 |
|
||
|
BLOG :: THOUGHTS FROM THE TRAILS Topics and issues to do with moutainbiking in the Sea to Sky Corridor. This BLOG presents the opinions and thoughts of BLOG owner Jude Goodwin - sometimes mistaken, not always factual, sometimes just hearsay and gossip! Send your feedback to jude@squamishmountainbike.com Dec 24 :: A Long Winter's Nap ... Or not! Hello everyone, hope you're having a very merry Christmas season. If you're like me, you're already planning your new year's training program even as you bite into just one more homemade shortbread cookie - just one more! So here's a holiday wrap-up: First things first, the Test of Metal. It happens in June but January 1st is the big day. Did you sign up during the locals only window? The Test of Metal website now has a complete list of locals who were able to make it into the sign-up Dec 1. If you missed out, get your submit thumbs ready for 6:00 pm January 1. Actually here's a psst. The form will be available for filling out a few minutes before 6 so go there and do the paperwork ahead of time. No 'official' word as to when it will happen, but likely 10 minutes or so ahead of time. Next, the SORCA AGM. January 15 at the Library, 6:30 pm. Not a member? Now's the time to come on by and see what's shaking. And speaking of AGMs, there is the Squamish BMX Racing Club AGM on Jan 27, 1:00 pm at the Squamish Adventure Centre. There are lots of plans for 2008 but it can't be done without volunteers! SORCA and Trinity Romances' annual Casino Night - James Bondage 2008. "yet another epic night of faux gambling, martini drinking, lingerie gawking and dancing." is February 16. Howe Sound Inn. In case you haven't heard, Dec 29, Saturday is Hockey Night in Squamish, a fundraiser for the Squamish Foodbank put on by local mountain bikers. Please bring can food donations. Pick up registration at either Corsa Cycles or Tantalus Bike Shop. $30 per person. Full Equipment recommended. Helmet, Gloves required. For info contact Don Petrocco at petrock1@hotmail.com or 604 848 5306. 8:00 - 10:00 pm Brennan Park Leisure Centre. Of course, all these events and lots more (kayaking, skating, swimming, running) can be found on the website What's On Squamish Events Guide www.whatsonsquamish.com Would you rather race your mountain bike on the trails or run on them? This year you might be able to do both - talk is about a trail running twoonie every 2nd Wednesday complete with bbq. Watch for news! The Rat Race Lives - watch their new website for news, promised in the new year. http://www.ratrace2.com/ The Sun Run Clinic starts up January 12. The perfect way to get into running and ultimately trail running. You'll be running 10 k by April. Think of it! Brennan Park 604 898 3604. SORCA Spin Sessions start up January 8 at Don Ross School. SORCA members only. www.sorca.ca OK, I'm tired now. Gonna go take that nap and then eat turkey with friends and neighbours at the Brackendale Art Gallery. Ho Ho Ho GET OUT!
