Vancouver

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flag cerebroside
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Posted: Feb 12, 2018 at 11:51 Quote
Thanks Lee. I'll keep an eye on the forecast and probably stay off Vedder then.
flag jlizard
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Posted: Feb 12, 2018 at 21:09 Quote
leelau wrote:
NV - proximity to trails. 1300sq ft place with mancave. Look at about 600 - 900k (depending on location, age, etc). Norgate is cheaper. Ditto areas just W of Lonsdale closer to 3rd street. Both areas you can bike-commute to Seabus pretty easily and is a mental refresh from the downtown commute.

Coquitlam/Port Moody. Awesome. See Vangroovy prices but more choices. Amazing trails. Less people on those trails. Culturally diverse


Thanks for the info! Yea, coming from the SF Bay, I'm familiar with the inhumane price of real estate..and rentals.
flag jlizard
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Posted: Feb 12, 2018 at 21:33 Quote
leelau wrote:
This is to rebel12 who is right. But there are us against them groups in all areas. North Van has the elitist all-loamers and all-secret trails all the time crowd vs golden pathways crowd. Squampton has the Rockslabsarethebest vs endurogogglesftw. I won't dive into the details but if OP came from SF area then he knows there are douchebags everywhere. There they have the MTBR geardorkfests vs horseback riders vs dentists so really it won't be that different

I'm hoping it's very different from what I'm used to in California Bay Area. Everything is illegal here - 98%. When I ride the legal trails in Oakland the 2 legal trails that are actually fun to descend, there are groups walking up them. These trails are 120 seconds of downhill and if you do 3 laps you will be lucky to get one uninterrupted. Those trails are the closest to my house at 30 minutes in traffic. The illegal trails near me (30 min) are not that advanced and the ONE that is gets shut down at least twice a year with Rangers giving out $300 tickets. New legal trails near my house, yea, those get destroyed by cattle drives every rain and nobody will volunteer to rebuild anymore because the park system won't stop the cattle from just doing it again. In Marin and in Fremont, both 45+ minutes away, they have cops with radar guns on the trails on Weekends giving out tickets if you ride faster than 15mph. There are good trails to be had out there, but they just arrested 2 dentists for riding an illegal trail in Marin. If I drive an hour and a 1/2 I can go to some good trails but they now closed for 2 years after the fire season, and we can expect more of that. Some guy just got a $300 ticket for night riding there. Now I'm left with Tahoe and Santa Cruz, both awesome (way better than any trails near me), both 2.5-3 hours drive each way. I expect Vancouver to be very, very different. I don't really care about the rad dudes who are too cool for me, although I'd like to ride the secret trails, and I assume the old-man mountain biker who lectures you about riding too loose as he rides with zero-flow is not as prevalent as it is down here (they are everywhere in Marin).

Oh - MTBR geardorkfests - We call them Barneys. They have tight matching club jerseys and sometimes ride up the downhills.
flag jaydawg69
Posted: Feb 12, 2018 at 22:22 Quote
people aren't like that but groups are clicky to get into. I would suggest shop rides to meet up with people.
flag gbeaks33
Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 7:51 Quote
jaydawg69 wrote:
people aren't like that but groups are clicky to get into. I would suggest shop rides to meet up with people.

Yeah I found it hard to get into any sort of riding scene. Everyone sticks to themselves or their own bro group. Most shops don't do public group rides. There's the Nsride organized group rides and the nsmba races, but that's about it. I'd recommend nsride group rides, they're really fun and grouped by skill level.

As for secret trails, I found there's really little reason to seek them out. There are so many legit trails to ride! I hunted down some dudes strava to find a secret trail once and it took me like an hour to find it, and it sucked compared to the trails that are well taken care of. There are lots of "forgotten" trails that are legal but hardly anyone ever rides so it feels like they're secret trails.
flag jlizard
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Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 8:05 Quote
gbeaks33 wrote:
jaydawg69 wrote:
people aren't like that but groups are clicky to get into. I would suggest shop rides to meet up with people.

Yeah I found it hard to get into any sort of riding scene. Everyone sticks to themselves or their own bro group. Most shops don't do public group rides. There's the Nsride organized group rides and the nsmba races, but that's about it. I'd recommend nsride group rides, they're really fun and grouped by skill level.

As for secret trails, I found there's really little reason to seek them out. There are so many legit trails to ride! I hunted down some dudes strava to find a secret trail once and it took me like an hour to find it, and it sucked compared to the trails that are well taken care of. There are lots of "forgotten" trails that are legal but hardly anyone ever rides so it feels like they're secret trails.

