Fall has really cooled off the Gang. Must of had too much good riding this season. Can't believe that the Gang has had it's fill. I know things like hockey have started and the cold nights(1-2 degrees Celcius) have arrived, but is that enough to get them to give up on riding their mountain bikes? Seems so.
Three of us decided that an afternoon ride would be a good thing on Tuesday. Off we went, uphill to keep us warm. The Prez Murdog, and I rode up the old Red Mt. road to Dale's trail and up to the intersection of Red Top and Dale's Trail. We passed over some funny looking white stuff on our way. White gold, they call it. The ski season is on it's way. Even with the light skiff of snow the trail surfaces were perfect. No dust and super tacky.
Red Top was perfect. Nice to be on the bike again. Linked Red Top to Oflanagan's connector to Larry's and then Mo's. Good thing we brought the lights, because the forest is dark at this time of year. Great outing. Going to try and keep getting out until the snow comes and forces me to snow shoes.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
HW NIGHT RIDE: MAGIC SHINES ARE ON-REVIEW
Well we finally crawled out of our voluntary hiding. That Moab sickness and the weather had driven us to the couch and nobody was into riding. I gradually enticed a few of the gang out with the promise of beer and a shuttle.
It was going to be our first ride with lights for this season. We did ride Slickrock at night while in Moab but that is very different than riding single track. So, we decided to take a simple trail and just test out our lights and our eyes. Our choice was Cemetery Trail followed by Bones and then a Tour de Redstone. The first two sound kind of spooky for a night ride but they are classic single track without any technical sections and perfect for working the bugs out of the bodies and lighting systems. Tour de Redstone is just a workout riding around Rossland's wonderful mountain style golfcourse cart path. Don't laugh, the ups and downs on the cart path can get your heart rate up there.
I decided to try out a Magic Shine light system that a buddie had lent me. My first time with a LED type light. My previous system was old style halogen and the light was quite soft and yellow in comparison to the Magic Shine's bright white light. I think I like the old halogen light better. It produced better shadows and the lenses spread the light in a wider pattern than the Magic Shine, but maybe I will get used to it. I never felt that I needed a helmet light before but now I seem to need another light on my helmet. Must be the focused bright light of the Magic Shine. I think it is all about the lens and the reflector. Maybe you get what you pay for. The light was satisfactory. Might have to work on centering it on the handlebar. Jury is still out.
Cemetery trail is definitely in for night rides. It flows nicely and seems to go by even faster at night. We had an fantastic ride. Bones was spooky because of the tall grass and this added some spice to the riding experience.
Caught a moon rise on the tenth hole of the golf course and finished with a new switch backed trail that is part of the Rossland cross city trail network. This growing trail network is very useful and a ton of fun.
Hope to get more riders out as the Kootenay indian summer seems to be continuing.
It was going to be our first ride with lights for this season. We did ride Slickrock at night while in Moab but that is very different than riding single track. So, we decided to take a simple trail and just test out our lights and our eyes. Our choice was Cemetery Trail followed by Bones and then a Tour de Redstone. The first two sound kind of spooky for a night ride but they are classic single track without any technical sections and perfect for working the bugs out of the bodies and lighting systems. Tour de Redstone is just a workout riding around Rossland's wonderful mountain style golfcourse cart path. Don't laugh, the ups and downs on the cart path can get your heart rate up there.
I decided to try out a Magic Shine light system that a buddie had lent me. My first time with a LED type light. My previous system was old style halogen and the light was quite soft and yellow in comparison to the Magic Shine's bright white light. I think I like the old halogen light better. It produced better shadows and the lenses spread the light in a wider pattern than the Magic Shine, but maybe I will get used to it. I never felt that I needed a helmet light before but now I seem to need another light on my helmet. Must be the focused bright light of the Magic Shine. I think it is all about the lens and the reflector. Maybe you get what you pay for. The light was satisfactory. Might have to work on centering it on the handlebar. Jury is still out.
Cemetery trail is definitely in for night rides. It flows nicely and seems to go by even faster at night. We had an fantastic ride. Bones was spooky because of the tall grass and this added some spice to the riding experience.
Caught a moon rise on the tenth hole of the golf course and finished with a new switch backed trail that is part of the Rossland cross city trail network. This growing trail network is very useful and a ton of fun.
Hope to get more riders out as the Kootenay indian summer seems to be continuing.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
HAVEN'T BEEN RIDING
The ten days on the road was exciting and gave us a large amount of bike time. We finished with a lovely illness amongst the group, that slowed us down, and saw many visits to the porcelain bike seat both while in Park City and at many rest stops on the way home. I would love to make the excuse of having celebrated too much but that just was not the case. Just one of those travel things.
Anyway, the hangover from the Moab trip and the cold rainy weather here at home has kept us off the trails for a week. We were looking forward to some night riding but the nights have not been too encouraging. Maybe tonight, if it dries up a little. The contrast between the heat of summer in Moab and the swift arrival of fall in Rossland, has got us in a stale mate. No one can move, or maybe no one wants to wreck the feelings left from the riding experience in Moab and Park City or maybe we are just tired, still.
Anyway, the hangover from the Moab trip and the cold rainy weather here at home has kept us off the trails for a week. We were looking forward to some night riding but the nights have not been too encouraging. Maybe tonight, if it dries up a little. The contrast between the heat of summer in Moab and the swift arrival of fall in Rossland, has got us in a stale mate. No one can move, or maybe no one wants to wreck the feelings left from the riding experience in Moab and Park City or maybe we are just tired, still.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
HW OUTING: PARK CITY
Park City is our final destination on this our 20th anniversary tour. Moab was great as usual, but Park City and it's Park City Carpet trails were very welcoming. Iit is always hard to find your way around a new place and Park City was no exception. Much of the signage in the ski area had already been removed, so the two rides that we did were somewhat of a magical mystery tour.
A trail called Mid Mountain provided Saturday,s entertainment. It was a long swooping single track that traversed 3 different ski areas and provided some panoramic views that were already being painted by fall colors due to the 8000 ft elevation and rhe date.
This single track tested our endurance and it lasted for over 40 kilometers; Swooping through aspens and droping into leaf covered ravines provided massive entertainment. It was a very satisfying day.
Day two led to a split of the gang, some were just too tired to do very much uphill so they went one way and found a great ride and we went another way with some locals and rode some old school Park City trails. My handlebars were too wide for the trail in many places. A perfect way to wrap up a perfect trip.
Steak dinner for the last night in the cabin, topped off the occasion. 5 AM departure for the home front.
Check out our pictures and video below.
A trail called Mid Mountain provided Saturday,s entertainment. It was a long swooping single track that traversed 3 different ski areas and provided some panoramic views that were already being painted by fall colors due to the 8000 ft elevation and rhe date.
This single track tested our endurance and it lasted for over 40 kilometers; Swooping through aspens and droping into leaf covered ravines provided massive entertainment. It was a very satisfying day.
Day two led to a split of the gang, some were just too tired to do very much uphill so they went one way and found a great ride and we went another way with some locals and rode some old school Park City trails. My handlebars were too wide for the trail in many places. A perfect way to wrap up a perfect trip.
Steak dinner for the last night in the cabin, topped off the occasion. 5 AM departure for the home front.
Check out our pictures and video below.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
HW OUTING: MAG 7 IN MOAB
Well, our last day in Moab has come way to quickly. One more ride and we are done. Don't know if we saved the best till last, that is a matter of opinion, but Mag 7 was another great ride.
A shuttle was in order and it worked well because we had two injured riders and two sick riders so shuttle bunnies abound. Shuttle up to the Gemini bridges road and ride classic single track past some of Moab's best scenery. This ride just kept on going, enticing you to go faster and flowing like water in the desert.
The trail meanders through the Bull Run, then on to Arthur's Corner, finishing with Little Cyn. In the middle of all this we stopped to see Gemini Bridges, a special Moab rock formation.
Gettig a little carried away, our leader led us up Gold Bar rim, only to have to turn around and rip one of the best downhills of the trip so far. Very special trail.
The boy's met us in the wash with a cooler of cold refreshments and the day was complete. Moab done. Park City here we come.
A shuttle was in order and it worked well because we had two injured riders and two sick riders so shuttle bunnies abound. Shuttle up to the Gemini bridges road and ride classic single track past some of Moab's best scenery. This ride just kept on going, enticing you to go faster and flowing like water in the desert.
The trail meanders through the Bull Run, then on to Arthur's Corner, finishing with Little Cyn. In the middle of all this we stopped to see Gemini Bridges, a special Moab rock formation.
Gettig a little carried away, our leader led us up Gold Bar rim, only to have to turn around and rip one of the best downhills of the trip so far. Very special trail.
The boy's met us in the wash with a cooler of cold refreshments and the day was complete. Moab done. Park City here we come.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
HW OUTING: BARTLETT'S WASH IN MOAB
There is a giant skateboard park for mountain bikes called Barlett'sWash. We have been there before and had an awesome ride. It did not disappoint. We rode our way in and found all our familiar places and a few new ones to boot.The riding surface is like 80 grit sandpaper and the only limitation to climbing the steepest pitches is your legs.
You can ride down some scary steep slopes limited only by your braking power.
