel. We put a Rock Shox Reverb post on it as well... because once you have used an remote adjustable height post, you'd know it's a necessity!

Rock Shox Reverb Post. This photo was taken down at Interbike's Dirt Demo Day. This was the first time I'd seen one in person. Rock Shox has really polished up on all the details. Aside from the looks, my favourite detail is the hydraulic remote; it is essential for the wet winters here as you never have to worry about the cable getting seized up mid ride!

I have taken out the demo bike for about 5 rides in the past couple of weeks on a range of different types of trails and conditions. The key remark that sold me on the bike was that the bigger wheels 1. didn't slow me down on the tech descents and 2. were faster on the flat sections and rolling technical single track. One critical part of my test was taking out my Santa Cruz Nomad the day after several rides on the Tall Boy on the same trails and riding the same lines at similar speeds. To be honest it made me love the Nomad more than I had remembered, as my eyes watered with the speeds it railed corners and the sheer stability and suspension quality. All bikes have their advantages, that's for sure. Hey I guess more than one bike is an idea, ha-ha!

Ok, for build kit, this is what I am thinking. It's also pretty much the Santa Cruz XTR complete Kit with a few minor changes:

REAR DER: Shimano M980 SGS (XTR) 10spd

FRONT DER: Shimano M980, M981 or M981-D (XTR) 10spd

SHIFTERS: Shimano M980 (XTR) 10spd

CRANKSET: Race Face Next SL

Race Face Next SL Cranks....uhhh did you say 680 grams? Holy moses, get them on my bike please!

BOTTOM BRACKET: Included w/Crankset

CASSETTE: Shimano M980, 11-36 (XTR) 10spd

CHAIN: Shimano M980

BRAKES: Shimano XTR

BARS: Easton Haven Carbon

Easton Haven bars at 28 inches wide, 170 grams, and did I say carbon.
I really like the sweep of these bars too, it just feels right.

STEM: Race Face Turbine

The new Race Face Turbine Stem. Beautiful and simple CNC design and again very light.

GRIPS: Ritchey Foam Grips (The only way to go, especially if you ride gloveless)

HEADSET: Chris King taper

Chris King Taper Headsets are so clean and classy. It's all in the details...

SEAT POST: Rock Shox Reverb

SADDLE: WTB Silverado SLT

WHEELS: Mavic TN 719 disc rims laced to Chub 15mm front hub and DT 240S rear hub w/ DT 14/15 guage spokes, alloy nipples

There is a joke running around the shop that I will have the 29'er Envy carbon rims laced to Chris King hubs...it might happen, but not right away... The incredibly stiff Envy rims are notorious for transforming ones opinion of how a wagon wheeled bike handles apparently. Word's out that once you've run the envy carbon rims on your bike, you can't ride an aluminum wheel because the carbon hoops are so stiff they transform the control you have over the handling of your rig. I would like to give them a try, but hard to justify at almost $1000 per rim. We'll see...

TIRES: Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 folding (I will run Schwalbe Nobby Nic's when they are available)

TUBES: Maxxis .8mm tubes (probably go to tubeless ASAP, I hate tubes)

Fox 32 Talas- 95mm-120mm

Last part on the menu, is the fork. I decided to go with the Fox 32 Talas 29. It has two travel settings of 95-120. I have only ran the Tall Boy with a 120, which feels pretty good but a bit high in some steep climbing situations. My buddy Arthur from Suspension Werx, runs his Fox Float 120 at a customized 110mm, which he swears by as the perfect travel setting for the Tall Boy. I am not one to argue but I have always liked the Talas forks for the versatility they bring any bike. Talas allows the bike to be equipped with a fork that can be run nice and low for the gut busting climb, then popped up for a slacker front end for the high speed tech descent! It brings the best of both worlds!

Now I just have to wait for it all to show up! The waiting is always the worst part once you have decided on exactly what you want for a build.

-Kim Steed

Steedettes in 2010

2011-01-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

It's January and time to reflect back on 2010 and to make some goals for 2011. I cannot report on my year without including Mary Shaughnessy, my riding partner and good friend.

Last year Mary and I became the "Steedettes," supported in our training for the 2010 racing season by an awesome "team" of experts, including Steed Cycles, Monika Marx (Marx Conditioning), Cynthia Young, and the dudes at Suspensionwerx.

Fromme, Winter 2010

Unlike our typical winter season, we did not run, grind, ski and snowshoe. Instead we rode! Through the snow and rain, the way to train for riding is to ride...so ride we did.

I bought a road bike and we put in our miles. We learned to love the speed, the rhythm of it. It allowed us time to think and talk, something we rarely get to do on our mountain bikes.

Picture thanks to Simon Chester f/otographique!

In March came the Dirty Duo. What a crazy time to have a MTB race! 2010 was particularly nasty... notice my leg colour (I am only wearing knee warmers). The one benefit, very few women participate and your chances of reaching the podium are pretty good.

Finally spring arrived, but the trails did not seem to dry out much. Even though Mary and I had been riding, running, and skiing together for years, we had never raced as a team. It was time to try! We approached the upcoming racing season as practice for the our big event of the year, BC Bike Race. Each race was an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and each other, and how to get the most out of us as a team. We also practiced what it would feel like to race after big rides. So our coach would set it up for us to ride 6 days in a row and then race. Not the typical taper!

Photo from Todd Helinga's website

Here we are in the NIMBY 50. Some people loved the long climbs, others did not. The Pemberton organizers put in a really good effort and the post-race burgers and beer rocked!

The Sunshine Coaster, North Shore Bike Fest and a few time trials were all the races we did prior to the big day. And then it came!

BC Bike Race
We had just spent 6 months preparing. We looked at the 7 days as a great gift...7 days to just ride.

By Day 3 we had no clean clothes and had to resort to the retro Steed gear!

Day 7 riding Whistler bike park...just lots and lots of fun!

The Finish Line...Mary's face says it all!

We were thrilled with the result. We had hoped to reach the podium 1 of 7 days and we managed 5 of 7, as well as third overall.

Nothing will be able to top the feeling on July 3rd, 2010.

Now it is January 2011. Neither of us have any big racing goals this year. We want to ride and ride lots, but purely for fun, and hopefully lots with our friends. Mary has started a riding group called Women in the Woods, and I am really enjoying trail running again.

Seven Summits is definitely on the agenda, as well as continuing to explore this fantastic place we live in!

But for now the snow is here, so its time to ski. See you on the trails!

Colleen Little and Mary Shaughnessy
THE STEEDETTES

Best Ride 2010 Sun Valley, Idaho… My New Five Star Mountain Bike Location

2010-12-30T11:31:00.001-08:00

This year, the boys elected to make our fall MTB adventure a trip to Sun Valley, Idaho.