Thanks for the advice! I checked out some shops to see if they have group rides. I'm usually very social with strangers and made a riding buddy when I visited for a week in November. I do plan on getting a north-shore rack at some point as I want to shuttle, so hopefully I'll find some shreddy old dudes who like beer to spend my Saturdays with.
flag gbeaks33
Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 8:07 Quote
Oh and I forgot. Endless biking, I think that's their name, usually does cheap all day shuttles and food on Saturdays in the early spring season. I couldn't make any of their days due to work commitments and out of town travel but I hear they're good!
flag jlizard
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Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 8:12 Quote
gbeaks33 wrote:
Oh and I forgot. Endless biking, I think that's their name, usually does cheap all day shuttles and food on Saturdays in the early spring season. I couldn't make any of their days due to work commitments and out of town travel but I hear they're good!

That's who I rented from when I came for a visit. All day shuttle with food was $375...but hopefully you are talking about something different then their "tour".
flag rebel12
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Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 8:28 Quote
jlizard wrote:
gbeaks33 wrote:
Oh and I forgot. Endless biking, I think that's their name, usually does cheap all day shuttles and food on Saturdays in the early spring season. I couldn't make any of their days due to work commitments and out of town travel but I hear they're good!

That's who I rented from when I came for a visit. All day shuttle with food was $375...but hopefully you are talking about something different then their "tour".

I would join a "Meetup" group. See the link below. These groups are a good way to meet people and often have a post ride beer.

https://www.meetup.com/cities/ca/bc/vancouver/
flag jlizard
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Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 8:33 Quote
rebel12 wrote:
jlizard wrote:
gbeaks33 wrote:
Oh and I forgot. Endless biking, I think that's their name, usually does cheap all day shuttles and food on Saturdays in the early spring season. I couldn't make any of their days due to work commitments and out of town travel but I hear they're good!

That's who I rented from when I came for a visit. All day shuttle with food was $375...but hopefully you are talking about something different then their "tour".

I would join a "Meetup" group. See the link below. These groups are a good way to meet people and often have a post ride beer.

https://www.meetup.com/cities/ca/bc/vancouver/

Thanks! My bro group down here usually has a beer during the ride...often 2. Wink
flag gbeaks33
Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 8:34 Quote
jlizard wrote:
gbeaks33 wrote:
Oh and I forgot. Endless biking, I think that's their name, usually does cheap all day shuttles and food on Saturdays in the early spring season. I couldn't make any of their days due to work commitments and out of town travel but I hear they're good!

That's who I rented from when I came for a visit. All day shuttle with food was $375...but hopefully you are talking about something different then their "tour".

I think their social saturdays were something like $15-30 for the full day, as many runs as you want. Probably have to wait in line for the shuttle but certainly a better deal than their standard shuttle rates. I agree, way too expensive.
flag leelau
Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 9:35 Quote
jlizard - you've done some homework before you even asked question so you're getting good answers. Props to you for that (no sarcasm btw) and lots of other people could learn from that

Another way to get to know people is to go out and do a bunch of trailwork. Nothing endears you more to locals then slogging in the dirt. NSMBA in NV, TORCA in Coquitlam/Port Moody, BMBA in Burnaby. Lots of choices. So yah lots of cliques but lots of way to get to know the cliques

The only illegal trails in the area where you may get ticketed is BC Parks. Theres a law on the books making it a civil matter and a fine to ride illegal trails in Parks.

In all other areas in the area (Fraser Valley, Sunshine, Van, Squam, Whis, Pemberton) you have trails which didn't get sanctioned. This just means we didn't ask permission when we punched them in or when we started riding pre-existing trails. We just did that.

It;s a common misconception that Shore trails are sanctioned. Only Fromme trails and some Seymour trails are sanctioned ie permission given to work on them (and only after the mid 2000s). All the NSMBA work on like three quarters of Seymour was 100% unsanctioned. All the Cypress trails are unsanctioned.

Bottom line is we don't have the gongshow of places like SF and Marin county where MTB is literally a crime
flag xTwoSnakesx
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Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 10:40 Quote
For the record when I moved here I started riding with my best riding buddy through this very site. a few years later and we've ridden all over the province together. Also made some good friends in Bellingham, WA by just talking to people in parking lots. That has turned into a symbiotic partnership which has given us a guide to their local trails (and secrets) and vice versa. Other friends have been made via shops, and like Lee said, public trail days. There's also a good chance that there are riders wherever you end up working.
flag gramboh
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Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 16:49 Quote
jlizard wrote:
I assume the old-man mountain biker who lectures you about riding too loose as he rides with zero-flow is not as prevalent as it is down here (they are everywhere in Marin).


Is it wrong that I picture these as old guys with big grey beards in Lycra shorts riding rigid Surly single speeds?
flag jlizard
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Posted: Feb 13, 2018 at 18:43 Quote
gramboh wrote:
jlizard wrote:
I assume the old-man mountain biker who lectures you about riding too loose as he rides with zero-flow is not as prevalent as it is down here (they are everywhere in Marin).


Is it wrong that I picture these as old guys with big grey beards in Lycra shorts riding rigid Surly single speeds?

You were spot on until you got to the SS - more like 3X9s.

 


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