Humility is one of my many great qualities

Hello Everyone,

There is a famous story around these parts about two dashingly handsome guys who were driving up to a cabin with their family when their car broke down during rush hour on a busy road. They pulled over, and between them, found and fixed the problem using nothing but the tools they had on hand and water from a water bottle, revealing that not only were they incredible athletes, but they were also skilled in the manly art of auto mechanics.

That story is a good analogy to what happened to me yesterday. Also, spoiler alert, I was one of those guys in the story above. I know, it's a quite a surprise. But also, like, not a surprise at the same time. Anyway, point is, through some luck and a bit of knowledge, an awesome weekend was saved from the brink of disaster.

With Dad flying home yesterday, I now have the better part of a week before my friends arrive for a week long group bike trip. I wasn't sure what I should do with that time, and looked at going up the Sunshine Coast or travelling east, but settled on coming back up to Whistler. There are still some epic trails here that I haven't had the chance to knock of the list, and I wasn't sure I would be able to when the group is here. It would be a shame to not do so when I have the chance, even if it means I don't get to see other parts of the province. Everything is a trade off.

But I almost didn't get to leave Vancouver. Over the last several days, I had noticed that the rear derailleur on my bike was acting up. I had had something like this happen to me before, and I figured it would be a short time before the part broke completely. Since I intended to hit up some longer trails, I knew I had to get this fixed before I left, or risk being stranded with a broken bike miles from the truck.

Problem is, my bike is getting older, and the parts are harder to find in stock. They can always be ordered, but I didn't want to wait the several days, at best, before they arrived. Additionally, it was a gorgeous day yesterday, and the weather is taking a turn for the worse soon, so I risked missing out on some prime riding opportunities.

I called several bike shops in town, and eventually got one in town that, while they didn't have the part in stock, could find me a new wheel, which was more expensive, but would solve my problem. The guy was supposed to call me back. That's where the resourcefulness kicks in. Rather than thinking I had the issue solved, I figured I could expand my search parameters. My bike might be older but it's not obsolete, there had to be mountain bike specific shops that would carry these parts.

Side note to the mountain bike manufacturers out there: if you keep changing the "standard" sizes on parts every 5 years, you do not have a standard size. You have a wide range of variations, which is the opposite of a standard.

I digress. Through a bit more research, I found just what I was looking for. A shop in Squamish had what I needed. It was a bit more expensive than what I had paid the last time I needed this part, but it was available now and it was cheaper than a new wheel. And it was still early enough that I could drive there, get my bike fixed, and get a good ride in. Bless these long summer days.

Which is exactly what I did. The trail I rode was a brand new one, the result of several years of fundraising and work by the local community. It is epic in every sense of the word. It's long, steep, flowy, has magnificent views of Howe Sound and the Chief. Even the name is epic: Meadow of the Grizzly.

I'm definitely riding it again before I leave, so I'm hoping that last part is purely metaphorical or something.

wes