New Years Day Ride / Hike

Date: Wednesday January 1st, 2014
Location: Dufferin Forest
Time: 2pm (Tentative)

Ride, Hike, Walk, Run, Ski etc.... Come out for the first day of the new year

Team Van Go Year in Review - 2013

Well it has now been 1 full year that the blog has been up.... Crazy how fast a year can go by.... Below is a month by month year in review, similar to TSN or a news channel, a year in review must be warranted... Boy how we have grown in a year....

January
The Month of January was full of Beer reviews, and trying to figure out what the Blog would be good for, and what the content of the Blog could be. There was a lot of Fat Tire Trail Reports as well, as this was the first winter for Johnny, Tyler and Mike owning the fat tire bikes.  Probably the most we have ridden in the winter in a long long time.  Beer Reviews included, Lake of Bays Spark House, Mocha Porter, Amsterdam Big Wheel, Mad & Noisy Hops and Bolts and Red Racer IPA.

February

February was a little quieter than January with regards to rides, and posts, but there was still rides and still Team Van Go activity.  We had beer reviews for New Belgium Fat Tire, and Wadadli Premium Gold Lager (Johnny and Karen remote Review).  Tyler and Johnny did our first destination ride, from Mansfield to Creemore Pub.  We will be doing another destination ride this year, and coming up soon, from Mansfield to Alliston, and looking at a Mansfield to Mono ride.... All in all, February was another good month, and another month closer to Summer!!!

March

March brought us some warmer temperatures, and our first race of the season.  Tyler, Johnny and Don competed in the first ever Fatty Frost Cross at Hardwood Hills.  The positive of this event was to create more of a partnership between fat bike riders, and Hardwood Hills, and for this year allows Fat bikes on the Skate trails Monday to Friday. Hopefully next year all week plus weekends... March brought us hope that we would be riding singletrack sooner rather than later!  Sadly no Beer reviews this month though....

April

Another month closer to singletrack and having more riders coming out on rides...  Tyler Johnny Mike and Don did the Homage to Homage to Ice due to the event being postponed with regards to the amount of snow in the forest. The Homage to Ice did go on at the end of April, with a very good showing of team van go.  The Month of April brought us our first Skinny Tire Trail Report for the year as well!!!  Beer Reviews included Grolsch and Hop City 8th Sin.

May

May brought us the Sausage Suit ITT.  The first race of the year with team van go on the podium!!  In May we finally rode Kalopore for the first time, with a mix of rain snow and sun.... We also were able to go up and ride Buckwallow for the first time.  We had a lot of mid week rides as well starting our Monday rides, Tuesday Rides and Wednesday rides were picking up with more people.  Beer Reviews included Sam Adams Latitude 48 and King Brewery Dark Lager. 

June

June was a busy month for Team Van Go, with a lot of midweek and weekend rides, as well as the 24 Hour Summer Solstice.  TVG had 2 teams in the 24hr, a 10 person and a 5 person team.  The 5 person team ended up finishing 3rd in their respective category out of 37 teams! Team van go also had it's new addition unveiling, the new team van go tent!!!  You probably have seen it floating around at one event of another. Beer Review included probably one of the worst beers we have had, the Bacon Maple Ale.... Enough said. 

 

July

July was the month of the Bromont downhill trip.  Had an awesome group head to Quebec for a long weekend, and a lot of shenanigans, and no major injuries, there were injuries but not major.  Every weekend we had a ride, and the Wednesday night rides were filled with lots of people and lots of fun.... Tyler and Johnny did the Kalapolooza, a 3hr ride at Kalopore.  Beer reviews included Quidi Vidi Iceberg Beer, and Premium Lager (Tyler Emily and Bern started the trip to Newfoundland)

August

Team van go podiums again at the Mountainview 9hr race. Tyler finished 3rd in the solo mens category, and we also had a 4 person team in the race.  Next year this race has to be put on everyones schedule, a lot of fun and very small event.  Also team van go podiums at the Copper Kettle Festival in Creemore. Johnny picked up first place for best period dress.  The month of August brought us another great month of riding, but the thought of fall riding was in the back of everyone's mind.  Beer reviews included Quidi Vidi Traditional Lager, and the Mad and Noisy Sunny and Share. 

