It’s still Friday as I start typing this, so I’m claiming that it counts as SBTISAOAF even though I’ll probably fall asleep at my keyboard and finish it tomorrow morning. It took me four giant yawns just to get to this point. But it’s the best kind of tired. Heart full and full-body tired. Mind both present and a million miles away tired. Tired.
I had a wonderful day today. I won’t say too-too much about the ride itself as The Clairebarian is going to write something about her Pro-D-Day adventure but suffice it to say that some serious(ly fun) single track climbing was conquered, some downhill trails were flowed, and Claire leveled up her wooden planks-over-mud, riding game (wish I had a photo). Then, just to make certain there wasn’t an ounce of energy left in the tank, we barely made it to her hockey practice, where she proceeded to drag her bike-and-pizza legs through every drill with an impressive level of compete.
Kerry’d Away
We took Fromme-Friday on the road today with a trip to Vedder Mountain in Chilliwack. I haven’t ridden Vedder a thirtieth as many times as I’d have liked to in the last decade, but that’s life. It was Claire’s first time. Conditions were perfect. Perfect temperature, lots of leaves and needles on the ground, surprisingly awesome (ungreasy) traction. The loop was perfect too, with Penny acting as our guide. Perfect-Perfect.
Kerry’d Away is my new favourite climbing trail anywhere*. With all due respect to the absolutely perfect fall conditions. And said with love in my heart for all the other climbing trails that are almost my favourites. The switchbacks are just how I like them, steep with a bit of tech thrown in. There are a fair number of wooden features to ride up and over and some of them are slightly spicy. In general I would say the climb is designed to be hard, fun, and rewarding as opposed to providing a way to get to the top that isn’t the road. Truly, it was my favourite part of the ride.
Claire pedaled almost everything. A few stalls. A few ladders left for next time. And a few times that I stepped in to push her bike after an exhausting effort. But in general a couple hours of hard work, with a short break for some trail maintenance – clearing blowdown, and we arrived at the top with big smiles and sense of accomplishment.
*{Notarizer & Sunnyside Up are beautifully built as well / & / All trails shown here maintained by the FVMBA – Thank You!}
Larry Talker (AKA Terry Walker, AKA Model-T) was along for the adventure and brought his #1FG Kona Unit. He agreed straight up that the punchy, sometimes techy, switchbacks corners are super single-speed friendly. Keeping in mind, for readers dropping in from elsewhere, that we run fairly low gearing. Vedder trails are sprinkled with a fair number of optional drops, but aside from choosing ride arounds it’s a great place to ride a rigid bike.
I’ve ridden the ‘wack in every season and fall is my favourite by miles. But Kerry’d Away is so good that it could be my regular climb all year round if I lived closer. We didn’t have time to stop in (we barely had time to enjoy amazing pizza at Farmhouse Brewing before we hit the road) but if you are out Chilliwack way be sure to stop in at VMBC – they’re Dumpster Bear recommended.
{Above photo: Penny Deck}
Shop Cats
Alright, fine, I admit it, I have never heard of a bike shop that has a live-in cat. I mean, The Inside Line did bring the cuteness for April Fools last year, but other than their parody of shop dogs I’ve never heard of it mentioned. Do you know of a shop with a resident cat? Send me an e-mail, hook me up with a contact, lets write something about it!
I am currently obsessed with the idea of shop cats as the only natural solution, and naturally the only solution, to the severe mouse problem than any number of North Vancouver businesses are experiencing this fall. You know what’s fluffier, cuter, more effective, causes your staff to spontaneously break into singing The Circle Of Life, and is probably less expensive that hiring an exterminator? Getting a mouse-hunting-happy cat.
I’m not throwing any specific businesses under the bus here but if your favourite local provider has either put all their food stuffs in plastic containers or stopped carrying trail snacks entirely then a shop cat could (should?) be in their future.
{Above photo: The Inside Line}
Talbotdega Nights
I had a perfect commute on Steve’s Talbot (that I ruined) on Thursday night. It was dry, and crisp, and the roads were devoid of cars for my pedal home after dark. I’d love to say that I’m getting used to going uphill in the big gear (45x18t) but I think colder nights are my super power. My back didn’t even get sweaty under my EVOC pack as I sawed away on my 145mm Nitto stem and 770mm SQlab -16° bar to create forward momentum.
I didn’t quite match my best time pedaling Steve’s Talbot home from the shop, but I was pretty damn close and didn’t feel completely blown up over the effort. I know there will be precious few Talbot-friendly nights between now and next year. I simply refuse to put fenders on the bike or ride it when there are puddles. But I’m buzzing about the next one.
There are endless happily single-speed-able 80s steel road bikes for sale for significantly less monies than paying steel-tax of a new commuter rig with vertical dropouts. I’ve seen the sweetest Schwinn Paramount bikes (or later on some wicked Waterfords), some magical Marinoni frames, I mean, it’s a good thing I don’t have the space and treasure or I would have a fleet. Just look for the horizontal dropouts to keep things simple.
