winter rides & community

open letter to the ten other people riding seymour in the snow today, who are you?

I'm pretty keen to be on my bike all year round and find that most of the people i ride with are to busy (snowboarding/skiing) or to scared (rain/snow) to get out there at this time of the year.

Is it just me or is our cycling scene, vancouver in general acutally, lacking the community vibe that I find at lot of other places.
How do you guys expand your riding group, seems like most people just want to keep to them selves and do there own thing. Cypress laps being the exception to this.

How was the riding today? I wanted to get out, but the dudes I was supposed to ride with all bailed when they saw the snowline. After a couple serious crashes riding by myself, I don't like riding alone anymore.

I was trying to convince everyone it would be fun, but to no avail. Bummer.

I need to find some tough guys to ride with who aren't afraid of a little cold weather!

Rode Bridle Path for a while and it wasn't half as bad as I expected. Lots of slush, trees dropping snow on you, standng water, but overall not bad at all. The section I usually do as my "fast out and back 50 minute run", took me 1:30. I was being super careful, and also just spent some time stopped enjoying the different scenery. Passed 2 other MTB's on the ride and plenty of hikers.

Pushed to the top of Burke….just me and the dog. Bastard was unrelenting and just kept a distance of about 75 feet in front of me looking back and seeming to say "your not gonna quit on my now, are ya?" Even most of the snow shoe people had turned back……took about 1hr and 45mins. Ride down took about 15 mins. I was questioning myself the whole way up, but on the drive home it really seemed worth it.

The riding on Fromme was splendid today. 4-6 inches of pretty heavy snow (to FB/ Bobsled) made for a fairly predictable ride, with surprisingly good traction and braking.

I'm not sure how you convince people to go out in these conditions. Once they try it they realize it's not as bad as it seams, although you do have to be careful to select the right/best snow conditions. Big piles of new soft snow are the best way to introduce new riders to the wonders of winter riding, the scenery is stunning.

Is it just me or is our cycling scene, vancouver in general acutally, lacking the community vibe that I find at lot of other places.

That's my take on it too. It almost seems like people who do brave the cold/wet feel that any other rider is intruding on their hard earned, coveted ground, and you are a MAJOR intrusion. God forbid you try and climb when they are descending :deadhorse:.

But i could extend that to most Vancouver natives (born n raised, been here 15 years or more, not the Valley, or SSC). They keep to them selves and you are basically in their way. Road, trail, store, beach, what ever.

Off course, there are exceptions, some good ones on here.

I saw some tracks of what appeared to be people climbing roadside today, props to whoever that was! Buddy and I went up Fromme, Floppy to Griffen, it was rad! There a few sections where I usually get a little rowdy when its wet that I had great traction on due to snow. There were others (bridges!) where the snow just washed away.

Great ride.

Only sad thing, the snow is going to be frozen tomorrow. Heck, it's frozen now.

People are just mixing it up and getting some winter sports in. We get a long riding season here in Van, so sometimes nice to park the bike for a bit to ski, snowboard, hockey, travel, snowshoe, trail build, play music etc. Riders are that much more stoked for season in the spring after a winter break.

Go to the local events, NSMBA trail days, toonie races in season and your community will start to grow exponentially. There is an NSMBA party on Jan 28, that will be a good start to meet more peeps who ride right now.
http://nsmba.ca/content/2012-01_season-party-saturday-january-28-narrows-pub

See you on the trails!

DB@EB

It almost seems like people who do brave the cold/wet feel that any other rider is intruding on their hard earned, coveted ground, and you are a MAJOR intrusion. God forbid you try and climb when they are descending :deadhorse:.

lol sounds like me. If I'm solo, its for a reason, summer included. And I will admit that riders who try to tag along or strike up a conversation don't make much headway. I do move over and muster a few words of encouragement for climbers though. Respeck!

For meeting other riders DB's suggestions are good, and if you come across a group of similar ability, chat them up a bit and if they seem receptive then ask if you can hook up with them the next time they go out.

Re: snow

Tire recommendations?

2.2in 29er Purgatorys seem pretty good on the icy packed stuff right now.

i like the stickee nevegals in the winter, no so much for summer

How about tire pressure? You run a bit lower than usual?

Maxi 3C's running 24 front and 28 back (about 4 psi lower than normal), worked well for me in soft snow (170 lbs no more than 3 ft to smooth transition (i.e. the bobsled drop).