Getting radical. I like the lighting......

Stoke!

I have seen most if not all mountain bike videos since they were invented (Premier of pulp traction in Vancouver in 97!). I dig the films and can respect the riders but the riding they are doing is so far from what my riding is that I don't get stoked to ride after watching them. Then I saw this:

Lars N Bars gets Klunking from Transition Bikes on Vimeo.

Who wants to ride now?

Good times!

See you on the trail,

Armand

You'll thank me later

Soundtrack for tomorrow...and perhaps the rest of the week!



Instant classic!

Day off!?!?!?!?

This is my fifth season of having my shop. Today was the first day I have ever been scheduled off. I now have two guys that are more than capable to take care of the place when I'm not around. I do not plan on being an absentee owner ( at least not inside the next 10 years) but a day off is just not something I have had the luxury of in quite some time.

So what I do with a day off? Take a wild guess.....yeah, bike rides!

I planned my escape from the Republic so I could enjoy some dry roads in and around the big city. I awoke to rain in the valley and fresh snow on top of the chief. A clear sign that I needed to get the hell outa town! I had arranged to meet my friend Matt at a Cafe just off Main and Broadway. The plan was I'd ride from the North Shore and meet him there. Not known for my love of mornings I was greeted by this bit of motivation:


With that in mind got my ass into gear and headed out. I arrived at my planned parking spot and suited up. It was only drizzling slightly as I rolled out. I was stoked to be on my bike and was marveling at how light my bike was feeling under me as I made my way up the Iron Workers bridge. It was about mid span when I figured out why the bike felt so light.....no bottles! Ahh shit.

I rolled on and made it to the meeting spot on time but bottleless. Matt arrived shortly after and we decided that we had better have a coffee and a snack before we set out (just in-case).



Feeling far more caffeinated and sugared we set off. First stop was Mats house for some borrowed bottles....then we rode! We spun out the Ontario bike route to Marine Drive then out to UBC then along the Spanish Banks.

(Sorry Hornland, your bike really messed up the look of this shot. If you squint you should be able to make out a little bit of your front wheel!)

We then took in a sampling of Vancouver's great bike paths, heading towards Stanley Park. If you have never ridden a road bike around the park it is really a must do. So Rad. Quiet road unreal views and even a fun little climb in there to make sure you are paying attention.

Is nice! I like!

(Teen Wolf in stretchy pants)

We headed over the Lions Gate in seek of a cafe to relieve of more drinks and snacks. We found one and did some more drinking and eating of treats.


While enjoying the treats we spotted this in front of us:


Can you spot the evil genius at work in this shot? Well here is the short version in full on bike geek speak. Buddy has a frame built for 26" wheels. He wanted to run 700C wheels. On the Front he runs a disc and because the brake mounts to the hub no problem running the other wheel size. On the rear no disc tabs so he has to run rim brakes. The 700c rim is larger then the bike was intended to take so the rim brakes don't line up. This is a problem. Solution? Dude built a wheel using two rims! One for braking and one to mount his tire onto. Evil Genius!!!!!

And that was how I spent the majority of my day off! Not bad.

Been awhile

I know it has been almost 2 months since I have posted in this space. I have been having a great time both on the bike and in life in general. I have been taking lots of pictures and have lots of stories to tell but have not been able to find the time to pull it all together. I am very much alive for those concerned about such things.

This Sunday is the biggest day of the year for bike racing in Belgium. Check this out:



So much a part of the culture it's crazy!!!! Just like Squamish in June for the test.....well sort of like that but about 10 million more people tuning in!

If you have never seen this event before find yourself a good video feed and get up early on Sunday to watch a cultural event live!

Please note: This event can not be watched in English. Try the Sporza feed for the proper Flemish feed.

Track racing is full on!!!

Around Christmas time we posted this on the the riderepublic site. Words and our sub-par photo journalism skills could not do the event justice. The below video and it seems to capture the chaos of the Madison very effectively. imagine watching this happen just a few feet in front of your eyes as you enjoy a cold beer with some friends...good times.




It looks and sounds like a great excuse to get an other new ride!!! Might have to give it a go some time soon....stay tuned.

Squamish living up to stereo types since 1925

Bar taping done right.

Wrapping your bars is the easiest way to make your bike fresh and new again! This dude has some skills and I think he has done it before.....this is how it is done:



Simple. Just like that.

gonna scrape up $20.00 and throw it around !

I need one!!!!

When I was growing up there was this guy that would wheelie down the whole street. I plotted is death more than once!!!!

Gangster can describe counrties too.

Test of Metal. Tour de France.

So it's mid January and already people are stopping in at the shop and talking about the Test of Metal. Now don't get me wrong the Test is an amazing race put on by amazing people in this amazing town......however I have always been at odds with the event. I have done it many a time and have always finished but I always have a hard time out there and can't seem to pull it together for race day. I'm going to take another swing at it this year and see if I can make it happen....glutton for punishment that I am.