September

September was a slower riding month overall, whether it be weather, or just the season but we did still have some rides, plus the fall 8hr race.  The Fall 8hr was our big event for the month, with Senn Tyler and Johnny racing solos, and a 6 person team (Ann and the Gritty Kitties) as well as the 4 person team (Sherriffs Bros and the Cruz Cousin).  We had a perfect day for the race, not too hot no rain, all in all a fantastic day. September also brought us into the beginning of carrying lights sometimes not needed but as a precaution.  Beer Reviews included Creemore Colaboration Altbeir. 

October

October we found our biking group getting a little smaller due to some cooler temperatures.  Ride wise we picked it up compared to September thought. October was a big month for team van go as a whole.  Team van go was introduced as a Club with IMBA.  This is the first step towards team van go hosting an event in Dufferin as well as providing insurance for rides, trails etc.  October also brought us out on some new trails in Mono.  October we also saw the leaves start to drop and the temperatures fall. There were no Beer Reviews in the month of October... what a shame!

November

November saw the blog have a design revamp to what you see today.  It was also a very busy month, with rides, travels for some to Arizona, and our first snow ride of the season! We also hosted a few larger group rides at Mansfield with some new people coming out to show them the trails.  We had some great days for riding again, cooler temperatures smaller groups, but still going strong.  Beer Reviews Baron Bohemian Tmavy Lezak, Amsterdam Brewery, and New Belgium Fat Tire Ale.  mmm beer. 

December

Yup, we are now in December, well the end of the month, and other than a few injuries to some riders, we are still riding.  December will be know for the month of the Fat Bike.  We are now at the point where you need a fat bike to ride, snow mobile trails are groomed, and there's about 1-2 ft of snow in the forest.  That being said, we do have a new fat bike rider, Don and his Norco Bigfoot.  We have some great rides over the later part of the month.  We  also had a group snowshoe at Mono cliffs with a fairly large group as well. Beer Reviews included Trafalgar Ales & Meads: Maple Bock, and Amsterdam Brewery Tempest Imperial Stout. 

Well that is a brief overview of the year, and to think of what we did, and what was accomplished this year, it has been incredible.  It's the beginning of things to come for sure!!!

Cheers to everyone, happy new years!

Monday Ride: Dufferin

Date: Monday December 30th, 2013
Location: Dufferin Forest
Time: 3pm

Bring a light just in case

Conditions should be good, with the cold temperatures the soft snow on the sled trails should be packed down and hardend up nicely.

Fat Tire Trail Report

Date: Saturday December 28th, 2013
Location: Dufferin Forest

Riders: Tyler, Johnny, Don
Runners: Karen, Max
Skiers: Bernie

We have a new rider to join the Fat Bike Mix.... Don has picked up a Norco Bigfoot, and for the price this bike is set up extremely nice! Definitely the best bang for the buck for sure, and the colour scheme black and blue was sharp too.

Our ride plan was to hit the snowmobile trail and see how far we could make it... The ride distance ended up being just shy of 18km, and the conditions were pretty good.  Not as good as the xmas eve ride, but still not bad at all.

We did come across a few sleds, but not too bad.  As long as you could find the good part of the trail, you could keep your speed and stay up on plain.  Temperatures were fantastic, with a milder +2C which made you sweat a lot more, but still very comfortable.

All in all the ride went very well, and Don's inaugural fat bike ride went very well!  Just need more Fat Bikes to come out and ride with us.

Bern's ski report: I wish I was on a bike.




Ride Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Weekend Ride/Run/hike

Date: Saturday December 28, 2013
Location: Dufferin Forest
Time: 2:00 pm

Ride Run Hike Drink Skydive whatever you want to do just be there.

Team Van Go does Toronto Beer Tour.....

A few weeks back some of the team van go folks headed down to Toronto for a bit of a road trip / Beer tour.


Our host for the day was a gentleman by the name of Oliver Dawson.  He was an extremely knowledgeable guide, and took our group in stride.  Any question we fired out he had a response, and was able to elaborate and educate us more.  For a weekend where I wasn't expecting to retain anything due to alcohol consumption, I remember and continue to think of some of the points that was learned over the course of the day.