Monday, September 26, 2011
HW OUTING: SLICK ROCK TRAIL AT NIGHT
Road the practice loop forward and backward. In true twelve year old style. The rat raced our way back to the camp ground.
Temperature about 70 degrees , sitting in the magic circle drinking some sustenance and smiling.
HW OUTING: SLICK ROCK TRAIL AT NIGHT
Road the practice loop forward and backward. In true twelve year old style. The rat raced our way back to the camp ground.
Temperature about 70 degrees , sitting in the magic circle drinking some sustenance and smiling.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
HW OUTING: HOLY WOW RIDES THE WHOLE ENCHILADA IN MOAB
We satrted at 9:30 AM with a shuttle from 4000 ft above sea level(Moab) up to 11200 ft. |Then a 800 ft climb to Burro Pass, followed by single track that is very out of character for Moab. There were actual trees and streams that were great fun and reminded us of home. This single track led us to Hazard County and a huge collection of banked turns that were a real blast to ride. We had a rash of flats but the repair team became very efficient a tire repair. Good one guys.
Hazard led us to Kokapelli double track and a ripping good time with airs and high speeds. Then came UPS Upper Porcupine Singletrack) and a sweet collection of rock dropss and banked sand turns that had the Wowers hooting and hollering. LPS(you can guess what that stands for) was more of the same and along came Porcupine Rim, and the Enchilada started to take its prisoners.
The ride took us to 6 PM to complete the guanlet but everyone was still smiling and no one was injured. A great ride.
Due to our late completion of the ride and our venture to get enchiladas for dinner, I will not have pictures until tomorrow. Stay tuned
Saturday, September 24, 2011
HW OUTING: HOLY WOW RIDES SLICK ROCK
The rock is far from slick, in fact it is like sand paper. The only limitation to climbing is your legs and your lungs or your attraction to cacti. We had one rider get up close and personal with a cacti, and the cacti won.
Spent three hours out on the main loop and drank 36 litres of water, and then probably twice as much beer when we returned to the campsite.
"We love the life we live and we live the life we love" has become the slogan for the trip.
Friday, September 23, 2011
HW OUTING:THE HOLY WOW GANG ARRIVES IN MOAB
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
HW ROAD TRIP: OFF TO MOAB
The Holy Wow Gang is heading to Moab for 10 days of riding fun. I will try and post pictures, videos and commentary daily, so stay tuned.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
HW TRAIL RIDE: GO PRO ON HALL MT.
The gang went on a trip to one of it's favorite trails at Sullivan Lake(USA) just south of Nelway Border Crossing. We went before August 15 so that we could take advantage of a road that closes after this date. It is fabulous single track. I posted on this trip previously but did not have the Go Pro footage available at that time. Better late than never, so here is the show provided by Sully riding Snot and carrying the Go Pro on his chest. He did a superb job of recording the ride. Enjoy!!!
Monday, September 5, 2011
HW TRAIL RIDE: GO PRO IN MIDWAY
Posted some time ago on our July 22nd ride in Midway but did not have the GoPro footage available at that time. I finally got around to doing the editing on the video. Midway single track is amazing stuff and this video really shows it off. Pay close attention to the commentary provided by the Go Pro rider, he has a future in the broadcast business.
HW TRAIL RIDE: GO PRO IN MIDWAY
Posted some time ago on our July 22nd ride in Midway but did not have the GoPro footage available at that time. I finally got around to doing the editing on the video. Midway single track is amazing stuff and this video really shows it off. Pay close attention to the commentary provided by the Go Pro rider, he has a future in the broadcast business.
Friday, August 26, 2011
HW TRAIL RIDE: IMPROVED DEWDNEY
The news was that the Dewdney Trail had seen some KCTS attention in the power line area. Nine Holy Wowers showed up on Thursday Aug 25th, to try the changes out. It was a hot August night, perfect for the twelve kilometer ride up the Cascade Highway to the Dewdney Trail head, good training for Moab, coming up in less than a month.
Poor Dewdney, she's seem some heavy traffic. Guess the Seven Summits and the car droppers are upping the usage. This trail was created for horses, not bikes, so there are long stretches of straight trail that induce high speeds and extreme braking. It needs more features and berms to make it more sustainable. Oh well, still a great ride.
The flies were unbearable at the top of the summit. If you did not have dinner, all you had to do was open your mouth and it would fill with protein. Better get out of here quickly. Top part of the trail was smooth and flowy, no changes here, except the bug count went down. Mid section was good too. Ahh the power line section, usually a rock mess, wow huge changes here. It was a little dusty because of the new trail construction but the KCTS crew had worked it's sustainable magic, with the addition of flowy, no brakes required, bermed turns right down the power line. Fantastic improvement.
Rest of the trail was a bit loose and brake rutted but the additions made hold great promise for the rest of the trail. Thanks Stewart and KCTS. Well done.
Sorry for the lack of photos or video, but I have been having too much fun just riding.
Poor Dewdney, she's seem some heavy traffic. Guess the Seven Summits and the car droppers are upping the usage. This trail was created for horses, not bikes, so there are long stretches of straight trail that induce high speeds and extreme braking. It needs more features and berms to make it more sustainable. Oh well, still a great ride.
The flies were unbearable at the top of the summit. If you did not have dinner, all you had to do was open your mouth and it would fill with protein. Better get out of here quickly. Top part of the trail was smooth and flowy, no changes here, except the bug count went down. Mid section was good too. Ahh the power line section, usually a rock mess, wow huge changes here. It was a little dusty because of the new trail construction but the KCTS crew had worked it's sustainable magic, with the addition of flowy, no brakes required, bermed turns right down the power line. Fantastic improvement.
Rest of the trail was a bit loose and brake rutted but the additions made hold great promise for the rest of the trail. Thanks Stewart and KCTS. Well done.
Sorry for the lack of photos or video, but I have been having too much fun just riding.
HW TRAIL RIDE: SECRET TRAIL TAKING SHAPE AT RED MT
On August 23 the Holy Wow Gang started the Tuesday night ride with what is known as a circle ride. Just for those of you that don't know what that is, here is an explanation. The riders that show up, ride in a circle until someone takes the lead and takes the group on a trail ride of their choice or the group comes to a consensus on a ride and off we go. Circle rides can be quite interesting and sometimes we discover new and exciting pieces of trail that we did not even know existed. Such was the case on Tuesday night.
We rode the long way up to Red Head via Larry's and Miners and went down the Old Red Head trail that has been neglected since the building of Red Top. Quite a few logs to be crossed but the trail itself was in good shape. Felt a little old school and that was a neat feeling. Eventually we ran into the new trail and continued down to the transition trail that took us to Dale's Trail and then out on to the T-Bar. Rode across the T-Bar and up the old trail to the top of the old Silver load lift. Lots of old stuff here but very nostalgic. Where to now?
At this point we were in explore mode. We had seen a piece of wild looking trail in this area on one of our previous rides and wondered if there was more. Rumors of a trail all the way down Granite have floated around for a couple years, but nothing much has been said publicly. Could it be so? Up and over toward the new Silver Load chair, heading in the general direction of our previous sighting. Lo and behold, we found the Mother Lode, a super bermed, bridged, tabletopped , gap jumped piece of mountain bike magic. Wonder who the creator is? We were definitely the benefactors on this evening. Huge smiles all around. Thank you to the mountain bike god's. Can't wait to ride it again.
Looks like there is going to be more trail too, because some of us rode up a roughed out trail that extended its way up towards the Old Turkey Alley ski run. Humm. This will be great. Another trail to make Rossland even better than the best place to ride on earth.
We rode the long way up to Red Head via Larry's and Miners and went down the Old Red Head trail that has been neglected since the building of Red Top. Quite a few logs to be crossed but the trail itself was in good shape. Felt a little old school and that was a neat feeling. Eventually we ran into the new trail and continued down to the transition trail that took us to Dale's Trail and then out on to the T-Bar. Rode across the T-Bar and up the old trail to the top of the old Silver load lift. Lots of old stuff here but very nostalgic. Where to now?
At this point we were in explore mode. We had seen a piece of wild looking trail in this area on one of our previous rides and wondered if there was more. Rumors of a trail all the way down Granite have floated around for a couple years, but nothing much has been said publicly. Could it be so? Up and over toward the new Silver Load chair, heading in the general direction of our previous sighting. Lo and behold, we found the Mother Lode, a super bermed, bridged, tabletopped , gap jumped piece of mountain bike magic. Wonder who the creator is? We were definitely the benefactors on this evening. Huge smiles all around. Thank you to the mountain bike god's. Can't wait to ride it again.
Looks like there is going to be more trail too, because some of us rode up a roughed out trail that extended its way up towards the Old Turkey Alley ski run. Humm. This will be great. Another trail to make Rossland even better than the best place to ride on earth.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
HW TRAIL RIDE: HALL MT. NOISY CREEK
Saturday dawned bright and sunny. The Holy Wow Gang knows this because we were up at the crack of dawn in order to load up the bikes and make the trip over the border, to Sullivan Lake to ride the Hall Mt trail. The Hall Mt. trail used to be a regular on the list of trails that we rode, but we have not gotten around to it for a number of years. Guess the riding around Rossland is just too good. We had vowed to get back to Hall Mt. and Saturday August 13, 2011 was to be the day.
