My first Norco ride (Feb. 23, 2007)

Last weekend it was sunny and warm out and it looked like winter had finally come to an end. But nature had its own plans, it has snowed the last couple days. I was off work early and so was my dad so we decided to go hit up the woodlot for a ride. It was a cloudy day with the odd sunny break and there was fresh snow on the trail. I came straight from Vancouver so I didn't have my bike with me so I had to borrow the old man's 2002 Norco Team DH, and he rode his 2005 Norco Shore 1. This will be my first time riding a Norco ( and one size too small at that).

We decided to head up to upper Toadstool and then hook up with B-line since there has been some new work done on B-line, then finish off the ride with Hoots then Shotgun. There was a nice dusting of snow on the forest access road on the way up.

Dad and his '05 Shore ready to descend Toadstool.

My loaner bike for the day : medium '02 Team DH.

Upper Toadstool had about 5mm of snow on it which left the roots a little slick but other than that the trail was in fine condition. Surprisingly the medium Norco didn't feel too small for me once I got the feel for it on the downhill. The suspension action of the Team DH felt much nicer than my Devinci Magma and pedalling performance was noticeably better on the Norco. The two of us cruised down to B-line. I hadn't ridden B-line for some time and the snow made it difficult to actually see where the trail lay whereas dadman just had to follow my tracks which meant I had to ride even faster to keep him off my tail. I managed to navigate the trail just fine up to the steep middle section which was slick and rooty with tight bend at the bottom. I managed to cruise down the steep and just narrowly avoided crashing in the tight turn at the bottom when I heard a loud crash behind me. My dad had had endoed just before the turn at the bottom and actually slid head first past the turn. End result: charlie horse and a broken visor.

My dad's new "batman" visor.

After a short crash recovery we kept on. I guess with the layer of snow on the trail we missed the new section of B-line. The original trail however is always a blast at the end.

The main line on Hoots was free of snow which made for some good speed through the clear cut. The VPS rode flawlessly over the rough and pedalled fast out of every turn. We exited Hoots and were too lazy to climb back up to the top of Shotgun so we just cut in at the bottom half. We decided not to race down to the parking lot this time but had some fun hittin' some of the obstacles an practicing some high speed turns.

Me puttin' some high speed into a turn on Shotgun.

Me exiting the turn in racing form.

Riding over the ol' rock.

Dadman showin' how it's done!

My first experience riding a Norco VPS was definitely a good one. Maybe one day I will try out a Norco in my size and really put it to the test either way there's no better way to spend a Friday afternoon than to go for a ride, and yet another snow ride at that.

Balmy February (Feb. 10, 2007)

It's a balmy 15 degrees C, super sunny and blue skies. Once again meeting at the faithful woodlot always ready for riders. This time Amanda is not riding but she came along to drop me off. I was meting up with Brian and my dad. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so no pictures this time :(

The three of us geared up and headed up the hill in the perfect weather. We weren't sure what to ride so we just kept going up. No more snow below the power lines and the ditches and creeks were flowing with run-off. We decided since there was no snow at the powerlines that we should attempt Goldmine. The access road was cleared of fallen trees and there was no snow so the trip up was looking good. We got about halfway from the p-lines to the trailhead when we hit about two and a half feet of snow! The snow was deep but it was melting fast and we had to watch out for stepping thru the snow and into water underneath. It was weird, being in in that much snow, the air was obviously cold at that elevation but every now and then there would be this blast of warm air like a mini chinook.

Eventually the three "wise" men made it to the Goldmine trail head. We suited up and began yet another snow ride. Upper Goldmine was in decent condition, the snow really didn't affect our speed. Brian, who was complaining about not being out riding in a while and needed to ease back into it was flying when it came to downhill, dad and I on the other hand were suffering from the lack of lunch fatigue. Fatigue and all, Goldmine was yet another classic downhill rip and still kept me smiling on the way down.

We arrived at the trail head to Snakes and Ladders and one by one we dove into the trail and began rippin it up. Everything was smooth and traction was great, even down the big rock face there was no hint of loss of traction. Then we come to the ol' steep ladder bridge. Just past the end of the ladder bridge is a small tree, maybe 4 or 5" in diameter. This tree has been struck by many upon many of riders who could not make the high speed off camber turn. I for one have been victim of this tree way back in the beginning. It has been years and I mean like 7 years since I have hit this tree! And wouldn't you know it on a day when fatigue was taking over I thought I could still ride like any other day. Wham! Over the bars I go, sliding down the hill. I regained my composure, got on my bike and kept going. I don't even remember how we rode out Shotgun. I was tired, the ride was good, the sky was sunny. The end.