In 1981 I had skied there during a season long trip across North America, and after reading about the riding in a few of the bike rags, I knew I had to make a return visit to check out it out.
Accessing Sun Valley requires a bit of patience unless you own your own private jet. (as we drove by the nearest airport to Sun Valley we counted 23 on the tarmac) The closest that we could get to by commercial air was Boise, Idaho. We then had to drive for about 3 hours in a rental car. Thankfully, Sun Valley has a number of good bike shops all willing to rent you state of the art equipment for your stay so you don’t have to bring your own bike.
We had our choice of several different brands in either 26 or 29 inch mode. As I had never had the opportunity to ride a 29er, I jumped on this plan. Accommodation is plentiful, and you definitely have the choice of some pretty nice digs. Sun Valley is known as a haunt of the rich and famous and by the average size of the houses we saw, the locals don’t seem too fazed by the current recession.
TL knew a few contacts that live in Sun Valley that he had met through other sporting endeavours and they kindly took us under their wings to show us the local area. We might have been a bit concerned when we first met this group of five as their average age was 67. After they put the boots to us on the first day, it became clear that these guys are die-hards, putting in 2 to 4 hour rides, 4 to 5 days a week, June to October. They then fill up their winter, doing the same thing on XC skis. The base altitude in Sun Valley is about 2000m with many of the climbs peaking out in excess of 3000m. i.e. These guys are riding at altitude. What an inspiration!!!
Day 1 was spent just north of town in an area known as Dry Horn Gulch. The altitude really seemed to make the climbs very difficult. Short kickers put you in the red zone, and although you would back off when the trail levelled, you never seemed to get your heart rate back under control before the next kicker arrived. In general the trails were very smooth and flowy with reasonable grip. (as long as your bike had tires with reasonable tread; a few of ours did not which we corrected for the rest of the week)
Sun Valley has some pretty cool terrain with trees appearing only on the western sides of the ridges. Clearly, precipitation must be at a premium and falls rarely on the eastern slopes.

They have also had a number of forest fires over the last few years and a constant feature of the whole trip was swooping down trails amongst burned out trees. The contrast of black and white makes for some pretty good pictures. Day 2 was spent a few miles south of town in an area called Greenhorn Gulch. The drive out revealed some awesome houses, quite a few were architectural masterpieces, and many seemed to exceed 10,000 square feet in size. What do you do with all that house?
The ride was amazing, especially the last 10 to 15 km which revealed some wickedly fast descents with bermed up corners. This trip was progressing as planned: Day 2 better than Day 1.
Day 3 saw us shuttle about 50 miles north of Sun Valley to an area around Stanley with the local Pink Fairy Shuttle Company. Once again the riding was significantly different with a good portion of the ride through a recently burned area. We started high, and finished low, the definition of shuttling; but most of the riding was only slightly downhill requiring big ring hammering. There is nothing quite so fun as 5 guys completely pinned, trying to take each other down on a trail like this. The day ended with a quick trip to Redfish Lodge for a beer with a view of the Sawtooths in the distance. Out last day of riding was absolutely the best of the week. We once again shuttled north of Sun Valley into the Stanley area. We met up with our local friends, and then drove up to the start of our ride. By now, most of us were starting to acclimatize a bit to the altitude, and for all of us, this was the best that we felt on the climbs. We headed up into the Cloudburst Mountains and eventually peaked out at 3050m. The view was fantastic. We headed down into a big bowl that we all thought would serve up some sweet back country skiing in the winter.
Lunch was beside a mountain lake, and then the fun really started. The first part of the descent was about an hour long and was quite technical with lots of rocks and creek crossings. Eventually we landed in a large valley bottom with all the fall colours on display. The pitch continued down and the speeds reached quite ridiculous levels. After another hour, we reached the plum of the trip, the descent down Fourth of July creek. This one was off the chart. Smooth wide trails following the contours down the creek valley. The trail swooped into little side crevices of the main valley, and these always had huge bermed corners at the end. I swear the average speed for the descent down here was about 30kph with parts of the descent over 50. Pretty darn fun on a mountain bike. And, for the finish celebration, one of our local buddies was kind enough to remember to bring a cooler of Stella’s.
Sun Valley…. Don’t miss it!!!

Happy Bike, Happy Customer, Happy Bike Shop

2010-12-14T22:36:00.000-08:00

Riding bikes makes me happy. There are few things I'd rather do. Without a canine companion, I would have to say that bicycles are some of my best friends. Further, some of my best human friends I met by riding bicycles. And most days I work with bicycles. It could be said that I sell bikes but I also look at it as being a matchmaker. That's right, a love monger of sorts: I help people find their bikes and bikes find their people.
Are you looking for long singletrack rides in the mountains? Exhilarating downhills under the sunset? I'll try to find a bike that you can build a lasting relationship with.

Romain is a great Steed Cycles customer and he and I have been working on painting a picture of his ideal bike. Of course he already has some very cool rides such as a Custom Moots Ti commuter and a single-ring equipped Cove Handjob XC hardtail. Romain was looking at a Santa Cruz Nomad to cover all the terrain he had his sights on but it's not an easy task for a bike to comply to all its rider's wishes. In a sense he was looking for a 'genie-in-the-lamp' bike.
Owning a Santa Cruz Nomad myself, I gave Romain feedback as to what I use it for and how different set-ups can allow the rider to apply it to different riding situations. With all the options in parts these days (varied fork travel and adjustability, different tire casings, sizes, and compounds, 10 gears or 9, and adjustable seat posts to name a few) it's not always easy to know exactly what you want.
Romain was very patient with his bike, making sure he made the right choices, and waiting for it to arrive. He's been able to get a few good rides on varied terrain and as you can see above he is stoked.
I'm happy to hear that he is happy with his bike, and I'm happy to have a part in finding bikes that make people happy.

-Scott

Sport Compact, Disc Brake Hop Up!

2010-12-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

Some say that the best upgrades you can make to a car's performance are better brakes and tires. While a 15" spoiler might look cool and attract bikini wearing girls with finger nail fangs in 6" heels, it doesn't do anything for your car but weigh it down.
As for bikes I would say the same: good tires, brakes, and suspension are the three key components to improving ride quality and control. As I already have great suspension in my 2011 Fox Float 36 RLC Kashima and accompanying DHX5 Air, and good grip in my Continental Mountain King and Trail King tires, I decided to improve my excellent Avid Elixir CR brakes with new pads.

EBC makes brake pads for everything from bikes to military vehicles. Their Red compound brake pads are for added grip and performance which sounds good to me. The pads on my Elixers were nuked so these ones came at the right time! They suggest these brake pads for EXTREME downhill use: fun!

With Christmas coming and all, I thought this would be a good opportunity to practice opening packages.

With brakes that use a retaining pin and separator springs you can't usually get 100% wear on the pads. Doing so will wear through your pad springs and usually the brake will develop air in the lines as there won't always be enough fluid in the lines to push the pistons far enough to reach the rotor. Although there is a hair of pad material left, these pads are done son!

This is what brake pads look like once they're installed (yes.. its true). Not everyone has the opportunity to see newly installed brake pads as the bike is often hurried off to be ridden. With our high-speed cameras we were able to capture the moment. On the rear here, you see the EBC Gold pads, meant for high durability.

To properly fit new brake pads the pistons of the brakes should be reset or pushed back in order to give room for the rotor to spin freely and allow for ample lever throw. A bleed kit should be used at the lever to allow any excess brake fluid to flow out of the system.

Sometimes if a brake is bled when the pads already have wear on them added fluid is introduced to the system. This is why a bleed kit is used when resetting the pads. Keep the old pads in the caliper and use a Park PP-1 Piston Press and a large flat head screwdriver (or Avid pad spreaders) to push the pistons back. Then remove the pads and replace them with an Avid bleed block. Bleed the brake so that there isn't any air in the system. Also ensure that the system has the right amount of fluid to work with the new pads.