Everything started out well, bikes were loaded, coffee acquired, vehicles arranged (we needed enough to handle a shuttle), and passports in hand, we headed toward Salmo and the border crossing at Nelway. This is were the day slowed down a bit. The border was quite busy and we had a young german visitor with us who took some time to be processed and allowed to enter the USA .It cost him $6 american (had to be american) for a pass to enter the country for the day. It took so long I began to wonder if they had cuffed him and put him in the clink. Finally, out of the door comes Valentin, pass in hand and we are off again.
Got to the Lake, dropped off the car to ferry the shuttle drivers back at the end of the day, and up we went. Now 500 road is a forest service road that is open until Aug 15th , so being that it was only the 13th we could drive up a good portion of the way and cut down the uphill ride. This was a good thing because the day was really heating up. After a solid half hour drive we arrived at the trail head. We decided to go right to the top of Hall Mt. @ about 6500 feet, take in the view and the descend. The climb was a good 45 minutes of grinding away but the views from the top were quite marvelous.
Check out the slide show and video. A GoPro version will follow in the near future.
Hall Mt. was it's usual awesome self. Everyone was all smiles and high fives after the ride. Some of the nicest flowing single track that one can find. We all wondered why we had been neglecting it for so long. Glad we made the outing.
While the shuttles were being retrieved we swam, had cold beer and relaxed. The end to a perfect mountain bike day.
They even let the kid back into Canada without paying. What a bargain.
On the drive home you got that sense that you had experienced a little bit of heaven on earth, just the way it is supposed to be. Thanks Sullivan Lake, thanks Hall Mt., but most of all thanks to the people on the ride for helping us experience a heavenly day.
Everything started out well, bikes were loaded, coffee acquired, vehicles arranged (we needed enough to handle a shuttle), and passports in hand, we headed toward Salmo and the border crossing at Nelway. This is were the day slowed down a bit. The border was quite busy and we had a young german visitor with us who took some time to be processed and allowed to enter the USA .It cost him $6 american (had to be american) for a pass to enter the country for the day. It took so long I began to wonder if they had cuffed him and put him in the clink. Finally, out of the door comes Valentin, pass in hand and we are off again.
Got to the Lake, dropped off the car to ferry the shuttle drivers back at the end of the day, and up we went. Now 500 road is a forest service road that is open until Aug 15th , so being that it was only the 13th we could drive up a good portion of the way and cut down the uphill ride. This was a good thing because the day was really heating up. After a solid half hour drive we arrived at the trail head. We decided to go right to the top of Hall Mt. @ about 6500 feet, take in the view and the descend. The climb was a good 45 minutes of grinding away but the views from the top were quite marvelous.
Check out the slide show and video. A GoPro version will follow in the near future.
Hall Mt. was it's usual awesome self. Everyone was all smiles and high fives after the ride. Some of the nicest flowing single track that one can find. We all wondered why we had been neglecting it for so long. Glad we made the outing.
While the shuttles were being retrieved we swam, had cold beer and relaxed. The end to a perfect mountain bike day.
They even let the kid back into Canada without paying. What a bargain.
On the drive home you got that sense that you had experienced a little bit of heaven on earth, just the way it is supposed to be. Thanks Sullivan Lake, thanks Hall Mt., but most of all thanks to the people on the ride for helping us experience a heavenly day.
Friday, August 12, 2011
WEDDING RIDE: MONTE COLA DRESSED UP FOR NUPTIALS
The last time the Holy Wow Gang rode Monte Cola, the snow had just left and the trail was in great shape. Trails after the snow melts are kind of reborn. This time the trails crew had raised the child trail to a new state of perfection. Definitely ready for marriage to every rider who is willing to venture out the Larch single track. The trail will love you and you will love it. It will boss you around a little but then forgive you and make up with lovely swooping turns, drops, and table tops. Absolutely fantastic.
We decide to take the soon to be married Hopkin's couple out for ride with the gang. What better way for the Holy Wow Gang to celebrate a marriage, than to go for a ride on a trail that mirrors the marriage journey in it's very own dirt, rocks and roots. So, off we went, climbing the Larch Trail, sort of like the effort it takes to establish a relationship. Beautiful single track but some sweat required.
Arriving at the summit of the climb you are treated to some very unique views of Red and granite peaks. Anticipation of the coming ski season begins to well up inside. Stop that! Summer seems to have just started, guess it's just in the blood. We are here to ride, and the real relationship is about to be consummated. Let's do it Monte Cola. Monte Cola did it's thing and the rewards were as good as any relationship.
We climbed out off Neptune Creek on a bridged piece of single track called Cog. Always work to do in any commitment, but the journey was on sweet single track with multiple bridges crossing the cool waters of the Hanna Creek water shed. Life is so very sweet and sometimes so very short. Couldn't help but think of Doug Davis, who just lost his hard fought battle with cancer, as we climbed through this spiritual part of the forest with it's gurgling streams and pungent aromas. Rest in peace Digger.
After a fast, somewhat out of control (right Crash) descent of Gibbard's main trail, we found ourselves at the Rock Cut pub for wings and cold beer. Judging by the smiles on Deidre's and Joseph's faces, they really liked the gift.
We decide to take the soon to be married Hopkin's couple out for ride with the gang. What better way for the Holy Wow Gang to celebrate a marriage, than to go for a ride on a trail that mirrors the marriage journey in it's very own dirt, rocks and roots. So, off we went, climbing the Larch Trail, sort of like the effort it takes to establish a relationship. Beautiful single track but some sweat required.
Arriving at the summit of the climb you are treated to some very unique views of Red and granite peaks. Anticipation of the coming ski season begins to well up inside. Stop that! Summer seems to have just started, guess it's just in the blood. We are here to ride, and the real relationship is about to be consummated. Let's do it Monte Cola. Monte Cola did it's thing and the rewards were as good as any relationship.
We climbed out off Neptune Creek on a bridged piece of single track called Cog. Always work to do in any commitment, but the journey was on sweet single track with multiple bridges crossing the cool waters of the Hanna Creek water shed. Life is so very sweet and sometimes so very short. Couldn't help but think of Doug Davis, who just lost his hard fought battle with cancer, as we climbed through this spiritual part of the forest with it's gurgling streams and pungent aromas. Rest in peace Digger.
After a fast, somewhat out of control (right Crash) descent of Gibbard's main trail, we found ourselves at the Rock Cut pub for wings and cold beer. Judging by the smiles on Deidre's and Joseph's faces, they really liked the gift.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
TRAIL RIDE: OLD READ HEAD IS NOT DEAD
After a walk up the Red Head trail for a huckleberry outing on Monday evening, I felt a little nostalgia for the Old Girl. We had not ridden the trail for a long time. I decided to put the Old Red Head trail up for grabs as a Tuesday night ride. Eight Holy Wow Gang members bought in and up Red Mountain we went on a hot August evening. We took the lowest pitched route to the trail head in the hopes of keeping the sweat factor as cool as possible.
The route up took us along Moe's to Larry's past Camp Doobie to the Enchanted Forest and up onto the Gas Line. Really great hot summer night single track mostly on the shady side of the mountain. At this point we had to gain some vertical but a stop to pick some huckleberries added a refreshing pause to the journey.
The trail head came none to soon but some idiot decided to go up Dale's Trail to get a better view. The landscape was beautiful. It included a evening light painting of Rossland with a forest fire burning in the distance (probably over the border). The extra up caused a division in the group. Two riders decided that they had enough vertical gain and down they went never to be seen again during the ride. Hope they made it home OK.
Time for the decent. Old Red Head has some steeper, rockier sections than Red Top. It was good to revisit these features along with the many bridges and a couple of skinnies. Very fun single track. Finished the ride off with a rip down O'Flanagan's, a climb back up Larry's to visit the third of the Three Stooges, Curly's and a zip down Center Star to home.
Needless to say, the refreshments were extra refreshing after a great flashback ride of the Old Girl.
The route up took us along Moe's to Larry's past Camp Doobie to the Enchanted Forest and up onto the Gas Line. Really great hot summer night single track mostly on the shady side of the mountain. At this point we had to gain some vertical but a stop to pick some huckleberries added a refreshing pause to the journey.
The trail head came none to soon but some idiot decided to go up Dale's Trail to get a better view. The landscape was beautiful. It included a evening light painting of Rossland with a forest fire burning in the distance (probably over the border). The extra up caused a division in the group. Two riders decided that they had enough vertical gain and down they went never to be seen again during the ride. Hope they made it home OK.
Time for the decent. Old Red Head has some steeper, rockier sections than Red Top. It was good to revisit these features along with the many bridges and a couple of skinnies. Very fun single track. Finished the ride off with a rip down O'Flanagan's, a climb back up Larry's to visit the third of the Three Stooges, Curly's and a zip down Center Star to home.
Needless to say, the refreshments were extra refreshing after a great flashback ride of the Old Girl.
Monday, August 8, 2011
HW OUTING: MIDWAY RIDING AND RIVER FLOATING
Been away from the computer for two weeks so I am a little late with this post but better late than never.
Nine Holy Wow Gang members joined Andy Vandendool in Midway for three days of riding and river rafting. It was a blast. We quickly found out that Midway is more than a gas station on Highway 3. The camp site, down along the Kettle River, is just a gem, at $10 per night for tenting and a buck for a shower(you are encouraged to shower with your significant other) it is a bargain and beautiful at the same time.