Another team member returns! (Feb. 3, 2007)

It is official, my old man now owns the 2005 Norco Shore! Farewell ol' red 2001 Norco Team DH. The weather was promising so a ride was organized and we were to meet at the Woodlot as per usual. The group comprised of myself (Jason), my dad (Brent), my wife (Amanda), Brian, and long lost team awsome member Doug! The plan was to head up to Goldmine with the hope that the snow would have melted enough for us to get a good run with some speed. The apparent "promising weather" had other ideas. The overcast skies turned to light rain, which had turned to full out snowing at the power lines and we decided to ride Crazy Carpenter instead.

Amanda pushing through the snow at the power lines.

(notice the snow in the air aswell)

After gearing up in the forest, in the shelter from the snow, we began our descent. Brian led the way followed by my dad and Doug and myself with Manda picking up the rear. The three in the lead chose not to ride the first log ride but ride beside it instead due to the ladder bridge that was broken. My dad ended up endo-ing after a root drop when his tire jammed against a rock. I decided to ride the logride then hop off to the side just before the broken ladder bridge. Instead my rear tire slipped off the log about halfway along so I was forced to continue on along the same route my dad took and ended flying over my handlebars at the same stupid rock he hit. My little trail builder Manda dug the rock out and filled it in with a flat rock to prevent any future crashes. We scooted down the rest of the trail smoothly and problem free.

Amanda riding out the end of Crazy Carpenter

The group steamed on ahead with Toadstool followed by lower toadstool. We noticed that B-line has undergone and is still undergoing renovations and the two trails now merge together at the end. I will have to check out B-line next time.

L-R: Brian, Dadman, Doug, Manda the weirdo at the top of lower Toadstool

Now at a lower elevation the snow is just plain old rain which made it nearly impossible to keep our eyes open during the ride down the access road to Shotgun due to water and dirt spraying off our tires and into our faces. We assumed our regular race tradition and flew down Shotgun to the parking lot. Brian led the way followed by my dad then me and Doug and Amanda charging right behind. It was another awsome ride and we were completely soaked and our faces completely mud-freckled.

Ride of 2007! (Jan. 27, 2007)

New year, old rider (just kidding), new bike? Finally managed to get out on my first ride of 2007. Pops and I decided to go hit up the woodlot just to get some sun and laugh at those who were stuck in the fog down in the valley. Unfortunately my camera batteries were dead so no pictures :( I get out of my car in the parking lot and as I am unloading all my gear my dad rides up to me on a mint 2005 Norco Shore thanks to Maple Ridge Cycle. We tractored our way up the mountain with the intention of riding Goldmine but there was still a good 10" of snow at the power lines and fallen trees were still all over the acces road past the power lines so we opted for Tsuga instead. We scooted down Tsuga, and my dad had some new found confidence thanks to the Marzocchi 888 and rode the steep rockface for the first time! We continued on to Snakes & Ladders. A string of sunny days had finally dried up the Woodlot a bit and the trails were in perfect condition. We cruised down to Shotgun for our traditional race to the parking lot.

It's been a while (Dec. 28, 2006)

It's been a while but two team awsome members have returned for ride. Finally my wife, Amanda, has made it out again for a ride, last time was before thanksgiving and I didnt have my camera with me. And Brian has returned from injury, which occurred in Whistler in the summer. Myself, my dad, Amanda and Brian decided, since two of us have been off the bike for awhile, to go for an easy ride to get back into the feel of things again. We met at the Woodlot and decided to ride Toadstool (both upper and lower) followed by Shotgun right back to the parking lot.

The mountain was cold, freezing cold actually, and there was frost everywhere. Manda's shifter wasnt working and she was stuck in 6th gear and no granny ring but she stood up and powered her way up the hill to the Shotgun trail head inspite of the gearing. Tough girl. About halfway up the mountain who should catch up and pass us? Andrew, my friend from highschool who we had ridden with the other day. Andrew and his brother apparently couldnt get enough fill of the Woodlot and had to get some more riding in while he was out here from the shore for the holidays.

We got to the trailhead of Toadstool and started to suit up for the descent. Since it was freezing out we actually didnt sweat and our jerseys were still dry which is always nice. The weather was beautiful and sunny and the trails were in good shape, not too muddy or frozen and dry. We stopped for some pictures on the way down.

At the Toadstool trailhead ready to descend. L-R: Brian, Amanda, my dad.

Amanda descending the last section of upper Toadstool on her Kona Stinky Dee-lux.

My pops given me the "put away the camera and lets ride!" look on the connector trail.

