PedalTrout

  So my pedal time this summer was pretty much non-existint . Except for the odd ride with my daughter in the buggy, there has been only crushed stone and no single track whats so every. And somehow i still managed to toast my frame.

 Somehow kicked up a massive rock of the front tire and put a serious dent in my downtube...  that didn't exactly motivate me. So my freeride bike is very limited in what i can do with it out of fear of it becoming a unicycle.

 So i've be kinda longing for simpiler times, where my bike was lighter and something that pulls my daughters buggy a little easier. so i ordered:



I'm gonna throw the components off my stinky (my 66, hadley hub, and various other parts) and give the old freeride hardtail a rip for a while.

 I'm actually getting pretty excited about riding, and possibily a late season trip to sugarloaf,

 Anyways thanks for listening to my diatribe. and sorry for not being around much the last year or so... now that my daughter is getting bigger, maybe next year we could organized a "Family ride day" at Victoria park in truro or something for us family folk who haul around presious cargo on rides :)

 Ray 

I ride my bike because it is fun, keeps me young and in shape... and mostly sane.  It also keeps me in touch with so many cool, interesting and awesome people.
Through pedal power I have met many fantastic folks, I even found a wife on two wheels!
I have a theory that when the cranks are turned, the brain begins to pump out chemicals that make the rider even more awesome.  The more they pedal the better person they become.
Recently this was proven at Gore when a fellow rider was injured and about two dozen racers stopped mid race to call 911, perform first aid, make a new trail to get him to the ambulance faster, and carry him through the woods.  I'd like to see tennis players or golfers do that. 
Another prime example is a stolen bicycle that was lost five years ago and recently recovered through the comraderie of cycling, and social media.
It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly you can show up to a group ride,  not know a soul, and within minutes you feel like you have been friends for many years. 
I have never met a person on a bicyle that I didn't like instantly.  I may not always remember your name, (only because I suck at names) but I will always remember the ride and the great times we had.
Cyclists are all beautiul people.
Pedal, pedal, pedal!!!

Our PedalTrout jerseys got so many compliments at Gorefest that we thought we'd make a run available to our members. We are planning this run so that they will be available in time for holiday gift giving.

We will be taking orders up until Sept. 30 and we need a minimum of 5 to place the order.

These tagless jerseys are fully sublimated (no screenprint to crack, wear off or affect the breathability) with a 3/4 length hidden zip and 3 back pockets.  To find your size please measure one of your best-fitting jerseys from armpit to armpit and compare to the chart below. The sizing runs slightly small so if in doubt you may want to order one size up.

Jerseys are $70 each. To place your order please email and specify size as well as men's or women's! We can take cheques as well as Paypal.

Several years ago I lived in Ellershouse. One day, while exploring the woods a few kilometers from my home I found a place with big trees, a deep ravine, well-drained forest floor. I knew it needed a mountain bike trail. With no one keen to help and a lack of knowledge on my part the trail remained a dream. Eventually I moved and that was that.

 3 years ago I moved again, back towards that forest. This time I had a willing accomplice and lots of experience. We went to work with a common vision and explored those woods in depth, marking lines, discussing routes, building a place to ride and spending every free minute expanding out blister collection for the sake of having a close-by trail.

 Those woods became a second home of sorts. In the first year, when the leaves started drifting to the ground we had almost 3 km of singletrack –a short distance, but it was technical and challenging, old school trail at its finest. Over the second year we continued to add and modify and groom. 3 years later we had almost 8km of singletrack buried deep within the woods. The trail improved every day we worked on it, hiked it or rode it.

 Grunter (as we called it) also became a sanctuary of sorts for me. Often on rainy days I would leave the bikes at home, take the dogs and slip into the woods to meditate on life, clear the stresses of work and bills and stupid people. There were owls and deer and bears, once I even spotted a flying squirrel. The humongous old growth trees, mossy banks of the ravine and the way that the forest repelled noise was soothing and wonderful. Grunter became my ultimate happy place.

A few weeks ago as Troy and I hiked through Grunter a yellow ribbon waved at us from a tree on the trail. We stopped dead in our tracks to ponder its taunting.  No other ribbons could be seen, perhaps a hunter was marking a spot for a deer stand? Perhaps someone had found the trail and decided to mark it? We crossed our fingers that it meant nothing more and carried on. But then a week later another ribbon appeared, and another.

