mudrunner profile

Metalheads unite!

Also...Norco has something shore-specific in metal coming out this year.

Great review. I have the pants and I concur...nicely simple. The pockets are the only thing I would change....they need to be a wee bit larger and move them down a bit (so that stuff isn't sitting right where your leg and hip move). Better yet, get rid of the pockets all together and drop the price a bit.

Also....I add Gore-Tex socks to my kit for an all around weather seal. Even if I am a bit warm, at least the cold water doesn't get in.

I've had that Evoc bag since last June and I'm actually really happy with it. I am not a fan of SWAT shirts as they just feel too hot and constrictive on summer rides. I despise backpacks even more. So the bum bag wins. 

I don't have an issue with the front compartment because I put all the small/loose items in one of the 3 internal pockets (it keeps things from jangling around). I keep a minimalist tool kit in a mesh bag, so nothing falls out. I opted for the bladder, so it takes up a bit more room that does not leave me  a lot of extra space if I want a spare tube and a jacket (I have to pick one or the other). For long treks, I stitched on two webbing straps that I can now loop a jacket through.

The breathable back design works really well, and the two side tensioning straps are great for adjusting on-the-fly (loose on the climb/cinched for the descent...or as the water gets used up). My only complaint is the magnetic clip for the bladder hose. It's a slide clip that goes on the belt. The magnet is quite strong and I've pulled off the clip many times....and eventually lost it. A closed loop clip would have been a better idea.

I've used this bag for 7 hour rides, as well as 1 hour rides....full and almost empty. It forces me to really think about what I am packing for a long ride, so I don;t haul the kitchen sink with me....and therefore, I enjoy the ride much more.

Sounds like we are of the same lineage....bear traps to cages (metal and then short plastics) to SPDs (which I used for years) to flats with Vans and eventually proper shoes. I tried the combo pedals, but went back to freeing the feet.

I've been a 5.10 fan for a few years...and yes the insoles are flimsy, but most shoes have crappy insoles. I'd rather have a proper fitting pair of shoes and and upgrade the insole than to switch to a lesser shoe with a better insole. I bought a pair of "Sole" for my trail runners (same issue...crappy insoles are rampant) and it was a massive improvement, so I use them in all my shoes now. No need to buy new insoles for each pair of shoes. I have 2 sets of Soles that I move around between trail runners and cycling shoes. Happy feet, happy trails.

As they say...."If the shoe fits, wear it".

I get it now....I've been riding Bookwus since I had Judy forks, and I try to get on it a handful of times each year. I rarely see anyone with interest in riding it, but in the last week, I had two groups asking me about it (one group was a couple of young teens...awesome!)....looks like the signage and/or this article has people seeking it out.

"...These riders sometimes fail to realize that these lines were once much different and their affection for trail decay shouldn’t override either the original or current builder’s desire to maintain it to a certain level. ..." .

And let's not forget that the original lines were ridden on very different bikes...geometry, technology, and material.

To that point, Kirkford is an excellent example of how a trail can change over time...It was only the original Kirkford for about 2 years before it eroded away into  water funnels and gulleys, and the subsequent the work was put in to make it the S-curves it has now. 

In the climbing world, the route is established (and named) by the first ascentionist. Any changes to the route are deferred to that person.

As someone who works in the lighting industry, IP67 is nice, but it is not essential for a bike light. IP65 is more appropriate for riding on the North Shore or anywhere else in the world

IP65 gives "protection against low-pressure jets of directed water from any angle". Components are tested using a something that resembles a multi-head shower nozzle. Rain and tire splashes would be really, really low pressure jets. In fact, your lights will probably see tougher conditions on the drive over to the ride if it's on the roof of your car.

IP66 gives "protection against direct high pressure jets" ...so that you can clean your bike with a pressure washer and your lights will still work. Your bike's bearings may have an issue, though.

Since Balckburn is IP67, of course that's what they'll tout as a standard since it will weed away some legit competition....but IP67 is only testing for temporary immersion...NOT water jet or water spray. So it is not the most appropriate for riding in rainy conditions. Unless you plan on falling off the Ladies Only teeter totter and leaving your bike in the swamp for over 30 minutes.

FYI...almost every municipality street light standard, and most car headlights are IP65.

I have pro and con opinions on eBikes, but competition was not something I had even considered. Kinda makes me laugh....nothing more, nothing less.

Viewership will ultimately decide interest, sponsorship money, and therefore viability. Anyone remember point to point X Country races?

Well said, Cory.

