Lorax again

Ride 45

Bear Mtn

Wasp x2, Lorax x2, Smoking Bobo

Back again, this time with Kim and Ian. Kim got an Enduro Evo, just to show me up, and I thought what better trail to rip it up on. With a little persuading, Ian even cleaned the rock face!! . Only one picture turned out today, snapped them a little fast as we were trying to get two laps in with the setting sun. Like Ian said, if the picture isn't that great, try and make it artsy....black and white it is.

At the far end of town where the grickle grass grows/and the wind smells slow and sour when it blows/and no birds ever sing, excepting old crows/is the street of the lifted Lorax.

Ride 44

Bear Mtn

Wasp x2, Lorax x2, Smoking Bobo.

No pictures, beat the rain, Lorax sucks - don't ride it.

Ride 43

Vedder Mtn.

2 Cents, Skidder/Hidden Pleasures, Terd Ferg, Ditch Chicken, Electric Lettuce, Femur.

I missed the nice weather we had a couple days ago. The previous 2 day it rained so I wasn't expecting the hero dirt that everyone else got to enjoy. It started to sprinkle before I got to Dilemma and at was full blown rain when I turned into 2 cents. After watching Collin's helmet cam with all the mud holes dried up I was disappointed to see that they were back again. All in all everything is running solid and it was a good ride. Heading back home the sun poked through the clouds in Yarrow and and it was bone dry and sunny at home.

Here's Collin's helmet cam of the race course for the upcoming FVMBA All-mountain race at Vedder.

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/193083/

Back to the Duck Farm once again.

Ride 42

Vedder Mtn.

Duck Farm Loop.

So I worked day shift on Friday and Saturday, both of which were very sunny and warm. So with this impending doom of more rain fall coming I had to get out today for a schralp-fest. Sumas is still buried and Lorax is still out of commish so I decided to try the DFL out with the new ride. The Enduro is still surprising me. I was damn near cleaning a couple of the quad trail climbs, where with the Heckler I had resigned to pushing up all of them. With a little more lung and a bit more leg I'll get em all. As for the trails: Prime. Flowers and plants are blooming. It looks by next week the Stinging Nettles will be doing their thing. Also I snagged a shot of Sumas from Vedder. Looks like there is still a bit of snow up top.

Fly like an Eagle

Ride 41

Eagle Mtn

Not sure of the trails, you'll have to ask Eugene.

Went for a ride on the lower trails that Eagle has to offer. The stuff here is rooty and rocky. You can't get lazy or it will get you.

Over the Hill!

Ride 40!

Ledgeview

AmbideXCrous, Lazy Boy, Tools of the Trade, Hidden Valley Connector, Flintstones, Spawn of Boulderdash, Autobahn.

I spent the morning today tearing apart the Heckler. I then used the kitchen scale, don't tell Courtney, to weigh everything on it as well as the corresponding part on the Hucker. I then rebuilt the Hucker using what every was lighter between the two. I don't imagine the scale to be that accurate, so I only used it to factor which was heavier. Between the handle bar, rear shifter, rear derailer, brakes, stem, cassette, tires and tubes I figure I've dropped around 4 lbs from the HT. Afterwards I took it for a quick spin on my usual route. Boy does this bike feel steep in the head tube compared to the Enduro! Even with the fork at 160mm its definitely my XC-AM bike. I pedaled from home and found the round trip to take about an hour and 45 minutes.

lazy bugger

Ride 39.

April 18, 2011

Vedder Mtn.

2 cents, Skidder/Hidden Pleasures, Dilemma.

What a mess! Apparently the light rain on the drive home from my last night shift fell as sloppy slush up higher. There was a dusting of slushy snow up at 2 Cents, which is looking shit kicked by the way, so I didn't head up to the Den.

Court shuttled me today as wasn't feeling the ride up after my last night shift.

Sunny shine!!

Ride 38

Ledgeview

AmbideXCrous, Lazy Boy, Tools of the Trade, Little Butt, Hidden Valley Connector, Flintstones, Spawn of Boulderdash.


Quick rip on my usual track before heading in for my last night shift. I forgot the camera so no pictures of the sun shine and the freshly budding flora.

Solo.

Ride 37

The Woodlot

Tsuga, Snakes, Bloggy, Shotgun

Got to the Lot at about 1230 and I was the only one there. I was the only one there when I left. Went OTB on the bike, first crash!! I need to bleed the brakes on it. While they work good, they are super mushy.

Quick loop on Sumas.

2011/04/10

Ride 36

Sumas Mtn.

Holiday Sauce, Extra Sauce, Emma Peel, CYOA, Police Line.

Took the Enduro for a 1/2 Sumas XC loop before my night shift. First half of Holiday Sauce was covered in hard packed freeze/thaw snow and was un-ridable. Once through that everything ran smooth. The bike is a bit of a hand full in tight, twisty XC terrain due to the head angle and longish wheel base.

I looooove this bike.

Ride 35

Vedder Mtn

The Den, 2 Cents, Hidden/Skidder, Terd Furg, Ditch Chicken, Electric Lettuce, Mango Mango, Femur.

This Enduro is a blast! Climbs like a dream, but then feels like a mini DH bike on the way down. The FSR suspension doesn't slow the bike down through chundery sections like the old single pivot did. In some aspects it feels like it will accelerate on its own through rough sections. It also begs to be jumped and dropped of stuff. All and all I am very happy.

First night ride in a long time.

Ride 34.

April 07, 2011

Ledgeview

Mixed to XCell, Boulderdash, Autobahn.

Good ride with Doug tonight. No pictures this ride, but in hind sight I should have brought the camera.

Schralpin' in the rain.

Ride 33

Ledgeview

AmbideXCrous, Lazy Boy, Tools of the Trade, Flintstones, Spawn of Boulderdash, Autobahn.

I've been shopping for a new bike for a little while now. For a bit there I was set on a Santa Cruz Butcher, but some reading on NSMB, Pink Bike and MTBR had me take a second/closer look at the Specialized Enduro. Bob, from Life Cycles, rode one at our recent Super D at Sumas and was school girl giddy over it. Luckily Life Cycles is signed up on Specialized's test bike programme! I found my self at the shop this morning, as they opened, and loaded up a demo Enduro Expert in the truck. The expert was a little rich for my blood, but would give me a good idea on how the bike felt.

I decided that I would do a lap on my usual Ledgeview south side route as I think I can rip this with my eyes closed. The bike pedaled up really well for having a 160mm fork up front. The slack 66 degree HT and 75 degree ST made for a wicked ride. Once at the top I dropped the seat and headed down.

I took it a little easier than usual, as I didn't want to get too rowdy on a borrowed bike. The Enduro flowed really well though the tight switch backs and the 160mm of FSR travel in the rear felt so smooth compared to the single pivot action I'm used too.

After the ride I was sold and put the plastic down for a new 2011 Specialized Enduro Comp. At the same time I upgraded the fork from a Lyrik R solo air to a RC2DH by adding a compression cartridge. Bike will hopefully be ready to ride on Friday. I'm very excited.

2 rides. One post.

Ride 32
April 3
Sumas Mtn
Lower Knob Gobbler, Time Killer, World Cup.

Rode with Morgan and the Exec crew. Great Race and better ride afterwards.



Ride 31.
April 2
Ledgeview.
Flintstones, Spawn, Autobahn.

Rode from the house and up the Ledge. Rained on me on the ride home.