Nov 26 :: In defense of spontaneous activity Recently I purchased a new pair of skates for myself and my daughter. I was thinking it would be nice, in light of all the 'obese children' warnings we receive, if we could have a winter activity and why not go out skating a few times a week together? Also, what better place for teens to get together than the skating rink? Remember the disco ball skate nights? The 50's music skate nights? The time the red haired boy was the one to help you up from the ice? Good clean fun. So with our new skates sitting perkily by the door, I looked up our local rink schedule and this is what I found - there are only 3 hours of public skating available in the entire week! There is no public skating on Saturday at all, not day or night. Nothing on Friday nights. There's an hour and a half Wednesday nights (a school night) and an hour and a half on Sunday, early afternoon. And that's it. I've been around long enough to realize the rest of the ice time is likely booked with skating programs, hockey, and other planned activities. But I think the lack of a few hours left here and there for people interested in simple, spontaneous activity is an oversight. There should be public skating Saturday and/or Sunday afternoons, like 2-4, and public skating on a weekend evening. If not Friday night, then Saturday night, 7-9. These all need a concession stand, skate rental and other fun things like theme music and special lighting, especially the evening sessions. This is the way it was when I was a child, back when childhood obesity was unheard of. The skating rink schedule actually reminds me of our own family schedule - every minute booked with classes, rehearsals, lessons, coaching, and schoolwork. Now in order to be more active, we have to consider booking my daughter into yet another planned, scheduled set of lessons. I know what she's going to say - forget it mom! And I think of my daughter as privileged. There are many kids in our community who do not have the choice to take skating lessons or be involved in a hockey program. We want our kids to get active so lets give them the chance! Our teens complain of 'nothing to do' and here's a perfect example! They aren't asking to have their schedules booked up tight. They want to hang out - and we want them to hang out somewhere healthy. If it's all about money, I think the current DOS policy of encouraging kids to be fit could maybe support a few more hours of ice time for the community - and maybe some special bus times. Meanwhile, maybe we could book some 'teen night' skates over the winter. I'd volunteer if needed. Anyone else? November 10 :: To Twoonie or not to twoonie There's been a lot of talk lately on the subject of the SORCA twoonie races. Much as no one wants to criticize the efforts of volunteers who work tirelessly and without complaint to bring us 10-14 races every year, it is important to keep the forum for discussion open. Are there ways to improve on the current model? I say yes. We need to get the middle and lower packs back into the spirit of twoonie racing and bbqing. We need to welcome and encourage newcomers. We need to spread the races across our entire trail network so people will become familiar with and grow to love every trail just as we do. And we need to take care of each other. So here are my suggestions: Sweeps at every race and every ride. Friendly sweeps. Sweeps with first aid kits, spare tubes and big smiles. Finish lines that stay in place until the last sweep is through. Friendly finish lines with big smiles. Different race courses over the season. Some in the Highlands. Some in Crumpit. Some in the Dump trails. One at Brohm Lake. Some up Diamond Head Road. Courses that can be finished in under 2 hours by the slowest rider. Courses with no double-diamond sections. Twoonie Ambassadors - how about seeding the field with a few mid-pack volunteers who are out for the ride, but willing to forgo a win in order to be friendly to other racers. Keep it competitive! We won't survive without competition. Remember, even racer number 75 is excited because last month she was racer number 92! This must be acknowledged and encouraged. Points are good but the website should list all riders, every race. Not just the top 10. All riders. Jim Douglas has a cool hand held thing that tracks racers as they cross the line. This would be perfect for twoonies. OK, enough soapbox. Sympathies to Cliff Miller who suffered a neck injury at work a few weeks back. Hopefully he's making a good recovery and we'll see him up and about soon! Congrats to the Loonar Enduro organizers and cooks. All accounts say it was an excellent event! See some