My Mountain Biking Adventures

It seems to be where I’m doing most of my riding these days. Not that I don’t like Cumberland, but the trails over on Forbidden Plateau are a bit more challenging, a lot more fun, and you can do them as a shuttle and skip the grueling climb! Not that I’m lazy, but climbing is still a challenge for my ankle… (And my heart and my lungs and… lol) (more…)

Today was another day off the bike due to weather (although I can’t complain since I got 2 rides in yesterday) so I decided to pick one of my favourite women mountain bikers to highlight. She’s doing quite well in cyclocross at the moment so the name should sound familiar, Alison Sydor. I picked Alison first since she’s from BC and was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2007 and the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. (more…)

That pretty much sums up our ride tonight!

We don’t know what it is, but Isabelle and I are absolutely addicted to night riding. We’re not sure if it just puts a new spin on old trails, or having the trails to ourselves? Either way, we think we may have our friend, JF, addicted as well! (more…)

…when you go to do your laundry and it’s almost all mountain biking gear!

I ride between 3-5 times a week but this week was an excellent one for me.  Last April I suffered an avulsion fracture to my right ankle, along with some other soft tissue damage, and this week is the first week I was able to ride without pain.  I can’t even begin to describe to you how awesome that is!  So of course I had to push my limits, just a little bit… (more…)

Ah, feels good to be back on my bike!  After we both spent the last week on the couch with colds, we finally got back out there and couldn’t have picked a better day!  Since we were both feeling good and well rested, we decided to go for a distance ride yesterday vs a technical ride.  Best place for that was the Snowden Demo Forest in Campbell River. (more…)

This past week was spent on the couch with a brutal cold and I was unable to ride so I decided to see just what is out there for women mountain bikers.  In some ways we’ve come so far and in others… (more…)

Every September, the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) is held here in Cumberland, BC and this year was their 10th anniversary.  I would like to congratulate my friend, Isabelle, and her race partner, Eddy B, for coming in 2nd in the Sport category!  Awesome job guys! (more…)

Well okay, the week isn’t over yet!  The weather here has been great so I’ve been taking advantage of it.  I didn’t ride Tuesday to recover from the Plunge on Monday (ankle was a bit sore afterwards) and then did an easy night ride with Colin last night.  He finally found the charger for his old BLT light and so we went to check them to make sure they were still working and the rechargeable battery still had lots of life.  We chose Moe’s Misery since it was an easy trail we both knew well and should his lights fail, an easy hike back to the car. Fortunately his lights worked, the battery held out, and now I have someone else to night ride with. (more…)

No, I’m definitely not suffering from it, that’s the name of my new favourite trail!  I was first introduced to Cabin Fever by Colin last fall but only got to ride it once before I left to spend a long, cold Winter in Regina, SK.  We’ve ridden it a couple of times in the past month and each time I swear the trail becomes a lot more fun. (more…)

Every year here in Cumberland we lose a trail or two to the logging industry.  The majority of our trails are built on privately owned land, and while the logging companies work with us to save some of the trails, sometimes it’s unavoidable.  This time we lost another of my favourite trails, Soggy Biscuit. Soggy was one of the original Cumberland trails and one of the most popular since it was also used by hikers and trail runners with it being so close to town.  I had only just discovered it myself this summer since I needed to find mellow, easy trails to ride after I fractured my ankle.  (I normally ride the trails higher up which are a lot steeper and far more technical.) (more…)