I am a raging addict to all things related to bicycle racing and it occupies my mind when I should be doing other things (such as right now!). I often think about the riders at the back of the professional peloton, the domestiques. These are the guys that get little to no glory and all of the pain. They spend their days fetching bottles, snacks, extra layers as well as setting the pace for the majority of the day on the front of the pack. Generally these are riders that are professional in the true sense of the word. It is their job to ride and suffer with very little if any hope of climbing onto a podium. By now I would think you are understanding what these guys are all about, hard as nails workers just trying to get through the day so they can go back to work the next day (sound familial?). What do they have to do to make it to the next day you ask? Simple, according to the rules of the sports largest race (Le tour De France) they simply have to finish within 18% of the winners time on any given stage of the event. Sounds simple enough right? It's only for 3 weeks after all. Forget about the rest of the season and the fact that some of these guys compete (or work) in all three major tours of the season!

This is where I started thinking about the Test of Metal. What if the same rules applied? (This is a simple what if not any sort of suggestion). It's an event most are familiar with in these parts. Often when two riders meet for the first time the following question can be overheard: "What's your time in the test?". For some just finishing the race is a victory for others there is a goal usually based on time and also from time to time based on beating a certain person. Some riders shoot for under 5hrs some under 4hrs. Do you know anyone that has gone under 3hrs? I had a look at the 2010 results and then it all came together. Just how fast is the last rider in the Tour using the Test of Metal for reference? With Geoff Kabush's winning time of 2:29 (!?!?!? wow!) if you did not finish in under 3hrs game over. That would put you in the top 30 of the Test. Those dudes are fast. Hell finishing under 4 hrs makes you pretty quick in my books!

So as we enter a new season on road and dirt think about all those guys that look like pack filler as the Cavendish's and Greipel's battle for the wins the dudes rolling in behind them are straight up hard men. Take it upon yourself to learn about at least one of these guys. They are the sport just as the riders finishing over 3hrs are the Test.

Late night ranting of a crazed bike geek!

Surly riders are tough as...

Just when I was feeling all tough about putting the time on the trainer I come across this:



Tougher than me that's for sure.

Only in Brackendale

On Saturday I decided i needed to get out on the bike. It just needed doing. Just before I left the shop I had heard the power was out in some parts of the 'hood. I thought nothing of it as it was snowing and these things happen some times when it snows around these parts. About two minutes into our ride we came across this:


So yeah....this poor bugger fried himself on the power lines near Barr's pond. Something to add to the list of things that cause power outages in Brackendale!

Music for the Holidays

What I can understand of this I like. I will need to take my Irish friend Pete up on his offer to translate further........not really very PG fair warning.




Instant classic!

BC Boy across the pond

BC boy Craig Richey is in Belgium racing World Cup Cyclocross. This is his first trip over and he sent this update the other day:

From: craig_bike@hotmail.com

Subject: The Belgium Report Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010

Howdy,

I have been in Belgium for close to two weeks now and things as going pretty well. The house where I am staying (The Chainstay) is great and the quaint town of Oudenaarde is surrounded by some great riding.

