niels@nsmb.com profile

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I've also seen some weird driving behaviour in the past few days. I think it's because people are under above-average stress.

I think the guy who designed the humorous signs retired a few years ago, I remember it being in the local news. My favourite is the one addressed to dogs.

I'm a little scared the post will just work and I won't have anything interesting to report!

I've been using Squirt chain lube exclusively for the last 12 years, in every imaginable terrain and weather conditions. Works very well for me in all but the most extreme wet conditions (think monsoon rains, axle deep creek crossings).

My Tassie relatives say "tar".

I haven't had luck with any growler, beer goes dead way too fast! xD

Don't forget EU pricing includes VAT which is 19% in Germany. They list discounted prices incl. and excl. VAT on https://www.raawmtb.com/madonnabike. However, their online shop doesn't seem to have been updated yet for ordering outside EU. Probably best to contact Raaw before ordering.

I've also heard good things about Newmen rims. According to their website, they have a Canadian distributor.

Weekday rides are awesome and I consider myself a lucky bastard that I often have the entire mountain to myself. But even on weekends it's fairly easy to avoid the crowds on the Shore. Just choose your time and trails smartly. Don't tell this to anyone else but Seymour is often blissfully quiet on Sunday afternoons around ~3pm.

I think the main point Dave is trying to make is that many helmets, even those with one of these new technologies (that may or may not help in some situations), don't fit many people's heads properly because they only come in a small number of sizes, each of which is supposed to cover a wide range of head shapes, and instead relying on the retention system for 'fit'. Therefore it seems logical to prioritize finding a helmet that actually fits your head properly because a helmet that doesn't stay on your head when you hit the ground certainly won't protect you, no matter what advanced technologies it uses.

My first mountain bike was a used early 90s Raleigh, can't remember the exact model but from a google image search I'm pretty sure it was a Lizard like the one below.

Posted by: Ddean

Rode Coast last weekend. What a cool spot. Love that it’s so chill. Shuttle up. Ride down. Grab shuttle back up. 

Love that the lunch is so casual too. What a refreshing change to the WBP way of doing things. 

Things that I hope they address over time:

That road

More tech trails would be better. I rode dynamite panther 6 or 7 times and the Devils Elbow and HJ line over and over. It would be super easy to scratch in some loamers and control their traffic by rotation which are open. 

My son who loves flow and jump lines was in heaven.

Had the same experience. Loved the vibe and but would have wanted more techy singletrack. A climbing trail would be great too.

A great way to finish is to follow the dirt road that crosses the park and descend Huggies down to Porpoise Bay PP where you crack open a beer at the beach.

Posted by: grambo

Thread drift, but I have only done DH bike shuttle riding at Cypress (on the upper east trails, Meat Sweats, Jersey, Mystery DH etc)... what's a good pedal loop for a trail bike that is not too wild? Single black tech kind of stuff would be good.

Up BLT to works yard. Down Blind Skier, Slippery Canoe, Pull Tab, Upper Tall Cans, Wutang. One of my favourite loops on the Shore except that the BLT climb sucks!

Sounds like an incredible trip, thanks for sharing!

I always think about reach and stack as follows: your body basically has to fit in between the bottom bracket and the handlebar. Reach and stack together determine how far you bar is from the BB.

For example, if you have two bikes with the same reach, but not the same stack, the bar on the bike with the lower stack is closer to the BB. If you add spacers under the stem to raise it to the same height as the other bike, you effectively reduce reach so the bar is still closer to the BB than on the other bike.

This guy gets quite a bit of coverage in German mtb media. He basically works from home, this "house visit" is pretty cool:

https://www.mtb-news.de/news/hausbesuch-intend-bc/

~11 years ago I did a bike trip in a wildlife reserve in Botswana. The guide carried a big rifle on his back. It had to be big enough to kill an elephant. He let me hold the rifle and it was fucking heavy. This was the only time in my life I've ever touched a gun.

Americans love their guns, there is nothing new about that. There have been threads on MTBR about the best way to carry a gun on an mtb ride for as long as I can remember. However, I've never heard about anyone actually pulling out a gun on a ride. By far most of the riders I've met in the states have been extremely friendly. You probably have a much higher chance of getting hurt in a car accident than getting shot on a bike ride in the states.

Also, I like the tea and scones idea!

Posted by: craw

A couple of the switchbacks on GSM need some extra precision but they're totally doable.

How about those three consecutive switchbacks on R&R? I find those much more difficult on long bikes than the ones on GSM.

I've never really understood why hitch-mounted bike racks in North America don't have their own plate and duplicated lights like they do in Europe.

What do you guys think about throwing rocks at bears to scare them off?

A couple of years ago on a solo ride I ran into a bear blocking the trail on Severed. I stopped, kept my distance and talked to the bear for a bit ("yo bear"). Bear completely ignored me so I stood there for a while letting the bear do its things and kind of enjoying the moment, when a group or riders came up behind me. I stopped them and pointed out the bear and they immediately started yelling and throwing rocks at the bear. They kinda chased it halfway down Severed that way until it went off into the trees. I was flabbergasted.

My thinking is the rock throwing is unnecessary and could even piss off the bear which is not what you want. In all my (black) bear encounters, I've always just given them space (slowly backing up if necessary) and let them do their thing.