*Cough*Sunday*Cough*
Since I started routinely writing about mountain bicycles I’ve loved the idea of a series. From NSMB entries like ‘Does The Future Have Fewer Gears?’ or ‘Buy The Bike You Already Own’ and now that I’m doing some writing for BikeMag I’ve jumped right back into it with ‘Secondhand Postilions‘ and, of course, the CONFLICT! series, which is between Cy and myself thus far. Oh… and Tilting At Windmills, for which I am working on the third edition. Oh… and Kids Bike Buying Advice From A Mechanic, which still is only at a single hit.
Look, the point is that while I’m not the “Look, Squirrel!” type most of the time, when it comes to writing about bicycles I get easily distracted. Or, more accurately, my writing style is extemporaneous.
Anyway, I want to keep this SBTISOAF series rolling so even though it took a couple extra days to fill it up, this is all stuff I would be stoked about on any given Friday.
1) Bottle Uptake
Around about 1/2 of the MEATengines bottles are shipped or spoken for at this point. In all honesty, I thought I was going to be drinking out of these for the rest of my life and now there’s a legit possibility they may all go to a good home?! Or, at least, a home. Ha.
I really wanted something physically ‘MEATengines’ and I’m stoked about how they turned out. I’ve shipped quite a few to the USA and, well, it’s really neat. If you’ve been thinking about grabbing one or two, they’re $23 in Canuck Bucks. That covers my cost and also a $5 donation to Harvest Project, which is MEATengines’ charitable organization of choice.
Just fire me an e-mail if you want a shipping quote. North Van adjacent folks can pick up at Essential Cycles once they fire me some digital currency.
2) Crash Test Kevin (CTK)
We helped Clairebarian’s Uncle Crash Test* celebrate a birthday last weekend by eating his DQ ice cream cake. We’re very helpful that way. Technically ‘we’ sang him happy birthday as well, but ‘we’ couldn’t wait long enough for me to return from the washroom to join in. The freezer-fresh frozen-solid DQ cake needed to be chipped into slabs ASAP.
Happy Birthday, Old Man!
*{That’s Crash Test Kevin or CTK to the rest of us.}
CTK is my longest-serving biking buddy who didn’t long ago hang up their spurs and change their relationship-with-two-wheels status to “I used to be a mountain biker.” How long is it now? I count 25 years back to when we over-forked and long-posted the life out of my old Giant ATX hardtail so he could try his hand at eating dirt. I know for certain he didn’t have his driver’s license at the time.
Crash Test and I logged first tracks (and first bugs – AHHHHHHHH!) on Burke Mtn this morning. We even managed to not ride our usual lap of Bean, Sawblade, Nescafe, Dawg, and Hustler. Because we’re not crusty old creatures of habit. No. We’re spontaneous young people.
Neither of us is as fast as we’ve been at some point in the past – uphill or downhill – but come torrential rain, or getting lost AF (aluminum frame?), or blood & stitches, or that time CTK rolled down a cliff Princess-Bride style and was stung by multiple bees, or bugs (AHHHHHH!), or that time he jumped off the old wooden roller-coaster on Pipeline and landed on me, we’ve never managed to have a bag ride in two and a half decades. That’s a great track record!
3) “Charcuterie”
Speaking of bugs, I ate a ton of bugs today. Tiny little in-your-ears-and-eyes bugs. I’ve never seen so many bugs in one place in my life. Actually, I don’t know if I’ve seen as many minuscule midges in my entire life as I saw today. Annoying AF (aluminum frame?).
But I had to laugh. A lot. Every time I ate one of them. Because a couple weeks back Claire choked down a mosquito on an afterschool ride and using her best ‘sarcasm voice’ she said “Yum, charcuterie” and for the rest of my life I’ll never look at bugs the same way.
Yes, wasps are now called “Spicy charcuterie.” We haven’t specifically named any other varietals yet.
4) Digging Corey Walsh by Kris Fox
Credit to Matt Bradshaw for introducing me to this excellent piece on DigBMX:
{“What Would You Think If Someone Came Out In Our Industry?” – I Recently Met Corey Walsh}
This year whether it’s reading about politics in Europe, the USA, and Canada or listening to other folks’ experiences at work, at school, in the forest… things seem dark? I mean… I guess pendulums will pendulum? But it’s shocking that in my daughter’s short lifetime, millions of women living in the richest and most powerful country in the history of the world have lost what basic body autonomy ‘we’ allowed them for decades.
It’s the post-modern age and we can now fight all the battles at the same time now – or at least get lost in the noise trying to – and wow is there a lot of stuff to know.
Anyway, it’s Pride Month, and along with every other facet of society where the ‘individual right’ to be an asshole is trumping Rule #1 (BE NICE!) it feels like we’ve taken a big step backward here too. Kris’ writing is wonderful and I have a hard time believing anyone can read the linked piece and not think “HELL YES.”
On that note, Matt wrote a piece about his own experience, published on NSMB.com, that I also revisit around this time every year. Thanks Matt.
5) How To Hoard
Not exactly a series, but wow have I written a lot of content about 29+ tires over the last seven or maybe eight years, including multiple pieces lamenting the pending extinction of big knobbies. My latest piece is called How To Hoard and includes some advice from Nick at Trek on how to store tires if you, like me, have decided to sit on a stash of them to support janky rigid mountain biking into the foreseeable future.
I know a couple of riders who have picked up a 3″ XR4 while they can, so they’re covered when (“If”) they want to try shredding a rigid bike in the future.
I know this is a weird thing to be stoked about but I’ve received some nice comments from folks who enjoyed the piece and also, it’s interesting how many rigid-curious folks are out there. Big brakes, long-slow-slack geo, and No Shox. Maybe there will be a 29-Plus comeback?!
6) Pipeline Trail
Yes, yes, I’m perpetually stoked on Pipeline. I love the work that Greg and Slawek did in years past and I love the work that Ken & Co. have put in over the last… decade?! It’s my long-time absolutely favourite North Shore trail. Tied with Boundary and Lower Crippler.
Tomorrow my co-wrench Brixton-Jim is joining me for his first-ever Pipeline experience. Yeow! It’s going to be awesome. Introducing a friend to a new-to-them trail is (almost) always such a great experience. But, when it’s your favourite trail? The best. Is Jim going to love it?
Is Jim going to LOVE it?!
Everything in life is relative, so if he doesn’t have a good time I’m just going to tie him down and make him listen to Hybrid Theory until he decides that it’s the best damn ride he’s ever been on. It’s 2024, torturing someone until they agree with you unconditionally is totally okay again, yes?
Yes?!
Yes???!
Cheers for reading! If you enjoyed this piece please consider buying me a coffee. Any questions, concerns, or comments please feel encouraged to drop me an e-mail, or join us at r/MEATengines.