There really are trails in Midway, and Andy showed us a great selection of real single track. The up and down factor is very real here and the exposure is nice and steep. Quite the challenge. You need your best balance and steering to be able to navigate the labyrinth of narrow trails that skirt the US border on the north facing slope just above the camp ground. Great riding.
The Kettle River provided the rest of the entertainment for the afternoons. Two hours of luxurious floating and paddling led us from the bridge 10km up the road from Midway right back to the campsite. A few cold drinks the odd tipping canoe, and numerous swim stops, kept us refreshed.along the way. Bald eagles, coyotes, deer, and other forms of wild life joined us on the journey. A special place.
The nightly campfire was a welcome event to warm and soothe tired paddling and pedaling muscles, however it did not last must past 10 o'clock. Was it too much fun during the day or are we starting to show signs of aging. Must of been the sun.
Thanks Andy, for the invitation and the hospitality. There was some talk about making it an annual. I am in.
Nine Holy Wow Gang members joined Andy Vandendool in Midway for three days of riding and river rafting. It was a blast. We quickly found out that Midway is more than a gas station on Highway 3. The camp site, down along the Kettle River, is just a gem, at $10 per night for tenting and a buck for a shower(you are encouraged to shower with your significant other) it is a bargain and beautiful at the same time.
There really are trails in Midway, and Andy showed us a great selection of real single track. The up and down factor is very real here and the exposure is nice and steep. Quite the challenge. You need your best balance and steering to be able to navigate the labyrinth of narrow trails that skirt the US border on the north facing slope just above the camp ground. Great riding.
The Kettle River provided the rest of the entertainment for the afternoons. Two hours of luxurious floating and paddling led us from the bridge 10km up the road from Midway right back to the campsite. A few cold drinks the odd tipping canoe, and numerous swim stops, kept us refreshed.along the way. Bald eagles, coyotes, deer, and other forms of wild life joined us on the journey. A special place.
The nightly campfire was a welcome event to warm and soothe tired paddling and pedaling muscles, however it did not last must past 10 o'clock. Was it too much fun during the day or are we starting to show signs of aging. Must of been the sun.
Thanks Andy, for the invitation and the hospitality. There was some talk about making it an annual. I am in.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
TRAIL RIDE: TECHNO-PALE-LATTE, VIDEO
Promised I would post the Technogrind to Pale Ale to Milky Way video so here you go. Enjoy.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
TRAIL RIDE:CROWN POINT THE VIDEO THAT WOULDN'T
Was away on the tour de inlaw while the Gang rode the classic Crown Point trail. This is one of my favorites and I was sad to miss the ride, but I knew that the GoPro was making the trip so that I could watch the fun and games. Well, the GoPro kind of let me down. The video it took would not play in any of the many players I tried. Turns out the header for the movie was not written(geek speak), a common problem when you shoot in 1080p. Anyway, 12 hours later, a perl script and hex editor and a different video editor and I finally got something to post. The climb up Malde Creek road seems like nothing compared to getting that video to work.
Enough geeking. Crown Point is named after an old mine in the vicinity. There is gold in them there hills and we are still mining the golden flow of a motherlode single track trail. It follows a drainage down the mountain side and visits some very unique and natural features. There are some huge old growth trees that have fallen and provide natural skinnies to ride. There are rocky ridges and drops take you down into the creek bottom and then the creek provides organic burming. You feel like you are the water meandering through the woods. Crown Point also has the most man made bridge work of any KCTS trail. This helps getting over the many swampy areas. Just too much fun.
Jumps, skinnys and bridges, a gold rush of mountain biking. Check out the VIDEO. Scott T. was carrying the GoPro and he rode like a pro. Thanks Scott.
Enough geeking. Crown Point is named after an old mine in the vicinity. There is gold in them there hills and we are still mining the golden flow of a motherlode single track trail. It follows a drainage down the mountain side and visits some very unique and natural features. There are some huge old growth trees that have fallen and provide natural skinnies to ride. There are rocky ridges and drops take you down into the creek bottom and then the creek provides organic burming. You feel like you are the water meandering through the woods. Crown Point also has the most man made bridge work of any KCTS trail. This helps getting over the many swampy areas. Just too much fun.
Jumps, skinnys and bridges, a gold rush of mountain biking. Check out the VIDEO. Scott T. was carrying the GoPro and he rode like a pro. Thanks Scott.
Friday, July 15, 2011
TRAIL RIDE: TECHNO-PALE-LATTE, MISSING THE PREZ
Great to be on the bike again. I just returned from an 8 day visiting tour, which included 20 hours of driving. Now don't get me wrong, I love to drive, but it doesn't do much for the aerobic system. Anyway, returned in time to catch the Thursday night ride, which is one of my favorites. Techno-Pale-Latte, as I call it, is a combination of three classic trails, Techno Grind, Pale Ale, and Milky Way and finishes with a climb up Green Door.
Techno-Grind is one of the original single-track rides that was ridden frequently in the early days of mountain biking in the Rossland area. They used to hold a trials type race on this trail during the Rubber Head Festival back in the 90's. Riders had to ride the trail quickly but time was added on if you dabbed(touched down with your foot) on certain challenging sections of the trail. Today's bikes have made many of these challenges seem quite simple but the fully rigid bikes and riders of the day found them a test. Maybe we are just better riders now, I think it is the bikes that are better.
Part two of this loop is Pale Ale. This trail has special meaning to Holy Wow Gang members because we built it. We used to truly freeride this slope in the early days(I am sounding old). Riders would just turn off the trail at random spots and descend wherever possible or sometimes impossible ending in the classic endo. One day we decided to plot a specific route down the slope and cut it in as a trail. Pale Ale was born. Named after the smooth drinking Kootenay Pale Ale, it was going to be one of a few more trails in the Beer Garden. Seems we are having too much fun riding to take the time to build another trail. Might be time to brew another beer. Pale Ale is a steepish descent with some rather off camber switch backs that remind me of what riding used to be like(old again) in the old days. Still a ton of fun, and so it was on Thursday night.
Pale Ale leads into Milky Way, affectionately known in our circles as Old Fart's Delight. There's that old theme again, could be that one of the gang members reminded us that he was hitting the magic 55 in a few days. Happy Birthday Antonio. Milky Way is better than ever. The corners are burmed, the brake ruts are all but gone, the old guy jumps are perfect, just a super entertaining trail.
Techno-Pale-Latte is a really great ride, the only bad thing is that the trail came to life and seemed to swallow The Prez. He disappeared part way through the top of the Green Door climb and the Roger's traverse. We were already one refreshment in and he still had not showed up. We sent out an APB, Evan went out to find him. Turns out his GPS needed new batteries and his replacement tubes need to be upgraded. Bikes are better but tubes are still the weak link.
The rain held off. We found the Prez. The fire was good. The refreshments were cold. The sausages were fantastic( thanks Antonio and Debera). LG!!!!!
The Prez had the Go Pro on, but in the euphoria of finding him I forgot to get the SD card from the camera. Will get it and post a video soon.
Techno-Grind is one of the original single-track rides that was ridden frequently in the early days of mountain biking in the Rossland area. They used to hold a trials type race on this trail during the Rubber Head Festival back in the 90's. Riders had to ride the trail quickly but time was added on if you dabbed(touched down with your foot) on certain challenging sections of the trail. Today's bikes have made many of these challenges seem quite simple but the fully rigid bikes and riders of the day found them a test. Maybe we are just better riders now, I think it is the bikes that are better.
Part two of this loop is Pale Ale. This trail has special meaning to Holy Wow Gang members because we built it. We used to truly freeride this slope in the early days(I am sounding old). Riders would just turn off the trail at random spots and descend wherever possible or sometimes impossible ending in the classic endo. One day we decided to plot a specific route down the slope and cut it in as a trail. Pale Ale was born. Named after the smooth drinking Kootenay Pale Ale, it was going to be one of a few more trails in the Beer Garden. Seems we are having too much fun riding to take the time to build another trail. Might be time to brew another beer. Pale Ale is a steepish descent with some rather off camber switch backs that remind me of what riding used to be like(old again) in the old days. Still a ton of fun, and so it was on Thursday night.
Pale Ale leads into Milky Way, affectionately known in our circles as Old Fart's Delight. There's that old theme again, could be that one of the gang members reminded us that he was hitting the magic 55 in a few days. Happy Birthday Antonio. Milky Way is better than ever. The corners are burmed, the brake ruts are all but gone, the old guy jumps are perfect, just a super entertaining trail.
Techno-Pale-Latte is a really great ride, the only bad thing is that the trail came to life and seemed to swallow The Prez. He disappeared part way through the top of the Green Door climb and the Roger's traverse. We were already one refreshment in and he still had not showed up. We sent out an APB, Evan went out to find him. Turns out his GPS needed new batteries and his replacement tubes need to be upgraded. Bikes are better but tubes are still the weak link.
The rain held off. We found the Prez. The fire was good. The refreshments were cold. The sausages were fantastic( thanks Antonio and Debera). LG!!!!!
