mudhoney profile

Yeah, I don't actually use the esker insoles in my riding shoes, but digging/work boots... all day comfort, winter warmth, and minimal stink, a win all around. Love the esker insoles.

Love that there’s an XS in the line up! Such a sweet looking bike

Great review Karin! Thanks for sharing the info about Wild Rye's values and sustainability efforts too, definitely something that influences my purchases more and more. And awesome to see a wider size range than many brands.

I too bike (& dig) in merino pretty much exclusively, but the tank top looks sweet - nice to see it has good length through the torso & good shoulder coverage for under a pack. 

I'm not a big fan of prints for shorts (I figure my hair is colourful enough, haha), but really good to see that they've got one zippered pocket in a good spot for riding with. My go-to shorts the last couple of years have been Trees Apparel & Sombrio, as they both have shorts styles with two side zippered pockets that fit a phone or snack comfortably. 

How much stretch is there in the waist band? i.e. does it seem to stretch enough to accommodate some variation in waist circumference within a single size?

I haven't thought much previously about compliance vs stiffness in context of a rider's weight/build - good insight Emma!

And being able to read gear reviews from someone close to my height, weight, build, etc... is so much more meaningful than trying to extrapolate - looking forward to more!

Stoked to hear this, thanks Pete!

Awesome to see more reviews on women's clothing!

Yes, women want pockets. Functional ones. Ones that zip close so you don't lose stuff. I've had good luck with some shorts from Sombrio and Trees

I look forward to seeing Karin's review too!

Great review, lots of useful info, and really appreciate the notes about snagging your hair. I've been using Smith Sessions for the last number of years, and only occasionally have lost hair with them, but it's definitely something I look for in choosing a helmet.

Thanks for including notes on availability of women's versions, much appreciated! The merino hoody is tempting, but agree, needs zippers on those pockets.

Thanks for including the size range Andrew, as well as the fit notes; and also great to see the fit comments from everyone else

Thanks for the reply Pete! That's fantastic news on a new female reviewer, really glad to hear it. I enjoy Karin's reviews (but it's been awhile, and she does have a full time job outside of writing for NSMB).

I'm less concerned about a counterpart review for the specific equivalent women's gear (though obviously that would be great when it works out), but would like to see more reviews from women, especially on women's gear/clothing. Some companies will get the fit right with men's but miss it with women's clothing (or vice versa). Even just knowing how clothing might fit different body types is good information to have - allowing folks to know what might work best for them. And fit information is rarely able to be transferred from men's clothing to women's.

I'll admit that I've actually thought about going back through all of the NSMB clothing reviews to see how many reviews have been on women's gear, and when the last review on women's clothing was, but I haven't quite been bored enough yet to do it ;)

The fact that NSMB reviewers actually test the products and provide good info on how the product performs (good and bad), and of course how gear fits, is really great.

Perhaps for a start, clothing reviews could incorporate a note if there is a women's version & provide a link to it.

(And yes, autocorrect re nsmb vs nsmbA, thanks for catching that! I definitely know better, oops :-)  )

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Actually, I asked this morning out of curiosity and Dorothy said that with the dry trail conditions she’s seen an abnormally high number of riders in with shoulder issues from crashing this summer.

This morning wasn’t the first time that I was leaving physio and one of my riding friends was on the way in to see Dorothy for her next appointment, so definitely my experience matches this.

So we on for coffee after our next respective appointments?  ;)

Posted by: craw

Hauling bikes is a hassle. Boxing them, getting them through the airport, risk of damage, reassembling them. If I go through all that I don't want to spend my trip doing trial and error out of a rental car. In a lot of places not everything is on Trailforks.

I found these guys in Finale which seem like a good option if I didn't want quite an end-to-end trip as the Big Mountain: https://www.finaleligurefreeride.com/. It was 24' in Finale in March this year so it's definitely an option during Vancouver's dark Feb-March-April.

Yep, agreed!

http://www.justridefinale.com/

Louise was one of our guides, she's rad.

Finale and the surrounding areas are sweet. Did a trip there a number of years ago with Big Mountain and would love to do it again (I think we went April or May-ish). I enjoyed the not having to think about where we were staying, how we were getting around, and what trails to ride; the guides were awesome. Food was also fantastic. A big help was that our group was all similar enough in skill and fitness (all were friends or friends of friends).

Like Heckler said, there's tons of good riding in the Fraser Valley - Woodlot, Red, Bear, Sumas, Ledgview, Vedder.

