Island Notes

Author: Charles Mandel

Let it snow...let it snow...

As I write, the first real storm of the season is blasting into PEI, dumping a ton of snow over the trails. That's it for biking this year, right?

Wrong.

It just means it's time to snow shovel.

Oh, doesn't that just sound like a ton o' fun, you're thinking. Well...actually, it is.

Last winter we kept a two-kilometre loop called Larry's Trail open. At least once a week a couple of people would wander out with their shovels and clear the trail. The hard work resulted in a smooth hard-pack that was great for speeding around on.

We'd go out at nights with our lights and rip up and down Larry's Trail, speeding down the couple of small hills and flying through the curves. With the high banks of snow on either side, the feeling was a little bit like bob-sledding. When the trails iced over later in the season, everyone broke out the studded tires.

Sounds crazy? Maybe so. But it was a great upper body work-out, shovelling, and we cycled all year 'round, perhaps accounting for why so many PEI mountain bikers did so well last race season.

The only catch this year is the snow currently falling is very wet, making for difficult shovelling. Hmmm...maybe it will be the wind trainer, after all, this winter.

Rigid Rider Raffle

The Rigid Riders are raffling off a Rocky.

Say, that's a lot of "r"s.

Alliteration aside, The Rigid Riders are run (sorry-another "r" word) by Cycle PEI (CPEI)'s Brian Murray. This youth group of riders, 16 and under, were very active this summer, cutting new trail in Brookvale, and racing and riding.

These kids are the island's next generation of racers and already several of them- barely able to see over their handlebars -are proving themselves on the race course. Among other things they bring urban handling skills to the XC course.

Murray, a CPEI board member who formed and led the Rigid group rides over the summer, approached Rocky Mountain Bikes for sponsorship, thinking maybe he'd score some jerseys. Rocky came back big with a fully-loaded Fusion for the Rigids to raffle off as a fund-raiser. The $2 tickets are going to be hot items on the island this winter. Some lucky winner will claim the bike at the Mother's Day Time Trail in 2004.

Smooth Cycle on the Move

Smooth Cycle, Charlottetown's leading bike shop, is moving from its Prince Street dump (this isn't meant to be derogatory; everyone's fond of Smooth's run-down, shabby-yet-comfortable digs) to a new spot, still downtown at Queen and Euston.

The new space gives the bike shop more room and will coincide with an increase in the amount of inventory Smooth carries.

Another change at the shop is Jared Stretch's recent purchase of Smooth from Neil Robertson.

And as if that wasn't enough, Luke Macdonald closed down his esteemed Red Rok bike shop this fall and moved his wrenches and formidable mechanic's ability over to Smooth.

Trails We Look Forward to in the Spring

Just before winter broadsided the island, a spate of trail-building broke out here. Larry (yes, he of Larry's Trail) Cosgrave was working hard out at Appin Road to complete Body in the Valley, a singletrack stretch that is named for the obvious consequences of not riding it properly.

A large group of riders, again at Appin Road, resurrected long neglected trails the Off-Camber Clamber and Tweebles. Together, they add up to one of the longest climbs on the island. Kent Wood and Larry also cut a new section of trail at Appin that includes two free-ride jumps. So far everyone's cleaned them neatly without incident.

Altogether, the trail work has added almost an additional two kilometres, making Appin a 16-km. ride these days.

Twisted Shifters' New Year's Day Ride

The next event up on the ride calendar (by now I know you think we're crazed) is the Twisted Shifters' New Year's Day ride, a much-anticipated event by the island's mountain bike community.

The Twisted Shifters are a loose affiliation of mountain bikers who ride every Sunday morning during the spring, summer and fall. The rides have been known to attract as many as 22 mountain bikers-maybe not many by mainland numbers, but excellent for our tiny community.

(Speaking of Twisted Shifters, many of you may have noted our shockingly bright orange jerseys at races; Ron St. Onge, who co-ordinates the Shifter rides, pulled those together.)

Every New Year's Day, the Shifters meet at Dalvay in the National Park for a quick (really quick, baby, it's cold out there) lap of the parkway and then for a potluck brunch in the park cabin after. Last year's major food hit was Mark Grimmett's waffles made on-site. Someone's going to have to cook eggs Benedict or some such thing to top those this year.

ECMTB.com is looking for scene reporters for Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. If you are interested in letting the world know what's happening in your province's mountain bike scene, e-mail Bikergrl.

Posted by bikergrl at December 9, 2003 08:52 PM

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