Yesterday as we hit the downhill section of Grunter I stopped. The sounds of heavy machinery were closer than I was comfortable with. When we finished up the ride and popped through the hidden entrance that separates sanctuary from the rest of the world, shock grabbed my heart and stopped it dead. The old decrepit fireroad that bridged the upper and lower sections of Grunter now sported a fresh new topcoat of shale, complete with a culvert noosed by that same yellow ribbon. People don’t spend money fixing up dirt roads in the middle of nowhere without a reason.

We knew that if not tomorrow, then the next day or the day after that, Grunter would fall victim to the chainsaws and tree rippers that would clear cut this chunk of land that had become my second home.

I guess we should learn something from this experience. Perhaps the lesson is to always obtain permission and determine the end-purpose of a piece of land before building a trail. Perhaps the lesson is that nothing good ever lasts. A part of me feels like 3 years has been wasted, but I know that isn’t true.

Grunter may be falling as we speak, but there are parts of Grunter they can’t cut down. I’ll always have the memory of the exquisite beauty that lay in those woods, the experiences that Troy and I shared while raking or trimming or pondering, the skills that I gained every time I cleaned a new section of tough singletrack. Perhaps someday we’ll go back and resurrect Grunter from the rubble, or perhaps this is our cue to move on and find another sanctuary. Only time will tell.

With no course of action left, no way to stop the carnage, all I can say is Grunter, I’ll miss you terribly. It may sound cliché, but get out there and enjoy what you have because it can vanish in a snap and then it’s too late.

Grow back fast, old friend.

Ryan MacDonald is fast, and now he has proof to back that claim up.  He has recently claimed title as the 2010 Junior National Road Champion. Ryan didn’t get where he is today by his great personality alone.  He has been busting his butt in Europe training during the month of May with the Canadian National Cycling Team. He had to give up a lot of quality time with family and friends.  Not to mention he had to keep up with that thing called school.  Arriving home just in time to write exams must have been tough.

Ryan learned a lot about what is required to compete at the World elite level from this experience. His main goal for this season was to do well at nationals and earn a spot for Worlds.  Looks like he is going to Worlds…Disney World also perhaps?

The thing we enjoy most about Ryan is the fact that he remains a humble champion and is always fun to ride with and a pleasure to be around. The folks in Pictou County are extremely proud of their new hero, as well as all of us from the cycling community in Nova Scotia. Ryan’s work ethic and tremendous accomplishment make him well deserving of Propeller Rider of the Month honours.

 

 

Well, I figured that Barbara should have a nice commuter for riding back and forth to work. That will keep her Arete from getting nipped and from rusting up against a rack at SMU. So, I "procured" a 17 year old Nishiki mountain bike. Forget the model, but it's lugged steel with top-end suntour drivetrain bits and nice Diacomp canti's. Now, for the fun bit.
It's going hot satin pink. With fenders, a rat trap on the back and city cruiser bars. 15 speeds of awesomeness. Nice old wheelset on it as well. I have a few surprises for it, but I can't put them here. It's going to be a nice little present for her. I was stripping the fork this morning and noticed Tange 4B in the steer tube. Got some small block 8's for it. Just need some cables and some spare time. Pictures to come soon!

I just had to put this one down. Sue, you come up with the greatest little outfits for the 'trout in the logo. Like the Karate Kid looking one. And the detective one was great. They really crack me up and make me scare my cat for a second. Thank you for makinfg the world a better place. That's all I wanted to say.

The Nova Scotia Mountain Bike Trails Association held it's first official International Trails Day event at Fitzpatrick Mountain today. A crew of 10. armed with leaf rakes, loppers, shovels and Pulaskis, headed onto the trail to fix trouble spots and prep the course for the upcoming Fitz of Fury Provincial Mountain Bike Championship Race.

What do you get when you cross 10 avid mountain bikers with a trail that needs some love? Well, for one thing, you get dirty. With the first swing of my Pulaski, I not only coated myself in goopy swamp mud, but I think I served a helping to most of the others who were helping me drain a horribly wet section of trail, as well. Nobody complained, even jokingly - everyone was far too intent on solving the problem of water that had nowhere to go.

Manual labour aimed at improving something you love doesn't seem difficult at all. While shoveling snow from a driveway is a task from hell, scooping muck from the earth with your bare hands and digging mildewy, mossy rocks from long-buried piles is almost zen-like. As we worked on draining and armouring that trail very little was said but everyone seemed content. There was no question or argument about how to proceed - we just latched onto some tools and made it happen.