pics at left. Our 2008 Calendar is now being filled in. Be sure to take a look and start setting up your training schedules! And of course, REMEMBER LOCALS ONLY TEST OF METAL ENTRY WEEK! Oh, and psssst. Watch for our new Test of Metal website, should be launched December 1 (keep yer fingers crossed) Meanwhile, the trails aren't too too wet, the sun shines here and there so GET OUT! I've been sadly remiss in posting to this blog. So much to do, so little time! And what about the rest of you? Hope you're all having an awesome summer. The weather has been perfect for sport - not so great for lake lazing, but maybe we'll get a long dry fall in exchange. This rider hasn't been showing up for too many toonies or group rides so I've been missing all my SORCA friends. Truth is, the rides are too long for me. I didn't train for the Test of Metal this year so evening rides that rack up a lot of landscape just aren't practical - it would be dark or close too before I finished! I love some of the gnarly courses, and would enjoy the ride on a leisurely Sunday afternoon, but 'racing' something that technical is a bit of an oxymoron, at least for Jude. I miss some of the 'traditional' courses like Brohm Lake and Farther Side. Cliff Miller and others have been talking up The Squamish Tea and Crumpit association (with a lower case 'a' on purpose) described as : a group of people who are intrested in leading an active lifestyle that includes participation in various recreational activities that include but not limited to hiking, rock climbing and mountain biking. these people are also intersted in eating barbeque after participating in a recreational activity. OK! I'm in! Contact Cliff if you want to know more. I ran into Tina Plumb on Tracks from Hell the other day - literally. My new sport, trail running, has me travelling over many familiar mountain bike trails. It's very cool - one weekend I participated in STORMY! which is a trail running race over the Test of Metal Course and more (total 80 k). My relay 'leg' was up from the yellow gate at Alice Lake, along Bob McIntosh, Dead End Loop, up Rock and Roll, down the Corners, Rays Cafe to Mashiter, up Tracks from Hell and finishing at the bottom of Mikes Loop. How neat is that? Of course, I knew the course pretty well ... Next year I'm going to run 9-mile. Grrrr (Tina wanted to know where my bike was). Our team was called the Shady Ladies and we ended up with the 2nd best time and a first place finish due to a technicality. Many thanks to team mates Christine Bennett, Helle Wilburn, Tammy Van Hierden, Anne Richard, and Heather Metz. Mike Truelove and Paul Wick were part of a Mixed Team. Not sure of their team name so can't report their placing but they seemed to be having fun! ALERT! Bike NOT stolen! 3 year old Kona Kikapu Deluxe, left streetside for 12 hours, was not stolen from a home in Brackendale. Owner agrees it might have been the bike's muddy state or perhaps the retro flower stickers that dissuaded potential bike theives. "Or maybe Squamish isn't such a crime-ridden place after all!" So what's the quiz? The trail elves have been busy this summer - bless their little hearts - and we have been gifted with some pretty cool new paths to enjoy. See if you can choose the right answer to 'Name that Trail': 1. An extension to Cat Lake's winding downhill trail Cheshire
Cat. Pop out onto the highway briefly and look for the trailhead
on your left. 2. A branch off Crouching Squirrel - loamy forgiving downhill,
single diamond mostly with some nice double diamond rock faces
and drops strewn about. Finishes in the same area the Squirrel
finishes 3. Up Mike’s Loop. Right onto Entrails. Left onto new trail. Send your new trail descriptions to jude@squamishmountainbike.com. I'll make ya famous! GET OUT! The GearJammer went off without an injury although I read in the Sea to Sky News today that Neil suffered three hornet stings (and still managed to win by 4 minutes). I enjoyed working with the GearJammer crew, very professional, calm and efficient. As a GearHead I got a cowboy shirt, silver star and cool lanyard - we were also given T-shirts and GearJammer metals as well as some cool swag at the volley party. Pretty good! Maybe you'd like to consider helping out next year, the date for the race is July 27, 2008. www.gearjammer.ca I'd like to repeat that : July 27, 2008. Just in case any other event organizers are reading this. (Can you tell I'm leading into my rant for this month?) On the day of the GearJammer I was marshal at the spot where racers screamed through the Climbers Parking Lot, around a blind corner and onto Loggers Lane. We had a full lane closed off and some awesome