October Community Update - Riding, Racing, and Digging Trails

The riding season is coming to a close and we're getting into fall - things are slowing down a little, people are transitioning to indoor riding or getting excited about snow, but we're still stoked about bikes. Fall is one of our favourite times of year - the air is cool, the trails are tacky and the North Shore becomes the moody, foggy place that we know and love. Few things are better than getting out for a ride up in the clouds, in the silent, eerie forests of fall. I digress, but my point is that fall is a killer time to get out on a bike, so we wanted to go over a recap of our most recent events for everyone out there.

Photo: Geoff Livingston

Ride Club 2023 Finale

We held our last Ride Club ride and BBQ of the year at the end of August. Ride Club 2023 was an incredible year - we maxed out our numbers again and really couldn't have gone any bigger. The weather was consistently amazing pretty much all year long and the last ride of the year didn't disappoint. Sunny skies and balmy temps made for a great last ride of the year. Sponsored by local company 7mesh, they brought the product knowledge to help get riders prepped for fall, as well as a generous amount of Earnest ice cream. Thanks 7mesh!

If you're interested in joining ride club for 2024, keep an eye on our Ride Club page or on our socials. Sign-up will open up in spring next year.

Photo: Geoff Livingston

WTNB Fiver

16th September saw us host the WTNB (Women, Trans, Non-Binary) NSMBA Fiver for the first time, in partnership with Peppermint Cycling Co. Intended to be more accessible than the Classic Fiver series, the WTNB Fiver is a celebration of women in cycling and a more open event that creates a safe, inclusive environment with a more diverse crowd than usual. We were super stoked to be able to be involved in this event - we want to support a more inclusive and equal cycling community, and that starts with being able to create a space where people feel comfortable.

 Photo: Geoff Livingston

The race was held on Fromme starting at 4:30, and the stages included Kirkford, Bobsled and Floppy Bunny. The easier stages meant that the barrier to entry was lower and more riders were able to participate - even late season we saw around 85 riders including a bunch of kids, which is always amazing to see. Kids are the future of our sport and they're ripping, so let's support them!

We held the Fiver Apres out back of the Steed store as per usual, with help from the Peppermint crew and tunes pumped out by Greg Day of Daytime Cycling, to create some amazing garden party vibes. We pulled out all the stops on the food to build some bougie burgers with fancy salads and Earnest ice cream to really put the cherry on top. Huge thanks to Container Brewing for supplying all the beer for the event.

 Photo: Geoff Livingston

Trail Days

We kick-started our NSMBA trail days in late September again after a long, dry and dusty summer. Digging trail when there's no moisture in the ground can be a fruitless task, so we prefer to wait until we've had a little rain. Despite the weather's best efforts, our late September trail day still saw pretty dry ground an inch below the surface, however we still managed to buff out almost all of Pennzoil thanks to our mega crew of 26 volunteers. Amazing!

Our October 15 trail day saw more moisture in the ground, allowing us to do some bigger jobs, including completely rebuilding a corner that had been bugging us for a while. Once again, a mega trail crew of around 17 volunteers really made things happen and the trail is riding so much better than before, transforming a tricky flat corner into one that carries speed much more easily. As always, huge thanks to the NSMBA for everything they do, and to Santa Cruz Bicycles for co-sponsoring Pennzoil with us.

Photo: Ethan Reynolds

Specialized/Fjällräven Gravel Ride-Out

Partnering with Specialized and Fjällräven we hosted a gravel ride-out, guiding a group of forty riders of all abilities on a spectacular loop of the Seymour Valley, taking in the incredible views of the Seymour River against the stunning backdrop of the Lynn and Fannin mountain ranges. Perfect for riders of all abilities, the Demo Forest/Spur 4/Fisherman's loop is a great mix of closed asphalt road, gravel FSR and swooping singletrack with incredible views among beautiful natural forest. What could be better?

Returning to the store, riders were greeted with a BBQ, beers from Wildeye Brewing and some awesome spot prizes from Specialized/Fjällräven. We love rides like this because they're an incredible chance to introduce people to our local trails, have a little fun giving back, and building community by creating new connections between riders and bringing people together. Isn't that what it's all about? Huge thanks to the folks at Specialized and Fjällräven for letting us host this event and for bringing our community together. We can't wait for more!

Photo: Geoff Livingston

Shore Sirens Ride

October 15 marked our first event in partnership with The Shore Sirens. The Shore sirens is an inclusive local mountain bike community for women and non-binary identifying folk, providing a safe space and forging friendships so that mountain biking can be a more equal and inclusive sport. Needless to say we're on board, and jumped at the chance to be a part of the movement and support them in whatever way we can.

For our first event, Shore Sirens ran a group ride on Fromme with beginner, intermediate and advanced groups, doing a classic top to bottom lap of 7th, Leppard, Crinkum Crankum, Kirkford, with the less experienced groups skipping some of the higher trails. All groups then came back to Steed for al aprés event in collaboration with Peppermint Cycling again, with BBQ, beers and a Peppermint try-on and buy session. Thanks to Peppermint and especially to Jen Campbell for taking the time to help out - it's always appreciated. It was a pleasure hosting the Shore Sirens and we can't wait for our next event!

Photo: Geoff Livingston

Fundraising for NSCSS

One of the best parts of what we do is being able to donate to great local causes and do something that benefits the local community outside of the cycling world. North Shore Crisis Services Society is one of those causes - NSCSS is a local charity dedicated to helping women and children surviving violence by providing refuge, counselling and more. 

In partnership with Peppermint Cycling we raised almost $900 at the WTNB Fiver event through donations for a prize draw. Thank you to NSMBA, Arcteryx and Peppermint for supplying prizes and to all who donated - it feels great to be able to be able to support such a worthy cause.

Photo: Geoff Livingston