After almost 3 hours of work, our group reunited with those who had gone to rake. Although rain had started to fall, the trail was mostly dry and it was time to ride.

The true test of repairs on the trail comes when rock meets rubber. Our major fix passed with flying colours and despite increasing amounts of wet stuff falling from the sky we made it to the top of the mountain and back down again in one piece, tired, but still smiling.

The day ended with beer (and food) at a Pictou pub. As we sat and ingested, discussing matters bicycle-related and not, it occured to me that of all the sports and interest groups I've known, mountain biking is unique. It's the only one where a group of strangers, united only by a common interest, can agree upon a task, complete it, socialize willingly afterwards, and do so without a single argument, dispute or mean-spirited competetive bribe.

To everyone who came out today, thanks! What a sincere and wonderful group of people you are. To everyone who missed out, I hope you'll have a chance to experience a day like this sometime soon.

Every time I volunteer for something a voice in the back of my head asks me "What the hell are you doing? You know you're going to regret this." Today's work session proved that voice wrong and I'm pretty certain that with fine folks like these throwing themselves into the mix, the Nova Scotia Mountain Bike Trails Association is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

If you spend any amount of time on PedalTrout and particularly if you're a mountain biker, Barbara Pietersma is likely a familiar name. The Google Nova Scotia Mountain Bike Trails map that features front and center on our Trails page is the end result of Barb's combined passions - cartography and mountain biking.

How Barb became destined to make maps is a mystery, but it's fair to say her Dutch background pre-disposed her to cycling from the very start. An avid mountain biker, Barb recognized the need for an easy-to-use and informative provincial trail map and pounced on the opportunity. As a graduating student of the Center of Geographic Science's Cartography Program Barbara's final project tasked her with making a map to serve the needs of a client. Barbara approached PedalTrout with the idea of creating a mountain bike trail map for Nova Scotia and we jumped at the idea. Barbara's Google Earth maps earned her an award at graduation for "Best Thematic Map"  - not surprising as she graduated with top marks in her class!

If you get a chance to ride with Barbara you're guaranteed a good time - she laughs off crashes like nobody's business, has a keen eye for "nurkey necks" in the trail, and loves to cut corners unless you firmly plant a hay bale in her path. In her non-bike time she definitely keeps busy with a range of interests that includes everything from baking and making jewelery to snowshoeing, horseback riding, and spending quality time with friends and family.  Oh, and as if she didn't have enough on her plate already, Barbara is also in the throes of planning a wedding this year. Hopefully that won't take away from her bike time!

Congratulations on all your accomplishments, Barb and once again, thanks from PedalTrout for our most excellent trail maps. You're an obvious choice for Propeller Brewing's Rider of the Month.

Mike Phillips of Sportwheels has nominated our May Rider of the Month, Stacey Taylor. If her name sounds familiar, you may have read our recent message about the new Sportwheels and PedalTrout Beginner Women's Rides that Stacey will be leading every Wednesday night.

Stacey Taylor arrived in Halifax from British Columbia to attend school at Saint Mary’s University.  Although not an avid mountain biker in BC, she started attending the beginner rides held by Sportwheels and quickly fell in love with the sport. 

In 2 to 3 short years Stacey’s enthusiasm for cycling has grown in leaps and bounds.  She has evolved from a beginner rider to possessing a skill level suitable for riding Whopper and Fight Trail.  Her positive energy and ‘no fear’ attitude help her conquer the challenges of the trails ahead of her. 

This past winter she has trained hard to prepare herself for the upcoming race season.  Stacey trained while attending school and working a full time job.  She recently finished the Wolfville Roubaix and will be attending as many mountain bike races as possible. 

More important is her role on the Sportwheels weekly mountain bike rides.  Stacey’s positive, welcoming attitude helps make newcomers feel like they belong.  She embodies the true essence of what makes mountain biking so much fun.  She is a pleasure to ride with. 

Stacey is keen to try anything from trail building, riding new trails on or off road, to assisting at events. In the near future she will be hosting an introductory women’s  mountain bike ride as well. 

For her enthusiasm, energy and overall great attitude Stacey Taylor is most definitely deserving of Rider of the Month.

Do you know someone who should be Rider of the Month? Send a brief writeup and a photo to Info@PedalTrout.com