Friday the 13th. It felt a bit weird, eerie, or eldritch even, in the woods today. I saw nary another soul and witnessed not one single whisper of another mountain biker. It wasn’t raining per se; most of the ‘wet’ was accumulated in the trees and came cascading down whenever the continuous breeze blustered up a little bit. That’s not to say it was windy; it was more of a whisper that occasionally grew to a hiss.
My lights have been on a decently heavy rotation between riding places and hitting the trails. I wish there was a way to explain to the angriest and most aggressive drivers that every person on a bike is one fewer car taking up a spot on the road. Making them feel unsafe makes them more likely to drive a car, and in turn, makes traffic worse. Even folks who strongly dislike bicycles, bicycling, and cyclists – in whichever order – have it decisively in their best interest to encourage other folks to go by bike.
Anyway, I wanted to shout out to both the City Of North Vancouver and the District Of North Vancouver for notable improvements this year in how clean the bike lanes have been. Thank you.
I also want to shout out to the DNV for their improvements to the Seymour Parkway bike lane this year. Last week, I witnessed a driver bust an extra crappy U-turn on the Seymour Parkway that put his multi-ton machine right into the bike lane, except that the DNV was forward-thinking enough to make the bollards concrete instead of vertical paint (plastic tubes). He had to get on the brakes stat, then reverse, rather than just charging forward. There wasn’t a cyclist in that spot at that time but frankly, it’s a planning decision that could save a life in exactly the same (shitty driver driving shitty) circumstances.
Food for thought, but if we really want to influence driver behaviour – for the betterment of everyone, including other motorists – and make our roads safer to all users, including pedestrians crossing them – a very easy cost recovery solution is issuing tickets through automated speed cameras and redlight cameras. Tickets scaled to hurt more with every offense, of course. Never mind paying for itself with any extra revenue available for infrastructure improvements it would also cut down on insurance costs.
And remember, ticket-issuing redlight camera infrastructure (much of which is already in place) is only a government cash grab if you drive like an asshole. Stick it to the man by driving like it’s a genuine life goal to never kill someone with your vehicle.
About The Ride – “It’s Here”
The first issue of Cy’s ‘zine has been printed and copies are now available to buy and being shipped to pre-orderers. Here in Canada, we just have to wait for the government to take away our postal employees’ right to collective bargaining (which is clearly what the employer has been sitting on their thumbs waiting to happen, instead of negotiating in good faith) and then ours will arrive too. Yay!?
You can grab one in Bellingham in person, or arrange to have it shipped. More information about either option is available in this link to About The Ride.
As previously noted, there’s a piece in there by yours truly that… umm… doesn’t fit with the theme at all, but hopefully, it’s still an enjoyable contribution to what I am certain is going to be the raddest of alternatives to doom scrolling on your phone whilst hiding from your loved ones on the toilet.
Single-track Solitudinarianism
I solo ride quite a bit, but days like today are different. Not even trail signs or sounds of another rider and I only crossed paths with a few other souls, all of whom were walking dogs. Commercially, and otherwise.
Truly alone in the woods, with the old stumps grimacing at me, precipitation combining with a bit of a chill to keep me moving, I covered quite a bit of distance in a short time. But even that was weird. Sometimes hammering hard up climbs and other times hiking my bike leisurely. And when I was done, I felt more… flexible.
And look, at least for me, time in the forest can’t ‘fix’ anything. Not even temporarily. It’s not Gorilla Tape for the soul. But, like the Advil & Tylenol blend I popped this morning so I could get through my stretches, so that I could get through my day, spending time in the forest is what I need when I’m having a hard time moving forward. And most days, that’s good enough.
Anywho, I was going to try and think up some positively petrifying prose about Tree-Cthulhu to toss in here but then I remembered that Dave Smith illustrated this season quite poetically about a month back and I figure it’s the perfect opportunity to mic-drop his description:
“At this time of year, there’s nothing out there but dark shapes and broken silhouettes.“
Replaceable Helmet Pads That Are Actually Available
Okay, here’s the deal. There are some exceptionally popular, been around a long while, lids where it’s impossible to buy replacement helmet pads, despite SKUs existing. I know because I’ve tried. It’s ridiculous. Someone who sweats as much as me, even with rinsing helmet pads as best as possible, can easily go through a few sets over the usable life of a lid.
Not only would this keep perfectly usable helmets out of a landfill, not only would it earn a few more bucks for bucket builders, but for folks like me, knowing that we can ACTUALLY acquire replacement pads is a serious selling feature.
So, I know the Kali Invader (2.0 & DH) helmets don’t fit everyone – including a couple people in my household – and I probably write about how much I like them too much for an impartial bicycle gear review website (HAHAHA) but this should be how every brand does it.