Our day started out at 11am at the Steam-whistle brewery.  We walk into the doors and are greated by Oliver, a friendly staff and a bottle of cold Steam-whistle.  After a brief overview of what our day is going to entail, we headed into the brewery for a private tour of the facility, with a fresh bottle of beer.  If you have not been in Steam-whistle before, I highly recommend it.  Even if it is not your favorite beer, go inside, take a look around, and drink a pint.
After the tour, we had another sample of Steam-whistle, we made a sandwich for lunch, and another one for later on in the day, loaded onto a magical transportation device called a school bus and went to Old Fort York.
Most of the tvger's had never been to the site, so it was a really interesting place to walk around.  Oliver provided us with a history lesson on the city of Toronto and the history of beer and the influence beer had on the city. So yes, the tour tied in beer with Fort York, but no beer samples there.  There was more to come for sure.

We jumped back onto the bus and did a tour over to the Six Pints Beer Academy.  The Beer Academy is owned by both Creemore Springs and Granville Island Brewery, which in turn is owned by Molson's.  Not to put anything against the Beer Academy. We were then greeted by staff from the Beer Academy and brought to a private room for another tasting of 3 of their beers.  What the names were I cannot remember, but there was a cloudy one, a redish one, and a dark one.... We were brought up to speed on the difference between ales and lagers, and the difference between the brewing processes.  Johnny had a very interesting question for out female host at the Beer Academy.  "Have you ever heard of Dry Hopping".  Now when you read that slow you understand the question, but find a friend and ask them the same question, but say it somewhat quickly.  You can probably understand the laughing that was started by the question in a room of people who have been drinking beer.   As we were having a discussion about hopping, beer etc, Derek decided it was a good time to inspect the inners of his eye lids, which caused a lot of laughter for everyone else.

After our experience at the Beer Academy, we boarded the big yellow school bus and drove down to Mill Street Distillery district.  At Mill Street, we again walked right in into a back area and started drinking other samples, from Organic, Stock Ale, Vanilla Porter, and capped off with Beer Schnapps.  Now let me be the first to say, I'm not a Schnapps person, I prefer beer, and this shot of Schnapps did not change my mind.  I still do not like Schnapps.  Like Big Mark said, it tasted like eating a cigar.... yes it tasted that bad... I give Mill Street credit to trying it, and if you are a Schnapps person, by all means give it a try.  if you are not, I would stay away and spend your money on beer... I think we had another sample at Mill Street, but at this point you start to feel better and better, and the pain seems to go away...

We had some time to wander around the distillery district, which includes the Chocolate Factory... yes the chocolate factory... such a great and wonderess place!! After spending money there, we jumped back onto the bus and headed up to our final stop of the day, the Amsterdam Brewery.

Amsterdam recently moved to a new bigger location.  Here we sampled a few more pints, from a Big Wheel, Boneshaker I think, a reddish brown one, and a wheat beer.  Yes by this point beer started catching up to us.  This was our last stop of the beer tour, and to anyone who thinks about doing a beer tour, I would 100% recommend it to anyone and everyone!  Oliver was a fantastic host and made the experience 100 times better!

http://www.beerloverstour.com/toronto.html


After the tour we jumped on the subway (which was an experience all in its own) and headed back to the hotel and the Amsterdam Brewhouse.  Bernie and Derek were doing their Eddie the Eagle impressions while the train was moving.... People could definitely tell that we were not locals by any means... We somehow got off at the right stop and headed to the Amsterdam Brewhouse.  If you have never been to the brewhouse you are missing out.  Not only do they have fantastic beer, the atmosphere and the food are also worth the trip.  At this point the folks that didn't join the beer tour met us and we then enjoyed a great meal, and friends, with more booze....

We then staggered our way over to C'est What, a small basement pub, which was packed!! again a great place to check out for sure... By this point of the evening we had consumed a copious amount of alcohol and were in a drunken stupper...

All in all we had a great time downtown, great friends, and a perfect day!!!

Keep an eye out for the Team Van Go urban ride of Toronto.... on Fat Bikes... and normal bikes too.... The plans are in the works...

Fat Tire Trail Report

Date: Tuesday December 24th, 2013
Location: Dufferin Forest

Tyler and Johnny rode, Max was running and Chrissy and the pups were out hiking on the chilly chilly day.... Johnny's thermometer showed a bomby -16 degrees C.....  Yes that's cold... One of the colder rides we have done over the past couple years.