Sticky-icky! These are the EBC Red Soft Compound pads; ready to get rad! I'm using my old Avid pad springs since the EBC pads don't come with them. Always make sure to hang on to your old pad springs just in case.

Pop the new pads into the freshly bled brake. Adjust the caliper so the new pads don't rub the rotor the wrong way. Adjust your levers to your liking then think about which trail you'd like to ride the most. Go ride this trail and enjoy having working brakes!

(Always use gloves when working with dot brake fluid as it is toxic and not good to get on the skin).

I'm pumped to try the performance Red Compound EBC pads and see how they compare to the stock Avid pads. I'll be changing the Red and Gold pads back to front to see how they differ in stopping power, modulation and durability. Check in later for the report.

Clear the trails, its time to rail!

-Scott

Levi’s King Ridge Gran Fondo

2010-12-07T17:11:00.001-08:00

Gran Fondos seem to be the flavour of the month these days. Last November I had heard about this ride after its inaugural year turned out to be a great success. In fact, the organizers of this years RBC Whistler Gran Fondo went down last year to learn what they could to make the Whistler race a success.

Levi’s race has three distances like most of the Italian fondos do. The Pico is about 30 miles, The Medio about 60, while the Gran Fondo is about 100 miles. Last year they had about 2500 riders, this year they had 6000 spread about evenly over all three courses. While the Whistler Fondo seemed to have “race” associated with it, Levi’s race is more attuned to the Italian versions which are a ride to celebrate cycling culture. There are certainly people out “racing” it, (Victoria native Max Plaxton has won it two years running) but the vast majority were out to enjoy the ride and this certainly presented a very different atmosphere when compared to the Whistler race.

The “century” course seemed pretty difficult to me when compared to the “race” to Whistler. Mind you it was 52km longer, but while Whistler seemed to be a long steady push, King Ridge threw a lot of short steep kickers at you.

The group I was with rode together until the top of King Ridge about 65 km in. Shortly after that, I got dropped on a short climb and then the agony began. It seemed that for the next 10 km I was dangling off the back of the group about 100 m back. Despite all my efforts, I could not bridge back on and after trying for quite a while, I noticed the 80km marker and thought that seeing as I was barely halfway through, I had better conserve a bit of energy if I had any intention of finishing. The boys disappeared, and I went into recovery mode.

The last half of the course is spectacular.

A wicked descent off of King Ridge is followed by about 20 km of riding south along the ocean.

The organizers set up a fantastic aid station right on the ocean just before the last kicker of the course: the infamous “Coleman Grade”. This wicked climb was used in the Tour of California in 2009 and has bit a few pro cyclists in the ass also. Once up the grade it was a 30 km ride back to the start. Finish time 6 hours.

The finish area was set up outdoors with a carnival atmosphere. There were live bands, lots of food venues and sponsors booths. All in all, a very well organized event and well worth the trip to Santa Rosa. And the real beauty is, if you stay for a few days afterwards, there is a plethora of things to do. You can go wine tasting, continue riding your bike in the Sonoma/Napa area, or even head down the California coast like I did. More to come later.

Custom Oakley Jawbones

2010-12-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

I know what you are thinking. Writing about sunglasses in December? Well here's hoping for some sunshine and snow sports and if all else fails there are the clear lenses which are great for winter riding.

Anyways, a while back I hooked myself up with a custom pair of Oakley Jawbone glasses and they have been wicked. If you haven't checked out Oakley's custom program it is really worth a look. Even if you aren't planning to buy a pair it is pretty fun to play around with the custom builder on the Oakley website.

So after much deliberation here is what I ordered.

I went for the black jaws so that I would look big and tough like a football player or something.

And here is what I got. (stunned look and giant nose not included)

Yes Oakley's cost a bit of money but the fit and function is awesome and the quality is really worth it in my opinion. The lenses couldn't be any easier to change and the included hard case is a nice touch.

So just how many different jawbone options do you have to choose from? Well there are 17 different frame colours, 18 different jaw colours etc. Just for fun (yes this is what I do for fun) I figured out the total number of possible glasses. And there are about 135 million different jawbone options. So you could spend about $4 billion on custom jawbones and never get the same pair.

Obviously some of the combinations are hideous and should never see the light of day. So also just for fun (you get the picture) I tried to come up with the ugliest pair I could. And here was my best effort.

Although who knows. Maybe that is the pair of shades that you have been dreaming of.

Scott McG

Climbing Mt. Hood

2010-12-02T16:49:00.001-08:00

For me, this summer has been one of those years when I learned that sometimes you just have to listen to your body. Accumulated fatigue can take a long time to go away when you block out heavy training in March and April, race a 9 day 1300 km May race at a fairly intense pace, add the BC Bike Race in June, and sprinkle in assorted day races as icing on the cake. July comes along and you tell your body to go… and it reacts by immediately informing you that you have to be kidding. Guys you normally pace with ease are soon disappearing into the distance. Although your ego may tell you differently, there really is only one solution. A solid block of easy riding with the emphasis on fun is what the doctor ordered, and I made sure July and early August filled that bill.

By mid August, I felt a little bit more pop in my legs so I started a bit of a build in anticipation of the RBC Gran Fondo to Whistler and Levi’s King Ridge Gran Fondo in Santa Rosa, California. I had some time off in late August and as usual made my annual pilgrimage to Hood River, Oregon to abuse my trusty Roberts sailboard on the Columbia River Gorge. Usually, I bring my mountain bike for no wind days; this year I brought my road bike too.

My son was attending a summer ski camp on the slopes of Mt. Hood with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club and needed to be picked up after the camp was over if he wished to stay with us in the Gorge. This sounded like a good opportunity to put a few miles of climbing in as training for my fall plans.

The base of the ski area at Mt. Hood is at about 2500m elevation and Hood River is pretty close to sea level. 2500m elevation over about 80km distance… about an average 3% gradient. Sounds perfect. My wife had to be at the mountain to pick Blake up with all his ski gear so my ride home was already in the bag. If the day dawned with a no wind forecast, this trip was sounding pretty much like a no brainer.

Sure enough pick up day arrived and the forecast was for marginal conditions on the water. Pick up time at the ski area base was to be about 1030hr, so I was up at 6 to fuel up for the climb ahead. Even though temperatures in the Gorge routinely reach the high 30’s Celsius, early mornings in late August can be quite cool. I was also riding to altitude, and it makes sense that if the kids are skiing, the temperature on Mt. Hood has to be reasonably cold. Arm warmers and knee warmers were the order of the day and I was soon on the bike.

The ride out of Hood River is quite scenic as you wind you way through rolling terrain filled with cherry and pear orchards. Mt. Hood is pretty much always in view so there is little doubt which way to go. If you turn around, Mt. Adams is behind you so that anyway you look a snow capped volcano dominates the horizon.

The first 20 km are pretty flat and they roll by pretty quickly. Soon you are on the steeper north flank of Mt. Hood. The road circumnavigates in a clockwise direction around Mt Hood as you ascend to the ski base on the south side. Road quality is excellent and at this time of the morning there is little traffic passing you by. By 0900hr I was still wearing every piece of clothing I had brought. Temperatures can plummet precipitously to the low single digits when you ride in shady areas beside glacial streams.