Kiewit people flagging traffic - two-way, taking turns. For some reason, a climbers' festival was also happening in the same area, with hundreds of climbers attempting to access the parking lot and using the Smoke Bluff area. Also there was a Climbers Festival event happening at the Adventure Centre, right across from the GearJammer Rose Park Finish Area. Parking and pedestrian traffic was intense. At one point, I had climbers driving their cars across the delineated line into the bike race lane thinking it was a special lane for festival participants to enter the climbers' parking lot. Meanwhile, there happened to be some kind of accident on the highway and overflow traffic began using Loggers Lane as their detour. And also meanwhile, we had dozens of angry people, drivers giving the finger to the flagpeople, pedestrians ignoring the direction of traffic (and the more and more hoarse screams of the flag people and marshals) and swarming across the bike lane - There is a simple solution for future GearJammers - more delineators and ties - but this isn't the point of my rant. What I'm wondering is how did a Climbers Festival happen to land on the same weekend, in the same part of our paradise, as the GearJammer? It's a good question. Also, there was a running race in Alice Lake on Saturday (Squamish Thunder) the scheduling of which lead Alice Lake to refuse the GearJammer (luckily only briefly). So much going on! Am I naive to think there should be some kind of District of Squamish requirement that event dates be approved by a DOS department and issued a permit? I envision an office with a huge calendar on the wall and a bunch of coloured magnets. A single line telephone. A human being with a manual of site requirements for the different events. And a map. This human might be saying "A Climbers Festival? Wow that sounds great! Oh wait, we have a mountain bike race running through the climbers area on that weekend taking up the Smoke Bluffs area and the parking lots. You'll have to pick another weekend." And maybe the human would also be able to say "Check our online calendar for currently scheduled and permitted events then come on in and we'll look at your site plan." Let's learn to share in a way that doesn't incite anger and resentment folks. Proper planning is key. It's raining today - kinda coooool. Don't forget to - GET OUT! I just got back in town and the first thing I hear is the story about the mud making people sick in this year's Test of Metal. I had been following the thread on NSMB, so knew it was happening but who'd a thought? The health people are sending out a survey to all participants - it will be very interesting to see what the results are! What the heck is the BC Bike Race? Just saw a road closure sign in the paper and had to look it up. It's a 7 day mountain bike stage race (teams of 2 and 4) from Victoria through Comox, Powell River, down Sechelt (the reace director for that stage is Rat Race's Rod Camposano) then into Squamish and finishing in Whistler (race director for stage 6 and 7 is Grant Lamont of Cheakamus Challenge). FYI, here's the Day 6 (July 6) Squamish 'snapshot' :: Course Director: Grant Lamont Also next weekend is the Squamish Triathlon, Sunday July 8. Swim starts at Alice Lake at 9:00 am. The riders leave Alice Lake and proceed to a loop course around the Cheakye Fan. Runners then race loops on an inner 5k course. Finish line is the Don Ross Fields. Do ride over and cheer the peeps in. SORCA and Team Squamish are teaming up to present their 2nd Annual Tour De France Pool. Teams must be picked by July 6. For more info click here ... Hard working Jim Douglas has a special request : The BMX track needs the use of a small to medium-size ATV for a few hours work dragging a chain-link mat around the track in order to smooth out the small bumps. If you have one and are willing to let me use it for a day please call anytime soon. Contact jim by email jim@squamishbmx.com or phone (604) 848-4001 This week's 'bonus' toonie race sounds like lots of fun in the Highlands. Visit www.sorca.ca for details and map. That's all for now. Don't forget to GET OUT! A day where mettle met mud and mud met Metal. This year's race will go down in history for many reasons. The mud of course. The Ambassadors - a group of ten riders made up of some of Squamish's finest volunteers and hardest workers carrying pumps and tubes and clif bars and lots of good will. The mud. Wikedride - where boxes and boxes of historic Test of Metal swag was sold within an hour (and where there were some awesome Test of Metal hydration packs one of which I now hang in my hallway thank you Craig!). The anvil 'rider' prime.
