Gun Peak Bagged Sept 10th 2020

July 2019 had looked at the rough map of the Thomas P Murray Recreation Trails had spotted what appeared to be a look out. So set out see if could ride to it. Due to numerous factors from bugs, over growth, and hot July day came up short.

2019 attempt,

Thomas P Murray GPS Track 2019

Thomas P Murray 2019 Ride Report

This time after looking over the map a few times went with a shorter route plan that would start from Long Lake Rd. Parked off the road and started up Gun Mtn Trail heading for the peak. As to be expected lots of sandy dirt and rock with some sections steep enough that Hike-A-Bike was the best option. 

With the last section of the climb to the peak was greasy and minimal traction had to Hike-A-Bike till the trail got a wee bit easier. Once over that rode for a bit till the junction with the trail that took you to the actual peak. 

And popped out at the top with as the photos show was wide open with views depending on which way you looked of Combermere and Kaminaskeg lake. Not bad actually.

Of course being another summit it requires a drink and since I didn't have a beer a flask of Rum would do. Reward for the second attempt to find this spot.

While at the top I took a look at the map and realized that in 2019 had missed the turn. That was all it was when I missed finding the peak while dodging Deer Flies and such. Well mistakes happen and was able to return to try again.

This day it was warmer then it was the earlier August ride up McGillivary Peak. Warmer without the rain so was able to take my time and enjoy this more. But like all things it eventually is time to ride.

After a check of tire pressure knowing would be coming down through a rock garden.  It was downhill time. And yes while I had leg armour on I did kind of go slower. I admit I started wishing I had a full face helmet. I do admit that it could be the over thinking after last years getting crushed by the car that might have caused the nervousness.

After the downhills it was a easy ride back towards Long Lake Rd at the Ute. And before knew it was back at the Ute and task achieved. The missed turn was corrected and time for some Dr pepper from the cooler. 

And while I at this point I made the decision that a helmet with a removable chin guard was a needed piece of kit. One with MIPS to decrease a further issue with a head injury but also to reduce the over thinking which could cause a crash.

Maybe one day in the future will be back up in Barry's Bay and have a chance to nail both peaks on the same ride. But hopefull would be in August with no bugs.

Info: These trails should be treated as backcountry mtb trails. Be prepared for all contingencies and have a plan. Cell service should not be relied on as your only option for if things happen. Know when to pull the plug and try the next day.

Team No Fixed Income is supported by:

Dirty Rides MTB apparel- Be A Part of It

McGillivary Peak Lookout Bagged August 20th, 2020

 In August was able to to get up to the Barry's Bay and Combermere area again. And that gave the oppurtunity to ride a different route. One I had thought of but kinda lost interest as the year before it was bug season when I tried another section of the Thomas P Murray Recreation Trails.

Thomas P Murray Recreation Trails

This time I would be looking to find McGillivary Peak Look Out

McGillivary Peak

After parking at the trail head just off Chanonhouse Rd it was time to get to seek the route and the peak. And to make things more interesting let us add a wee bit of rain and drizzle. 

Shortly after leaving the Dirtbag Ute and down the trail began the grunt climb of the day Up a unrideable steep hill filled with sand and gravel. As the Stamina Man once said...if you haven't pushed/carried your bike was it hard enough?

Once up that nasty hill the rest of it was double track with ups and downs as followed the route that was roughly outlined. Reality is when your not a local takes longer to go a shorter distance in backcountry trail systems. Because you do have to stop a bit more to double check trails versus your location because signs can change and trails may be re-routed. 

About half way up it stopped drizzling and actually got a wee bit brighter. And finally topped out at the peak where the view point was. Nothing like the mountains anywhere in BC. But better then nothing. 

Of course one cannot get to the top and not have a beverage at the top. Summit beer was required to go with the view.

Keeping aware of the time and it being after 5pm. And keeping in mind that it could potentially start to rain and get cold. It was time to begin heading back. On the way out to the main trail noted a bit of shelter that could be used if necessary.

Followed the double track that would take me to Rockingham Creek and then follow the creek. With more of the same double track the whole way with one more hill needed to be hike a biked. The rest was sand and rock filled but rideable. Turns out that left at the right time as it decided to rain. Not just drizzle but actual rain. So stopped and pulled out the packable rain jacket.

Another 25 minutes of riding in the rain got to the junction where the double track connected to Chanonhouse Rd. And followed it back to the Ute parked at the trailhead.  And of course it was still raining.