I'll always remember her as one of the couriers during the "golden age"....when many of us would ride around on  pre-suspension rigs (often the same bikes we would race on), without helmets, without licenses,  riding on the sidewalks giving business people a scare, or riding through intersections giving bus drivers reason to honk, and jumping into crowded elevators dripping in sweat or rain water, and having a few chill moments between "Rush" deliveries on the lawn in front of the Bentall towers. Ingrid always seemed to be smiling or laughing. 

Carpe Diem.

I really miss Fat Tire Flyer and the ilk of non-conformists, non-PC, truly irreverent, typo-riddled, bargain basement, low-budget rags...often printed in black and white and handed over between riding buddies.

Progress is good too. While I tend to know what to expect when I open PB, or RedBull, it's consistently reliable, but seldom surprises. It's a bad analogy, but sometimes you just want to try that homemade meatball sandwich instead of the Cactus Club meal.

...what cyclotoine said....at least they gave him something a bit more "modern" in the brake department. I was expecting cantilevers....or maybe a chainstay mounted U-brake.

Also...shoulda thrown in some bear-claw pedals with plastic toe-clips!

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: mudrunner

I see... you were referring to the IG post...I am referring to a google search of who might qualify.

With just the Rocky info it's easy to guess who it might have been, but guessing who it might have been is speculative and unethical. I am not going to speculate on someone's bad trail etiquette without substantive proof. I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate being named in some speculative internet post about something bad you might have done when there is no proof.

Did you check your PMs from yesterday?

Posted by: tashi

I couldn’t find it either yesterday based on the crumbs the knowledgeable people have felt inspired to leave here.

I guess lots of us need to us our search game.

I should have been clearer...if you search Google the answer is right there. Just three bits of info. Rocky Mountain, EWS, Team

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: mudrunner

Posted by: syncro

I am not a rocket scientist but I didn't just fall off the back of the turnip wagon either. I had a search using the parameters you'd listed in this thread (the pro circuit wasn't mentioned in this thread) and came up with nothing, but by that point I guess the offending posts had been taken down already which is good as the message seemed to have gotten through. 

Besides the riders I think we also need to lean on the sponsors as well, as the sponsors decide where there dollars go and that could have more of an affect on riders' behaviour.

You need to up your search game. I did the same thing and found three names...two of which were involved in that ride.

It would be nice to see some of those sponsorship dollars and awareness were re-allocated to trail maintenance/etiquette and/or the North Shore Black Bear Society.

Posted by: SixZeroSixOne

Searching ain't rocket science!

https://www.bikes.com/en/riders

My search game is fine. I found the rider but the post in contention had already been removed - which is what I was looking for. I mean FFS, I even said in my rocket scientist post that "by that point I guess the offending posts had been taken down." Does nobody actually read the posts they quote or refer to?

I see... you were referring to the IG post...I am referring to a google search of who might qualify.

Posted by: syncro

I am not a rocket scientist but I didn't just fall off the back of the turnip wagon either. I had a search using the parameters you'd listed in this thread (the pro circuit wasn't mentioned in this thread) and came up with nothing, but by that point I guess the offending posts had been taken down already which is good as the message seemed to have gotten through. 

Besides the riders I think we also need to lean on the sponsors as well, as the sponsors decide where there dollars go and that could have more of an affect on riders' behaviour.

You need to up your search game. I did the same thing and found three names...two of which were involved in that ride.

It would be nice to see some of those sponsorship dollars and awareness were re-allocated to trail maintenance/etiquette and/or the North Shore Black Bear Society.

Posted by: tashi

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: tashi

The sponsors don't care, particularly the local ones with "cred".

The market rewards this behaviour so they'll keep it up until it doesn't.

That's were "we" come in. We need to make it so it isn't rewarded, so it's not cool. If enough people object then the sponsors might pay attention. While our current media age is fraught with issues, it also has the power to bring poor behaviour to heel.

And yet, with all the people on this board that know who he and the company are they still haven’t been named. 

Looks like the Thin Bro Line is holding up.

I already mentioned Rocky Mountain and in another post I mentioned the pro circuit that is affiliated. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist at this point. If he hadn't deleted his posts, I would have no problem throwing his name out there. I am plenty pi$$ed that he didn't have the balls to respond to my direct question about the Fromme closure. But as I alluded to in my previous post, the lynch mob mentality makes it more difficult to get an open discussion and explanation...so given that the first step was taken (deleting IG posts), I would expect that there might be a public explanation/apology for putting his own gain ahead of our trail access and community . If not. Game on.