The Prez had the Go Pro on, but in the euphoria of finding him I forgot to get the SD card from the camera. Will get it and post a video soon.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
NEWS FLASH FROM MOM'S HOUSE: FREERIDE DEAD SAYS PEACOCK AND HOPKINS
I haven't posted for awhile because I have been on the summer visiting tour. Marjorie and I made stops in Seattle(REI and Costco) to visit her sister, and Vancouver(MEC, Skis and Bikes my favorite ski boot shop, and of course Wiesach Motors to shop for Porsches) to visit her Mom. I am presently sitting at Mom's, after 2 days of chauffeur duty and picture hanging, accessing the internet from an 89 year old lady's apartment.
Now it is really amazing to me that the internet is even available in this abode, and on top of that the occupant really knows how to use it. Only one thing is amiss, said occupant uses nary a one wireless device and has no wireless service. Had to spend a bit of time convincing the HP to talk to her modem(no router) through an Ethernet cable but I finally got on the information super single-track. Never thought Facebook would be my first stop on a computational device but that is where I went and tripped over a message that Freeride was dead. Couldn't be. Chase that link.
Turns out to be two ex-students of mine doing what they love, riding and filming, and acting of course. Very entertaining and the bikesmanship and cinematography ain't bad either. Nice job David Peacock and Mike Hopkins. Check out this link http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Freerides-Dead-Hopkins-Peacock-Bury-It-video-2011.html
If freeride is dead then some strange offspring of it is definitely being born, and it is great to watch and dream about even coming close to doing just some of what you see in the movies. Thanks Dave and Mike.
Now it is really amazing to me that the internet is even available in this abode, and on top of that the occupant really knows how to use it. Only one thing is amiss, said occupant uses nary a one wireless device and has no wireless service. Had to spend a bit of time convincing the HP to talk to her modem(no router) through an Ethernet cable but I finally got on the information super single-track. Never thought Facebook would be my first stop on a computational device but that is where I went and tripped over a message that Freeride was dead. Couldn't be. Chase that link.
Turns out to be two ex-students of mine doing what they love, riding and filming, and acting of course. Very entertaining and the bikesmanship and cinematography ain't bad either. Nice job David Peacock and Mike Hopkins. Check out this link http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Freerides-Dead-Hopkins-Peacock-Bury-It-video-2011.html
If freeride is dead then some strange offspring of it is definitely being born, and it is great to watch and dream about even coming close to doing just some of what you see in the movies. Thanks Dave and Mike.
Friday, July 8, 2011
MIKE HOPKINS: RIDING IN BOLIVIA
Just finished looking and reading this web journal about Mike Hopkin's trip to Bolivia. Man that kid gets to see the world. Check out this site http://www.adventure-journal.com/features/view/23991.
TRAIL RIDE: GO PRO ON THE DEWDNEY
Fourteen riders turned out for the Dewdney ride. The Dewdney Trail is a historic trail that made it's way across BC and is a part of the Trans Canada Trail. The ride involves some climbing, 12 kilometers to be exact, but that did not stop the Holy Wow Gang. The promise of buffed single track motivated a large number of riders. Maybe the shuttle ride up had something to do with it, because I did not tell them I had cold refreshments on ice in the back of the truck. The slog up the Cascade Highway took about 50 to 60 minutes, and the gravity gods were well satiated, so all was good and ready for the descent.
The Dewdney can be rough, but because it is early in the season for this ride, expectations of a smoother ride were high. Well the good old Dewdney did not disappoint, it was the same as it usually is, ROUGH but FUN. This is why they invented suspension. Great ride to test your new setup.
Needed a volunteer to wear the Go Pro, but no one was stepping up, so Antonio(as Murray calls him) reluctantly let his name stand. I knew it was going to be good. We had a few technical difficulties that led to Antonio's first part of the ride not being recorded, but the clip we did get is awesome. Enjoy!!!!
See what I mean, and the refreshments were on ice at the end of the trail to cap off a perfect Dewdney experience.
The Dewdney can be rough, but because it is early in the season for this ride, expectations of a smoother ride were high. Well the good old Dewdney did not disappoint, it was the same as it usually is, ROUGH but FUN. This is why they invented suspension. Great ride to test your new setup.
Needed a volunteer to wear the Go Pro, but no one was stepping up, so Antonio(as Murray calls him) reluctantly let his name stand. I knew it was going to be good. We had a few technical difficulties that led to Antonio's first part of the ride not being recorded, but the clip we did get is awesome. Enjoy!!!!
See what I mean, and the refreshments were on ice at the end of the trail to cap off a perfect Dewdney experience.
Friday, July 1, 2011
TRAIL RIDE: MONTE COLA WITHOUT ICE.
Couple weeks ago the Holy Wow Gang did a little snow trekking in order to get first tracks (bike tracks that is) on the Larch Trail and Monte Cola Trail. The turns were great back then but there was snow and some debris in the trail. We figured that the KCTS(trail crew) would have probably done their usual perfect buff job, so we decided to ride it again. The groomed version.
The Larch and Monte Cola trail system is a beautiful single track that doesn't get abused by the DH car droppers because you can't drive to the top of Monte Cola, you must ride up the Larch Trail. Ah yes, a little up hill exercise followed by a downhill work out.
No pictures on this post because I wanted to ride this trail without the thought of stopping to shoot. We do have a Go Pro but for some reason it hasn't made it out yet this year. Have to get on that.
Monte Cola was it's usual tasty self, smooth crisp taste with plenty of flow and go, what a blast. Made you want to say HOLY WOW!!!! So good, that we rode up the road a klick and did the bottom part again just for the after taste.
Refreshments around the fire with funny stories all around capped off a perfect evening.
The Larch and Monte Cola trail system is a beautiful single track that doesn't get abused by the DH car droppers because you can't drive to the top of Monte Cola, you must ride up the Larch Trail. Ah yes, a little up hill exercise followed by a downhill work out.
No pictures on this post because I wanted to ride this trail without the thought of stopping to shoot. We do have a Go Pro but for some reason it hasn't made it out yet this year. Have to get on that.
Monte Cola was it's usual tasty self, smooth crisp taste with plenty of flow and go, what a blast. Made you want to say HOLY WOW!!!! So good, that we rode up the road a klick and did the bottom part again just for the after taste.
Refreshments around the fire with funny stories all around capped off a perfect evening.
MTB REVIEW: LEZYNE MINI PUMP
This Lezyne Mini Pump has been showing up in Holy Wow Gang members packs on an ever increasing basis. Every time we ride another member pulls one of these little beauties out of their pack and handles the job of tire inflation with ease.The Mini Floor Pump HV(high volume) is extremely light weight and shaped just like a floor pump. It even has a fold out foot support to stand on in order to stabilize the pump during the quick job of tire inflation.
Size and weight do matter and Lezyne seems to have nailed it on both accounts. It looks big in the picture but it is only 12 inches long and fits into the average cycle pack with ease. At 300 grams you hardly know it is there until you need it.
One of the nicest features of this little marvel is the valve attachment. You know, the beast that slips off on all your other pumps , just when you are putting the most effort into getting that tire up to riding pressure. Lezyne made theirs a thread on affair and also made it easily adaptable to both presta and shraeder valves. No more sliding off, no more losing all that hard earned air pressure.
All of this for around $40, you gotta have it, almost makes getting a flat enjoyable, NOT. Tyler at Revolution Cycles in Rossland can set you up with one of these. Drop in to the store and check out the trail conditions board while your at it.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
TRAIL RIDE:CLASSIC RED TOP
Tuesday saw a smaller group turn out for the ride, maybe their bikes are getting fed up with the mud and water, probably more like summer and holidays getting in the way. The Gang will keep on riding and I will keep getting ride reports, even while I am on holidays.
We had planned a sojourn to Full Monte but phased that back and decided on a trip up Red Mt to ride the classic Red Top single track was in order. There are a couple of ways to get to the trail head. You can ride right up the single track and then turn around and ride back down or you can ride up the ski area haul road and jump on to the single track at different places on the way up. We prefer to use the haul road for that feeling of riding a loop instead of an out and back, so up the haul road was our choice.
The bugs were ravenous as a result of the increase in air temperature in the last few days. This made it quite uncomfortable to stop and rest on the way up. Up went by very quickly and padding went on just as quickly, more to keep the bugs off than to prepare for the extreme nature of the trail. Red Top is just a wonderful single track. It has many banked switch backs and swicked GS turns through the trees. Down went by super quick other than a quick stop to fix a flat.
The evening was a perfect temp for riding so we milked the single track on the way back to the shop by taking Larry's and Curly's back to the highway tunnel. Curly's is a smooth track that can be ridden without pedaling if you take all the corners smoothly and pump the bike. We had a comp to see if anyone could make it. Good ride.
We had planned a sojourn to Full Monte but phased that back and decided on a trip up Red Mt to ride the classic Red Top single track was in order. There are a couple of ways to get to the trail head. You can ride right up the single track and then turn around and ride back down or you can ride up the ski area haul road and jump on to the single track at different places on the way up. We prefer to use the haul road for that feeling of riding a loop instead of an out and back, so up the haul road was our choice.