The scenery is spectacular. The broad focus is the snow capped mountain, but the narrow focus reveals signs of its power. Road washouts in various states of repair are fairly common caused by early season glacial snow melt. The view changes with every km. ridden. This is not a boring ride.

The gradient continues to increase as you ascend the mountain. Eventually you turn off the highway for the final 12 km ride to Timberline. The gradient on this road approaches 10% to 12% in places and your legs are certainly feeling the effects of the days efforts.

The last few hundred meters are through the parking lots of Timberline. You finish by weaving your way through skiers exiting the mountain after a hard days skiing and eventually reach the snow.

Not a bad way to finish an epic climb in the middle of the summer!

BC Cup Cyclcross:: Final Race!

2010-11-29T07:33:00.000-08:00

Scott Mcgregor pinning up his race numbers pre-race

Today's cyclocross race was just days after a snow storm struck the lower mainland. Luckily, two days leading up to the race, temperatures moved up above zero. Instead of a foot of snow, the rain washed away the snow that was getting deep Thursday morning! Some said the snow would have made for a pretty cool race, just the same, but I was partial to the greener version of the CX race.

One thing about cyclocross, lots of hot carbon bikes and wheels!
Here's my Giant TCX SL with Easton EC90 tubular wheels. I love this bike.

Scott McGregor taking the corner ready to climb the slip and slide

Daryl Evans Team put together a really amazing course in South Surrey! The relentless, off camber, rutted, slimy course had all the features of a true cyclocross track, with the added challenges of some of the slipperiest conditions you could possibly ride in. There was two deep sand pits as well, which sucked the last of the energy out of your legs, if you thought you had any left.

In my race, Masters Men, we had the largest group at 27 racers. My goal was to start the race with a good attack to make sure I was leading the group through the first lap of single track slime. This loop was so slippery and the speed we came into these off camber corners with, was sure to cause a big pile up and some big bottle necks. I managed to stay upright for the first lap and instead of attempting to ride the sand pits I ran them both times (which proved to be the way to do it as I face planted on my final lap riding through).

Run through the sand?

Ride through the sand? Rob Mulder powers through like an ox.

As for competition, there were a few guys responsible for turning me inside out. Going into this sixth and final race, Bob Welbourne and I were neck and neck for first place; whoever won this race, won the BC CUP Series! Leading up to the race we were very nervous and didn't know what the outcome was going to be. He beat me every race in last season's BC Cup Series and I look up to Bob as he really knows how to get to the top of the podium. Also in the race, and reasonably close points wise was Greame Martindale who has been ripping up the series by storm and who beat me at the Vanier race this season. Also close in points and speed was James Birkenbuel and Scott McGregor who kept the pressure going at every moment.

However, the guy that came out of nowhere in Lap 3 of 7 was some guy I had never seen before, Steve Bachop. Ok, so he wasn't a contender in the BC CUP series for the overall, he still was pinning it past me with a vengance, like I was riding slow-mo. I was like..."Uhhhh, what the....". So I turned on the gas and raced up to him. At first I thought it was his fitness that was killing me, but I think a part of it was his tires seemed to gain more traction than mine and he could continue his speed into corners and ride up some of the hills I was spinning out on. None the less he was cranking it!!! I dug deep to flush out any self doubt I could beat him and kept the pressure on into the next lap.

The off camber spiral of death went on forever with an endless slippery slope of corners.
I slid out multiple times trying to keep the speed into the corners.

As we rounded every corner I couldn't seem to get ahead. Steve put a bike length into me at every opportunity. Coming into one corner I came into it a bit hot, trying to put in a pass, going down hard. This only improved his lead and put heart rate into the sky. I was seriously hurting now. This happened a second time on another corner after I had somehow managed to catch back up. I thought all was lost until...yup, down went Steve, finally taking a corner too fast and I passed him!! This was it, I thought to my self. I don't care how much you are hurting right now, you have to put in an attack. So I burried the needle, frothed at the mouth, and bled out my ears for the hardest effort I could muster. It worked and I started to open a gap and build on that...

Ok, final lap bell "ding-ding" and Kimbo is close to cardiac arrest, covered in mud, battered knees, shoulders, shins, from going down multiple times. My drive train was destroyed with mud, sand and grass, only allowing me to shift into a small range of gears. Steve was behind me and not that far behind was my nemisis, Bob, along with Graeme and the rest of the crew. I pushed hard and made a critical resolution, not to crash, no matter what. I couldn't take another blood curtling heart rate spike, it would be the last straw. Luckily I was able to keep the pressure on enough that the group, as I have seen before, lost the will to continue with the pressure and had eased off with half a lap to go. This didn't help me that much though, considering I still could crash or maybe ev.....face plant, bang! I was upside down in the sand pit with my bike over me with at least a third of a lap to go...

This guy tried to bunny hop the barriers...great photo

I jumped back up and my legs would barely hold my weight with all the blood and lactate flowing at an alarming rate. Luckily the adrenaline was flowing at a faster rate than lactate so I managed to get pedaling again and despite having even less gears could keep my bike moving in a forward direction! Steve and the crew approached the corner behind me but I held the gap and made it through to the finish line hands in the air for a well deserved win, completely oblitterated, and with barely a breath left in my aching lungs.

Masters Men Podim- 5th James Birkenbuel, 4th Greame Martindale,
3rd Bob Welbourn, 2nd Steve Bachop, 1st Kim Steed

Full results here!

Oh, and did I mention tomorrow is the Provincial Cyclocross Championships at Mahon Park in North Vancouver? This is going to hurt.

Kimbo

Cyclocross Provincial Championships::North Vancouver

2010-11-22T15:14:00.000-08:00

After an exciting BC Cup Cyclocross series so far this year, with attendance at each event getting bigger and bigger, expect to see the province’s best racers come out and battle for the prestigious honour of being Provincial Champion. Look for last year’s Elite Men’s Provincial Champion Evan Guthrie (Rocky Mountain) to be back to defend his title against a stacked field with the likes of Tyler Trace (Trek – Red Truck), Craig Richey (Cyclocrossracing.com/Blue), Rob Britton (Bissell Pro Cycling), Drew Mackenzie (Island Racing Club) and Kevin Noiles (La Bicicletta Pro Shop). Don’t be too surprised if some sleepers show up out of the wood work like Rocky Mountain – Maxxis rider Geoff Kabush or Bend Oregon’s favourite Canadian cyclocross racer Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain p/b Shimano) or even full time roadie but true cyclocross lover United Healthcare/Maxxis team rider Andrew Pinfold.

On the Elite Women’s side, look out for UCI World # 1 ranked MTB rider Catherine Pendrel (Luna Pro team) to make an appearance after honing her ‘cross skills this fall. Not to be out done, the Elite Women’s field also features the likes of Jean Ann Berkenpas (Local Ride Racing), Mical Dyck (Trek Canada), Dawn Berg (Oak Bay Bikes) and Joele Guynup (Island Racing Club).

