The Tin Man Returns

This past weekend saw another great performance by the Tin Man following a summer in physiotherapy, the result of a little mishap while riding on the Sunshine Coast at the end of May. A group of us had decided to have a run at the trails included in the BC Bike Race and an innocent slip off of a short bridge 3hours into the ride led to a severely sprained ankle and a long and memorable experience with the local volunteer search and rescue. It wasn’t until the end of August that he returned to the trails having had to listen endlessly to all his buddy’s telling him about all of the new found trails we continued to discover in the backyard. Fortunately for the Tin Man he was still able to get out on his road bike and retain a good portion of his fitness but now back on the trails he is full of a renewed enthusiasm that he is doing his best to keep in check as his heavily supported left foot reminds him that falling to that side again is not an option.

The North Shore has very few trails that retain their original smooth and soft character because of the immense pressure of high traffic loads; the most popular trails have easy access by smooth gravel roads or right off the side of the pavement that lead to the ski hills. Those that require even a little effort to enter or have exits that are not conveniently located anywhere near a parking lot or the original starting point see little to no use at all. The ultimate benefit to all is a small selection of trails that can be nearly 10-20 years old that look as if they might have just been created yesterday. A good portion of these were carved out at the time when hardtails were the norm and built up stunts had yet to be created, technical difficulties only coming from the use of the natural characters of the terrain.



Saturday the Tin Man and I had nice leisurely cruise up to the top of West Vancouver’s British Properties and made our way up a steep 40-minute climb that was still quite wet from a very early morning deluge. The climb is quite aerobic in nature, the steeper sections often having tricky outcrop sections interlaced with roots that this day being quite slick added to what is normally quite challenging in dry conditions. The brief effort is rewarded however as it leads to a hidden gem just off of the lower section The Big Eye that leads to a loamy, twisting fast flowing ribbon that offers little in the way of hazards save for one giant fallen tree. With so few bikes tearing up the trail traction even in the wettest of conditions is still quite good though you still have to be mindful of the roots. The Big Eye was a perfect step on the Tin Mans return to the trails that provided improved confidence in his wonky ankle and tremendous amounts of satisfaction.

It’s good to have him back.