My dad flyin' across the bridge over the creek on lower Toadstool on his Norco team DH

Amanda crossing the bridge in hot pursuit.

My little biker girl approves of the ride so far.

Brian touching down after a drop on lower Toadstool on his 2006 team DH

After exiting Toadstool we cruised down the access road towards Shotgun and decided to hit an old dirtbike jump on our way down.

Me gettin a little airtime between trails.

Keeping with tradition we switched to race mode for Shotgun. I took the lead, followed by Brian, dad, and Amanda. I stopped at the halway point in the clearcut to get some pictures. The sun was out and was thawing out the frozen stumps which were now steaming in the sunshine. A very cool sight.

Amanda approaching the clear cut, you can see the stumps thawing in the sun.

Amanda coasting through the clearcut, stumps a steaming everywhere.

Amanda on Shotgun riding a very frosty bridge in the shade of the trees.

And to end off this biking blog I close with a picture of Amanda biking off towards the warm sunshine awaiting at the parking lot at the bottom of Shotgun. Great weather, great friends and family, great ride.

Amanda crossing the final bridge of the mountain and heading for some sun to warm up after a frosty ride at the Woodlot.

Bixing Day! (Dec. 26, 2006)

Boxing day 2006. My wife had too many Christmas goodies and was not feeling upto riding and my old man had some suspension issues to deal with but the rest of the cousins were ready to ride this time.

Heavy with turkey uncle Jim, Jordan, Justin, Jared, Jesse and I opted to go as high up the mountain as the connector trail below Krazy Karpenter and ride upper and lower Toadstool down to Hoots and finish off with the usual race down Shotgun to the parking lot. I had tire valve difficulties and was forced to ride with a half flat rear tire with made for amazing traction but was a little sluggish. I led the charge down upper Toadstool with Jared and Jordan following close. Jared managed to pass me halfway down but I caught up to him and passed him on the drop near the bottom. Jesse was the only one of us to attempt the ancient logride (one of the original stunts on one the woodlots original trails) in the slimey conditions and conquered it.

We continued on with lower Toadstool, which is one of the flowiest natural trails on the mountain. Jared led the way again and again I passed him on a drop halfway down with Jordan buzzing my tire the whole way down.

We scooted up the service road to Hoots. Jared led the way with me, Jordan, Justin, Jesse and Jim in tow. We stopped for some photo ops on the big rockface (somehow Justin managed to elude the camera) before hitting the little gaps and jumps down the rest of the trail.

Jordan riding the rockface on the Sasquatch.

Uncle Jim preparing to bail out!

Uncle Jim riding the rockface on the ol Hammer.

Jesse crusin down the rockface on his Kona dirtjumper.

Jared flying down the rockface on the Giant AC

Finally we ended up at the top of Shotgun readdy to race down to the parking lot. Before I could stomp the pedals Jared was off. I gave Jared a few seconds lead before heading off in hot pursuit to catch him and again Jordan shadowed me the whole way off of every jump and every drop. I I built up a good lead on Jordan and managed to catch up to Jared by the halway mark but started to tire and thats when Jordan pounced and passed me. I dont know if he caught upto Jared but I was sure tired at the parking lot. Those Kamloops kids can really ride.

L-R: Jordan, Jesse, Jared, Jim, Justin and bikes strewn about the p-lot.

Christmas Eve Ride. (Dec. 24, 2006)

My Nelsonite and Kamloopian cousins are in town for Christmas and of brought their bikes to get their fix of coastal riding while they were here. My uncle Jim and youngest cousin Jesse and my dad and I decided to hit up the Woodlot. As we were getting our bikes and gear ready for the climb Andrew (an old riding buddy of mine from back in my highschool days) showed up with his girlfriend Daleth and his brother Kevin. They decided to join us for the ride.

It was decided that we would ride Tsuga followed by Snakes & Ladders and end with Shotgun. There had been word that the trailbuilders had been up the mountain with saws to clear these trails clear of all the fallen trees from the recent windstorms.

This time there was snow on the mountain (compared to the 8-10 inches of the stuff last ride) so the climb was pretty quick. As everyone was suiting up for the descent on Tsuga I decided to hike up The Gate with my bike to try a gap jump that I hadnt done in a while. The jump is a step down and the gap is between 12-15 feet. The landing is perfect on this jump but the approach is a little short and I could've used the next harder gear because I came up a little short and cased the landing! Fortunately I had cleared the gap just enough to ride it out without disaster. Note to self: use 7th gear!

On to Tsuga! I led the charge with Andrew followed by my dad then the rest closely after that. We cruised our way down Tsuga and most of us manage to slip on a nasty root section and uncle Jim managed to crash and send his water bottle rolling down the trail.