In what is perhaps the hottest category going in the BC Cyclocross, expect the Master Men’s race to be a throw-down of epic proportions. Some serious competition has been ensuing all season with Kim Steed (Steed Cycles), Bob Welbourn (Glotman Simpson), Bard Collins (Cannondale/BSP), Greame Martindale (Frontrunners) battling it out each weekend. Throw in a mix of the Vancouver Island’s strong men like Norm Thibault (Frontrunners), John Fokkema (Rocky Mountain) and Steve Bachop (Island Racing Club) and the game is on…

Check out the following promotional video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tl-2Hxr-Hc

ALL REGISTERED RACERS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER A DRAW TO WIN A 2010 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SOLO CXR CROSS FRAME AND FORK – JUST FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE EVENT!!! Pre-registration is now available online via Cycling BC: http://www.cyclingbc.net/OnLine-CX-Registrations

For all event details, schedule, start times, driving directions: check out the official race website: http://www.bccyclocrosschamps.blogspot.com

There are lots and lots of great prizes to be awarded, some free schwag when you register, and some draw prizes that are worth sticking around for. Make sure you are present as there will be no mailing…

A special thanks goes out to all of the sponsors who make this race possible: Cycles Lambert, Different Bikes, Rocky Mountain Bicycles, Planet Foods, Kicking Horse Coffee, Honey Stinger Ultima, Pedros, Lezyne, Maxxis, GORE Ride On Cables, Selle Italia, BC Bike Race, Cycling BC, Mark James Group and the City Of North Vancouver.

Any questions or comments on the event, contact the organizer: Kevin Calhoun – kcalhoun@cycleslambert.com

New Kid on the Block

2010-11-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

Riding with an adjustable seat-post is like downloading better skills to your brain: it allows you to climb and descend as efficiently as possible. Whenever the trail changes, you can adapt. Of course the initial cost can be a bit intimidating but once you've had the opportunity to use one I promise you will not go back. Would you go back to riding on Panaracer Smokes and Darts after riding Maxxis Minions? Exactly!

Once you've decided that you want to enjoy riding more, you then have to decide which one of these shifty sticks to buy for your amazing steed! There are a few offerings out there, Rock Shox's Reverb being the new kid on the block. Besides offering the current standard 5" adjustment the Reverb has some specific benefits.

The most obvious one is that it uses hydraulic levers and actuation. Cable actuated systems can be subject to contamination causing the lever to become stiff. Further, the folks at Rock Shox use their depth of knowledge in fork sealing systems to keep contaminants out of the post housing. The hydraulic system also allows the rider to control the post's compression and rebound speed, adjustments they refer to as "slap and tickle". In addition, the Reverb has an easy-to-access solid two-bolt clamp as well as 420mm of overall length for those folks with dancer's legs.

Overall finishing on the Reverb is high-end all the way. The black is classy and is paired with polished silver rather than a colour that may or may not fit with the look of your bike.

The Reverb also comes with a nice line guide and a service bleed kit complete with 2.5 wt. fork oil. It is extremely important not to think that you know better by trying to adjust the speed using a different weight oil. This system operates on 2.5 wt. ONLY! If the post starts to slow its roll a simple bleed with the tools provided will speed up the performance.

The lever on the Reverb is ergonomic and has a nice action. It's simple and you can even clean up your handlebar by mounting your brake and shifter to the Reverb clamp (although only if you have Avid XX, Elixir CR mag, or new XO brakes. Otherwise you'll have to clamp the remote where it works for you).

Cutting the line to length is simple as the reverb uses a reusable barb to attach the hose. A simple bleed to remove air added by cutting the line will keep the post up to speed.

When set-up properly the Reverb moves slightly more smoothly than other brands' posts. The post locks firmly wherever you decide you'd like it to be and there is very little play from side to side, certainly no more than I've found with other brands.
I've been out on a few good rides now and it has been smooth and consistent every time. Now we just have to see how it works after a season of muck here on The Shore!

-Scott

CROSS ON THE ROCK #6:: Port Alberni Lumber Cross Race Report

2010-11-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

I think this is the first time I've raced on Remembrance Day. Braving the driving rain, I set out for the sprawling metropolis of Port Alberni, leaving behind a sick Carey with two sick kids. The new course was located at McLean Mill, a historic logging mill located in Port Alberni's back 60.

Cold and wet, it took me a while to warm-up and my pre-lap left me and my bike covered in slick mud. My transition to the Expert category following my banishment from Masters, had been less than smooth. Halloween weekend's double Victoria cross races were not kind to me, and for the first time in a long time I was embarrassingly lapped in my first Victoria race after a less than ideal start.

Determined to redeem myself I welcomed the muddy and technical Port Alberni course. After a slow start, following the last call-up and a slipped pedal, I worked my way up the field, feeling comfortable on the slick and technical course. Slowly gaining ground I worked my way way up to 4th place, behind Norm Thibault before flatting. Following a 300m run to the pit, I switched wheels and worked my way back into the race. In terms of mechanicals I was not alone, as over half the field suffered some sort of breakdown. Finishing 8th I was satisfied with my result, but vowed to run more tire pressure for my next race: The Island Championships at Shawnigan Lake. If you're looking for some kick-ass Vancouver Island cross action on November 21st check out http://www.crossontherock.com/

Free Information Seminars :: Welcome to Steed Sessions

2010-11-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

Are you interested in learning about your favorite cycling products?

Want to learn about the newest gear and what the future looks like for some of the best riders in the Industry? Steed Cycles would like to invite you to Steed Sessions. Starting this November, Steed Cycles will be offering monthly in-store information sessions. Each Session will be presented by a different brand from the bike Industry and here's the kicker - it's FREE! Steed Sessions will give you the opportunity to connect with sales and marketing representatives from some of the top brands we carry.

Why should you attend a Steed Session?

· Learn the history of a brand

· See new and upcoming products first hand

· Connect with representatives from a brand

· Be the first to receive special promo offers

Why does Steed Cycles offer Free Seminars?

The crew at Steed Cycles believes that when purchasing a new bike or cycling gear, an informed customer is a happy customer. Customer satisfaction is one of our biggest goals and by providing this free service, we feel we can help you to make the best decisions on everything from a new bike, the best gear, to the style of riding you do. Because it's about one thing: riding your bike!

When is the next Steed Session and what company will be presenting?

The inaugural Steed Seminar will be Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 9AM Sharp. The Crew at Steed Cycles is very proud to announce the inaugural Steed Session will be presented by Troy Lee Designs Canada.

How do I Sign Up?

For more information, please give our shop a call at 604-987-2168. To register for this event, please follow this link to our web site. Space is limited and registration is on a first come, first serve basis. Sign up now!

Chris Brown

Cyclocross Nationals :: Before Preride

2010-11-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Last years Nationals start in Edmonton. Photo- Rob Jones (canadian cyclist)

Flying from Sunny Vancouver yesterday morning took me across the country, through some cloud cover, and down into a dark, grey, cold, windy city...Toronto. This years National Cyclocross race is in Toronto, which will is certain to be much warmer conditions to last years race in Edmonton which was all about the snow and ice and almost 10 degrees below zero! This is almost tropical in comparison (or that is what I keep telling myself).

