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The Biking Hub has been silent for the past few months. There are tonnes of excuses that I could pull out of my pocket but it really comes down to the fact that, even though I was getting lots of stuff from the other contributors, I was getting worn down pushing out stuff on a near daily basis. In hindsight, it would’ve been better if I’d let posting be open, rather than moderated but I didn’t do that, and TBH started to feel less like a hobby and more like a job. That’s something I was never really interested in pursuing; as a result I pretty much walked away.
So what’s next? Expect to see a Biking Hub that’s less formal, more opinionated, and, probably, a lot more interesting. I’m going to write about the type of riding that I do in BC and there will probably be others who write about riding in their part of the world.
Don’t expect formal reviews, lots of industry news, and stuff like that (at least not from me). I’m sure I’ll post the odd tidbit, but there are other sites out there that are more into that sort of thing than me.
So on to my first new post in months… There might be posts from The Others, but I’ll leave that to Them.
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This is my first article as a contributor to The Hub and I am very stoked about the opportunity.
In this first piece I’m just going to give a bit of a personal rundown and lay out what readers can expect from me in the future. For more specifics on me see my bio on the contributor’s page or check out my website Eloquii.
First of all, I’m the youngest writer in the group and I’m still in school. I don’t have a lot of assets and define myself very much by how I spend my time. I see these “facts” as being the source of my content. I plan on writing articles which other student-readers and people in a situation similar to mine will most enjoy.
This means that I’ll write everything from bang-for-buck analyses to discussions on cycling style. I want my writings to extend from the practical, like what to expect from different types of racing event, to the spiritual, such as how we are saving the planet one pedal-stroke at a time. I believe that cycling can be made into a lifestyle, a mindset, and a source of inspiration.
As for me and my “story” I ride as much as possible during the summer and bike when I need to get around in the winter. My racing career has been quite successful and I owe a lot of that to the great folks at Sweet Pete’s Cycles on Bloor (at Duffern) in Toronto. I have competed in standard, 8 hour relay, and 24 hour relay format events, and hope to ride an 8 hr solo by the time the snow shuts us down this year. I’d say my favourite so far is the 8 hr stuff but more on that later.
My other interests include photography, computers, and Ultimate Frisbee. I’m a big coffee drinker too, and most of my friends think I’m out of my mind because of the number of clubs, jobs, and random commitments I get myself into during the school year. I like being “too busy” and arrange my life accordingly.
With any luck, writing for The Hub will prove another addition to my bike-centric student life.
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I’ve spent the past couple of weeks away from the computer tying up loose ends, getting in a bit of time on the bike, and hanging out with the family. I even built up my hardtail and got around to putting together a decent work bench in my garage. You know, normal stuff.
Over the next couple of days, I’ll be catching up with all of my e-things but I’ll be sure to drop a few words about all of the stupidity surrounding this year’s Tour de France, post up a bunch of links to new gear, and carry on with all of the other things we’ve got going on with The Bikn Hub.
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6 March »
Site news »
Guitar Ted
I have been an avid cyclist ever since I was five years old, when my first ride without training wheels ended in a rose bush. Over the years, I spent many hours exploring the offroad tracks around my hometown in Iowa and when I discovered the mountain bike in 1989, I was hooked. I raced cross country and started working in a bicycle shop and have found myself drawn further into the world of these bikes as time passes. Today, I am married with children, and I still work in a bicycle shop (after a stint as an auto mechanic).
Since 2003 I have been riding a 29” wheeled mountain bike, or “29er”. I am thoroughly impressed by many of the unique aspects of these particular machines and have found that there are a lot of misunderstandings concerning 29”ers. My articles for The Biking Hub should help you to see that the big wheels are here to help and that they do not want to hurt anyone!
The other area that I have been getting into more and more is the endurance race scene. I help promote an endurance race and I participate in them now too. Also, I am surrounded by some self-proclaimed “endurance freaks” at my work place, so you can be sure that I will have plenty to write about on this quickly growing segment of the mountain biking community.