Kali Invader 2.0 liners are in stock in both sizes. Kali Invader DH liners are in stock in two thicknesses in both sizes. There are cheek pad kits sold separately, but I find those don’t need to be replaced nearly as often, if ever, so appreciate they’re a different kit. This should be the standard.
And Then There Were None
[Rant] I have a heavy-hearted empathy for the folks in Canada’s North and other remote regions who rely on Canada Post for medicine, sustenance, etc. and I hope that goods are flowing to folks in those regions again soon. I also feel for small businesses and charities who rely on our government-subsidized national package and mail delivery service as a key part of their viability. And I know more than a few kids are going to get a bit less stuff on Christmas Day, and, while I am sure they’ll be okay, I have the feels for them too.
But I also have the utmost compassion for folks who’ve invested a month’s wages (and counting), at what is the most expensive time of year for many people, and are standing out there on cold picket lines, trying to secure their living wage jobs into the future. All whilst hearing the collecting whining of fellow working folks who just want their shit.
If I hear one more person complain that “[They] didn’t get a cost of living wage increase” as a reason that the folks at Canada Post should just get back to it, First up, you probably deserve a raise, on top of an inflation adjustment.
Also, if you’ve ever worked for a wage – then your take-home pay, breaks, benefits, holidays, etc. all have some foundation in past strikes in this country. When the government forces these folks back to work next week – the obvious goal of the employer all along – then the majority of us are losing at the same time.
Make no mistake, this strike could have been settled before it started if our governments recognized the reason that public corporations were created that way to begin with. Whether it’s the Province with BC Ferries and Transit (Translink) or the federal government with Canada Post, these entities combine a reasonable user fee and government subsidy to create a greater public good. [/Rant]
That was a very long rant to say that the last of the MEATengines water bottles have sold and everyone will have theirs soon except for Brian. Brian is going to wait patiently for the strike to end before I ship them. Thank you, Brian. I am stoked there was enough interest to clear the (not that small) minimum order and that I’ve seen quite a few around and on the bikerweb.
‘Sensual’ Cycles (heeheehee)
One of my side goals is to make certain that JacAttack never forgets the time she referred to her own shop as “Sensual Cycles” instead of the real name, Moist Mountain Rides (MMR). Oops, I mean Essential Cycles. Many laughs were felt.
As I work on closing out 2024, I wanted to say thank you to my friends (and occasional employers) Jacnokie and Nice Guy Geoff at Essential Cycles for helping with a couple projects this year. While the saddle library did not garner nearly as much interest as I thought (hoped, at least) it would, I am really glad to have gone ahead with the experiment and they were integral in making it happen.
They also gladly lent me a bit of time and space as a pick-up place for MEATengines water bottles and I really appreciate that as well. So, yeah, Thank You.
Steve & Lyndsay’s Tree
Toward the tail end of 2024, Claire and I bumped into Lyndsay a couple of times on the trail. Once we crossed paths out clearing trail drains after a particularly heavy deluge. Another time climbing No Quarter. Anyway, the great algorithmic overlord must have noticed and, for once, I can’t say that I mind.
This year instead of buying a tree, Lyndsay and Steve chose to go a different route and saved themselves that pre-tax, massive Boxing Day sale price of one Maxxis tire. Good thing too, because whoever is dropping in on that Pivot probably wouldn’t mind the upgrade from MaxxTerra at this time of year. Anyway, to quote Lyndsay
“We decorated what we already have!“
{Photos by: Lyndsay)
So that’s a wrap on SBTISAOAF for this week. Live on a Friday I will note. I’ve had a few folks tell me these are too long now, and I do appreciate the feedback. At the same time, I think we’ll keep going like this for now. I mean, ‘Six Things’ has a much nicer ring to it than five, four, three, two, one…
Bonus Feature: Talker Tunes
Mr. Talker, Mr. Larry Talker, did not have a submission for this week and despite my asking my family was not forthcoming. I get it, it was a bit of an overwhelming week for everyone in the household. When I started writing this piece today I was listening to Angry, by Too Attached from 2018 so that’s what you get Model-T.
Maybe not your cuppa, but I own it on vinyl if that piques your interest. I like to listen to the album end-to-end but in my experience, the most powerful song both live and recorded is Love Is Not Love (“If I disappear, come find, come find me”). Fair warning, it’s heavy, haunting, and beautiful make-you-think music
{“Too Attached is two siblings: Vivek Shraya & Shamik Bilgi. Vivek is a multidisciplinary artist whose album with Queer Songbook Orchestra, Part-Time Woman, was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize. Shamik is a producer and beatboxer who has performed in 15 countries and toured with Method Man & Redman, Bassnectar, and Tanya Tagaq.”}
The end.
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