Being a UCI race, the course is comprised of a 3km long lap, and structured within the guidelines of the UCI rule book. This basically means it isn't a basic thrown together weekend race with your buddies, but instead the real deal, full on, planned out course with all the makings of a heart attack. It has the double barriers, the lung busting run up (on slippery Ontario clay mud), off camber grass slopes, gravel, pavement, miles of taped off hard left and right turns. The venue is in Cedarvale Park in Toronto, and I will say, even before I ride the course this afternoon, very well chosen for a National level 'cross race! The terrain is perfect for an event of this caliber. Oh and did I mention there will be a beer garden to really bring in the riff-raff spectators? Beer + spectators= Lots more cheering!

BC Cup :: Foreshore Park Cyclocross in green Vancouver. Photo- Dustan Sept

The competition is going to be fierce with several of the top racers in each age group and riding level from each province. In Pro Elite men there is Kevin Calhoun from BC currently ranked 1st, Tyler Trace, Kevin Noiles, Nick Berry, and more. Women's pro elite will be off the hook with some super fast women including Vancouver Islands speedster, and former National CX Champ, Wendy Simms and Pepper Harlton from Alberta. In my catagory Master's Men A, the reigning Canadian champ Peter Mogg will be there to put the hammer down and give us a carrot to chase! In Master's B it is two more BC guys John Fokkema and Norm Thibault who last year took 1st and 2nd. In U23, there will be last years champ Evan Guthrie again from BC.

So many more names to mention but you get the point, it's going to be BIG! The talent will be out in full force.

Ok, I better get out there and get a few laps of this course in before dinner and a good nights sleep.

-Kimbo

Making a New Friend

2010-11-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yay presents!

Everyone likes opening bike boxes that have their names on them, right? My 2011 Giant Trance X1 came in a box with my name on it last week! I was stoked! Time to get fit (if I can squeeze in some rides between school, work and the darkness that is fall).

I had a 2010 Giant Trance X1 so getting the 2011 model was a no-brainer. There are some cool new features in the 2011 frame like a big fat tapered head tube to rip the rowdy techness. The downtube is stupid fat as well and helps connect the stiffness of the head tube to the BB. You can see that Giant took the milling tools out to shed grams wherever possible. A post mount rear disc brake and press-fit BB round out most of the upgrades.

Giant had their upgrades but I had some in mind as well. A Chromag Ranger stem, Acute handlebar, brass seat QR and Lynx DT saddle bring style and precision to the new rig. Some UST tubeless tires and Avid Elixir XX world cup brakes add performance and drop weight.

The Chromag Lynx DT is always something I liked the look of but I wasn't too sure about how it might do in the comfort category. I asked Branden at work if he would let me try his. Turns out we're a match!
The brass seat QR was mandatory. I had my frustrations with the stock QR last season and knew it was the first upgrade I'd be making on this bike. The brass insert on the QR is so smooth you want to spread it on your toast in the morning.

I rolled on the Maxxis Larsen TT tubeless programme. It was amazing how much grip they offered but they were a bit like riding a bull on the wet roots. I thought the Ignitors would be a better option this time around...We'll see.

Here's the total package! We've put a couple days in so far and we're working on our relationship. It's getting better with each date!

I'll keep ya posted...

-Scott

Oktoberfest in Kamloops

2010-11-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

This was so steep I think this is the only time I climbed it.
Doesn't help that I'm running a 32t single ring.

Back in early October, the fine folks at the Harper Mountain Ski Resort (20 minutes from Kamloops) held its first ever cross country enduro mountain bike race at the ski hill. The Harper mountain bike trails are known far and wide as some of the best downhill and freeride trails in BC. There have been numerous events on those trails, but never on the actual ski hill itself.

As soon as I heard about a race at the hill I was on it like Kim Steed on a vacuum cleaner. Any time an area with so much potential opens its proverbial doors to a mountain bike event, you support it. Well, me and about 70 other participants felt the same as they came out in support of what was going down. That included women's World Cup overall winner and Kamloops local, Catherine Pendrel, plus others like National team members Matt Hadley and his wife Catherine Vipond (fast Kamloops racers), and so on.

One nice thing the organizers did was open the quaint little lodge for the racers. They had a roaring fire going in the huge fireplace, plus they served cold beer and hot food all day. It was a treat for sure, because Kamloops in October can be a tad chilly.

Epic loamy descent, taking the inside line and holding it thanks to Maxxis rubber.

The premise to "Oktoberfest" was to see how many laps could be done in 4 hours. You could solo it if you could handle the tough 4.5km course, or team up with a single partner or a team of four. My wife, Selena Lawrie, and I teamed up for our first ever race together. What a date!

My wife is the happiest person I know, besides Kim Steed of course.
Here she is, ex BC Road Champ, destroying the descent.

The course started out with a nice gentle climb up an old 4x4 road that the downhillers use to shuttle on. Some sections were very steep and almost unclimbable for most, but what it led to was an amazing sustained descent all the way back to the lodge. This decent was long and resembled a BC Cup DH course more than a XC decent. Considering I was riding a 2010 Giant Reign 0 and my wife on a Devinci Remix, we killed the downhill portion of the course while managing to keep a steady pace going up.

Riding a Giant Reign 0 and an X Fusion Vengeance fork
meant I was able to open 'er up on the downhill.

I managed to pump out five laps and Selena, four, on this demanding course. But we were up against Catherine Pendrel and her husband Keith Wilson, plus Matt Hadley and his wife Catherine Vipond. There was no hope in coming anywhere near to the number of laps they could dish out, but we did earn a third spot in the mixed team category. Matt and Catherine V. put in 13 laps, and Catherine P. and Keith pulled off 12.

When it was all said and done, EVERYONE had smiles on their faces and stories of what transpired during the race came out over beers in the lodge.

Here's smiley again, railing a tight turn thanks to her Devinci Remix
and prototype Maxxis tires.

The terrain and trails were so good and so full of potential that it could easily rival any cross country race course in the country. I'm sure everyone that attended Oktoberfest is hoping for this to become an annual event.

Check out some of the amazing photos of the race by Kevin Bogetti-Smith, and the results from the race.

http://www.harpermountain.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=1&Itemid=132

http://www.harpermountain.com/joomla/images/harper/Harper%20Mtn%20Enduro%202010%20Results%20with%20classes.xls.pdf

Five Steps To A Clean Bike!

2010-10-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

As a rider who’s lucky enough to live on the North Shore, you’re blessed with being able to ride twelve months a year. Riding on Mt. Fromme and Mt. Seymour in December and January can be a lot of fun, but also quite hard on your bike. After each and every ride, you should be cleaning your bike for proper storage.

Steed Cycles mechanic, Dave Nordman, has put together a quick list 5 things to do after each and every ride in order to prep your bike for storage and have it ready for your next big ride.

1.    Lightly Hose Down Your bike: The first step to cleaning a mud-caked bike after a good ride is a gentle soak with a garden hose. The point of this soak is to clean off any excessive mud that may be hanging on after the ride. It is important to not apply too much pressure to any of the bearings or fork seals as this may dry out the lubricant that helps these surfaces to run smooth.

2.    Dry Off Your Bike: Now that you’ve removed all of the excessive dirt and mud from your bike, it’s time to dry the bike properly. The best (and most fun) way to do this is to take your bike for a quick ride around the block. The alternative is to use an old rag or towel, removing most of the water.