On to Snakes & Ladders! We cruised down the trail in a long train and stopped at the ladder/logride section to challenge each other. I coasted my way along the lengthy elevated ladder section while the others found the conditions too slippery and opted for the safer ladder section. Andrew was committed however to test his newly refined logriding skills and after a couple attempts at the roller coaster section he managed to clean the whole section in one try! He was pumped!

Me riding the roller on Snakes & Ladders

Andrew on his adrenaline pumping run of the elevated logride section

Dad going so fast he was a blur across the ladder sections

After exiting Snakes & Ladders we raced our way down Shotgun since it hads started to rain. I was in the lead with Dadman in hot pursuit followed by Andrew. Jesse had fun woking on his hucks on all the little root drops. A great ride followed by Christmas eve dinner at the parents. Cant beat that!

Snow Biking! (Nov. 28, 2006)

One of my alltime favorite riding times: Snow Riding! It is usually onlya small window in time that there is enough snow for the riding to really be considered snow biking! In this case we got a dump of about 2 feet of it in a few days. So my dad and I decided to head out to the Woodlot in search of untouched snow covered downhill single track.

Here's Bicyclese, my old man and his truck at the parking lot pre-ride.

There was about 6" of snow down in the p-lot, there were a couple cars there, no doubt others had the same idea as us. I guess with all the rain and wind storms preceding the snow storm the forest had been undergoin some stress. We could see and here the occasional tree cracking apart and crashing through the forest as we made our way up the mountain.

Here we stopped for a rest just below the exit of Goldmine.

As soon as we passed the exit of the Goldmine trail we could see that all the small trees and large bushes were drooped across the trail under the heavy snow, this would take us forever to navigate our way up the mountain pushing through all the branches so we decided head up Goldmine from the bottom then ride back down and continue with Snakes and Ladders.The power lines. Snows gettin deep.

We pushed our way up the trail just past the entrance to "Snakes and Ladders" to find ...untouched snow! Goldmine apparently been to far of a hike for most and was therefore unridden since the snow fall. The snow was particularly deep under the power lines, roughly 2 feet of the stuff. The the droopy snow covered branches made it hard to find where upper Goldmine came out onto the p-lines. After some bushwacking and stumbling through the snow we managed to find the trail again only to have to stop after a few hundred meters due to fallen trees all over the trail. There were too many fallen trees to make the hike worth it, so we decided to stop and suit up for the descent. The loud cracking of trees falling all around us was enough to suited up and get our helmets on as fast as we could when there was a huge cracking and crashing noise. We dropped everything and sprinted for our lives to a small clear area, having no idea where the falling tree was around us. The tree ended up falling right where we were standing. We decided right then and there to get the hell outta there.

Escaped by inches.

We pedalled our way down goldmine in the 8-10 inches of snow (not easy), till we got to Snakes and ladders.

Snakes and Ladders.

Closeup of the sign. Can you read that?

The ladder bridges were fun in the snow, I managed to hit a couple jumps in the snow: the launch off the stump, and the little step down. The bridges on the lower section were sweet, all covered with snow, still had decent traction. And lucky for me no one had attempted the elevated log rides and ladders yet so I had first dibs on them covered with fresh snow. Woohoo!

Dad on the first ladder bridge.

Dad on the lower bridge sections. Doesnt it look fun?

Unfortunately, the photographer's hand was too close to the cold camera and it fogged up, but you can kinda make out me riding down one of the elevated log sections covered in snow.

We ended up finishing the ride with Shotgun, it was a blast sprinting down that trail in the snow! I went a little too fast on the bridge in the clearcut and drifted right off and into the snow. A minute later I was down at the parking lot and loadin up the truck. What an adventure!

Gregor bikers reunite! (Oct. 22, 2006)

Another bicycle adventure update. Two weeks ago, the ol thanksgiving turkey ride, the little one (Manda) and I went for a bicycle adventure up at the ol woodlot unfortunately the camera batteries were dead and we didnt not get any pictures. :( Although the ride was great. Last week I had a camera ready but no one to help document the ride. This time I managed to convince the ol beardo himself to join me: my dad. Destination: the Woodlot...again.

We decided to make the long trek up to the power lines of Blue Mountain ,where the Woodlot resides, and start the descent on "Crazy Carpenter". Ironically, my dad is a crazy capenter so I think he is just naturally drawn to this trail whether he likes it or not. Well we huffed and puffed our way up to the top of the mountain pushing our near 50 pound rigs up the rocky forest road and began suiting up in our protective armor preparing for battle against the trail.