With the cold temperature this made it perfect to head out for a ride, as the groomer was out on the sled trails, and there was a nice layer of crust. With this setup the fat bikes just toured on top of the snow/crust.  We had an awesome ride!!!

You can tell now with the season changing, we have more time for photo ops...

Only 4 sleds went by us, plus 2 of the loggers had a chat with us.... Sum up that conversation was "Are you guys f*/-ing crazy".  That makes the ride that much better for sure!!!

End of the day our loop was 16km in 1hr and change... Below is the Endomondo GPS and information that the little thing spits out.

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to all!

Everyone have a great holiday and be safe!

Christmas Eve Ride

For anyone that wants to come out we are doing a Christmas Eve ride at Dufferin.

Ride start 11:30
Ride type: snowmobile trail.
Ride location: Dufferin forest airport rd

You can say no if you want..... But why would you

We have to be finished no later than 2 due to Xmas stuff

Plaid Accessories!!!!

Oh yes, if you didn't think you could be fully Plaid out, MEC has a new pair of sweet looking socks!!!

Below link will put you there.

http://www.mec.ca/product/5034-556/defeet-aireator-ht-lumberjack-socks-unisex/

Thanks Don

Another Cool Video

YouTube is full of cool videos.... Below is another one to Check Out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTC3zpVz0e0

Thanks Don

Great XMAS Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-D1KVIuvjA

Thanks Illona

Hat Trick Hank makes the cut!‏

A little later (Sorry Anne) but everyone get on the below today!!!!

The next round of voting begins today, with the goal of making the Top 10.

You can vote once a day until Thursday by following this link and clicking the blue box that says "vote for this artist":

music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Anne-Thomson

 

Here are other ways you can support the song in this contest:

 

1)  Vote once per day, per internet device from today until Thursday Dec 19^th.  Some people asked me to remind them to vote daily;if you would like me to send you a daily reminder to vote just write me back and let me know.

2)  Listen to the song once on every internet browser.  If you have Chrome, Firefox, Safari and/or Explorer on one computer please play the song on each one.  Play it once at work and once at home.  The first time the song is played on every internet browser adds to the total number of plays (and each play counts as a vote).

3) Continue to spread the word: 

-Tell your music-loving and hockey-watching friends and colleagues! 

-Consider posting it on your facebook page

-Ask friends to share it, tweet it and post it!
-Know someone on a hockey team?  Ask them to send the link to players and fans!

-Visiting a friend’s house?  Use their computer and make the site their homepage. ;)

4) Keep your fingers crossed for Hank!

Beer Review: Amsterdam Brewery Tempest Imperial Stout

Well yet again it is time for the world famous team van go beer review.  This time we are going to look at the last beer I bought at the LCBO, the Amsterdam Brewery Tempest Imperial Stout. If you think this beer was brewed in the Netherlands you would be sadly disappointed.  This beer is brewed in Toronto, so why it's not called Toronto Brewery I'm not sure.

This is a stronger beer, at 9% alcohol rating, and is a Fall / Winter seasonal beer. An interesting fact about the Tempest Stout is that its optimum serving temperature is 10 deg C.  So right off the bat I buggered that one up.  Being stored in my car in the nice cold temperatures we had, I'd say the temperature we drank it at was probably closer to 5 deg C....

So let us start with the appearance of the beer.  It comes in a brown bottle, with a label, so it looks like a brown bottle with a label on it.  When you pour the beer into the glass you have a very dark appearance, hence the name "Stout".  The word stout was originated from a Russian word which stands for "Alcohol which flows from the hills, and into a glass".  To be honest I have no clue what it stands for.... After the beer was poured into the glass, there was a thick head which didn't seem to dissipate quickly.

Smell.... The short quick sniffs that I took of this beer gave off a hint of chocolate and roasted malts.... some people smell coffee, raisins and caramel, but I'm thinking they were drinking folgers and eating caramel coated raisins, because I didn't get those when I smelt the beer.

The taste.  If you have ever had a party in your mouth, then you have probably drank this beer.  You did get the taste of chocolate with some bitterness.  At the end of the day the mouthful of the Imperial Stout was fantastic.  For a 9% beer, you did not get the sense you were drinking a high alcohol beverage.  Well until you finished the beer, cause then you notice you were drinking a high alcohol beverage.

