Entries Tagged 'Mountain Biking' ↓

I took my digital camera to capture some video of my first North Shore ride of the season:  a revisiting of Pipeline on Mt. Fromme, the first North Shore trail I ever rode (back in 2001).   However I soon became focused on the trail and how it seemed to be thinking about doing me bodily harm.  So you’ll have to settle for a single photo:

Some Mondays are better than others…

(scroll down to see HD video that doesn’t fit in this column)

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What’s the best purchase you have ever made?

The answer for me is a fully rigid steel Norco Bigfoot mountain bike that I bought in the early 90s for $400.  I rode it nearly every day for over eight years.  I used it for commuting, shopping (balancing grocery bags on handlebars), and transportation in general.  I used it for exercise, doing countless one to two hour rides in the UBC Endowment Lands and Stanley Park.  And yes, I used it for mountain biking in the local mountains, up in Squamish, and even for a jarring ride in the now famous Whistler bike park in its opening year.  

Cost per day:  13 cents.

Probably my second best purchase is my current mountain bike, a Joker that I bought in 2001.  It is the spiritual descendant of my Bigfoot, having served me just as well if not better for nearly eight years.

I bought the Joker from Speedgoat, a bike company that lets you pick all the parts and then builds the bike and ships it to you.  The have a gallery of bikes that they build with a short description for each that usually just lists the components.  My description starts like this:

5/17/2001
Bill’s Aeon Joker SL is just plain awesome…

I’ve always loved that.

Here’s how the Joker looked in 2001:

As you may have guessed, I’m in mountain bike nostalgia mode because it’s time to retire the Joker and find a worthy successor.  Stay tuned.

At last a sunny afternoon and Vancouverites emerge from their dens, squint at the bright blue sky, and stretch their legs.  I hopped on my bike for a quick spin around Stanley Park and discovered it was still foggy in places, such as around Lions Gate bridge:

as well as in Stanley Park itself:

Using my old Canon G1 camera, now ten generations behind the new G10, I took some video as I rode.  The video is poor quality and I did a very quick edit, but at least it gives you a sense of the sunny to foggy transition.