We begin riding along some elevated planks once we enter the forest before riding off a small drop and then onto a long sloped logride before coming to a combination of steep technical trail and amazingly handcrafted bridges all cut from fallen cedar on the forest floor.


Here is a picture of the obstacle that made the Woodlot famous. It is a large old growth stump that has a bridge spiralling down it from the top and then goes thru it! The stump has been hollowed out. It is an amazing feature. Here my dad is taking the route on the left, which bypasses the tricky section.

Here is a view of the same section from another angle, now I am actually standing on the ol stump.

After "Crazy Carpenter" we continued on with "Toad Stool" an oldie but thanks to the hard work of the trail builders is still a goodie. Once a the bottom of upper T.S. we had planned to move on to "Giant Killer" but we noticed some new trail work on lower "Toad Stool" and decided to check it out. A new line had been cut, bypassing a very erroded section, and a few little gaps and hip jumps thrown in for good measure. I got a little overzealous and over shot the gap jump but no harm done. Near the bottom of the trail we came a nice creek crossing that had been renovated just a couple years back.

Toad Stool manages to stay out of the way of major biking traffic and much of its features tend to stay great riding condition. Here's my ol man flyin across the bridge!

After blasting down T.S. we hit up "Heckle and Jeckle" a once killer trail that was shut down due to logging and was reborn just a year ago into probably the finest trail on the mountain. I hit the first little step up gap a couple times then we moved on to a wooden platform up in the trees that descended down a log ride and ending in a kicker into a banked turn. I had a little too much speed doen the log ride and launched the kicker into the corner! Luckily I stopped just short of flying over the bars and into the bushes however the sudden impact did do a number on my ankles, but not enough keep me from finishing the ride! The two of us raced on through huge smooth bank turn after bank turn, carving our way through the forest. What an unbelievable feeling to move like that through the trees.

Finally the two of us finished off the bicycle adventure with the lower half of "Shotgun" and popping out of the forest into the parking lot. Another great ride in my ol stompin grounds.

Solo ride (Oct. 15, 2006)

Today my little ridin partner (my wife) Manda was feelin under the weather and couldn't go biking. Considering the short notice to find others join in on a bicycle adventure I decided to go about the adventure on my own. Destination: the Woodlot.

Here's the Vibe and my bike "Bicyclese Mark II" (Bicyclese Mark I died unfortunately at Whistler on Dirt Merchant) ready to be unloaded.

I decided to hoof it up to "Blood Donor" and rip my way down to the parking lot. I decided to take some shots of the scenery of the hike up.

I thought the contrast of those bright red maple leaves looked amazing against the dark cedar forest in the background. If you look closely you can see Bicyclese posing against a stump in the center of the photo just below the red. "Bicyclese you are such a ham!"

Here is Bicyclese posing again at the ol' log resting spot. There is normally a small stream running across the road here but the long dry summer has drunk it all up. These quiet resting spots in the forest are one of the things I love the most about mountain biking. So peaceful!

Bicyclese and I at our final rest/water break before we head up the connector trail between "Crazy Carpenter" and "Blood Donor". As lazy as I may look at the moment it is no "stroll in the woods" making your way up the maountain at the pace that I go. The sooner I get up the mountain the sooner I can get to the good stuff: the downhill.

Here we are finally at the entrance to " Blood Donor". I didn't see a single other human being on my trek up the mountain, which is a rarity now that the Woodlot has become such a huge destination. Just above the yellow trail builders sign you can still see the remnants of a black and yellow birthday hat from nearly three years ago when my cousins, uncle Jim, dad and Manda and I came up here for my birthday ride.

I managed to catch up to some riders on "Blood Donor" who were visiting from the shore. They were very courteous riders and made way for me to attempt the 6-7 foot drop into the "dip" however I caught my shorts on my upper fork crown in mid pedal stroke while I was up on the elevated ladder bridge and nearly fell off. Lucky for me I reacted quickly and did not fall, so I took another run at it and landed smoothly and caught up to the "shoresies" near the ol canoe drop. The canoe drop is not very big, maybe 5 feet if you really launch it but it used to be made of a hollowed out log ,like a canoe, and if you werent careful you would catch your pedals on the sides of the canoe!

I proceded to "Giant killer" next, one of my all time favorite trails, I will have many more stories to tell of that trail, which I raced down and sped on to "Shotgun" a fun and flowy trail that takes you right back to the parking lot. Total E.T. from parking lot to top and back: 1 hour and 15 minutes. Phew! Pretty good time considering picture breaks and one crash on "shotgun" oops! Hopefully next time I can share a bike adventure with someone.

huge air at eagle mountain