CONGRATULATIONS CLIFF & DARLENE! I have my own thank yous - to my daughter Jama who accompanied me on part of my 'Celebrity Challenge' ride, to Craig for the awesome pack and SORCA stickers, to John French for the great 'plug' for squamishmountainbike.com. Congrats to Adam (the poetry contest winner) for his gold medal in category. Congrats to Neal Kindree for his overall win. Congratulations to all who passed the test, it was a rainy muddy day but it's always awesome in the end. Well, it's not raining now and tomorrow's a new day. So - GET OUT! June (almost) 16 :: TEST OF METAL Good luck to all my friends and fellow riders - this is going to be the best Test of Metal yet - perfect weather, buffed trails .... my heart is with ya. Did you know each lap is only 6K? How long does it take YOU to ride 6 K? If you're not planning on racing in the Test of Metal, why not come one out for the Pre-test? Or maybe you'd like one last race before taper time - lots of details can be found by clicking here - OK, so speaking of the SORCA Toonie (were we?) seems I wasn't the only one who read the cut-off info to mean we would be redirected if we didn't reach cut-off within 45 minutes of start. I tried my best, but was 65 minutes at cutoff - but lo! I was allowed to continue - lucky me, I got to ride up that last extreme hill and down Bruce's trail and at the end, there was SORCA Toonie Director Ian patiently taking names and numbers .Thank you Ian! You ROCK>>> and so do all of us pumping up the last bit of Perth in the rain and the dark. High Five! The BBQ was excellent (thanks Cliff and helpers) and I think the back of Republic Bikes is great place for post-race bbqs and fire pit, don't you? I have a nice beer glass with the SORCA logo on its front. Cool! $10 and it came with beer. SORCA and the Howe Sound Brew Pub staged their Ales for Trails fundraiser tonight - sadly I had to leave early but it looked like it was going to be fun with good attendance. Wednesday night, downtown Squamish was flooded with people, music, the smoke of a genuine Cliff BBQ and someone giving out prizes. I received a nice white running cap. I'll wear it tomorrow at Whistler's Valley Trail Run. Isn't life good? Lumberjacks is NOT part of this year's Test of Metal. Sorry - old map. The new map is now on the website and on various pads throughout town. Do pick one up and notice all our great sponsors. I thought I would give Ten Tips for newbie TestofMetal'ers' So here is Tip Number One: "Nobody ever gets any sleep the night before so don't worry about it. You can make up for lost sleep later." And to close, I'd like to print some of the poems entered in Squamish Mountain Bike Poetry Contest. Here's one by Bryan Raiser, Event Director of the upcoming BVOD on June 2. Live for B's Happy 50th birthdays to Curtis Roberts and Brad Walkey. Great bbq and party this weekend, even with the rain. At the last minute word went out, and many showed up dressed as either Curtis or Brad (it's amazing how many people own Kona bike pants!) so there were a lot of GearJammer T-shirts, hats, lanyards (Madi Demers was wearing GearJammer shaped bottleopeners made into earrings) and Hawaiin shirts. Don Petrocco livened things up with custom jerseys and a song. And so Curtis and Brad, may you have another great 50 years - we'll be lookin for your names in a whole new category this year. Some quick updates - I'm so busy being OUT I have little time for IN stuff. Remember the Pre-test - a friendly 40 k around the Cheekye fan trails. Do goto www.testofmetal.com and sign up! Wish me luck in the Whistler Valley Trail Run this Sunday. The kids are enjoying this year's Elementary School Pedal to the Metal race series which started last Tuesday. A serious note from the DOS and others regarding Active Logging in the Dump Trails area (read our Trail Updates page for more). That's it for now, don't forget to GET OUT! Here's a scenario. Volunteer offers to teach a bunch of people some mountain bike skills. Backed by local not for profit organization, he/she runs a successful clinic most of the season. So successful in fact, the guides and coaches who normally run clinics like this are put out of business. They start working in Whistler or the North Shore. Next season, volunteer is not interested in repeating the experience. Way too much work for zero pay. NFP org tries to find other volunteers to take up the slack. Pressure is on. One more season goes by with half-hearted effort. Season three, no volunteers. No professional guides and coaches. No clinics. With scenarios like this in mind, I think it's important that we keep the line between not for profit and professionalism clearly marked. Squamish has some excellent coaches, guides, and clinics. These people have invested a lot of effort and money in proper training and time in the field. They are the perfect choice for passing on skills and safety to our youth and our newcomers. Meanwhile, organizations like SORCA and the Squamish Trails Society are full of