IBU Rating: 100+


Rating: 4.35 out of 5

Would you buy a case of this beer?  I would and I wouldn't.  9% is a lot of booze, and you really can only drink 1 bottle at a time....
Was the beer hoppy? Not really hoppy, more bitter and chocolately....
Would you recommend this beer to a friend? Yes... and I did bring one and give it away to a friend.
How much does a 58.6 litre Keg weight? Full = 160 lbs, Empty = 31 lbs

Wednesday Night - Moonlight Snow Shoe

Hi All,

For anyone wanting to come out Wednesday, instead of a ride, we will be doing a Moonlit Snow Shoe/hike.

It is suppose to be a full moon, so what better time to spend hiking around Mono Cliffs!!!

All are welcome.

6pm at the 3rd line parking lot.

Thanks!!!

The Things you can do on a Road Bike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhabgvIIXik

Thanks Jennifer

Great Riding Jerseys

For anyone who wants to look good on the trail, check out the below link, and Club Ride Apparel's other jerseys and shorts.

http://www.clubrideapparel.com/collections/men/products/new-west

Thanks Don

Upcoming Ride Guide

Date: Wednesday December 18th, 2013
Location: Mono Cliffs
Time: 6pm

Ride, Hike, Run, Snowshoe, Ski whatever you want to do.
The snow we have looks like it will be sticking around until the end of the week, so there should be plenty for any kind of activity you want to do.

See everyone out there.

Weekend Ride Run or Hike

Date: Sunday December 15th 2013
Location: Suffering Forest
Time: 2pm

Choose your discipline.
After the ride hike or run off to the palace for a sociable.

See everyone out there.

Weekend Ride: Sunday

Date: Sunday December 13, 2013
Location: TBD
Ride Type: Rehab ride - relaxed ride
Weather: -8C with Scattered Flurries.

Planning on a ride on Sunday, with the possibility of a hike at the same time.
This should all be firmed up tomorrow (Saturday)

Keep an eye on the blog for updates.

Product Review: WTB Laser V Saddle

One of the most important parts of you bike, other than the frame, wheels, handle bars, drivetrain, suspension comes a very vital part, your saddle, or seat. You never realize how much time you spend on your seat, until you have a seat that is uncomfortable.  Once you have a uncomfortable seat, you have an uncomfortable ride, and if you are riding with your significant other, you both will have an uncomfortable ride or a miserable ride.

I've done a lot of riding over the last few years, and have tried a few different seats, on each bike, and the one I find is the best of the all is the WTB Laser V Saddle that is on my Santa Cruz Heckler.  WTB has a couple versions, the Team which has Titanium Rails, and the Pro which has Ni-Cro rails.  The only difference between the 2 is the weight, with is only 15grams difference.  If you are that concerned about weight, dont drink the extra beer the night before, or have an extra large bowel movement.  Pricing difference between the 2 is about 40$, but if you keep an eye out you can find the Team version for the same or cheaper than the Pro version.

I run WTB seats on all my bikes now, due to their design dual compound base, with leather or synthetic cover, and the Comfort Zone up the middle.  The saddles come with the standard dual rails that work on 99% of the seat posts out there.

These saddles are great if you want to ride a short 1 hour ride, or an 8hr event.  I haven't had an issue at all with the sensitive undercarriage areas.

If you are in the market for a new seat, take a hard serious look at this one, definately worth the money 100%!

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 (Just in case there is a better one that I haven't tried) (But I doubt it)

Positives: Comfort, Comfort, and more Comfort

Negatives: None, other than it doesn't cook meals.....

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhabgvIIXik&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thanks Jonothan

Beer Review: Trafalgar Ales & Meads: Maple Bock

Not much else to do this time of the year other than have a nice refreshing beer.  Then write a review about it, so hence I need to keep trying different brews.  And this one was thanks to Don for supplying it after a ride this past Sunday.

The beer being reviewed is from Trafalgar Ales and Meads, and their Maple Bock Beer.  Pretty much the name states it all... it is a maple flavored beer... If you couldn't figure that out, this may not be the right review for you.

