Green Mountain, Except It Was White

Nearly 4000ft: Green Mountain aint so Green...

Ultimately, the best ride on Remembrance Day would have been up to pay our respects at one of the many WW2 era crash sites around here, perhaps visiting the Lockheed Ventura on Mt. Bolduc would have been more appropo.  But with the shorter days and our later start, we decided Green Mountain from Doumont Road would be a better plan ~130km round trip.  

Click to Enlarge.

1. Doumont Road Tank Traps

2. Left on to 142 and pass Boomerang L.

3. Right at Cottle L.

4. Right and follow Hydro Lines

5. Left after bridge.  Left at Hickup Trail

6. Right onto NEW Escalator Trail (Easy).  Turn Right as you pop out of the Escalator onto Decosmos/Deadhorse Creek Main (a major logging road).

7. Right at 2nd Lake onto Nanaimo Lakes Road

8. Left onto Branch K (Major Junction)

9. Left onto Green Mountain access road

10. Left

11. Beginning of Green Mountain Meadows and the Marmot Reserve.

Click to enlarge

Elevation Track (m)

                                         

                               Google Earth "Flyover" of the Route (Full Screen to View Text)

It was a great ride, offering a little of everything: some logging roads, technical single track, hill climbs and burms at Green Mountain, not to mention snow.  The total distance was approximately 127km from Superstore Gas bar to Green Mountain and back to the Black Bear Pub.   I've got to say the rear Mountain Motoz at 10psi was awesome everywhere, particularly up some serious grades in the snow.  I didn't air it down to the 4 psi I usually roll on as we were hitting some potentially rim denting speeds on crush, and didn't fancy a pinch flat.  Can't wait for a set of Tubliss...

White Trails Near Green Mt. Ski Hill

Maybe the last picture of Andy with the trusty KLX250S.  It's been an excellent ride for Andy, but the lack of torque and soft suspension are leaving him looking at Beta 300X Italian Princess.  His money is down, and the beast should be here before too long.  Can't wait to see it.  Anyway, needless to say, we ended up at the Black Bear for a coupla delicious barley sandwiches.  What a great way to finish a ride!  

Checkout the short vid below for some trail condition samples...(Don't forget to change the settings to 1080P for the best resolution.  - First shots with the Go Pro 4 Black.  The quality looks much better...Pity about the music!)

Click here for a track from Wikiloc.

(Big "thank you" to Ross Collicutt, who provided the track we used to find our way up Green Mountain). 

UPDATED: Forma Terrain TX Enduro Series Boot Review

Just a quick entry to say, after initially being underwhelmed by these boots,  I'm liking the Formas more and more now.  After several walks on rocky terrain (thanks, James), and some insoles (my feet are long but not wide), lowered pegs on the bike, these boots are working well.

I have been on two slow speed (very) single-track rooty technical rides with the TX Enduros and begun to get quite used to them. After initially disliking the clunky over protected feel, they are now conforming to my feet, becoming more flexible and giving me the feedback I need to change gear and brake more accurately.  I had one off yesterday on black top, and had it not been for the boots and the excellent MSR knee guards, I would be in a cast with a likely fractured patella and twisted ankle.  Admittedly it was a slow speed on-the-pegs lock to lock figure eight practice with no real speed involved, but my right knee and boot were the first to impact the road and become sandwiched by the bike.  I'm wincing to think about what that would have been like if I had been wearing sweat pants and my hush puppies...

The boots are very comfortable now, the adjusters are extremely well thought out, super easy to use and make for very quick fitting and removal.  No word on waterproof"ness" yet, but the soles are grippy and the buckles don't snag on leaves or debris.  Needless to say, with the solid hiking boot sole, the steel toe, rear impact guards and hinge, I feel well protected.

The only downside is that because I wanted the enduro sole for hiking to those inaccessible fishing holes, the grips make it hard to slide the boot on the ground, and require a deliberate thought to lift the boot from the pegs rather than slide them off.  But frankly that's like buying a Porsche and complaining about the lack of room...Not that I'll ever be in that position.  I'm sure I'll get used to that too, over time.

Being my first bike boot ever, I don't feel I can give them a rating so far, but I will say they are growing on me in leaps and bounda and are well worth the money, especially when compared to similarly equipped - but far more expensive - boots from other well known companies like Gaerne, Sidi and the like.