wonderful volunteers who can be counted on to help keep the trail network alive and available to all the clinic grads! Maybe new trails, maybe even a skills park. Some might comment on the costs and availability clinics lead by professional coaches. True, there are kids whose families cannot afford such things. This is where our District of Squamish recreation program comes in. DOS (through Brennan Park or whatever) can subsidize disadvantaged kids through various programs. As well, Canadian Tire and other corporate sponsors are stepping up to help kids be active. All this can be tied together. The corporate sponsors and municipalities hire the trained coaches and guides. Everyone wins. I'm off then - sunshiine=ride - you too... GET OUT! Be sure to pick up this Friday's What's On Squamish Events Guide. I've dedicated an entire page to Sports events and will probably continue to do that until the fall. Also, I've started a SPORTS SECTION on the WOS website - check it out at www.whatsonsquamish.com - websites are great because they can be updated daily making the events listing the best there is! If you have SPORTS news, announcements or press releases, do send them to me and I'll post them for ya. Last week's toonie was fabulous - rain, mud, 91 riders and phenom food from Pepe & Gringos - all the ingredients for perfection. My first ride of the season, I think I heard "71" from Ian so I'm pretty stoked and plan to get on my bike more and more and - yay ! Be sure to navigate yourselves over to the gearjammer.ca website as Race Director Curtis Roberts has started a page called Director's Dirt. The Squamish Mountain Bike Poetry Contest is now closed to submissions. We received quite a few good entries, will post winners on Mother's Day (May 13) Oh and speaking of Mother's Day, the Squamish Youth Tri is looking for volunteers. This will be day-of stuff, a few hours in the morning, you'll be done by noon and feeling good about giving back. Do wander over to their website and make contact www.squamishyouthtri.ca GET OUT! April 22, 2007 :: Happy Earth Day! Lots going on over the next two weeks in regards to enviro-consciousness from Pitch In Week and the Cool Climate Series (movies, speakers, promoted by Youth Action Committee and the Squamish Environmental Committee). Pick up a copy of What's On Squamish for event info. You'll find it in coffee shops, Nesters, Library, Adventure Centre, Brew Pub and lots of other places too. Rode the new Farside yesterday. In a word - brilliant. Brilliant work, effort and solution to riding over Mt Crumpit. Many thanks to SORCA, Chris McCrum, sponsors, and the army of workers. Suddenly I feel a whole lot better about our trails and their future. I also feel a whole lot better in general now that I'm back on my bike!!!! I ran the Sun Run, 10k, for anyone interested. I was one of over 54,000 people. But surprisingly, there as lots of room to run. I passed words of 'Test of Metal' wisdom on to my running partner, paraphrasing coach Bruce Spicer : "If you're passing people, you're going forward. If people are passing you, you're going backwards." - so we concentrated on passing people and squirted into little gaps and had a great time. I placed 17,871 overall and 363rd in category (1,808 total) so hey - I think I'm going to keep on running. Click here for photo of me in the race, courtesy of Fleet Feet Photos who promised to photograph 'every single runner'. Memo for next year - wear a bright coloured hat. LOL So Pre-Test - the course map is up and although it lacks a lot of technical I think for what it is we have a great mini-testofmetal type course - lots of climbing at the start of the lap, technical downhill through the 'dump trails', and some stretchy stuff before the lap repeats. Click here to get to the Pre-test info page. POETRY CONTEST - I've extended the deadline to April 30. Hopefully you're all just waiting until the last minute - like I do. But send em on in - I'm going to start posting some of them 'anonymously' this week so keep your eyes on squamishmountainbike.com and don't forget ... GET OUT! April 14, 2007 :: Don't tell me - Don't tell me mountain bikers don't write poetry! I won't believe
it. We're in the woods, riding along creeks and waterfalls, looking
over chasms - what more inspiration could anyone need? The first
annual Squamish Mountain Bike poetry contest offers a Test of
Metal entry as first prize, GearJammer entry as second and in
the under 14 category we have Two entries in the Pre-Test up for
grabs. Click here to read