The bugs were ravenous as a result of the increase in air temperature in the last few days. This made it quite uncomfortable to stop and rest on the way up. Up went by very quickly and padding went on just as quickly, more to keep the bugs off than to prepare for the extreme nature of the trail. Red Top is just a wonderful single track. It has many banked switch backs and swicked GS turns through the trees. Down went by super quick other than a quick stop to fix a flat.
The evening was a perfect temp for riding so we milked the single track on the way back to the shop by taking Larry's and Curly's back to the highway tunnel. Curly's is a smooth track that can be ridden without pedaling if you take all the corners smoothly and pump the bike. We had a comp to see if anyone could make it. Good ride.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
HOW TO:MIKE HOPKINS SHIMANO WHEEL BUILD
Years ago, when mountain bikes had rim brakes, I used to have trouble with factory wheels taking on the shape of a taco or popping spokes or just plain going out of true all the time. It was in that time that my brother introduced me to a book, "The Bicycle Wheel", by an engineer named Jobst Brandt. The book discussed the physics behind the bicycle wheel, and then described a wheel building process to use in order to build the strongest wheel possible. I have followed his recommendations ever since, with great success.
With the advent of disc brakes and the improvement of factory wheels, the wheel builder is less busy today than he used to be, but the torque of the disc brake rotor and the abuse that the younger riders are putting on wheels, still requires the methods learned in "The Bicycle Wheel". I have been building wheels for Mike Hopkins for a couple of years now and I thought it would be good to document the process for the world to see, so here goes.
The component selection is most important. The construction of a strong wheel that will withstand the forces applied to it in a competition like the Red Bull Rampage, requires the best of materials and build processes. Mike uses Shimano Saint hubs and rims and DT Swiss Double butted 2.0-1.8 spokes. These are great choices. The double butted spokes are one of the key things in the whole build because they provide the ability to pre-stress (stretch the spoke ) the supporting spoke columns so that when heavily weighted the spoke remains under tension and the spoke nipple does not float. If the nipple floats then it will start to come undone and the result will be an out of balance(tension) wheel that will go out of true and lose its strength.
Components choosen, let's get to the build.
1. Measure spoke nipple to spoke nipple diameter of rim.
2. Measure the dimensions of the hub, these include hub width(2 hub widths required because of different offsets on disc and non disc sides), flange hole spacing, flange hole size, and overall hub width. Make sure the number of holes in the hub matches the number of holes in the rim. I have always used 32 hole rims myself but there are a growing number of different configurations possible.The diagram below shows the required measurements. Decide on the lacing pattern. I always build a 3 cross wheel because Jobst Brandt(The Bicycle Wheel) concluded that it was the strongest configuration for the most general use.
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| This is from the ProWheelBuilder.com site. Useful site for some hub dimensions. |
3. Feed this data into a spoke length calculator. There are many available on the internet but I use my own spreadsheet(I did the math) because my results have turned out to be more accurate over the years.
4. Gather 16 (assuming 32 hole hub and rim)of each spoke length. Typically the disc side will have a different length(up to 2mm different) than the non-disc side but this varies from hub to hub. Dip the threads in motor oil or a good lubricant because I will be turning these to a fairly high tension and I want them to turn easily.
5. Lube the spoke eyelets in the rim with grease, for the same reason that you oiled the threads on the spokes.
6. Now I am ready to start to lace the wheel. I always feel like I am knitting when I do this, knit one perl two, yeah I learned to knit a little from my mom. The first spokes to go on are the critical ones, get these wrong and the whole thing can end up just plain wrong. These spokes are the puller spokes as I call them, and they thread from the outside in and must line up with the offset in the rim spoke holes(yes they are slightly offset to each side). I usually set these up so that the disc pulls on these when braking and the spokes will not interfere with the air valve of the wheel.
7.Time for the cross over spokes. Three cross means that these cross over spokes will pass over two other spokes and under a third before being secured to the rim. This takes hand strength and mom's knitting instuctions to get the right result. The hand strength is required in order to bend each of these spokes at the elbow so that the contact between the spoke and the hub flange is as large as possible.
8. Make the wheel round by doing up each of the spokes the exact same amount, not tight but to the same spot, each of them. If my spoke lengths are good then I should be able to use the threads on the spoke as an indicator. Do up the nipple until the last thread is just covered.
9. Take the spokes up to tension by turning each nipple a set amount. Don't get in a hurry because you will wreck the roundness of the wheel. I start at the valve hole all the time and turn each nipple 1 turn, then around again using half a turn, then a quarter turn after that until the tensions start to rise. I keep going until my tension gauge starts to read close to my desire tension.
10. Relieve the stress on all spokes at the hub. I tap the spoke elbows with a hammer, which seems quite extreme, but I must get the spoke to contact the hub as much as possible. This ensures that the spokes will not lose as much tension as the wheel is ridden for the first 5-10 times. This process is worth doing to your factory wheels along with a tension balance in order to have a long lasting stable and true wheel.
11. Tension balance the wheel. I have not paid any attention to the trueness of the wheel from left to right just the roundness to this point. No use worrying about left right true, because I am not sure that all the spokes have equal tensions and are doing their part. At this point I use my tension guage(mine is a Wheelsmith but there are others) to make sure that all the spokes are sharing the load. Unfortunately the tension on one side are often different than the tension on the other side, due to different hub offsets and the angles these creat. It would be nice if the hubs set up a symmetric wheel, but if you remember your physics and your trigonometry we should be able to get everything to add up to zero. The forces in all dimensions should balance and every spoke should be doing an equal share of the balancing. I have to do this globally because one spoke has an effect on all the others, so I mark the slackers with a little piece of duct tape(lower tension than the average) and then up the tension of these by a quarter turn, check and repeat until equal tensions have been achieved. Remember one side will probably be different than the other. For example the disc side on a front wheel will typically be higher than the non-disc side due to the offset required to make room for the disc. I repeat this step until I get the required balance.
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| Using tension gauge. |
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| Duct tape marking slackers. |
13. True the wheel. Now I pay attention to the left right and through a series of tension checks and loosen tighten steps get the wheel to run true and be in the middle of the wheel stand(this id call setting the dish), then repeat steps 11 and 12. A poorly dished wheel will cause the bike to track poorly and handling will be compromised.
14. Repeat 11 thru 13 as many times as it takes to get a balanced true wheel.
15. Final tension. I now take the wheel up to its final high tension. I usually go to 90 on my gauge for the highest tension spokes and the others just follow. Jobst Brandt said the higher the better. Watch it because the rim will distort if you go too high.
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| Mike's wheel set resting against the cooler. Time to open that cooler. |
So there you go, a set of super balance Shimano Saint wheels with DT Swiss spokes destined for Mike Hopkin's Knolly Podium. If I can get him to bring them back for a quick retension after a weekend of riding at Silver Star Bike Park they will be even more bomber for the rides to come.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
HW FLASHBACK:MOAB 2001
I was thinking about Moab and remembered the old web site I did back in 2001. Went looking for the source code and could not find it. Thought I would try the school server that I had put up the site on if just by chance the site might still be there......FOUND. HOLY WOW !!! computers. Anyway, I redid the site roughly on another Google Tool and here is the link Old HW Moab. Visit and take a ride back in time.
Friday, June 24, 2011
TRAIL RIDE:DRAKE'S DUKABOR DRAW EXREME
Ahh what a night? It poured , there was thunder, there was lightening, there was mud, and there was Farmer. At first we thought it was just an apparition, but clearly it was the return of one of the original Holy Wow Gang members. Farmer, the king of Subway Sandwiches, had dusted off the bike and decided to join us for a Tuesday night ride. It was great to have him back and we hope that the ugly weather and trail conditions on this night won't scare him off . WELCOME BACK FARMER!!!! You can take off the hockey gear now, we are going riding.
We started the ride under the usual criteria, it can't be raining when we leave, but it changed quickly. A down pour filled the old puddles on Drake's single track, and turned the climb and traverse over to the top of Dukabor into a mud fest. This ride is usually just a pleasure but the rain put a little damper on the occasion. The gang was still smiling when we stopped to hide under a tree during the major falling of the sky took place. But there were no Chicken Littles or Henny Pennies or Ducky Luckys in this group, even though the sky was falling, we ventured on. That's what you do when your twelve.
Ride we did, and Dukabor served up some sweet snotty single track, super fun and very dirty. The only suffering was done by the bikes and our clothing' which are taking a kicking in all this wet and muddy weather. I don't think my shoes have been dry at all this spring. No sooner have you washed your bike than it is filthy again. I have held off washing it every time but paid the price tonight as dirt and muck rendered my seat post remote inoperable. Gues I need to wash the poor thing more often.
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We had hopes for a cold one and a fire at Greener's, but had to settle for the heater in his garage. Still had the cold one though.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
TRAIL RIDE:WHISKEY ROCKS THE HOLY WOW GANG
Tuesday night is always special because we get together to ride our bikes. This Tuesday was especially sweet because it was warm out for a change and it truly was the longest daylight day of the year. We had decided to tackle Whiskey on the Rocks to celebrate the change of weather.
Whiskey is one of the more technical trails in the Rossland area. It is usually a real fun ride, so there was a great deal of excitement among the gang. That mojo was soon put to rest when we realized we would be climbing Malde Creek Road for the third time in a week.
