PedalTrout

The holidays are upon us. Regardless of whether you're celebrating Hannukah, Christmas, Festivus, Winter Solstice or just the fact that there's hero dirt aplenty, you may feel a little more inclined to open your wallet during this season and treat someone you love to a cycling treat.

We went searching for the year's most popular gifts in the hope that we can make your gift-buying anxieties a little more fun. Here are some suggestions from the helpful folk at Hub Cycle in Truro and Cape Breton's FrameWork Cycle and Fitness.

The Scoop on What's in from Bruce and Daisy at HUB

Park Tool Stand
Park Tool makes shop quality bike repair tools for commercial use as well as home mechanics. A repair stand is the basis for any home shop - something no cyclist should be without!


Kinetic Rock and Roll Indoor Trainer
This trainer features a side-to-side motion that helps the ride to feel real and helps work your core muscles as well as your balance, aerobic capacity and technique. A great way to improve your indoor cycling workout.


Polar Buffs
The Polar Buff offers the multi-functional versatility of a buff with the warmth of Polartec fabric. Wear it as a neck warmer, a helmet liner, a hat or any other number of ways. An excellent stocking stuffer!


Smartwool Socks
SmartWool makes some of the most comfortable and durable socks on the planet. Available in a variety of lengths and designs suitable for skiing, hiking, cycling and anything else you can imagine, SmartWool socks offer excellent moisture wicking and odor control - once you wear them you'll never want to wear anything else.


Skate Ski Package
Step up your winter cross training with a Skate Ski package. Skate skiing is fast, exciting and an amazing workout. Hub Cycle has all the trappings to help you enjoy the "off" season.


Atlas Snowshoes and Poles
Atlas snowshoes are durable, easy to use, and designed for a variety of fun-filled situations including backcountry travel, trail walking, mountain hiking, and running. Outfit the whole family this Christmas and help everyone enjoy the great outdoors.


DK Drew Bezanson Signature BMX
Truro's own Drew Bezanson has made his mark on the international BMX scene. The DK Drew BEzanson Signature BMX is a stylie little ride that would look pretty sweet under any Christmas tree.


Go Motion Lights
Attach a GoMotion light to your waist pack or hydration pack to light up your night time activity. These snazzy little lights come as pack attachments or built into a variety of wearable products that make your time in the dark safe and fun.


Hot Chillys Base Layers
Microfiber fabric is used in Hot Chillys undergarments to create silky soft warmth and provide excellent moisture management. Hot Chillys come in a selection of patterns and styles suitable for anyone who wants to stay warm and dry all winter long.

Craft Clothing
Craft make high-performance technical gear for nordic skiing, cycling, triathlon and running. Check out Hub's selection of quality inner and outerwear from Craft.


Shimano XTR Pedals
Any XC speed demon will love to lighten up with Shimano's 2011 XTR pedal redesign. These race-minded pedals feature a bigger platform to offer a more stable and easy-to-access clipless ride.


FRS Healthy Energy
Designed to provide a boost with healthy anti-oxidants instead of sugar and caffeine, FRS Healthy Energy comes in a choice of chews, powder, drink, or concentrate to stuff the stockings of any athlete.


Giant Tricycle Push Bikes
Get 'em started early! A Giant Tricycle Push Bike  teaches them to spin and offers a great push-off platform to get your young'uns rolling. Available in Blue or Pink.
 

AND...From FrameWork's Bill Goldston

The Tacx Fortius Multi Player
It may not be cheap, but this trainer is sure to make you actually enjoy indoor cycling. The virtual reality system simulates climbs and descents and offers web racing capability to keep you challenged during the off season regardless of the weather.


Check out these shots of Cape Breton Mayor John Morgan raising money for Diabetes on the Tacx Fortius trainer.

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.

 

 

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

This month’s winner is not your typical cyclist. What sets him apart from the pack is his lack of vision. We’re not talking about foresight – Pictou’s Craig Aucoin has a lot of that; this summer he’s looking forward to three triathlons, the Johnny Miles marathon, and as many other events as he can fit into his schedule. That might seem like some hefty competition for any athlete, but for a visually impaired athlete like Craig it comes with a whole other set of challenges.

Born with a degenerative condition, Craig dealt with severe weight issues while growing up.  It wasn’t until his early twenties that he decided to take control of his destiny and turn himself into a high performance machine. Last year he spent a month in Ontario training with the national triathlon team for the visually impaired. Currently, Craig allocates thirty hours per week to training and working towards his goal of competing at the Paralympics.