contest guidelines Tomorrow I will run my very first footrace. 10K. Should be fun. It's a bit of a mass start - 50,000 people. There's a chip on my shoe (not on my shoulder where it usually sits) and a race plate that does not say Test of Metal - doesn't life take its interesting turns here and there? Today I rode Wonderland - what a beautiful place! - but lots of troughing and mud. I hear Recycle is crossed in many areas by blowdown. The Cheekye is being logged in places - be sure to keep checking our Trail Updates section for the latest news. And send me your own comments - jude@squamishmountainbike.com Sun's shining - GET OUT! March 15, 2007 :: Zen is happy And so is Steve Klassen of Brackendale's Bean Around the World. Steve, an experienced trail builder, actually has official permission to adopt Rigs and Zen and Crouching Squirrel, taking on all trail work and maintenance. How does this happen in the modern Squamish? Steve started with a chain saw accreditation course through the District of Squamish (contact Todd Pope for more info). Then he hiked up the trail and took a bunch of pictures and prepared a document describing his intent. This he submitted to Todd Pope, with a copy to SORCA. Pope did a little digging to see who actually owns the lands this trail crosses (all Crown Land for now) and added to the proposal. Finally it was submitted to MOTSA. Steve was given verbal permission to go forth and trail. "I wanted to adopt a trail and this one is nice and close. Also I prefer trails where there is no vehicle access to the top. That way I know my hard work will last longer." Steve plans to start work on the trail soon and would be happy to have help. If you are interested in Zen do contact him via email beanbrackendale@telus.net. If you are interested in the chainsaw course or in submitting
a trail proposal, contact District of Squamish Trails Coordinator
Todd Pope. For my next blog, I'm going to tell you all about the newest bike shop opening soon in Brackendale. GET OUT! March 9, 2007 :: Shiney and new No, not a bike, not even a drive train, but the mtb calendars are all posted now with lots of shiney new events - so hey, don't listen to that rain, don't look out the window, race over to your computers and check- it - out! For a long time, mountain bikers were people who built trails in secret, and rode them at night, and carried saws and reflector tape, and wouldn't draw a map for ya no matter how much beer you gave them, who insisted on guiding you in person and it didn't matter if the rain was coming down so hard the bridges were washed out, in the trees it was all good. When the maps started coming out and the guides started charging more than clif bars and reefers, when trails became part of a network and a catalogue and businesses with payrolls and car pools started conducting studies it seemed that things had changed. But nothing has changed. Oh, something took form, and all those who crowded in to get a piece of it have carried it off to who knows where. Personally, I'm happy to see 'em all go - I was getting tired of the babble and din. Meanwhile, some trail elves have been buffing up the monkey, there's a couple of kids building a huge jump somewhere on DeBecks you can hear their yahoos, the new farside is being constructed during SORCA's rake and bake month, and our first twoonie race is scheduled for April 1. Sure some of the old trails are gone, my hamster died over the winter too, but we're lookin at spring now, with all the excitement a whole new season can bring. See ya there... GET OUT! January 19, 2007 :: Inconvenient weather Well whew - there's a mouthful. If you haven't watched An Inconvenient Truth yet, take it out (or indulge in a bit of irony and purchase it from Walmart), sit down with your family, all ages, and watch it. Then invite your friends over, your grandparents, your classmates, and watch it. Sure, it's scary, but it's also full of hope. One of the things Gore talks about towards the end of the film is that many of us tend to go from Denial straight into Despair. There's a place between those two that might be called Action. And that's where the film leaves us - with steps, suggestions, and hope. We can reverse the affects of our lifestyle on the atmosphere and in ways that will make the world more prosperous, healthy and long-lived. So go to Highland Video, rent the film, and watch it. This week I received five invitations to sponsorship and volunteer. Wow. Lot's going on in our little berg! If you've missed out on the mailouts, here are a few: Wild at Art - 10 days of family fun in Feb, entertainment and art. www.wildatart.ca; SORCA / Trinity Romance Casino Night looking for sponsors and volunteers (Feb 10, see article on home page); Squamish Youth Triathlon (Mother's Day) needs sponsors and volunteers, contact Roz at Kids Triathlon kidstri<at>shaw.ca; and finally SORCA is lining up their sponsors for Toonie races. New this year, sponsors are also being sourced for Youth Loonies and Warm-up Wednesdays. That sounds good to me - I've always wished Warm-up Wednesdays also had some kind of post-ride social - good opportunity to butter up the newcomers eh? I'm in the Sun Run Clinic, learning how to run faster. My goal for 2007 is to run a few footraces. I like running, doesn't matter what kind of weather, a person can always go out and do it. But I miss my bike - the pictures Don sent us of the Plunge sure make me long for all of it. How about you?