Posted by: idle

Posted by: shoreboy

I believe his offending IG posts have now been removed? Perhaps someone out there is listening.

It was posted as a 'story,' which are temporary as far as I understand.  There is a new story posted now, so the one of their triple is gone.

"Stories" on Instagram are there for 24 hours. While the loamer entrance in question was a "story" (with the actual caption "because #Strava"), there was also a standard IG post with several images, hashtags, and an image of the Strava mapping/data. That does not have a time limit....it is only removed voluntarily.  I looked today and the post has been removed.  I am not on Strava, so not sure if that's still publicly available.

But the post was up for over 3 days...which is long enough in the IG life-cycle that all 38.5K followers get it at the top of their feed. There was no mention of the original post or any follow-up addressing the Fromme bear closure, non-essential travelling, responsibility etc... My direct question did not get answered...just outright ignored. Since he posted this all on social media and his account is not private, I can't see why calling him out would been an issue...I mean, people often pray for their content to go viral. Isn't that the point of social media?  

But sometimes the internet is a vicious/vindictive place, so I would like to see some sort of voluntary response by him and/or his sponsors instead of calling him out just yet. Something that addresses the issue and let's people know it's not cool to ignore trail closures for your personal pleasure and benefit (lets face it...posting as an influencer means there are benefits to your actions...also consequences), that non-essential travel during a pandemic shouldn't be flaunted (Squamish made a big deal of asking everyone to stay away....and vice versa), and that such action just rubbed it in the face of all of us who respected the access to our own trails enough to give Fromme a pass for a few days and alter our plans. 

Ignoring the issue won't fix it. I suspect he (or someone he knows) may read this and make it right.

Posted by: syncro

Makes sense and kind of what I thought.

Your education/culture comment is spot on imo and there needs to be way more effort in this area, especially from bike mfgr's. I think as a whole the bike industry has failed big time in terms of education and developing culture and they need to take responsibility.

This couldn't have been more clearly illustrated over this past weekend when a I saw an IG post from a pro rider showing video of the entrance to a non-sanctioned trail on the North Shore. He has over 35K followers...he even tagged the video #Strava. He also posted several image showing his Strava route and the fact the and his buddies had done a version of the Triple...which(of course) includes Fromme. He posted on Sunday. The ride was on Saturday....when Fromme was closed all weekend due to the bear presence.

I sent him a DM to let him know the video was not cool. His response was "the trail is already on Strava". I asked about the Fromme trail closure. No response.

I realise people are going to duck ropes, and ride where they shouldn't...but for an industry pro that is meant to be a standard bearer and example to other riders/followers to do it so openly and unapologetically is a slap in the face to the local riding community and all those that work hard to keep access to existing trails and lobby for possible future trails.

The post was still up as of yesterday, so clearly, the sponsors (Rocky Mountain, Fat Tire, etc...) have no issue with this...or don't pay attention to the message their riders are putting out there.

Posted by: PaulB

Open again, but no word on the bear.

Saw a report of one on the Seymour powerline on Seymour this weekend.

They're everywhere now. We have one go through our yard on a regular basis in the spring, but less so in the summer. Winter is over, so they are out of hibernation... but there is still a lot of snow in the high areas...they have limited space for sourcing food. Make noise on rides...especially if you ride less popular areas. I bring a really loud buddy who talks a lot. We call him Bear Banger...not for any kinky reason, but it does sound that way.

Posted by: SixZeroSixOne

Ha, just looking at a few popular segments on Strava, looks like the mountain has been VERY quiet today (or everyone has figured out how to make their rides private...)

Everyone except for a certain pro rider from Squamish on the EWS circuit who rides for Rocky Mountain. Seems he had no problem posting his triple with his buddies on IG and Strava. Clearly showing the ride up Mtn Hwy gravel and descending Fromme trails...he even makes it clear that it was on Saturday (during the closure and despite the media, NSMBA, and multiple FB mentions ). Not to mention the video showing them going in the entrance to an unsanctioned trail on the previous mountain. I'm sure none of his 35K followers noticed though.

Clean up your social media game, man!!

Posted by: Ddean

Trail runners are worst for this because they dont see the downside of broadcasting the trail location (theyre just running around) and they love Strava more than running. Im sure most of them would become full time swimmers if Strava went swimming only.

I know trail runners who would say the same about mountain bikers. 

Regards,

A long time trail runner and an even longer time mountain biker who does not use any GPS device.