Things I’m Stoked On
I moved back to Vancouver Island this winter. I’m going to spend a few years here finishing my carpentry journeyman and have been having so much fun riding all the old haunts and zones. The Cowichan Valley area is such a haven of diverse riding zones, pocket landscapes dispersed throughout. In one ride you might travel through dark earthy cedar zones reminiscent of the Shore, then out onto open bluffs full of Garry Oak, and of course the incredibly lush forests of salal and ferns the Island is known for. That should get you stoked. Here are some more Things I’m Stoked On…
FIXING UP OLD TRAILS
Cowichan means “The Warm Land” and it has the warmest average temperature year round in Canada. I returned to the hood and started riding tons and immediately started noticing really tight trees, fallen logs, and unrideable creek crossings on some of the trails near my house. So, I’ve slowly been picking away at fixing things up and after checking in with the original trail builder and getting the go ahead, it’s been nice to tidy up an already existing ride instead of the overwhelming burden of creating a brand new trail.
It’s been great being slightly removed from the trail building at Retallack this season; my body is enjoying the time off. In the long run I want to be able to feel responsible for a ton of fun trails to ride both here on the Island and also at Retallack. And right now, heading up into the local hills and building some bridges to cross trouble spots, adding grippy lath to bridges, cutting out really tight trees, and adding a berm here or there feels just right.
Bringing new life to old trails…
RIDING PREPARED
I never used to ride with much stuff. I’d usually have the essentials, but shuttling around Nelson I’d often just have nothing because you knew if you got a flat it’s not that far down to the waiting truck, or, I’d just count on my buddies to have spare tubes and stuff. Over the years I’ve seen a good few trailside injuries or repairs and afterwards I’d swear ‘Man I’m gonna be prepared from now on’ and that would last for like a week and then I’d be out shuttling with the boys without a pack on or even a water bottle.
Lately I’ve been riding with a bigger EVOC pack and carrying tons of shit. It doesn’t feel uncomfortable and I feel way more comfortable out there, especially here on the island where there is a higher volume of riders out on the trails. One of these days the Sam Splint and first aid gear will come in handy and it will feel great to help someone out. I’ve really been digging the Japanese ‘Gomboy’ folding handsaw: you can clear up silly little windfalls easily that would be really annoying to hike a chainsaw to.
Prepared for just about anything. What’s in your pack?
THIS PHOTO
This photo by Sterling Lorence continues to be the most inspiring mountain bike photo for me. It’s been around for a long time and every time I look at it I just feel so stoked on mountain biking, and trail building. Sterling says this photo continues to be his most purchased and requested photo so I guess other people agree with me. It looks like such a gnarly line and the forest looks “Classic North Shore” if you know what I mean. The rider appears to be on a low travel pretty old school bike and I always wonder how riding this stunt went for him… did he ride it out clean? Recently I purchased this print from Sterling and got it framed up nice in the living room, so now I stare at it every day and wonder when I’m going to find a spot like that to incorporate into one of my trails.
“Classic North Shore”. Photo ~ Sterling Lorence
THIS BIKE
I’m onto this thing these days about low stress living with simple goals and stuff like that. This bike is the mountain bike metaphor for that and I’ve been riding it non stop for 3 months now. It’s a Kona Honzo and it has a 1×9 drivetrain, dropper post, 29er wheels, meaty 1.5 ply Schwalbe tires, a Revelation fork and a steel frame. The Geometry begs the rider to shred. The only thing that keeps me from riding full on downhill style is the odd time when I almost blow my hand off the bar… it is definitely still a hardtail!
However, the simplicity and old school meets new school radness of this bike has my head spinning. The 29er wheels really do roll over stuff better! I’d heard about that for a couple years but getting on the bike right away I noticed that ability to monster truck through rough stuff, which is really cool because while it is still a hardtail the 29er-ness gives you some full suspension style capability. I’ve really respected the guys at Chromag because they ride steel hardtails up and over every darn mountain in the Sea-to-Sky. Well, Kona has brought that same vibe to an affordable, ready to shred package.
I definitely think that with the amazing full suspension bikes available these days, a hardtail doesn’t make a lot of sense. However, when I’m out riding the Honzo, I feel different. It has a classic feel, and makes me feel like a bad ass. There’s something about conquering rough stuff on a hardtail that really makes you feel alive. You feel the trail. Every little bump ha ha.
This spring I was out riding with Joe Schwartz and Seb Kemp and Seb was talking about how riding “all mountain” style bikes makes everything really fun for a couple reasons: one, you earn your turns by climbing up, and two, no matter that you ride a bit slower than you would on a DH bike, everything feels faster and more extreme because you don’t have the bailout switch of 8 inches of suspension. And since the whole reason we ride is to feel good and bathe in adrenaline, hardtails and lower suspension travel bikes are where it’s at.
29er evangelism meets headstrong hardtail rider.
ANIMAL SIGHTINGS WHILE RIDING
I love seeing wildlife while riding. It makes me feel like I’m part of the real world instead of this bizarre superhighway of concrete, cell phones and frickin’ laser beams. I’ve had some good ones over the years, one time while riding a trail called Slabbalanche in Nelson, Evan Schwartz and I came really close to dropping the gloves with a Momma Black Bear and definately got a dose of reality. But I figure my very favourite animal to see out on the trails is the elusive Owl.
Owls are so solemn and silent and badass. Owls are like the Honey Badger of Animals without actually being a Honey Badger. Recently while descending Mt. Prevost trying to ride fast and smooth and attempting to conjure up my inner ‘Steve Smith’ (He rides Mt. Prevost lots and lots) I caught a glimpse of something in a tree and it turned out to be a Hoot Owl. This Owl was super chill and followed us from tree to tree for a bit while we rode a little slow pedally traverse.
Hooters!
SMOOTH BERMS
I am stoked on smooth berms. Duh, who isn’t. The thing about berms is they don’t just build themselves, and riding really good ones is a treat. Berms are like girls. There is that certain shape that just makes you feel rather excited. Here in Cowichan there is a guy named Dom who has spent a lot of time surfing, mountain biking, and skiing in his life and he builds a lot of berms. Everytime I ride his trail I worship the berms, a curved rounded mound of dirt that allows a rider to lean over, trust the traction and let her rip.
Railing a smooth one.
DREAMING ABOUT FUTURE TRAILS
I am constantly fantasizing about trails I want to build. It is so intoxicating looking at maps, messing around on google earth, and hiking through the woods imagining the trails that could be built there. Trails are what make our sport so amazing. Skiers can’t conjure snow, Surfers cant get out there a create waves, but mountain bikers can make the experience as good as they want by getting out there and building the trail of their dreams.
Of course things like permission, private land, access, and spare time to actually go build trails gets in the way. But the amazing thing is that more and more trails are getting built every day! From Squamish to Burns Lake, Campbell River to Quesnel, trails are the lifeblood of this sport and they are getting better and more common all over the place. The work of bike clubs, IMBA, and advocacy driven events such as the Test of Metal and BC Bike Race are changing mountain biking in this Province for the better in a big way.
Future plans come together…
Are you stoked on the same things Riley’s stoked on? Would you add anything to his list?
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