Craig also likes to help out in his local community by volunteering at his local YMCA, and he organizes the entertainment for his local CNIB fundraiser. We're not sure when he finds time to sleep, but he must squeeze it in somewhere!

We think that after all that hard work Craig deserves some tasty refreshments to accompany his chill time. Good luck Craig.  You are inspiring and certainly worthy of Rider of the Month honours.

Do you know someone who’d make a great Rider of the Month? Email us with their story.

If you're a seasoned rider you know the drill involved with spring maintenance and getting your iron (or aluminum or carbon) steed ready to roll again. For those who are newer to the bike however, that first peek into the garage to see what your bike has been up to all winter may come as a bit of a shock. Never fear, this checklist will get you rolling in a semi-straight line faster that you can say "butter my chamois!"

#1) Size up the situation.  The state of your bike will depend on many things including the temperature of your storage space, the number of leaks in your roof, how many rodents, spiders and small children visited over the winter and most importantly, how big a slacker you were when you put it away last.

#2) Feel your rubber. We're talking tires here, not your Trojan extra longs. Give those tires some air, chances are they don't have any at this point. You might want to take extra caution to check the rated PSI on your tires. Rubber has a habit of rotting over time and there's nothing that will force you to do extra laundry like the sound of an inner tube exploding under high pressure.

#3) Feel your brakes. A quick squeeze of the brake levers will tell you exactly how likely they are to stop you - or not. If you're any sort of slacker at all you've probably forgotten about that annoying squeal your brakes were making last fall, or the blood-curdling feeling of metal on metal as your calipers grasped for that wafer-thin slice of disc. Furthermore, if your brakes won't stop you in the garage, consider yourself screwed when you need them bombing down the Cabot trail or the ski hill at Wentworth. Dentures are not without their benefits but it's probably easier to keep brushing your real teeth.

#4) Shift!  If you have a bike stand use it. If not, turn your bike upside down, hang it from the ceiling or get a really strong and stupid friend to lift it up while you run through the gears front and back. Any skipping, ghost shifting or non-shifting that happens here will be far worse once you're actually mashing the pedals. New cables are generally a must at this point in the season but replacing chains and cassettes might be necessary as well to achieve shifting smoothness. Don't forget to clean the small rodents our of your drivetrain and give it some lube and love before you check it out... it's amazing how a dried mouse carcass embedded between gears can cause a chain to jump at the best of times.

#5) Beer At this point in the game you should be sufficiently covered in grease and dirt to fire a snot rocket or two, haul your jeans up around your plumbers crack and declare it break time. Drink your beer out of the bottle - this is no time to get all prissy with a glass. You need to look like this is part of the process, not tea time with the Queen. Drink fast enough that you get a little buzz on before you head into the next part of the fix-up.  Some things work better when you can't really think about them too hard.

#6)Check the Trueness of Your Wheels  Ok. Now you're about to understand why you had that beer when you did. It takes a brave and stupid person to try truing their own wheels for the first time and if you're taking this to heart you're probably a truing virgin. Have a good look at those wheels and see if they spin straight. Chances are pretty good they don't.  If you have a wobble, first check your tires. If the bead isn't seated right it will cause the wheel to look like it's wonky. Remove the tire and put it back on but look at the wheel before hand. If the wheel itself is un-straight bring it to a bike shop, give them money and they'll fix it. Have another beer in the meantime.  If it's a reasonably new tire or one with a tight kevlar bead you might need another beer before you reinstall it to numb the annoyance of broken levers, skinned knuckles and cursing. Check the wheel again once the tire is back on and hopefully it will look straighter. If not, have another beer.

#7) Check your Bearings ...and I don't mean where you're at! Holding your bars turn them left and right. If it doesn't feel smooth as butta, bring it to the shop and get some headset love. Grab a hold of your cranks and give them a wiggle as well, feeling for play in the bottom bracket. You could buy the tools and fix both of these things yourself but seeing as you'll be going out to get more beer at this point anyway, just drop it at the shop and be done with it.

#8) Do the Spandex Spotcheck No, don't look for skidmarks, although if you need to, I'd rather not know about it. Newbies may not be aware of the alarming rate at which lycra and spandex shorts become see through in the most inopportune of spots. Hold your shorts up to the light to evaluate just how see through they've become. If they're starting to resemble cheesecloth it's time to reserve them for wearing under baggies or giving to someone you dislike as hand-me-downs.

That's it, you should be good and ready to ride by this point. Or just have another beer instead. Either way it just keeps getting better from this point on.