I’m not at all a pusher of the N+1 (number of bikes you own plus one) or D-1 (number of bikes that would cause you to get divorced minus one) schools of bike ownership, but there’s something to be said about flying around town on an old steel single-speed that’s worth considering. Does everybody need one? Um, actually, yes?!
Essential Sharing
On Thursday, I coordinated my first maintenance class at Essential Cycles in a long a time. Trailside maintenance was the name of the game, but with only 1/3 of the class full that included setting up suspension, servicing a clutch rear derailleur, properly surge pricing an on-trail rental of the fully charged AXS battery you’re carrying, and recharging tubeless sealant. Afterall, isn’t prevention the first step in managing trailside mechanicals?
I mention it, and include the link, because I am sharing (instructing? teaching?) on Thursdays through the fall, when there are enough folks signed up. If you know someone who would be eager to learn more about their bike or the tools they are (should be) carrying when they go mountain biking I think it’s fair to say we always have a good time. I cover the Thursday classes on Bike Repair 101 (the true basics and beyond) and Trailside Repairs (plugging tires, using quick links, etc.).
Used Hardtail Of The… (Week?)
Maybe I’m just overcritical this week, but I didn’t come across a single project bike or used value that I was properly stoked on. Has the used market rebounded significantly or are there a lot of folks listing bikes who really want to hang on to them for perpetuity?
Want it gone? Price it to move!
Anyway, I think the used hardtail of the week, for me, is Model-T’s Kona Unit. Which isn’t for sale, but was bought used many moons ago. It has a 27.2 seat tube so to get the preferred saddle drop TW uses a quick release and fixed post, but it doesn’t slow him down any going uphill or descending. Brakes are Magura MT5, rear hub is an old 142×12 Chris King that’s been Boostinated to fit, he has a 29×3″ XR4 up front and 27×3″ XR3 in the back, and of course the Ti Doom Bar providing some suspension.
Okay, actually, there’s a small Unit on PB’s B&S that’s worth a look for a rider who’s towards the shorter side. It’s a frame-up ’22 so it takes a 31.6″ dropper post. It comes with a really nice set of White Industries hubs for US$1100. If I was purchasing it as a project {say Nina or Claire wanted to take up riding #1FG riding} I’d be installing a -2° angle set and lacing up a 27″ rear wheel.
I’m completely sold that 29+ front / 27+ rear is the way to go on these bikes. Maybe 27+ front / 26+ rear for a shorter rider assuming the bike’s geometry (BB height) works.
Oh, standard disclaimer that I do not know the seller, have not seen the bike, and generally think the Kona Unit, and other off-the-rack rigid bikes are rad.
{Above photo: senorbaskuul}
EVOC Trail Pro 16 Pack
Between mountain biking and running around town on the Talbot I wore my EVOC Trail Pro 16 pack quite a bit this week. Sometimes it seems to have a cavernous amount of extra room and sometimes it seems too small, so I suppose it’s the perfect size for what I use it for. The next size up is a massive bump to a 26L pack, so I think I’ll make the 16L work.
Many words have been written, including by myself, about how light the pack feels in use, even loaded up, and how well it says in place when descending technical trails – even on a rigid bike. But I also climb out of the saddle a lot when I’m wearing it, whether it’s on my multi-speed Arcturian, single-speeded V2, or on Steve’s Talbot, and it’s the most comfortable pack I’ve worn when up out of the saddle navigating tight-and-steep turns as well. Extra clothes for two, plenty of tools, lots of snacks, and at this time of year I often have lights for The Clairebarian and myself as well, and yet the pack always disappears when I’m riding.
In a perfect world EVOC would split their two sizes into three. I wear the L/XL and it works well, and the S/M size is clearly too small, but a third size in the middle would likely be my unicorn. Especially if that meant the L/XL could be a bit longer for the truly tall folks out there in the world. A quick note then that for those who’ve tried on EVOC Pro 16 and found that the S/M is too long, they make a 12L version of the same bag for folks with shorter torsos, the EVOC Pro SF 12 (I assume it stands for ‘Short Folks’).
I won’t make any bold claims about the back protector saving me from injury, but it sure does make for a comfortable separation of my body and my stuff whether we’re talking about riding or crashing.
{Above photo: Steve & Meg @Hardtail.Life}
So yeah, clearly I’m a bit confused still on when I should write a mini-review, review update, or include something in SBTISAOAF but apparently some folks do read these end-to-end and others pick and choose the items they’re interested in, and some folks just look at the pictures, and honestly, however you enjoy MEATengines, I’m stoked you get something out of it.
Next week I have some fresh Actual Bike Review Shit coming up and hopefully Claire will get her Pro-D piece into the queue as well. I’ll also have my first ride on the Arcturian with 29+ front and back, and hopefully that will prove worthy of SBTISAOAF for November 1st. Oh, some Tunnel Talk as well.
Now I need to get on helping Claire finish her Halloween Costume!
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