Opinions are formed by first impressions. The first time I rode the trails at Kelso Mountain Bike Park was in a race; actually I rode a lot of trails for the first time in a race. It was in those races I formed an opinion about those places and decided mid race if I would ride there if it wasn't for the race. Kelso left a bad impression on me in that race which stuck with me for many years. The first race I did there was in a rain storm. I guess you can't blame the park for the rain but I did have a bad day. Another race day went off like firecrackers and it was great except for that long arduous climb up the ski hill. It was a funny course with that big hill climb followed by the almost flat terrain up top, Meh! The last time I raced there it was a hot, sweltering day and I overheated on the big sun soaked climb; one of only two races I didn't complete. So when a friend of mine asked me to ride there I thought; Meh... well okay only because you want to go there. After riding there a few times with my friend my opinion started to shift and I began to see another side of Kelso. A fun technical park with lots of cool rock out cropping’s and man made wooden features. The park has some fast flowing double track coupled with winding trails through the forest and a few very nice downhill runs. It takes a few rides there to find a way to effectively connect the trails in a nice consecutive pattern. The park layout seems random with little forethought to connectivity. There are some technical rock sections of trail that presented a challenge to the average rider and a number of skinnies made out of logs with the tops flattened out. Riding skinnies is something I have had little exposure to but I am finding that they are a fun little feature that is more about mind over matter. The skinnies are as wide as a trail but yet they seem more challenging than they should be. But this brings me back to my first impressions of Kelso. This trail system is built on conservation land and as such they charge for entry into the park to ride. One should expect more from the managers when it is a pay to play park, yet not so much. Many of the skinnies are in disrepair making them sketchy to ride. If a park charges to ride they should deliver a quality experience; one would expect a better product than a trail system built and maintained by volunteers, but it doesn't.
Hey Kelso, don't be a dumb-ass; fix your features.
0 Comments
The tips of my fingers are sore as I type this Blog. My day started when I met a few fellow riders at The Hydrocut to do some trail repair and feature building. My two friends were there to give something back for the pleasure the trails gave them. We loaded up some trail building tools into the wheelbarrow and set off to correct a turn that just wasn't turning right when going left. I would like to point out that I particularly dislike gravity when I am pushing a load of rocks up a hill in a wheelbarrow and that I only like gravity when I'm going downhill on my bike. Our task started with loading a half dozen wheelbarrows loads of "baby head" size rocks and pushing them up a hill to use them as fill. Did I mention how much gravity sucks? I must say that it was convenient that the farmer had piled them nearby where we needed them, albeit at the bottom of the hill. It was probably a hundred years ago or perhaps two hundred that the farmer was clearing his field and piling those stones right there for us, who can say for sure! The ole farmer had no idea way back then, that some crazy mountain biker hooligans would be riding bikes through the forest in 2015 and using his rock pile as trail building material. In his lifetime he would have known hard work to make a living and not for fun; but there we were using his hard work to create fun. We live a privileged life in this century and this country enjoying a culture and a society built by those who went before us. Not to say that we didn't work hard because we did, my aching back bears testimony to that fact.
We corrected that bad turn with his rocks and added a small bump in the trail for those would be air chasers, over grown thrill seeking kids riding bicycles through the forest. The tools were loaded back into the wheelbarrow and moved over to another pile of rocks most graciously piled by our friend the farmer. The trail goes directly over the rock pile as it does in so many places in The Hydrocut; we call that a feature. There were some mud holes near the feature on that section of trail which persistently stayed wet and those holes were very unpopular with riders. We used some of those rocks to fill in the mud holes and for good measure added a more difficult line over the rock pile to match the line that was already there. Many of the rocks we moved for this project were not the size of a baby's head; no they were about the size of an elephant's head. There were some riders who rode past and thanked us for our hard work. A thank you can mean so much when you are giving your time and energy away. I loaded the tools back into the steel clad shed at the trail head and headed home with a heart full of pride and a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done. I wonder if the farmer felt some pride for a job well done when he piled those rocks there for us many years ago? Thank you Mr. Farmer. Some rides begin in the mind before the tires ever hit the dirt. I loaded up my Rocky Mountain Element into the car and set out down the 401 on a warm Sunday morning. The day was new and fog was playing on the gentle light falling across farm country. The mist hung in the air just above the tree line in some spots and in the valleys in others. It was a picture perfect day given to me on that flawless September morning heading up to the Muskoka’s to meet up with friends for a ride. The scenery and the hassle free drive set the mood for a perfect ride.