Still raining which sucked as if it hadn't would have been less need to get rolling. However I readily admit that the Ute wasn't quite gear ready yet for relaxing in place . It is still a work in progress.

Info: These trails should be treated as backcountry mtb trails. Be prepared for all contingencies and have a plan. Cell service should not be relied on as your only option for if things happen. Know when to pull the plug and try the next day.

Team No Fixed Income is supported by:

Dirty Rides MTB Apparel- Be a Part Of It

California Rd Enterprise aka 7 Dangerous Dogs August 5th 2020

 While looking the the Backroads Mapbook Cottage Edition I spotted north of Tamworth a gravel road named California Rd. It wasn't the other one that is further north I have heard of. Being closer I decided after checking Google Earth satellite view it would be worth the trip. Let the recce trip begin.

California Rd Enterprise aka 7 Dangerous Dogs

After parking at the school on School Rd in Enterprise headed out to ride California Rd. The start while seeming easy ended up being exciting as had to deal with 7 aggressive dogs who the owner had zero control over.  After dealing with that it was a left turn and heading north on California Rd.

Pushed north with the feeling that this will be a distance ride with minimal steep or long climbs of any kind. 

And it was a rolling if that hill ride with it turns out lots more shade on the road from the trees. The trees had grown over alot of California Rd so there was alot less of getting directly cooked by the sun. After about an hour and a bit got to Mountain Rd which was the northern end of California Rd. Which included a short wander up what turns out to be a dead end road. With another ill behaved dog.

After a pause for a Snickers and a bit of Dr Pepper. Back south it was which including the not taking the dead end road was a faster return to the Ute. Isn't that how it works? Always faster on the way back

After turning right at the south end of California Rd and dealing with the original 7 dangerous dogs. Easy spin back and back at the Ute for food and home. End result a bit over 2 hours of riding. 

Maybe next year will return and see if there is other options for vehicle parking.

Info:

If you decide to do this ride there is really nothing that far north and in that area for supplies. So bring your own and have everything for post ride. Have the cooler packed with cold beverages of your choice.  In terms of starting location well while school was ok you end up having to either take  Concession 9 Rd and deal with the dogs or deal with traffic on County Rd 14 to get to Fifth Lake Rd which takes you to Concession 9 Rd. 

Team No Fixed Income is supported by,

Dirty Rides MTB Apparel- Be A Part of It

Creekford Rough Stuff Loop July 3rd 2020

 About a month after the arrival of the new Stylus and a couple of easy rides to get used to her. I felt like taking her on a longer ride and revisit an old loop I made over 8 years ago with the original 2007 Stylus before 2012.

July 3rd Creekford Rough Stuff

Definitely been a few years not riding and has seen some changes since. Especially as the long downhill from the hydrolines to Creekford Dr is now blocked. But just need a detour which gave the bonus of a wee bit more mileage.

After the wee detour the rest of the ride followed the same route as in the past. It was definitely a hot day to be out and riding this loop. which would be an unplanned test of the Dirty Rides jersey in the heat.

This would be also the longest ride since getting the new Stylus. And it was in some ways weird as didn't notice the difference between this edition and the older version of the Stylus. That to me was a good thing.

After climbing out of the Collins Swamp area it was the usual bash across the fields under the hydrolines heading to Westbrook Dr. Across the road and head further west under the hydrolines to the little waterfall.

Which in the end was dried up and nothing to look at. But still a nice spot to chill out in the shade for a wee bit.

At this point took a break from the 37 degrees by sitting for a bit in the shade. After some fluids it was back on the bike and head for home. And after all was said and done it was a good ride on the new bike. As well as a good test of the Dirty Rdes MTB jersey which handles the heat and sweat well. Happy with both.

Supported by...

Dirty Rides MTB Apparel- Be A Part Of It

Kingsford Loop July 1st 2020

 On Canada Day decided to head down and do the Kingsford Loop on a hot and sunny Canada Day.

Kingsford Loop Canada Day

Not much to write as it was a harder and faster ride then last time. With the primary goal this time to stop less. So just some ride pics.

This was also the first ride with the new top tube bag from Revelate Designs. The Magtank which picked up to try and be able to carry more gear better on longer days on the bike. Will show more of it later.

In the end was another good effort on Kingsford Loop and hanging out post ride by the Salmon River in the Dirtbag Ute.

Supported by,

Dirty Rides Mtb Apparel- Be a Part of It

Macintosh Mills June 14, 2020

June 14th headed up the 401 and north of Mallorytown to the Macintosh Mills Crown land trail area. Last year rode here a couple of times with the Wideangle. This would be the first trip with the Stylus aka Mistress Mk1a3.