Many riders car drop this ride but the Holy Wow Gang likes to pay the gravity gods on every ride, so pedaling up is the way to go. Besides, the work out justifies that extra pop after the ride. Malde is a bit of a grunt and the top of Whiskey is a little further up again, combine that with the new found warmth in the air and the perspiration and the bugs were abundant.
Whiskey is one of the more technical trails in the Rossland area. It is usually a real fun ride, so there was a great deal of excitement among the gang. That mojo was soon put to rest when we realized we would be climbing Malde Creek Road for the third time in a week.Many riders car drop this ride but the Holy Wow Gang likes to pay the gravity gods on every ride, so pedaling up is the way to go. Besides, the work out justifies that extra pop after the ride. Malde is a bit of a grunt and the top of Whiskey is a little further up again, combine that with the new found warmth in the air and the perspiration and the bugs were abundant.
Whiskey was it usual cantankerous self and the traffic from the car drops has left it a strange rocky mess that requires all your skills. We left some blood, sweat and tears on the trail as numerous riders groomed the trail with their bodies.
Still smiling at the end of it all, we decided that we should ride this trail more often just to keep our skills honed. Now for a glass of whiskey on the rocks or a cold beer.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
NEWS FLASH:HOLY WOW ROOKIES ON TOUR OF GASPE QUEBEC
Brett Ferguson, George Tennant and Grocery Pete are heading out on a tour of the Gaspé in Quebec. Brett has started a blog that he hopes to post to as the trip unfolds. Hopefully he will remain faithful to the task. It would be great to follow the boys on their journey.
Click here to link to the blog or use the link listed to the right under blogs worth visiting.
Click here to link to the blog or use the link listed to the right under blogs worth visiting.
Friday, June 17, 2011
DOUBLE DOWNHILL 2011
The biggest event of the Rossland /June mountain bike social calendar went off without a hitch. Twenty-six riders showed up for a downhill single track extravaganza, including Jono and Ben Foulger from Nelson. We are so fortunate to have these young guys show up every year with their talent and enthusiasm. They never fail to entertain the crowd.
We did shuttle up from Patterson. Enough climbing for the night. Arriving at Greener's to find the sausages already on the barbecue (thanks girls) and the refreshments cold. Lawn chairs were spread out drinks were readied and the celebration began. Awesome single-track, good friends, fabulous food, cold drinks, and a warm fire, does it get any better? LG!!! HOLY WOW!!!
Every year the Holy Wow Gang hosts the Annual Double Downhill as close to the summer solstice as possible. This gives us the opportunity to squeeze two rides into one evening. The two rides are possible because(I am sure you have all figured it out already) it is close to the longest daylight of the year. Can you imagine that the days are going to start getting shorter already? Anyway, the rain held off and the trails were tacky. We did our fair share of up and were rewarded with plenty of excellent down.
The 26 riders warmed up on Cemetery and the nostalgic Old Rubber Head before heading up Malde Creek (no shuttle assistance) to ride SMDLB(Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt). This trail lived up to it's name, shocking the new to SMDLB riders, into laughter and screams of delight with it's banked corners and trail surface features. SMDLB is a long ride too. Those of us who had ridden it once before, enjoyed it even more, knowing the trail and it's features.
Check out some pictures.
We did shuttle up from Patterson. Enough climbing for the night. Arriving at Greener's to find the sausages already on the barbecue (thanks girls) and the refreshments cold. Lawn chairs were spread out drinks were readied and the celebration began. Awesome single-track, good friends, fabulous food, cold drinks, and a warm fire, does it get any better? LG!!! HOLY WOW!!!
My venture into YouTube. Enjoy. Maybe one day I can get a pro with a camera to join us.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
MTB REVIEW: NORTH SHORE RACKS
There always comes a time when you have to transport your beloved steed(mountain bike) to or from the trail head. If your experience with bike transport is the same as mine then your bike will have seen more damage being transported than being ridden. The Holy Wow Gang tries to ride to and from trail heads as much as possible but bike transport is just a fact of the ride.
The classic way to pack your bike around here is to hook the bike over the tail gate of the pick up truck and be done with it. This method works, along with a variety of racks that are available at you favorite bike shop. Most of these methods require some form of padding to avoid damage to the vehicle and bike and no matter how hard you try the poor bike ends up with a bruise or a cut
that will never heal. Then along comes North Shore Racks NSR-2, NSR-4, NSR-6. On our last ride a member of the Gang showed up with an NSR-6 and it attracted a great deal of attention.
Bikes flocked to this rack for ease of loading and no chance of wounding. North Shore Racks has really done their homework on this one. The rack uses an 1.25 inch receiver for the NSR-2 (2 bike rack) which will work on any car, and a 2 inch receiver style hitch for the NSR-4 or NSR-6(4 and 6 bikes) which is very common on most trucks and SUVs these days. This may be the only draw back, if you don't already have a trailer hitch installed. This rack is so good that I would get a trailer hitch just so I could use a North Shore Rack.
Bikes are loaded with the front wheel pointing to the sky with the fork crown hooked on the
patented double horseshoe cradle located on the top arm of the rack. Once resting in the saddle the back wheel is secured to an innovative bottom bar that facilitates a very secure hold for the rear tire. Elegance is the best way to describe it.North Shore Racks has included many nice features in this rack. The rack tilts away from the vehicle to give you room to open your trunk or tailgate. It also has a folding feature in the NSR-2
and NSR-4 so that it can be made more compact when not in use. Pricing ranges from $400(NSR-2)-$700(NSR-6) a little expensive but well worth it when it comes to ease of use and
besides it is nice to your bike.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
MONTE COLA ON ICE
Rossland has it's own version of Whistler's A-Line. Fortunately it is not lift served and really quite remote but packed with just as much fun. Tuesday night was the nicest evening in a while and the Holy Wow Gang decided to give Monte Cola a try even though there was a chance that we would have to make our way through some snow. This spring just will not warm up.
There is a lovely piece of climbing single track called Larch Trail. This is the trail that you follow to get to the top of Monte Cola. On the way up, we picked up the ice(snow) for this wonderful Cola drink. Judging by the laughter coming from the riders as they made their wet disk brakes sound like Canadian geese honking to each other, the climb was quite tolerable( KCTS -Kootenay Columbia Trails Society has done a superb job of eliminating some of the ugly pitches that used
to adorn this ascent), but maybe someone had already added a little rum to the Iced Monte Cola drink. Anyway, we arrived at the trail head in excellent spirits.
Now the real fun starts. This trail is full of natural whoop-dee-doos, banked corners, and table tops. Unfort
unately, from a video stand point, everyone was having too much fun to stop, so when I stopped to shoot a piece of video near the top, I never again got ahead of the bunch to film the part of the trail that rivals A-Line. Oh well, I was having too much fun to stop myself. If this trail wasn't already named Monte Cola, I would lobby to call it R-Line(the R standing for Real or Rossland). What a blast. Check out this short clip below.
R-Line, still feels like mountain biking. You still have to ride up to get to the trail head, no chairlifts in the vicinity. The forest and the wild is all around, signified by the moose droppings
and hoof marks that adorned the trail. We are truly sharing this trail. It is not wide enough to pass, so you have to stop and smell the moose dung for a while and then see if you can catch the rider ahead of you. Hopefully you don't catch up to the moose because it will win the encounter, should you co
me face to face. A real mountain bike outing. HOLY WOW!!!
If we weren't already drunk from the climb, Monte Cola sure completed the mission, because we were inebriated by the audacity of its vertical. The beers after the ride had little effect on spirits that were already soaring and primed to howl at the moon.
Friday, June 10, 2011
LAST MAN STANDING AFTER CIRCLE RIDE
Missed the ride on Thursday due to a previous commitment. There was a huge turn out. Guess everyone was anxious to ride after all the rain we have been having. The weather was perfect for riding and of course I couldn't ride.
It was the first circle ride of the season. What's a circle ride? Well, sometimes the night's ride has not been determined, so whoever turns out, rides in a circle until a decision is made and a leader determined. Then off you go. They are fun.
Guess they ended up doing a classic Red Top using the Three Stooges Trails (Curly's, Mo's and Larry's). These are buffed single track and great for riding up or down. Access to the Stooges is on the Centennial Trail just as you emerge from the highway tunnel headed toward Red Mountain.
Red Top and Red Head Trails are a bit steeper than The Stooges but KCTS trail crew has done a superb job of providing a special route down Red Mt. I didn't get to take pictures, obviously because I was not on the ride but I tried to make the social afterwards.
When I arrived there were only three riders left, huddled around the fire on Rick Greene' deck. Soon two more headed for the showers and that left the last man standing Rick Greene. This was the first fire at Rick's for the season, but we are excited about The Double Downhill Summer Solstice Ride on Thursday June 16th, which involves a huge post ride party on Rick's deck.
Needless to say, Rick and I enjoyed a refreshment and debriefed about the ride. Got to remember to get that Seven Summits trail building video from .
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
FIRST RIDE:SMDLB SINGLE TRACK ROSSLAND
The weather outside was frightening, the sky was full of lightning, but the Holy Wow Gang thought it was brightening, so we headed out to sample a new piece of supposedly prime single track. Fourteen riders showed up for the Gang's regular Tuesday night ride.
