Cycle the Sunshine Coast, BC

So for the last 6 months,  I've been on a project in Terrace, BC and wondered if I should take my bike.  I researched several websites on the trails and lurked Strava rides to gauge what sort of riding is available in Terrace.  A fabulous site was a ride review by Lee Lau from North Vancouver.  http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/terrace-mountain-biking-in-july/   Lee put me in the right direction for choosing right path.  As part of my Strava lurking, I came across another Forester that worked in Terrace and rode the Terrace trails regularly. I quickly emailed him and we were setting a time and place to ride!  Ryan met me at the Terrace Mountain Trails system.  The system consists of hiking and mountain bike trails and they are almost all machine made.  Beautiful rock work and berms, kept me thoroughly entertained on our journey up.  Did I mentioned up?  Yes, I guess I did....Up is a relative term in Terrace.  The ups here are not gentle, and laced with rock cobbled (roman roads)

Its taken close to 6 months from design to build to decide if I made a mistake in the design. The build: - Whishart 29'er - steel hardtail - Paragon sliding dropouts; fillet brazed - Black pearl - Toxic Design Labs - 67deg HT; 73deg ST - SRAM XX1 Drivetrain - XTR M-985 Crank with Wolf Components 30 tooth ring - Easton Haven 35mm Stem (50mm long) - Chromag 35mm carbon bar - Easton EC90 XC Wheelset - RS Revelation RLT 140-110 DP Fork - SRAM Guide RS Brakes - RS Reverb Dropper Post - Nevagal 2.2 Front tire - Conti Trail King 2.2 Rear tire Weight 27.2 lbs Okay - so I know that most people could never afford this type of bike or get why; however not withstanding, mounting these parts to a never ridden; only designed frame.  But, as soon as I mounted the pedals, strapped on my shoes, and threw my leg over top tube, I knew I had winner!  The bike rides like its 27.5 bike on steroids, with short snappy rear end, short wheelbase, stiff & amazing ride.  It climbs really w

Over the last several months I've been busy baking my own baby in the oven.  In the Bikecad.ca oven so to speak!  My last post explained why (http://sunshinecoastcycle.blogspot.ca/2015/03/give-me-something-simple-in-my-mid-life.html ) and since then I've reviewed countless bike geo's, reviews and test rides.  I started with a Chromag Surface design then tweaked the design based on Canfield's Nimble 9, 44 bikes and the Kona Honzo.  The final design ended up being a short chainstay, longer top tube, short stem, 140mm fork.  The sliding dropouts were added for tweaking the ride and water bottle bosses for bike packing tours.  Throughout the design phase, my good friend Rob Warren from Whishart Cycles www.whishart.com helped me developed and finalize the design.  Once we agreed to it, he was off ordering the tubes, and parts for the build.  The headtube is a 44mm CNC unit, the sliding dropout is stainless from Paragon Machine works.  The tubes are pre-bent (chainstay

Life is complicated. Simply put. I don't yearn for the days of a simple lifestyle as I get older because I like the rewards of having an complicated lifestyle... Its hard to put that into words, but for some things I do wish for less complicated things to keep me happy.   Take cycling for example; I ride both road and mountain bikes - I like riding on the road, its simple, my mind can drift off and I can enjoy the view (when not on a busy road).  I like when its done, it's clean, clothes aren't muddy and bike is put away dry and as new as the day I got it.  But riding on the road is boring, and if I didn't have music, I would be falling asleep at 50 km into the ride. I also like mountain biking, the trails keeps me concentrated on my balance, my skills and on the flow.  But my mind can't drift and to be set into auto pilot to solve work or life problems.  50km into a mountain bike ride, I AM EXHAUSTED. My bikes are complicated - Double tap, carbon frame, hydro for

Driving up Topanga Creek Canyon For the past month or so I've been building trails and bridges on the Sunshine Coast and it wasn't til I flew into LA, I didn't know if riding a bike was on the agenda.  Really, I didn't know what I was going to do, but I brought my road biking gear figuring that  I may rent a road bike and go for a tour.  It didn't take me long to realize that LA does an awesome job in managing the flow of the daily commute of 12 million cars...12 MILLION CARS!  However, riding bikes on these roads would have been a quick trip to the hospital. (Actually during my time down there, instead of hitting a tourist attractions, my son and I drove the Freeways (101, 405 and Hollywood freeway) for shits and giggles.  There is nothing like driving 65 miles/hour in bumper to bumper traffic 8 lanes wide).  Great roads for a car but not for a road cyclist - perhaps the seasoned LA cyclist but not for this country bumpkin! So, I decided to see if there was mou

Its a pretty simple goal and a bit of cop-out.  Everyone needs goals to strive or reach for.  They make us better riders in skills or in fitness.  Over the last couple of years, I've chosen Granfondo's, races and other self imposed events to help me keep motivated to do better.  At the end of season, I get burnt out and it takes all winter to get back the motivation to ride.  This year will be different for me.  Cycling is passion for me and to fuel that passion is to ride - ride with friends, ride different areas and trails and ride for life.  This goal keeps me motivated like you cannot imagine and I feel that it will help me enjoy cycling. Over the last couple of months, I've in touch with old friends and met new ones.  I've been to areas like Squamish and thoroughly enjoyed those trails giving me a whole new set of skills and knowledge.  For me, this year is to ride smart (not dumb and get hurt) and to ride for me.  Plus I have other goals like losing weight that