mammal profile

So Doctahawk then?

I have no issues with the message, but it should have been accompanied by "but not without the practice of rigorous social distancing remaining in place".  Over all, I think BC is doing a great job managing this.

Saturday at Fromme took the cake for me. Decided to take the Hardtail up to Leopard for a nice little XC loop over to Krinkum, Kirkford and out on the Griffins. Can't be that hard to social distance on the fire road, right?? I get to the Expresso/Leopard junction and there's literally 30 people around, some standing close in their riding groups, and some trying to stay distanced. I approached a pinch point with 8 people yaking in a circle on my right, and 4 people grouped together on my left. 1m between these groups, and completely blocking the fire road. The closest guy on the right-group just stared at me like I was an idiot while I spent 20 seconds in a pedal-stand waiting for the two groups to clue in. He/they didn't, and I had to mutter Covid nothings in his ear as I pushed through. 

I swear, after Bonnie Henry told everyone to get outside, and that the virus doesn't spread as easily outdoors, 75% of the people decided that meant that the social distancing switch was flicked off.

How many times do you flat? It can't be that much of a pain, unless you're flatting every other ride. If you're racing, where that time is really valuable, I'd assume CO2 would be the choice.

I'd likely just shove the rolled-up tube into a segment of a slightly larger tube, like you've done with your pump.

@yahs, absolutely. It's getting bad. As I've stated repeatedly, I try to be beyond civil with all trail users, but there's a line. Sales must be booming right now, considering how fast the frequency of these "oblivious noob" situations are ramping up.

Looks like a great bike, and amazing spec for that price.

And it happened again. Third ride in a row on Fromme climb trail. Huh, Heckler this time. Guy pulls up at triple speed and rides my ass for 3 tight switch backs before throwing out an "one your left" in a super tight section with a tight corner into tech climb. I let him know that he can chill until we get to a nice wide spot to stop. He muttered under his breath and generally wasn't pleasant. I get trying to be a patron, but that doesn't fly when I'm at my cardio limit and buttons are pushed. These things are everywhere right now and it's getting a bit messy.

That's exactly my intention and approach, but how do you tell the difference on a tight, technical single track climb?

If that's the case with the wattage ratio, they most certainly are motor bikes, actuated by leg triggers.

Posted by: Xorrox

The last time I was up on Seymour they still had a closed sign at the top of Corkscrew. While I understand why they might not want vehicle access up the mountain (for the reason you mentioned), there is absolutely 0 reason to close trails. At the very least, they should open all self powered trail access and the Old Buck parking lot.

I agree with trail access, but that tiny section of Corkscrew is only closed because the park is closed. They aren't really enforcing that at all, because they know that none of the mountain bikers they let past the gate-check (and there are LOTS!) are coming back down the same way. They are mostly turning a blind eye, with regards to the Corkscrew access.

As for the parking lot, I don't necessarily agree. I think parking lots are the highest risk areas, when it comes to the people being outdoors. The Safeway 2 blocks down has tonnes of parking, even allowing extra spots between cars in most cases, as has been the case since the park closure.

Posted by: Xorrox

That said, I hope people will not go into full idiot mode this weekend and next week by gathering in groups, sharing food and drink, or shuttling with 10 of their best buddies crammed in a truck. 

I think this is exactly why I think they aren't planning on opening Cypress and Seymour soon (and no plans currently in place to do so), as per the current parks status: http://bcparks.ca/covid-19/parks-affected/

The week before they closed Seymour, I was riding up the road to access Corkscrew and countless shuttle trucks were flying by, packed full of riders. Social distancing protocal was in full swing at that point. They know full-well that's what will happen when they open those two parks up. Cypress is a bit of a downer, but Seymour can still be accessed by bike, so not really an issue unless you're looking to shuttle.

Hilarious actually.

Posted by: D_C_

Parking is one thing, but it's the "No mountain bike drop-off" sign at Mountain Highway and Coleman that pisses me off. Residents up there getting annoyed about kids getting dropped off at the yellow gate is nimbyism at its finest. We are all inconvenienced by this pandemic.

Right before they stopped allowing dropoffs, I witnessed a line up of 15 cars trying to access the same dropoffs option. You can imagine how that works out on such a constricted residential stretch of road. It was the district controlling mayhem, not nimbyism. You can still drop off 4 blocks down the hill, really not a big inconvenience.

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be generally entitled to park in front of your own house under normal circumstances, I’m referring to the special circumstances we are in right now. We’re in a global pandemic, the Fromme parking lot is closed, mountain biking is a safe and healthy activity to continue doing and you can effectively “social distance” while doing it. I don’t think homeowners being able to park in front of their houses should be the top priority at this current time (especially since 95% of them have a garage/driveway). The overall situation sucks for everyone and we all have to make some additional allowances vs. our normal pre-virus lives. It’s temporary and once the Fromme parking lot opens (I assume in the not too distant future) this “problem” will largely disappear.

And speaking of the Fromme lot opening - does anyone know if this is part of the "Phase 2" easing of restrictions that I think go into place tomorrow?

Considering that neither of the local provincial parks (Cypress/Seymour) are slated to open soon, I wouldn't expect the fromme lot to open up any time soon either. Trails are generally much easier to manage distancing than a packed parking lot.

Posted by: FLATCH

Posted by: gramm

Posted by: FLATCH

Posted by: tashi

Houses near mountain biking spots aren’t going anywhere so mountain bikers are going to have to get used to people caring how they behave outside their homes.

I wish I could rep u for that. Mountain biking is a privilege not a right. Some need to remember this.

Mountain biking may be a privilege, but access to our parks is a right to any citizen and street parking is not owned by the homeowner in front despite what they may think.

When did Fromme become a provincial park?

Fromme is most certainly a park. It's under the DNV, not a provincial park.

Posted by: shoreboy

Zee's and Saints are on sale over at TBS right now. Better than Jenson pricing and Canadian!

https://www.tbsbikeparts.com/product/shimano-saint-m820-brakes/

I bought the on-sale Saints from TBS for my new Ripmo AF (came with Guide T, puke...), as I didn't want to mess around. They run great with the stock Sram rotors (200/180), have decent modulation, and gobs upon gobs of power. I have so much control over my heavy ass 29" wheels/tires it's like cheating. Highly recommended.

One caveat for Saints, the pads rattle loudly, because they have a bit of room to move around and a very heavy heat sink attached to them. I fixed that by bonding a small segment of zip tie below where tabs of the pad rest on top of the caliper (only on the back side, not the front). This moves the pad very slightly, into a position it won't rattle (tight fit).

Posted by: syncro

You would think that for that first 100m or so of Corkscrew they wouldn’t have bothered with the tape. Classic case of people not being able to see the bigger picture.

Not only that, they're trying to monitor that 100m section from their trucks, through the trees. I heard them yelling at a guy and his young son to back-track and exit down the road. It's certainly an interesting place to focus your efforts. Again, this was probably about 40 minutes after they let a guy on a full DH bike through the bottom gate. I'm pretty sure they're operating on "if I see you riding shut trail, then I need to do something about it", but that's about the extent.

In response to Alan. That's interesting... As of yesterday at around 2pm, they let me up past the blockade gate at the bottom with a smile and a wave. I've certainly got an aggressive 29er trail bike. They also let a guy up on a full DH bike (smallest chain ring I've ever seen), clad in a full-face helmet. He's certainly not climbing up Seymour for the exercise alone.

So the mixed messages continue from the Parks' side.

Thanks Jaums. Very well summarized.