A few days after arriving in Belgium I decided to do my first race, the Superprestige Hamme-Zogge. It had rained steadily since my arrival and there was widespread flooding the weekend of the race. I actually found this a little bit encouraging because it meant that this huge amount of rain was not normal. It did however mean that the race was going to be a mud fest. The major cross races here are held in little towns and a huge number of spectators (10,000+) come out the big races like the Superprestige series. Pretty much Cyclocross in Belgium is the equivalent of Hockey in Canada. I have 37 UCI points and am ranking 104 which got me called to the start line around 35th out of the 45 starters. The course was pretty cool with three huge flyovers and tons of mud. There was so much deep mud that all the riders were forced to run major sections of the course. Of the nine minute lap I probably spent four minutes running. Under the 80% rule I was pulled with three laps to go and finished 28th. The news paper title the next days was “Sven Nys Swims to Victory.” It was an eye opening experience and was most shocked by how many kids were at the race cheering. Watching the live coverage after the race was also a great learning experience because it allowed me to compare my techniques and decisions with the best riders in the world. Turns out some of my decision making needs some work as I was riding (trying to ride) a few mud sections that the front guys were riding. One of mud bog attempts was shown on TV. The weekday between the weekend races was spent training with my house mates Rene Birkenfeld, Gabby Day and Shaun Adamson. Rene and I did some great cyclocross skills practice at the nearby lake. After the ride when I was trying to get my bike clean I realized that my equipment is taking some heavy abuse here. On Saturday I opted to do a local pro race for riders not ranked in the top fifty in the world. The race was in the town of Laarne and turned out to be one of the bigger “B” races. Based on my world rank I was called to the line first but was not able to hold that position for long. The course was through a corn field and not a North American style course. It was flat, and bumpy with a bunch of man-made ditches that were hard to ride. I rode ok and finished 14^th out of the fifty or so elite racers. For just a little local race it was comparable to a UCI pro race in the US with 500+ spectators. Sunday was the Superprestige Gavere. It is a cyclocross classic and is considered the Paris-Roubaix of cyclocross. The promise of crashes and lack of rain brought out hoards of fans. The technical course was hilly with lots of slippery rutted descents, preriding I was able to ride everything and loved it. At the start line I was optimistic that I could have a good ride. Unfortunately it was not my day and I was plagued with problems from the start. A huge pedal slip at the start left me standing with both feet on the ground as the field rode away. I was able to catch up and move up a bit but ended up in no mans land, chasing a good group in front of me with stragglers losing ground behind. On the 4^th lap my derailleur hanger broke off and I had to run to the pit zone. I have two matching Blue Norcross SL bikes which are super nice bikes but I only have one pair of Dugast Rhino tubular tires, the gold standard for mud tires. So in the pit I had to take my other bike which had mix condition tire, they packed up with mud and the descents were like trying to steer a truck with bald tires down a hill in a snow storm. I had a pretty good crash, glancing off a crash pad into a tree. The crash unhooked my rear brake making the next descent even more sketchy. I finished the lap but all the issues cost me a lot of time and was I pulled, finishing 27^th. The crash was apparently the best one of the day because it was replayed in slow-motion on TV a few times. http://bit.ly/aq9NwN @ 8:40 At a bike shop today someone recognized me from the crash on TV yesterday. Publicity is publicity I guess. Now I just need to rest up, work on bikes, and find some more mud tires. Next up is the Koksijde World Cup on Saturday. Hope everyone is doing well. If you are not interested in these ramblings just reply with "Unsubscribe" in the title and I will pull you off the list. Craig Richey CyclocrossRacing.com p/b Blue

The video is worth a watch. I have huge respect for the leap of faith it must have taken to go over there and have a go with those guys! Follow his results on your favorite Cycling site and drop him a line if you want to get his updates.

Burnt out on bike videos

I have come to realize I am burnt out on bike videos, or rather I thought I was until I saw this:



Shout out to the folks at drunkcyclist for bringing this fine piece of film to my attention.

Survived my one and only cross race of the year yesterday in Port Alberni. Huge thanks to all that made the race happen. The course was sick and we all tasted some glorious pain. Here is a clip of my friend Justin on one of my favorite sections. Enjoy.



Can you feel the pain?

Deep thoughts.

It was about this time of year 4 years ago I started planning the opening of my bike shop. At that early point I had only a rough idea of how it would all come together. It felt good to be planning for something I REALLY wanted. Lets just say, doing what you really want to do is something easier said than done. With the help of a few key people I was able to convert a falling down old barn into a funky little bike shop. Amazing.


Fast forward 3.5 years and....this summer I decided it was a good idea to start again and move the shop to a larger location. This was a daunting task as unlike the first reno I would have to try and keep one shop operating while renovating an other. This defines the term "burning the candle at both ends". On the very first day I sat in the new space and thought about what it was going to take. I knew from the beginning I would not have been able to do it by myself, and that's about all I knew. As I started the project an amazing thing happened...People started to show up asking what they could do. Now this may sound normal but this was not normal. First it was normal stuff like help lifting or moving some stuff then it changed. People started donating whole days to the effort, then donating material and equipment. Now I am not talking about one or two people there were many many days where there was an entire work party of volunteers giving their energy for the cause. I have never opened any other kind of store but I am willing to put money that if I was opening say a video store or a clothing store or a cell phone store the help would not have been there at all! The shop as it is today could not have been built without the help of the community and the generosity of my family and friends. This is something I will not forget. There was a quote some place in the middle of the chaos that stuck with me "There is a new church being raised in Brackendale." ( I believe this was my friend Eric). I think that about summed up what was happening. The people new what they wanted and they new to have it they needed to help create it.

The Republic was built by the people for the people and I am lucky to have the honor of being in charge of the show.

Earlier this week I was presented with two awards. REPUBLIC BICYCLES won BEST BIKE SHOP along with FRIENDLIEST STAFF. Both of these awards are awesome in their own way. The best bike shop one is amazing. There are two other RAD shops in town and to be voted the best of the three is amazing. What really amazes me is the friendliest staff award. This is not the friendliest bike shop staff we are talking about it is for the friendliest staff in town period. This is crazy! I do my best but man there are some friendly people in this town.....All I can think of is these same people I spoke about above might have had something to do with it either the people themselves or the feeling they brought with them.

Thanks for all the good vibes, I will do my best to honor the awards....or perhaps there has been some kind of mistake!?!?

Thanks again and happy trails,

Armand

Enjoy some photos of the process:

Been busy!

I have been very busy over the last while on a rather large project. Check it out here:



Still lots to do but you get the idea. Grand opening planning is going well. Details to follow shortly.

Happy trails !