3.    Clean and Inspect Fork Seals: A clean and dry bike is almost ready to be put away properly. But what about your fork seals? One of the most neglected part of any mountain bike, your fork seals need a quick wipe down paying specific attention to removing most or all of the excessive dirt and mud. This will allow them to last longer and make your fork feel better.

At this point, your bike has been washed, dried, and you have checked your fork seals to make sure there is no excess dirt or mud. Your bike is now ready to be stored. Before your next ride, be sure to complete the following two steps:

4.    Lube and Clean Chain: Your chain should always have a sufficient amount of lubricant on it before you head out for any ride. To make sure of this, lightly apply your favorite brand of lube to your chain, which had been cleaned after your last ride. It is important to add a bit of lube and allow the lube to sink into the chain. After the lube has been disperse into the chain, clean off the excess with a rag or towel. By lubing your chain and removing the excess lube, you will also be removing any dried dirt from your last ride. This can help to add 15%-20% more life to your chain.

5.    Check Tire and Suspension Pressure: If your riding hard pack trails or deep muddy Mt Seymour laps, tire and suspension pressure can make a big difference in your rude quality. If you are new to riding, or have not played with your suspension and tire pressure settings much, you may also be unaware if the pressure is not set at the optimum level. If you are unsure of what your suspension and tires should be set at, check with the manufacturer or call your local shop.

By following these 5 steps to post ride bike maintenance, you’re sure to have your bike last longer and ride smoother. You’ll also be ready to ride when your buddy calls at the last second for a shuttle on your favorite trail.

Chris Brown

Loonar Enduro

2010-10-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Squamish Loonar Enduro

Not the way the way you want to start a 6 hour race with no lights.Except a petzl headlamp.I was going to bag it.I didn't want to hammer for hours and hours only to get beat, because I didn't have proper lights.

I started and decided to go as hard as I could while it was still light out and make all my time in the daylight, even though it got dark a few hours in.I had a bit of a down point at the 2 hour mark.I took a small break and had a peanut butter sandwich quickly.I led right from the start but a few two man teams passed me, but I kept my lead in the solo.

After 3 hours I saw Mike Carney at the start finish line. Mike was a downhill ski racer in the 1988 Calgary Olympics, so I was pretty stoked when he lent me his head light on the next lap.I didn't know how long it would last.

I now had a 2 minute lead on John, then 1 minute and he eventually caught me on the false flat section.It was right around the 5 hour mark.I immediately jammed in the big ring and didn't look back.The course was getting wet and slick from the pouring rain.As my one and only light faded into the night as I crossed the line for the victory.

15 laps
125 km
5600 feet of climbing
6 hour enduro

Story: Andy Traslin

North Shore's Gabe Fox | Devinci

2010-10-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

Gabe Fox for International Sales & Marketing- Devinci, the producer of Canadian hand crafted bicycles from Quebec, has hired Gabe Fox for International Sales & Marketing in the mountain bike sector.

Gabe comes with over 15 years of bicycle industry experience in sales and marketing. As Cycles Devinci’s newest member, Fox will be responsible for everything from International Sales to Global Mountain Bike Marketing.

Cycles Devinci Marketing Manager David Régnier-Bourque stated: "We're so excited to work with someone who shares the same vision for the company! Cycles Devinci will be pushing hard this year with the introduction of the new Split Pivot suspension platform, and Gabe will be an asset in achieving all of our goals."

The production of the new Spilt Pivot bikes has started in our Chicoutimi Quebec facility with delivery slated for late 2010. The addition of new staff is a key part of the expected growth and will definitely help us move in the right direction.

"Gabe has some great ideas and I am excited about the future of Devinci", said Sales Director Max Lamirande. "His main objective at Devinci will be to take our Canadian based renowned brand and place it at the same level internationally.”

“I am really excited to be part of such a strong team. We share the same visions and it is amazing to see such a great facility in Canada producing bikes, it is very impressive. They have every detail covered in house,” stated Fox.

The move comes as Cycles Devinci is making a push on the international market. Interest has grown after the global launch of the Split Pivot product at Interbike last September.

The Sum Of All Things

2010-10-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

What does it mean when we toss about this term, "epic"? It can be used pretty loosely. Was shot-gunning that beer really epic? ...maybe that wasn't a good example. Anyhow, being pegged to the North Shore mountains for so long, I felt like I had put myself on some sort of house arrest. This year would be different. This year would be epic!

It doesn't mean that we don't still do epic rides on the Shore. The Summer Hummer is for sure epic! But I was out to conquer some of these so called epic rides I hear everyone else talking about.

There was an epic ride that was planned between friends. The excitement juices were flowing. There was pre-ride prep, the day off work, we were pumped!! But, then the bad news came that the person leading the ride couldn't make it anymore. We were lost, frustrated, and stoked! Dan and I didn't let this get us down. We were set to crank out some epic miles. So we stirred up our own plan of action!

We got up early, and set off on the highway... for coffee! I believe that every good ride starts with a coffee, and a good one! Okay, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning Tim Ho's is your one stop shop. We also loaded our Dakine bags with a foot of get'er done in the form of Subway. There were some other food items packed to keep us going!

We must have chosen one of the best days of the year to ride. It was a blue-bird day! The sun was out, and it wasn't too warm. We made sure the bikes were in working order and set off.

We had a long haul on our hands,(check the epic list) with a lot of climbing. I had my work cut out for me to keep up with Dan on his Santa Cruz Blur LT Carbon, on my Nomad. We kept a steady pace, but its no race. We're riding to have fun and not burn out.

We had a couple close calls on the mission, as some people coming down the road, that we were struggling up, made sure to mention that we might consider turning around. I think we charmed them enough, as were definitely didn't turn around. We weren't missing out on this ride!

Having good company can make the long haul way less painful, and a lot of fun! Its so good to get out and enjoy a big ride like this with good people, and friends. There's not much else like it!

The views were incredible that day, without a cloud to hide from, mother nature was on display from all angles.

With all there is to take in, its still a challenge. We were riding in our granny ring's pretty much the entire ride. But, its the challenge that brings excitement and the motivation to take it on. I especially like the challenge of trying to climb tough sections, and push on. The same goes for the descent, what we all look forward to!

Dan and I hammered all the way to the Peak of Whistler! Not, Garbonzo, THE Peak! It was awesome to know that we started at the parking lot, and propelled ourselves to the very top of a mountain, under our own power... and we didn't pay to ride! HA!

What's that in the background?....

All our hard work payed off. Just to see where we were and what was around us was impressive. I was stoked! We were on top of everything!

We cracked the ceremonial beers at the top, a must! After all we earned it! Maybe Granville Island Brewery will toss some sponsorship dollars our way...

We found our way to the trail head. We had to ride down some rough sections of what you could call a trail, avoiding lose rocks all over the place. Then we found ourselves on about a 45 degree slope that looked like the run into to an Olympic ski jump! The potent smell of disc brake pad was in the air as we got ourselves to a safely rideable section just above the trail head. We made it! Woooo! we were pumped to pin it! We rode three awesome trails, with nothing but memorable moments, and hollering on the way down. It was awesome we even had to repel down a rope. The descent was Epic!!