Let's start with the visual aspect of the beer, or for the normal people what the beer looks like.  When poured into a glass, or a plastic cup in the parking lot, you can see by the picture that it is a dark beer.  One thing that I noticed was that there was a lot of floaties in the glass.  One note was that there was not a lot of carbonation in the beer.   As you can see in the picture there is not a lot of head.  Get you mind out of the gutter, as I'm talking about the foam on top of the beer.

Next the smell test.  After a winter bike ride your nose is plugged up a bit, and running, so smelling the beer was not very successful...

We move from the smell to the taste.  With a name like Maple Bock, you guessed it, it has a taste of maple.  To give you a judgement on the maple taste, picture yourself licking a maple tree, without the bark... maybe pretend that you are drinking the sap out of the tree, or out of an Aunt Jamima bottle.  Long story short there was a hint of maple in the beer.  Mixed in with the maple, was a malt and slight hops.

At the end of the day, the beer was flavorful, and tastey.  Was not the #1 beer I have ever had, but it was no where near the worst beer I have ever had.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Would you buy a case of this beer?  I wouldn't, but I would buy a bottle at a time.  I could not see drinking a case of it in 1 sitting....
Would you recommend this beer to a friend? I would, but like the above comment states only buy 1 bottle.  Or if you like maple syrup, then have at it.
Was the beer hoppy? Slight, but nothing like a boneshaker.
What is the average IQ of a person?  90 - 115 score.

Rider of the Month (December): Mike "Awesome"

(TVG) What is your favorite Bike?

(MH) Too many great bikes out there. I do love my Intense Tracer 2 though. Way better than a Heckler. Haha.

(TVG) How many bikes do you own?

(MH) 5 bikes Townie, 2 mountain bikes, fatty, and a road bike. 

(TVG) What is your favorite colour?(MH) The color of boobies. They're awesome. 

(TVG) If you had a chance to buy any bike in the world what would you buy?
(MH) That's a tough one. An Intense Carbine or a Santa Cruz Bronson would probably be the top of the list. I'd probably prefer a fleet rather than one ridiculously expensive bike though.

(TVG) How did you get hooked up with team van go?
(MH) A close friend rides with them and when I started we joined the weekly group ride. The rest is awesome history.

(TVG) What do you want to do when you grow up?
(MH) Don't know for sure. Just hope I'm riding and happy. Maybe a food critic. I like to eat. A lot.

(TVG) When did you start riding mountain bikes?
(MH) 2007. It was a year when it was kinda trendy with my friends. Now   I'm hooked. 

(TVG) Outside of biking what sport do you enjoy the most?
(MH) Eating , Xc skiing and running. 

(TVG) If you were an animal, what would you be?
(MH) I would be a golden retriever. Everyone loves a golden retriever don't they?

For all the ladies out there, Mike is looking for a special someone to join on his awesome rides.  You can click on the Google Mail button on the website, or leave a comment!  You will not be dissapointed!!!

Upcoming Ride Guide

Date: Wednesday December 11th, 2013
Location: Mono Cliffs.
Time: 6pm
Ride or Hike, your choice

Bring lights either way!!  And a camera, as this time of the year you can get some fantastic night photos!!!

See everyone out there!

Sunday Hike

Date: Sunday December 8th 2013
Location:  Dufferin Forest
Time: 2:30pm
Duration: 1.5hrs wish

Johnny is gonna be doing a trek in dufferin check out some new terrain.
All are welcome.

Nashville Tract Survey

Hi all

Just like the dufferin survey Chris who has come out and rode with us has done a lot of trail work and needs our help.

Please click the below link and help out!!!

\http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NRMTsurvey

Thanks

BikeKayak

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=tMw8q5g4DsE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtMw8q5g4DsE%26feature%3Dshare

Thanks Bern

Sedona via Pink Bike

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Pinkbike-Roadtrip-Sedona-Stories-Part-II-2013.html?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PB+Best+-+November+2013

Dufferin Forest Survey - Friendly Reminder

For anyone who hasn't filled in the survey please do so.  Everyone knows how fun Mansfield is, and we want to keep it for biking. Below is the link.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DVGS75J


Pass this link around to everyone and anyone.  It closes at the end of December.

If you have internet Explorer as well as Google Chorme you can do the survey twice.
For anyone that doesn't know we ride in the Main Tract.

Riding Feels Good

A Website for biking based around riding in Eastern Canada.

http://www.ridingfeelsgood.com/

Crazy but this website has the same starting point as the Blog and team van go.

