Blogs

Bottletop Trail Day Jun. 9

Jun 14.13 Posted in Trail Days, Commentary, We Ride

Improved switchbacks, NEW switchbacks and general maintenance

First off, I'd like to say thank you to our NSMBA Trail Builder Dan Lui for the excellant description of the work that was done Sunday which I only had to edit slightly and to  NSRide's Ken Hanson for his pictures that captured the work perfectly. The group accomplished a HUGE amount of work. Great Job and thank you!

Under the expert guidance of Dan Lui and Brent Hillier, the June 9th DB/NSRide trail day was dedicated to making improvements to parts of Bottletop that we had worked on in our first year of TAP a couple years back (2011) in addition to fixing up some general problem areas.

One area requiring improvement was the switchback at the retaining wall. Originally when we built this feature, there was a hard-pan glacial till layer (unsorted glacial sediment) that was too difficult to dig through. This made for poor riding dynamics on the corner. Improvements included expanding and reshaping the switchback and retaining wall as well as install a grade reversal above to ensure that water is managed prior to the feature.

The area of steep trail below this switchback had seen heavy braking just before the chicane (an artificial feature creating extra turns in a trail) resulting in deep erosion. To help mitigate soil erosion and lessen the grade of riding surface, this section was ‘cribbed’ in. We installed ‘dead-man crib boxes’ (see photo) to provide better braking traction and reduce the chance of skidding. In addition, we did work to re-shape the chicane and re-establish drainage.

Further down the trail in a steep section coined “pin-ball alley”, we cribbed and re-rocked benches to mitigate erosion and manage drainage. Above all turns we installed grade reversals and drainages to manage water flow. In the straight-away steep section, we installed a wall-banked turn to create two extra switchbacks and allow for two more drainage points. These new features also slow riders down to reduce impact on the trail and improve rider experience with the FUN Factor! The old section of trail cut off by the new switchbacks was reclaimed.

The steep benched section below the new switchbacks described above had been channeled into a V by heavy usage and braking ruts. The section had a ridge on the downslope side preventing water from shedding off during heavy rain. To improve drainage throughout the length of the trail, we removed the ridge, outsloped and brought the trail bed up in addition to installing grade reversals and drainages every 50 meters.

It was a long day of hard work but look at the results! Good job everyone! Check out the following pictures showing "before" the trail day and "after":

Bike to Work Week 2013

May 31.13 Posted in Commentary, Events

Just a little Wet!

Rain, rain, go away, it's bike to work week afterall!

This year's Bike to Work Week was just a little wet...correction, a LOT wet. Let's not kid ourselves, it's May and it's Vancouver.

Hopefully the rain didn't stop most of you from commuting to work, but if you aren't used to riding in the rain, then it likely did. No one is saying it isn't hard to wake up to the pitter/patter of rain, roll out of bed, put on your rain gear that is still wet from the day before and roll into the darkness. OK, that's the worst case scenario. Your gear isn't necessarily wet and this time of year it's probably not dark out. Anyway, for those of you who do it regularly, it's just second nature and maybe you don't even look out the window to assess how bad it really is.

Initially, yes, it can be rough, but you CAN do it...and eventually, you get used to it. Maybe you even start to enjoy it.

A big part of the equation is having the right gear (and I am not saying that just because this is a bike store blog). No combination of gear is going to keep you absolutely dry when it is bucketing down, but it can certainly make you more comfortable. A bike in good working (safe) condition, fenders, gloves, glasses and the right clothing to name a few key items. Any bike store can walk you through the basics.

The other part of the equation requires a bit of stamina and a positive mindset. If you see your commute home as an inconvenience, then it will be, but if you embrace your ride, you will start to love it. Breath in the fresh air and reflect on your day, what's to come or what has passed.

Of course, you can't completely zone out because you have to be aware of your surroundings in the name of safety, but once you get more comfortable and confident, you can relax a little. That's not to say that you will never have frustrating commutes, but let's be honest, what's worse than sitting in a car in bumper-to-bumper traffic?

DB hosted a Celebration Station on possibly one of the wettest evenings of Bike to Work week this year, Wednesday May 29th! Our tents could barely withstand the pools of water that continuously built up. Nevertheless, that didn't deter some of you to stop by on your commute home for some coffee and other goodies. It's really great to see how people come together in the name of cycling. We had visitors of all backgrounds who otherwise would not necessarily connect if it weren't for their two wheels!

Thanks to JJ Bean (Park & Tilford) for providing the coffee and Superstore (Seymour Parkway) for the food!

Living by Instinct

May 11.13 Posted in

Well it's been a while since the first post about life with the Instinct 970, and I've been riding it and my Element 70 MSL. My season has had a slow start with injuries and serial cold viruses, but I do have some confessions and impressions.

First a confession, I was not going to go all weight weenie on the Instinct. It was a respectable 30.5 pounds with the pedals, but I was feeling the burn compared to a 22.8 pound Element 70 MSL. So when I sold off some other bike bits and pieces, I added my tax refund to that and splurged on a set of ENVE 29" XC wheels. The OEM DT Swiss M1.6 wheels were 2010gms, the ENVE wheels were 1458ms with rim tape and the DT CL>6 bolt adapters.  That was a sizable weight reduction where it really counts, and the way my riding season has been going, I'll take every advantage I can get.

So on to riding impressions. The bike is fairly big, the wheelbase is just 2mm shorter than the Slayer SXC 70 that I used to have. It does tackle roots and rocks much more confidently than my 26" Element, as you feel you are sitting well inbetween the wheels and not up on top of the bike. But that long wheelbase does mean it is not the most nimble bike on tight and twisty trails, so it might actually be a bike that would be better compared to an SXC, especially in the slacker angle settings. We'll see once I get a chance to tackle some bigger and faster trails as the summer progresses.

I do really like the extra BB height over the 26" bikes, and I do like the fact that you can just about ignore the trail surface when riding this bike. In that respect it is much like the Slayer SXC was. The 29" wheels do hold some definite advantages, but I am becoming less convinced that there is an ultimate "one bike to do it all", and thinking more that different wheel sizes really open up more options for different horses for different courses. Of course I haven't ridden an Altitude 790 yet, but that's a different can of worms.