Hello to Blair, we crossed paths twice on a very snowy Thursday. Nice chattin with you. And as for the rest of you ... GET OUT! January 2, 2007 :: Happy New Year Hope you're all cozy in this downpour. Well, today it was quite warm though! I hear this present weather is being called the Pineapple Express. The trails are sludge. Before you go out, do check our Trail Updates page. Todd Pope, the Squamish trails guy keeps us pretty up to date on the latest logging, washouts, etc. Last night about 50 of us gathered at Pac West to watch the Test of Metal entries sell. Of course, we were hunkered in for an expected 3 hours. As many of you know now, the race sold out in 48 minutes. The BBQ wasn't even ready! Exciting times for mountain biking in BC - the Test of Metal is no longer a Cycling BC race but is sanctioned under the newly formed GRMBA (Grass Roots Mountain Bike Association of BC). This did not slow anyone down when it came to entering. Sadly, those with slower internet connections were at a disadvantage. Over a thousand people pressing SUBMIT at the same time - you can imagine the bottleneck. In a way it was like a lottery whether or not a racer managed to get in. Some people never did reach the server or when they did, they were presented with the Waiting List page. If that happened to you, be heartened! Hundreds will get in from the waiting list. Lots of familiar faces last night, with Cliff and Darlene heading up the food - an awesome fare of ham and hash. Special thanks as well to Andrew and Helle, the web/form people who came down to join the fun and be on hand if last minute tweaks were needed (and they were) and Curtis who managed the overhead projector.
|
But
the highlight of the 2007 Test of Metal had to be the closing
presentation. All 'test pilots' past and present, along with volleys
and helpers, were asked to come up to the stage area at the finish
line. We were arranged in a semi-cirlce and each given a yellow
sign with a single letter on it which we were not to reveal. Then
Darlene Allen was asked up to the stage and MC John French talked
about Darlene's help with mountain biking in the community and
how difficult it must be sometimes to be Cliff Miller's girlfriend
and what a great sport she is. In appreciation for all her support,
Cliff presented her with a matching pink cruiser bike (Cliff's
has flames on it for those of you who didn't see this week's picture
in the Chief). Everyone clapped. Darlene tried her new bike out
- it was nice but then someone blindfolded her and we were asked
to turn out signs around. Cliff came up to the stage and knelt,
held up a ring, Darlene was given a sign to hold with 'yes' on
one side and 'maybe' on the other. I didn't see all our letters
but they spelled out the essence of 'Will You Marry Me Darlene'
- she was unblindfolded and carefully read the words, threw her
sign in the air, knocked over the bike - the crowd went crazy,
half of us were crying right along with Darlene. Finally she examined
the 'maybe' a bit then turned it around and held up the YES for
all to see. The media was there taking film and pictures, champagne
was popped, and all crowded around to offer congratulations. 
|
|