When someone tells you that there’s a stellar, flowy trail worth exploring on a mountain you’ve never heard of and near a town you’ve never been to, you might be skeptical. Even more so when the trail in question is in another country and the locals there have never heard of it or ridden it. […]
The Rise and Fall of the Great Pumpkin
After a decade of glorious mountain biking, a time chocked with memories of rides so sweet they paid for the bike a hundred times over, the unthinkable happened – I backed over it with my truck in a parking lot. It had been an expensive purchase, much more than any bike I’d ever owned, and […]
Review: PUSH Industries Elevensix
PUSH industries have been specializing in making other companies gear better for the greater part of two decades. Shocks from the factory are made for the masses. Averages are accepted to manufacture the fewest number of production units that will work for the greatest number of applications. As a result, you may or may not […]
2 dogs, a bear, a meth lab, an Orange and one dead relative … Riding the Sierra Nevada with Pure Mountains
Being a mountain biker at forty offers rather more challenges than just terrain and skills. For me the sheer complexity of managing a corporate job, frequent and unavoidable travel, a tribe of children (seriously seems like they’re everywhere!), a busy working wife and a very energetic puppy mean that locating time to pedal is the […]
When Life Hands You Pineapples, Make Pina Coladas
This winter was supposed to be all about riding our new fat bikes in the snow. Wool socks, boots, pogies, insulated camelback bladders: we were ready to spend our weekends pedaling in the cold, white world. But a little South American by the name of El Nino decided to send us West coasters the Pineapple […]
The Reluctant Wrench 13: Memories on Ice
Dylan struggled to keep on Ted’s wheel as he wove his way up the steepest climb. The ground was mostly frozen, a little thawed, mushy and slippery here and there where the sun made its way through the pines and warmed the ground. At one point his foot slipped from the pedal, but he managed […]
Going hut to hut in the Chilcotins
Sitting around camp the night before the start of our three-day backcountry riding trip, one of our friends exclaimed that they wanted to see a bear. Not too close, but close enough to get a good look. Like most first timers to the South Chilcotins wilderness of southwestern British Columbia, our friends were excited about […]
Honest Work
When I was 15 years old I was allowed to work in a bike shop. As a racer on their team, I had access to the work areas and shop tools whenever a stand wasn’t occupied by a regular customer’s bike. It was there, hanging out with the cranky but lovable mechanic, getting in the […]
Confessions Of A Slow Mountain Biker
I am not what you would call a gifted rider, you know the type that seems to always be at the lead of the pack. No two ways about it, I am slow…and as I get older I seem to be getting slower. So far that old man endurance I keep on hearing about has […]
Trail Trainer Videos Review
Riding indoors on a trainer or stationary/spin bike is par for the course if you live in a four-season postal code. While indoor spinning is good for maintaining fitness, it lacks the ‘joie de vivre’ of riding on real singletrack. Being stuck in a basement watching someone pedal in their virtual room gets boring quickly. […]