This is also pretty close to Bear, Red, & Woodlot but busy: https://stavewestcamping.com/kearlsey-creek/ (and there's a few other sites nearby, also busy).

Sumas & Vedder are crown land and the FSR is not gated. Red, Bear, and Woodlot are all gated, though I've seen vans/RVS park for a night at Mill pond.

Not all candidates replied, but a good indication of how those that did view the trails 

Would be nice in future to see a specific question on trail head / staging area infrastructure 

https://nsmba.ca/dnv-election-2022/

Posted by: heckler

Ahh, good ol RPO.  In ten years there’ll be a Hyannis lot cut out of the forest.

That would likely require Metro and DNV to work together, and both seem pretty good at deflecting responsibilities onto the other.

(unless you're a DNV councillor who doesn't like mountain bikers and uses your influence to get Metro, on a weekend, to remove a freshly rebuilt (with permission) optional small wood feature on Bridle Path; then it seems they can work together )

Posted by: MaxRockatansky

Posted by: heckler

Anyone we should not vote to council as mountain bikers?

Head to page three to see Councillor Jim Hansen's view on parking in the Blueridge area (Hyannis/Berkley):

https://blueridgeca.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/BCN_2022_03.pdf

As a Blueridge resident, I do not support making the area resident only parking (and yes, I live on a street where visitors park to access the trails).

I would like to see the spots at the top of Hyannis Point right at the trailhead be designated as accessible parking spaces.

It would also be great to see creation of "hubs" like Squamish has, with washrooms, tool stand, bike wash, etc.. that encourage distributed parking

Posted by: FLATCH

Posted by: heckler

Posted by: FLATCH

Posted by: mudhoney

Posted by: FLATCH

Yes, it was posted on FVMBA social channels.

Strange, as I got nothing on my news feed. It was still a WTF moment.

Like @fvmba more often? Next Cultus running race date is Oct 15

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeFYy0OhWlA/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

https://www.instagram.com/p/CewMgL4Ly5e/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I’m a member of FVMBA, I’ve had a membership for several years. I’m in the FB group. Now your telling me I need instagram? WTF. lol. How much social media does an old guy need? For years nsmb was it. I know, kinda sad.

Pretty sure it was shared on the FVMBA main FB page too, as IG posts are cross-posted from FB (create one post on FB & it shares to both platforms). Stories are also shared on both platforms. No communication method is perfect; especially FB & IG as the algorithms can favour certain content over others, so sometimes info doesn't show up in an individual's feed until it's too late. And we don't have control over that. Adding FVMBA to your "favourites" can help. Not sure if it went out in the newsletter.

The race organizers can also get access to FB groups and share their event there as well as post trail closed reports on TF... not all of this should be up to FVMBA when it is not an FVMBA event.

Posted by: syncro

My guess is that is that the lack of notification has a lot to do with Metro. IMHO I don't have a problem with the route IF Metro and race organizers do proper publication/notification weeks before the event stating that the race will be taking place blah blah blah. I'd even have no problem with Metro stating on Date XYZZ trails ABCD will be closed to bike traffic for a foot race if good notification is given. 

I don't know if Metro realizes it or not, but their actions sometimes send the message that they do not care about the needs of the mtb community at all or that we are a very low priority for them. Considering the demographics of the mtb community, Metro should be paying much closer attention to the mtb segment of their user base.

Metro is only one of the Land Managers the race organizers would've need to get an event permit from.

Empress Bypass is not managed by Metro, but goes through both DNV & BC Parks.

Really it's up to the race organizers not the land managers to get the word out.  And this should include reaching out to various users groups & trail orgs and getting them to help spread the word. Could include posting a Trailforks report for the trails in the race indicating to expect racers on the trail.

Posted by: FLATCH

Not the shore but a little while back, a month or so, a FV running club closed Sumas on a Saturday. The whole mountain! Got to the gate and the organizers were turning everyone around. No notice on FB or FVMBA page. It would seem no one but the local running club knew. Huge wtf. How does one user group get to close a whole mountain. Surely they didn’t use every trail on the hill.

Yes, it was posted on FVMBA social channels.

Different land manager for Sumas than for most of the Shore and different policies for events. For Sumas it's a Section 16 through Rec Sites & Trails as well as a permit from Forestry Engineering for road use and to close the road.

Run for Water has been on for quite a few years and donates a chunk of money back to FVMBA and comes out to FVMBA trail days.