The past couple of months have seen us getting back to an activity that consumed a great deal of a our leisure time 20+ years ago: Mountain Biking.
Back then, we used to cycle to school/work and then do fun rides on the weekends, often spending the whole day in Gatineau Park. We used to do a 100km fund raising ride every May. Needless to say that things are not as we remember…
The first challenge was to find Trish a bike given that we had parted ways with her trusty Kona Hahanna many years ago. In the COVID-world, this proved challenging not only because of supply constraints and high demand for outdoor sports gear, but also because she needs a pretty small bike. These challenges affected both the new and used market, but T was pretty clear that she didn’t want to go new given she was unsure whether she would get back into it.
After much searching, we got lucky and found a lightly used 2016 Giant Trance 27.5 2 on Kijiji, complete with elbow and knee pads, and it fit her as well as any bike she’s owned after some adjustments to the handlebar’s length and roll.
Unfortunatately, I over-estimated her level of comfort and under-estimated the challenge of the trails at the South March Highlands Conservation Forest on our first attempt at a real outing. Combine those factors with an unfamiliar bike, flat pedals that wouldn’t let her feet move the way she was used to on her SPD pedals, and the result was a sprained ankle after a low-speed tumble to the side. 🙁
As she healed, I got out on my trusty StumpJumper for the occasional ride, including a longer ride (for me) with our friends Ken and Colette on their local, private trails in Kingston. For this one, I took T’s bike, despite it being too small, just to get a feel for what suspension would be like.
To say this was an eye-opener would be an understatement. While the bike being too small, the seat too low, etc. could account for some of my awkwardness, it was pretty clear that I had a long hill to climb if I was going to even approach the level of comfort I once had on a bike, let alone the fitness. Still, I had a great time and remembered why I used to spend countless hours in Gatineau Park.
The search for a bike for me was also ongoing. Sizing (watch this if you’re unsure about sizing an mtb) was a challenge, and the used market was pretty much asking the same money as new, so I decided to focus on something new. Unfortunately, the marketing machine that is the bike industry had been busy during our absence. The industry that featured cross-country bikes (hard-tail and full suspension) and downhill bikes back in 1997 now had: cross-country bikes (hard-tail and full suspension), trail bikes (hard-tail and full suspension), all-mountain bikes, enduro bikes, and downhill bikes!
I found myself gravitating towards Trail and All-Mountain bikes as I wanted one bike to do it all — from smooth XC single track where I would start, to lift-serviced ski area trails, and bike parks (once I get comfy catching a bit of air again).
After hours of reading/watching online reviews, I found myself thinking the Pivot SwitchBlade would be a bike with the level of versatility that I was after and a broad performance envelope that I could aspire to grow into. After callling around to every shop within 5 hours of Ottawa, driving a total of 18 hours to confirm sizing and eventually pick up a bike, a Treeline Green in Size Small, which has since been named Kermit, made its way home with us, and I love it. My sincere thanks to PLANÈTE CYCLE & SKI in Magog, QC; RST Velosport in Prevost, QC; Laferté Bicycles in Trois-Rivieres, QC; and Via Ciclante in Mississauga, ON, for their help and advice on which bike, what size, and how to find one.
Since then, we’ve been doing as much riding as we can. Some of that has been getting T’s set-up on her bike to where she feels comfortable and re-building her confidence.
The confidence is coming back slowly, but she’s in a constant battle against the frustration of knowing she used to be able to do this stuff easily, instinctively, without any encouragement. Her persistence in face of the occasional tumble is admirable. #proudhusband
Speaking of frustration borne of comparing today to the past, I can certainly relate. After a couple of early rides on easy terrain, I decided to go back to a trail we used to do back in day. To say it was humbling would be the understatement of the century. I kept the video chronicling that outing in gory detail. It’s long, but I tried to keep it humorous.
While we’re certainly struggling to feel as comfortable as we once did, the experience so far has made us both wonder why we stopped doing this. Even stronger confirmation that we want to keep going is that we’re having fun even though we SUCK— there is no stronger signal than enjoying a task despite incompetence.
Going forward, we’ll keep chronicling our rides on video. While they don’t make for the most compelling viewing, they’re good reminders of what a given trail was like and how we did. If you’re interested, keep an eye on our MTB Rides Playlist on YouTube.