We had no choice but to refuel at the bottom, and the best way I know of to get energy back in ya was a pitcher of fresh cold beer! We took in the ride, the food, the refreshments, and the view from the Southside Diner in Creekside before pedalling back to where we parked. Not, bad so something that wasn't supposed to work out.
Yup, we had an epic ride! But, you can't just pinpoint the descent or how long it took to claim epicness. Its the sum of all things. The three hours sleep the night before, the laughs, the close calls, the views, the manuvers, the great company. It all adds up to an experience to talk about for seasons to come, and it keeps you coming back for more.
Tomorrow should be even better ;)

-Scott

Cross on the Rock #3: CROSSTOBERFEST

2010-10-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

16 women - a record start for Cross on the Rock

Another fantastic turnout and great weather for this weekend’s Crosstoberfest in Duncan. The women's start line held sixteen riders, all anticipating the twisty turny, hay bale jumping and pumpkin maze riding course at Providence Farm. Right off the start, which was a straight away gravel road, I tried to jump up front, and avoid the cluster !(&(@ as we entered the woods. It worked well, as I was able to hop over the three bales in our path unscathed, and find a rhythm. I am learning heaps and mounds from previous races, firstly, that a strong start is a must to avoid the shmozzle at the first turn or jump! Unfortunately though, the Berg sisters and co. had already created a gap after the first minute. I found myself tight roping with good friend, Kristenn Magusson to catch those ahead of us through the first four laps. Great course, loved the technical components that allowed me to make up time on some of the roadies ahead of me. I had no problem with the log jumps and the hills, only the turns, which were somewhat reminiscent of Rob’s Corners at the Test of Metal. The grassy turns seemed to swallow any speed I had established, (and took my back tire out least five times). There were other nasties too; the tractor scoop corner on gravel became more slippery with each lap, the hay in the bales ate a few derailleurs, and the roots in the pumpkin maze jumped out at you like little goblins. Despite the nasty obstacles, I was feeling fantastic, shouting out at Kristenn to make a pass, or watch out for a hairpin turn, as I hung on to her wheel. We moved up to fourth place, mid-race, passing a Team Sask rider, but could not hold on to the position for long as she fought us back. The battle seemed to wear Kristenn out as she started to fall off her pace, I took the opportunity to pass her as her energy faltered. I was ecstatic that my mounts and dismounts had improved 100% from the Kona Cup and I decided to give it all through the remaining laps to finish strong in fifth place. Looking back at the race, my time in relation to the lead pack improved immensely, but I realized that I need to work on cornering for the next race in Victoria.

Justin trying to hold off his mountain biking buddy Billy Mac

Justin’s race was a “whole nother story”!! starting with a 12 pack of tasty little stubbies called Mickeys, the night before. (Okay so we don’t get an evening baby sitter often). Regretting his indulgences of the past night I dragged him out of bed, half drunk to get a move on for our 45 min drive to Duncan. He felt like @#$, but I knew his race wasn’t until 2, so he’d have a bit of sunshine to dry out in. The Masters Mens race is the largest field with about 40 competitors on average, and there were several racers on the start line with fancy bikes, kits and nose strips to boot. I don’t know if he was worried, but I was glad he had the sunshine green Steed kit on, as its easy for our two year old to spot, and cheer daddy on, with all his gusto!! Justin of course, jumped with the horn, and lead the pack down the gravel into the woods for the first half lap. I was a bit worried as he hadn’t created a gap, and by the time second lap rolled by, a buddy, Bill MacMillan, passed him on his mountain bike. No shabby feat I must say!! (Great race Bill!) I think that this shook Justin up though, and after making the pass for the lead again, he never looked back. Ten seconds, thirty seconds, fifty four seconds by the finish line... he steam rolled and tippy toed through the course with ease. A master plan?? maybe? I think they will definitely push him up to expert category for the next race.

Cross on the Rock: Kona Cup Race #2

2010-10-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

Justin leading the charge in the Masters Category

"Water...Gasp...Water" - I wish it was fashionable to wear a camelback in cross, or even mount a water bottle cage. Thanksgiving Monday's Kona Cup hosted in Nanaimo's Bowen Park was a fantastic way to overcome our Sunday night Turkey dinner hangovers. The course was fast and scary, highlighted by two considerable sand pits. Cyclocross racing has become quite the family affair for us. Our Honda FIT lived up to its name as we packed it full of two babies, double stroller, snacks, toys, breast pump, two Giant TCX cross bikes and all our kit. I've never had a strong pre-race warmup ritual, but having two kids has basically eliminated it all together, unless you consider breast feeding, and speed diaper changes effective warm-up. Personally I still think it beats warming on a trainer. My race started slowly, and mid-way through the first lap I was running 8th place in the women's category. Despite my efforts to pre-ride and practice my transitions, I struggled miserably in the sand, and continued to lose any hard-earned efforts I gained on the climb with sloppy transitions. To make matters worse I ran into the back wheel of the lady ahead of me, and stuffed my new SRAM RIVAL shifters full of sand. Struggling with my left pedal, it seemed like it took me half the race just to settle down. Finally getting the course under control, I started to regain my confidence and composure and managed to pick off 3 riders on the last two laps to finish 4th overall. The top 3 were minutes ahead, those speedy Berg sisters. Anyways, lots of lessons learned and despite my issues I loved the fit and ride of my new 2011 Giant TCX womens edition bike.

The future of cyclocross

Justin's race went a little smoother (to say it mildly), racing in a field of 36 masters racers including the surprise appearance of a less than healthy Norm Thibault, who pulled triple duty as race organizer, parent and racer. Justin decided to start a little harder than Comox and led coming out of the climb. He was briefly passed going into the first sandpit, but aggressively shouldered past his challenger in the sand corner and continued to keep his competition behind him for his 7 lap, 47 minute victory. The nearest competitor (Brian Griffin/Team Alliance) finished over 2 minutes behind him. For his efforts he was rewarded with a promotion to the expert category. Looks like his days at the front of the pack are over for now. Proud but tired Papa at the end of the race

Overall fantastic day with the family. Chase loved playing in the fall leaves. We're looking forward to next weekend's race in Duncan. Gotta love Island cross racing.

Carey Sather

:Hawaii

2010-10-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

Tough day on the course! Managed an 11 hrs 9 min...with literally blowing up on the run. I accidentally left my salt tabs in transition,and realised on the run, I didn't have them, so, all the water I consumed just absorbed in my tissues- so, when I finished, the handlers thought I looked "puffy",so, brought me to the Med tent- and then I was promptly weighed- gained 13.8 pds! More than 10 percent of my body weight- ...no wonder i felt "fat" running!, anyway, they woulddn't let me leave until I consumed salt and peed twice, plus, I could'nt go to bed until I lost some of the weight I had gained- that was OK..stayed and watched the Midnight finishers! - so, the aftermath today, I need to consume salt- and lose some of the fluid- so, far so good- ...:)
So, happy they didn't notice "puffy" on the course and hauled me off!- glad I finished before finding out my diagnoses- hypotrenemia- dangerously low sodium blood level-

Great tough day for all the finishers! Hawaii is awesome :) and thx for the wishes and support!
Time to pack up the bike....
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