Addition to Stix n stones

Nice. Found it marked with a reflective orange square last night. Actually the dog went that way so I did too. Both directions. Nice.

In the last couple of weeks I've worked to make the addition easier and flowier. There have been complaints that it's too steep and too hard…. however anyone that I've ever talked to out on the trail didn't feel that way.

Let's hear some more feedback about what's working for you and what's not.

For me I like the challenge of a hard climb, but I can also see that it might be frustrating for others.

Please keep your comments constructive :)

In the last couple of weeks I've worked to make the addition easier and flowier. There have been complaints that it's too steep and too hard….

I've always just taken that to mean I'm going the wrong way.

kinda soft right now to really say. The switchbacks are pretty tight.

Its more uphill going from cardiac to cardiac bypass then you have to ride down Cardiac bypass.

I would rather descend this new section from CB and climb up cardiac to the first S[HTML_REMOVED]S, loop around, down Cardiac - bridle continue on east.

Climbing up the new S[HTML_REMOVED]S to CB then heading east isn't very good incentive for a climb.

I prefer to climb wider trails, descend narrow ones so climbing from Cardiac wouldn't be my preferred option.

Nice. Found it marked with a reflective orange square last night. Actually the dog went that way so I did too. Both directions. Nice.

so you go both ways with your dog?

freak.

I think it is great both ways…a fun decent and a hard climb. Nothing wrong if some people have to walk up some of it, they will eventually manage to make the climbs if they work at it.

Rode it Monday night for the first time (all of it not just the new bit) loved it, the 'new' section was definitely a challenging climb but doable.

In the last couple of weeks I've worked to make the addition easier and flowier. There have been complaints that it's too steep and too hard…. however anyone that I've ever talked to out on the trail didn't feel that way.

Let's hear some more feedback about what's working for you and what's not.

For me I like the challenge of a hard climb, but I can also see that it might be frustrating for others.

Please keep your comments constructive :)

The addition is great, a couple tight turns but tight is good. rode it twice now and cleaned it all both times but the last 10 foot punch onto the bypass, not enough jam to get through the mud. Did you change that entrance/exit on the bypass??? seemed different the second time.

Too steep? This old man can clean the entire thing clockwise. Counterclockwise I have issues with a couple spots in particular the big boulder which I think for me is not ride-able. But when it's dry or traction is not lacking, it's not that hard at all. In fact it is just to proper amount of difficulty. Always enough challenge that if you are not paying attention, you walk. I think it's bedding in well now too. First ride it was soft but last Saturday I rode right out the new section on to Cardiac without realizing I had. I couldn't do that first ride on the section a week or so earlier.

Yeah, I did change the exit/entrance onto Cardiac Bypass. The old exit was the only really un-rideable spot, mainly cause of the mud. The new exit should be much easier for people who are climbing the trail.

The other steep spot in the middle seems to be holding up well and it looks like more and more riders are able to clean that section now that it has packed down. I really don't want to change that section, as I don't think it's impossibly hard and it provides a challenge level that is totally on par with XC trails in Squamish, Whistler and so on…

What do you guys/gals think?

P.S how sentimentally attached are you guys/gals to the current Cardiac Bypass line?

I really don't want to change that section, as I don't think it's impossibly hard and it provides a challenge level that is totally on par with XC trails in Squamish, Whistler and so on…

What do you guys/gals think?

P.S how sentimentally attached are you guys/gals to the current Cardiac Bypass line?

What trail would you compare this too in squamish or whistler? I can't think of any …

I think new trails should consider flow and fun more then challenge. There are enough challenging trails on the North Shore.

So long as a new line wouldn't be more 'challenging' then the current cardiac bypass then it wouldn't be missed.

The shore needs more FLOW, not challenge. IMO.

By flow I mean you can ride it without being on the brakes constantly or sharply turning into a steep climb. It would be nice to flow into a climb and use momentum to ride the trail.

I know that the trail is tight and perhaps too technical for being a flowy climb…. but there are lots of sections in Crumpit Woods, Lost Lake and on Comfortably Numb that are comparable in challenge level in my opinion. Admittedly I had just ridden the full length of CN prior to building this line and I think I may have still been in a daze from it…

That said… you have to bear in mind that I spent several hundred of my own personal hours and personal dollars to build this line (NOT a paid project) and then without so much as a "Thanks, good job", people have begun to criticize me for building such a hard trail…. I mean like c'mon… what do you want me to do? decomission the whole line and do it over???

I don't want to be argumentative about it, and I truly do understand where those comments are coming from. However, I was working within a very confined space and a lot of the line choices I made were to avoid getting too close to the surrounding trails while still maximizing the length of trail that I could build. Perhaps I should have just gone for a shorter trail that had more flow…. it seems like some people would have preferred that.

I definitely appreciate all forms of feedback and will incorporate it into future trail projects. Please don't hold back just because you don't want to upset the grumpy trail builder. Comments from people like Sharon and Wade who have ridden in tons of different locales are especially instructive and will ultimately result in the next section of Sticks [HTML_REMOVED] Stones being the best yet.

Keep it coming~

prestonium: It is perfect as is. Flow and uphill are somewhat exclusive terms in my mind. The trail reminds me of the new Zappa trail, Grand Wazoo and others like Packard Goose, Why Johnny Can't read etc. This is exactly what I think is missing from the Shore. We have plenty of technicaly challenging descents, a few grinder climbs and not so many technical climbs but there are few technically challenging XC loops where you can stay low and away from winter snow and not so physically threatening for solo night rides.

I really appreciate the work! The way the west end of the trail snakes back and forth to make a much larger loop than just doing Bridal is nice. You do have to ride the trail a few times to memorize the technical bits, but I don't think that detracts from the overall quality of the trail. Still qualifies as "techXC" but is not out of line with the difficulty of surrounding trails.