Macintosh Mills

And the goal was to ride the Bigfoot Loop easy and play a bit here and there. Nothing epic planned other than getting out in a different place with a new bike.

End result was a good sunny day out on the trails and some fun on the new bike.

Supported by ,

Dirty Rides Mtb

New Bike Time June 3rd 2020

After last years incident and much patience important delivery arrived at Team No Fixed Income HQ. 

Bad Day 2019

A large box was dropped off by the delivery company. 

Clearly it was not a secret prototype Nucular fueled by Avocado Toast and tears of the darkside knee brace by Chromag. Instead it was a new Stylus in the 2020 flavour. And the excitement of opening.

And to be honest it has been about a few years since bought an actual new expensive bike. I for many years have been a dirt bag used rider. This will be new to me . New being a completely new frame and parts bike.

Massive cassette reminds this old retro grouch of the old massive pie plate size chainrings for DH at the Kamikaze in Mammoth California. And it is like a 12 speed? Wonder how many of the cogs I will actually use. 

One thing will say the 2020 Stylus does feel a wee bit lighter than the first Chromag Stylus I got in 2007. And was sadly stolen in 2015. 

Got the soon to be known as Mistress Mk1a3 together, And it looks good. I readily admit it will take a bit for this RGMC card carrying member to get used to the new brakes and shifters. Now to take it for a couple of rides to get it dialed in.

Chromag Stylus

Dirty Rides MTB- Be A Part of It

Fox Talus Links

A year and a half ago had my 2007 Fox 36 Talus decide to take a long term siesta. And not being rushed it became a long term project. Some of that delay was sheer no rush laziness and alot to do with taking time to dig through the internet to learn more. These are some of the links I found.

2009 Fox Tala 36 RC2 manual

Fox 36 Tala RC service video

NSMB.com Fox 36 Talas upgradesMTBr Fork service info

MTBr Inside the Fox RC2 Damper

2005 TALAS Spring Service Guide

Exciting Oppurtunity...DRA February 2020

I acknowledge that this hasn't been in order of how things happened in 2020. Am currently playing catch up as I with all things going on neglected like never before writing much. So...kind of a catch up.

In 2019 just as winter was about to start in Canada I had mentioned and showed the cool riding shirt from a company called Dirty Rides MTB apparel aka DRA from Northern Ireland. Surprised me with it a while later as she had got a bunch of gear from DRA at the same time.

In January 2020 spotted that DRA was looking from ambassadors from anywhere in the world. Showed it to my friend  more as a joke but her as well as a few others I had mentioned it to. Well they encouraged me to apply anyways and I did. And the end result is.....

I got accepted to be the Canadian ambassador for Dirty Rides MTB Apparel.

It is  a privilege to be asked to be a part of Dirty Rides Apparel team. But in some ways it is a feel good thing especially after everything since March 4th 2019. And is giving me something to work at which hopefully will give me something to focus in in 2020. As well as possibly in the future lead to more.

What matters is I took a risk by applying especially while working to manage PTSD and lingering injuries. Should be an interesting rest of year with this and it should be good.

Dirty Rides MTB Apparel

Gananoque ATV Track Exploration May 15th 2020

 A while ago looking at a Google Maps satellite view of the Gananoque area spotted what looked to be an ATV track. And I thought it might be rideable. So of course had to go explore to see. I kinda expected it being May that it might be to early to do the full attempt so this was kind of a Recce ride.

Of parking it was off on a sunny Spring day to see what the track looked like. And initially it was good as the track was dry. But like all things if one isn't careful you can be misled to believe it will be good.

5 minutes in and it began. The first having to maneuver around the ATV mini pond and would be only the first.

And the first would be the cleanest. From there it began to get nastier and deeper. Good thing had thought a head and was using the Shimano Gore-Tex mtb hiking type boots. Which initially kept out the water.

And then we got to the big churned up mud pit which really was more like a bog if you stepped in the wrong place. Going outwards did ok avoiding the boggy bits.

A bit after crossing the bog came to the big body of water aka a marsh. while I scouted up a bit on foot to see what it was like. Made the decision that it was better to call it a day and come back later in the year when the water levels where lower and more had dried up.

And it was on the way back crossing the big bog that finally went deep. Found the soft spot and went knee deep with my left leg. After extracting my leg from the bog and getting finally across. Headed back to the Dirtbag Ute to grab some pop and some food. So while it was a recce in the end. This will be revisited later in the year when water levels are lower.