The smell of the forest filled my car when I parked under the mature trees at Buckwallow Cycling Centre. Odours create a mood and linger long in the memory. They say that you can judge a restaurant kitchen by the condition of the washrooms. How about an outhouse; what does that say about a place. Smile. The facilities at Buckwallow were freshly painted, somehow odour free and clean even by indoor plumbing standards which speaks volumes about how well the trails are kept and managed by the staff of the cycling centre. Mike is the friendly face who greets riders upon arrival and collects the ten dollar entrance fee. He gave us a map of the trail system which was easy to follow and an asset to those who are not regular riders there. A few years back I raced a few O Cup races at Buckwallow and since then I have often thought I should get back there to ride the trails when I have time to take in the riding experience; this was going to be that day. My friends and I set out on our ride with the map in hand and smiles on our faces. The trails there are unique to that place and that place alone. The land is scattered with huge boulders and large sections of the Canadian Shield that jut out of the ground making the terrain surreal. The harshness of the forest floor is juxtaposed by the beauty of the mature forest growing over the rocks with roots climbing over the boulders and rock faces. It is all of these distinctive elements that make riding in this forest both fun and challenging. The trails are rated in levels of difficulty between one and five hoof prints; the ratings are to be taken seriously. It has been my experience that trail ratings are relative only to other trails in that system. A new rider would find that even some of the double track trails present a challenge to their skill level. Ratings of one and two offer some challenge to new riders and trails rated a three will present a challenge to intermediate riders. Trails rated four should be considered expert and trails rated at five should be considered expert and above. There is a trail there rated five hoof prints called “The Weasel” which has some very technical bits, steep drops and some sections that better resemble a section from a trials course. Not many riders venture down this trail which was evident by the moss growing on the start of the trail. “The Weasel” challenged me and exposed the limits of my riding abilities but finding those limits showed room for growth. My favourite run was something called “West D Nile” which is a trail that largely runs over outcroppings of the Canadian Shield. This trail earns a well-deserved rating of four hoof prints. Overall I would rate the whole Buckwallow experience a five out of five hoof prints. Buckwallow is without a doubt one of my favourite places I have ridden in a lifetime of riding experiences. Check it out for yourself, you won’t be disappointed. There is a scar on my right shin; it's a fine double line that runs about four inches across the bony part of my leg. Thank you Mr. Shimano for the memories. There was a time when I was a loyal Shimano follower who believed that the bike part king did everything right, that is until other companies gained a foot hold in the market and started to outperform the crap out of old man Shimano's gear at half the price.
It was a SPD pedal that left the mark with is jagged edges that grab the shoe cleat. My cleat had a little mud on it which caused the cleat and the pedal to fail to connect allowing the skin remover to run down my leg. This was not the first time or the last time that I had the meat scrapper go down my shin. Crank Brothers offered me an alternative to the outdated SPD pedal system and I jumped on board with them. I haven't looked back since. The Crank Brothers pedal system is easy in and easy out even in muddy conditions and if you should have a mishap there are no scaring edges to make you yelp like a school girl. I have tried all of the variations of the Egg Beater pedals and found that they offered a lot of performance for low cash output but the standard Egg Beaters do not offer a platform for your shoe. A good pedal will distribute the pressure and forces across the front of the shoe. Without a platform the pedal will eventually begin to cut into the sole of the shoe. The bearings on the Egg Beaters have a short life span due to the fact that water and dirt bypass the weak sealing system and cause corrosion. So the egg beaters are a no go for me! Crank Brothers Candy eliminates all of the problems associated with the original Egg Beater design with a small weight penalty; however, they are still lighter than Shimano XTR at a fraction of the price. The Candy has a large platform to allow you to apply a ton of force without any flexing in your shoe and the platform also acts like a standard pedal until you get clipped in. I like to run the Candy 1 version because they are light weight, 282 grams, and they are inexpensive. Yes it is true that the old school SPD have a long life span but it is a false economy because of the original outlay of cash and the price you must pay in flesh. |
AuthorRon Head Archives
January 2024
Categories |