The outing started slowly, with everyone milling about waiting for Mother Nature to finish with the rain. True to our age (we behave like 12 year olds), especially in a larger group, we shamed each other into going on the ride. Just as we left, the sky started falling and the temptation to call off the ride was as strong as the thunder and lightening that was battering the Malde Creek ridge. But, ride we did.
We were all soaked by the time the climb up Malde Creek forest service road started but the effort required made us warm in spite of wet. This climb is usually hot and uncomfortable so some guys thought it was more tolerable this way. For the rest of us, the lightening strikes and resultant thunder all around us took away any feelings of comfort. Maybe we should call this off.
Ahh, wet already, most of the climbing done, let's find this new trail head. The constant rain made us antsy and waiting for each other took a back seat to pedaling madly and in random directions. As a result (mostly my fault) we ended up in two groups and in two very different places. Both groups finally figured out where to go and the Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt trail began to yield huge amounts of voltaic fun.
The trail surface was surprisingly tacky considering the rain. The trail dished out one amped berm after another and threw in resistance in the form of tapered jumps and hips all over the place. HOLY WOW!!! it just kept getting better. This is the longest piece of single track in the area with the exception of the Seven Summits Trail and perhaps the BEST ten miles of total mountain bike riding you might ever experience.
Finally, one group caught up with the other. We were very wet and cold but the grins on our faces warmed the air. Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt had given us life and warmth. Everyone agreed that this was one of our best rides ever.
It all ended too quickly even though the ride was very long. Can't wait to do it again. Sorry for the lack of picture quality, but the poor camera had been dealt a heavy dose of moisture and it was also very foggy.
We loaded up the truck and headed back to the warmth of the shop and a cold refreshment.
Super Mega Death is the trail builder's name for his masterpiece, but Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt will always be the trail name for the HOLY WOW GANG. If you want to ride this trail, you may have to bribe Gang members with bike swag or amber refreshments in order to get them to take you because sometimes you just hate to share something this shocking with others for fear that they might be electrocuted by SMDLB.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
MIKE HOPKINS JOINS TEAM KNOLLY
Mike Hopkins, the son of a long time Holy Wow Gang member has just joined Team Knolly. Mike is the second son of the infamous Norm Hopkins. He is a pro mountain biker and skier.
Mike has a real flare for the camera and has been featured in many videos. More recent ones include, Life Cycles a hometown Rossland production that has made a huge impression on the mountain bike video world and Mike's escapades at Red Bull Rampage. But most recently he can be seen riding a Knolly(Canadian made bike) in video clips introducing him as a member of Team Knolly. Looks like there will more even more entertainment on the horizon on board his new ride.
Check out these links and the video on them that introduces Mike as a new member of Team Knolly.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
7 SUMMITS: TRAIL BUILDING DAY
Holy Wow members and other volunteers helped the KCTS Trails crew add a new 500m road bypass to the Seven Summits epic trail. The work crew met at the Centennial Trail parking lot at 9AM Saturday morning. They got their instructions and loaded vehicles for the shuttle up to the top of the Cascade Summit. From the summit they hiked in about .5 km and built a new piece of prime single track that replaces a road and a climb on the old route.
Amazing how many hands make light work. The new section was completed in approx 3 hours. It is a sweet addition to an already wicked single track. Check out the video below
Amazing how many hands make light work. The new section was completed in approx 3 hours. It is a sweet addition to an already wicked single track. Check out the video below
Friday, June 3, 2011
RED TOP SINGLE TRACK PREMIER
Even though the snow is slow to melt the Gang felt that we should give Red Mt and Red Top Trail a go, so off we went. Taking a selection of the great single track available in the Rossland area, we navigated our way up to Sally's Alley and the mid way trail head for Red Top. The track was generally good other than some mud that behaved like contact cement on Miners single track. Stew Spooner and the KCTS trail crew had been through and spruced up the route.
Ten Holy Wowers embarked on the first descent of Red Top for this season. Spring trail conditions are always the sweetest. There is just something smooth about a trail just after the snow has melted. It is kind of like the powder snow of mountain biking. Huge fun. Couple of crashes. Nobody hurt. Another great outing.
Rode O'Flanagan's and Centennial back to Larry's and took Curly's home to Dave's. The refreshment selection had improved to include some green ones causing the spirit to be higher than usual. Riding mountain bikes in Rossland is just awesome.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
MTB REVIEW: KINDSHOCK SEAT POST MOVES IN
At least 6 of the Holy Wow riders have recently acquired a KS adjustable seat post. This is quite a big event, so I decided to do a bit of a write up on the product.
Notice the slick mounting system. The Kind Shock remote integrates into the grip mount by replacing the inner lock ring of the lock on grip. This makes a convenient mount and does not take up any more room on the handle bar.
The riding around Rossland is very up and down, and the down can be very challenging, especially if you are perched atop your seat in pedaling height. Historically a rider would stop to lower the seat of the bike before descending. This move gets the seat out of the way and allows the rider to get lower on the bike and prevents endos and other downhill mishaps. But if the trail pitches up again, this requires another stop to raise the seat post. This causes a very stop and go type of ride.
How do you solve this problem? In the past there was a gismo called a height rite, which was a giant clothes peg spring that attached to the seat and the seat tube. When the seat was lowered the spring loaded up and then when the seat post quick release was loosened the seat popped back up to ride height. It worked but messing with the quick release while riding proved to be a dangerous thing. Along comes the adjustable on the fly seat post.
A number of companys including Crank Brothers, Rock Shox, Kind Shock (www.KSsuspension.com)and others have entered the adjustable seat post market. Holy Wow riders have embraced the KS offering because of its infinite adjust ability and bomb proof construction. Tyler at Revolution Cycles(www.revolutioncycles.ca/) in Rossland had torture tested the post ahead of time and highly recommended it. Enough said, we were in.
The i900-R is the model of choice because of the remote leaver that mounts on the handlebars. Here is the post installed on my Nomad.
Notice the slick mounting system. The Kind Shock remote integrates into the grip mount by replacing the inner lock ring of the lock on grip. This makes a convenient mount and does not take up any more room on the handle bar.One of the best features of the KS seat post is it's ability to be adjusted to any height. Just press the red leaver on the handle bar and sit to any level you want and release the leaver. The seat will stay at that height. Hit the leaver and the seat returns to the height you set for pedaling. The posts that we are using have 125mm ( 5 inches) of total up and down movement along with the adjustment available through the use of the seat tube quick release.
The installation is pretty straight forward. Remove a grip. Take off inside grip ring and replace with KS adjust leaver. Remount grip. Zip tie cable to bike. Insert seat post, fully extended, to pedaling height. Connect cable to seat post. KS has simplified the cable connection so that cable removal and replacement is easy if necessary. Check for cable clearance in both up and down positions. THEN RIDE.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Mud Up Fest (May 25)
Mother nature just doesn't want to stop peeing. So much rain has fallen that the trails are starting to turn into mud bogs. We decided to try our signature trail, Pale Ale. The ride up KC was good but the ride down Pale Ale would have been better done on skis. It was so slippery that the descent was a collection of semi-controlled slides. We need to do some trail surface work on that trail.
Everyone made it down to Milky Way and rode the rest of the down with their usual style. Now it was time for the up. Up Green Door, up to the Mining School, back up to the Saddle of KC. Great spring training ride, was the comment made by the riders. Just a nice way to say uphill sucks but we will be ready for Moab in the fall.
Social afterwards was almost perfect except for the Canucks tying the game and eventually winning in overtime. Oh well, Go Leafs Go!!!
Everyone made it down to Milky Way and rode the rest of the down with their usual style. Now it was time for the up. Up Green Door, up to the Mining School, back up to the Saddle of KC. Great spring training ride, was the comment made by the riders. Just a nice way to say uphill sucks but we will be ready for Moab in the fall.
Social afterwards was almost perfect except for the Canucks tying the game and eventually winning in overtime. Oh well, Go Leafs Go!!!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Top of Red Again
So once Holy Wow Gang members start to ride Red we keep riding Red. So, Dario, George, and Dave decided that a good way to celebrate Victoria Day would be to skin up Red Mt. and ski some spring powder.Dario and I picked up George just after 8am Saturday morning and headed to the mountain. It was a mackerel sky, the sun was out, and the temperature was about 12 degrees Celsius.
The skin up was actually quite pleasant. We took a route up War Eagle across the Face to the Back Trail and up through the bowl. This proved to be quite enjoyable and we arrived at the top in fine form, ready to soak up some sun and enjoy the views.The south side of Red was our choice for a resting spot. It had great views of the town of Rossland and maximized the exposure to the sun. With all the cloudy, snowy, rainy weather we have had
this spring, our vitamin D levels are definitely down, so sunshine
sure felt good.
We had all the conveniences, a great bench, music, cold beverages
and tasty snacks. Even had a cooler to keep the ale cold, "snow".
After a rejuvenating rest we had to decide on a route down. Hey why not start with the cliff? Mother nature had done a fantastic grooming job, all the moguls were gone,and the turns came easily. Then over to the towers on Red, snow was a little softer there. Couldn't make it all the way to the bottom on the towers so we skipped over some dirt to War Eagle and finished the decent.
George made two more turns than Dario and I
but they were on grass. He is such a powder pig.A superior outing and a first for the trio. Maybe it will become a tradition. Check out the video below.
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