Fat Tire Trail Report: Rehab Ride

Date: Wednesday December 4th, 2013
Location: Mono Cliffs

Mountain Bike Riders: Tyler
Hikers: Johnny
Dogs: Max

So the 3 of us showed up to Mono last night for a rehab ride / hike.  At the end of the day they were short stints in the forest, but the forest was in great shape!!!

The Trails were softening up a bit due to the temperatures, but were 100% ride-able for fat or skinny tires alike.

The majority of the single track was packed down very nicely by hikers and the odd snowshoe person.

Max also had a nice new glowing red collar too! Made it very easy to see him in the forest.

Looking at the upcoming forecast, the snow will probably melt, then freeze, and snow again, so the trails will be in perfect condition for the weekend.

Copeland Forest Trail Meeting: Review

Johnny & Bernie attended the copeland trail meeting. It's purpose was to determine usage by different groups.

It was very informative & we made some contacts.

I'd recommend to every rider who has a little time to spare to go to these functions . We need to be well represented to be able to continue to ride on our favorite trails.Right now we are just " guests" in the forest and the right to ride there can be taken away.

Cool Photos

http://twentytwowords.com/2013/01/30/biking-across-a-lakes-crystal-clear-ice-12-pictures/

Check out these photos.  If this doesn't make you want to buy a fat bike I dont know what will.

Thanks Derek.

Copeland Forest Meeting

Date: Tuesday December 3rd, 2013
Location: Horseshoe Resort - Alpine Room
Time: 6:30-7pm Social
Time: 7-8 Meeting
Time: 8-9 Question Period

This meeting is regarding the future of Copeland Forest and riding/hiking and other activities in the forest also Council may restrict or remove mountain biking.

If you can attend please make it out.

This was done up by Defiant mountain bike group, and posted on their facebook site.

Beer Review: Tree Brewing Company - Thirsty Beaver

Well, my last trip to the local Beer Store brought my eyes and attention to a new addition... The Thirsty Beaver.. The name caught me eye, but also how it was in the beer store, and the beer store has so many great things...

Anyways, This beer comes to us from Kelowna BC from Tree Brewing.  The name of this beer is Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale.  This beer has become a popular on in the western provinces, so it was a matter of time before it made it's way to us.

The appearance of this beer is Amber, hence the name.  It has a very nice hue to the beer, not too amber, not too red and not too beer colour.  If you do not pour it into a glass you will find the beer has a very brown tinge to it, and if you don't care about the colour head right to the bottom where the scores are.

After our beer tour a couple weeks ago I found myself taking more time drinking a new beer.  First taking a glance at it then smelling it.  And this beer did not disappoint.  It had a very nice aroma of beer, and a slight tough of hops.  There wasn't a sweet aroma or anything like that, just a scent that makes you think, mmm beer.

Then there is the taste of the beer.  When the beer first touches your lips you are instantly in heaven, because A. you are drinking a beer, B. because you hopefully just finished a great bike ride, or C. you are sitting at home watch a hockey game, D. trying to drown out your significant other or E. because you are an alcoholic, but regardless, the beer is a very smooth beer.  There are similarities between the Thirsty Beaver and other Amber ales, if you have every had a Rickards Red, or something along those lines, and enjoyed it, then you will be more than thrilled with this drink.

At then end of the day, go out buy a 6 pack of this beer.  If you dont like it after drinking all 6 in the pack, feel free to leave a comment in the below, I may not agree with you but hey free speech right.


Rating: 4.35 out of 5


Was the beer Hoppy: There was a slight hint of hop in the beer, but not overpowering like a Boneshaker.
Would you recommend this beer to a friend: I would, and have offered to many already.
Would you buy a case of this beer:  I would and did, or else how could I right a review???
What is the average wingspan of an African Swallow? Typical wingspans or 25-30 cm.

Upcoming Ride/Hike Guide

Date: Wednesday December 4th, 2013
Location: Mono Cliffs Park
Time: 6pm

Choose your discipline
There will be a hike as well as a ride departing from the parking lot off the 3rd line.

Temperatures are looking favorable for either sport.  Bring lights either way, if your biking, bike lights, if you are hiking, bring Petzler or some head lamp that you have.

See Everyone Out There!!!