You can check out my weblog at: g-tedproductions.blogspot.com
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15 January »
Site news »
Cory
My review of the Cannondale Carve shoes will soon make its way online and I wanted to say a few words about the structure of the product reviews on The Biking Hub. Dan and I put a good amount of thought into the overall structure that our reviews would take and opted for an approach that would make it easy for our readers (you) to read what we liked about certain products, what we disliked, and who we feel would get the most out of the items under review.
The reviews that were transferred from my old site will not be reformatted, especially since the scoring system used by the two sites is identical. And while the format is a little different, all of the information is in place for you to make an educated decision about a given product.
Review format: The review format that we use on The Biking Hub provides you with the technical information that you need to make an informed decision, and breaks down information into a few simple sections; after the necessary introductory material, we highlight the good, point out the bad, and give our final thoughts. And in case you want to read more about the product, we provide a list of links to reviews on other websites so you can follow up elsewhere.
Scoring / ratings: Those of you coming over from Making It Easier know that I used a weighted scoring system when reviewing products. That scoring system has been inherited by The Biking Hub, partly because it allows us to reward manufacturer’s whose gear performs well and lasts a long time — the two things that are most important to most cyclists. And since our reviews are scored out of 100, our scoring system provides an easy reference that readers can use to gauge our overall impressions of the items and to separate the cream from the rest of the crop.
Editor’s Choice: When an item receives a rating of 90 or above, it may be awarded our ‘Editor’s Choice’ designation. We reserve the right to withold the title, and only hand it out when we’re sure the product is one of the best in existence.
Comments: I encourage you to add your thoughts to the reviews. If you know something that would be of benefit to other riders or have a question about the product that wasn’t answered inside the review, feel free to type them out and post them on the site. We’ll do what we can to answer your questions and, if we can’t, we will find someone who can get you the information that you’re looking for.
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13 January »
Site news »
Cory
Now that all of the other active contributors have posted up their introductions on The Biking Hub, I thought I’d wrap up the week with a few words about myself.
I ride a lot, but it’s hard for me to nail down a favorite style of mountain biking. I regularly ride cross country, all mountain, and freeride-type trails and enjoy them all. Most of my bike time is spent on trails that fall between the aggressive xc and freeride categories on the ‘spectrum’ but I do like the climb up as much as the rip down. I hope the contributions I make to The Biking Hub do a decent job of reflecting my cycling interests.
Over the past couple of years, I was an active member of a local trail advocacy group, and in the coming months I’ll be writing about some of the things that I learned while volunteering for the FVMBA. Specifically, some of my writeups will discuss the techniques and ideas that were well received as well as those that were less successful.
Also, I spend a good deal of time building and maintaining mountain bike trails in my area. While I probably won’t provide any ‘how-tos’ or advice for trail builders, mostly because I think that trail building relies on localized techniques and knowledge that can’t always be transferred between regions, I expect that I’ll have a few opportunities to discuss certain building ‘techniques’, flash a few photos, and maybe even post up some video footage of the trails that we ride in southwest BC.
For gear reviews, I’ll be looking primarily at products and services that cater to the ‘all mountain’ crowd. That means I plan on testing gear that is light, but strong and durable enough to handle everything that’s ‘out there’.
Thanks for all of the support and kind words that many of you sent in during our first ‘official’ week. I hope we can keep this thing going and keep people informed about the sport that they’re so enthusiastic about.
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12 January »
Site news »
Greg
I figured my first entry on The Biking Hub should be an introduction.
I started riding a couple of years ago and, while I am not so much into the speed of downhill racing, I do like the skinnies, gaps, and drops made famous by the biking scene in south west British Columbia. I don’t have any championship titles or movie credits, but I do have my Banshee Scream, my truck, and a passion for the sport. And riding with my partner Denise three or four times per week definitely helps me develop solid bike skills.
Denise, even though she will never admit it, is a great rider. She’s been riding for 10 years, with much of that time being spent on downhill runs with the boys, and she does not shy away from the gaps and drops that are commonplace on the trails out here. During her time on a bike, she’s won three BC Cup Downhill Championship titles, a World Masters Championship, and a BC SuperCup BMX title. Also, she has done a couple 24 Hour of Adrenaline events. This girl rips, which is why it’s always amusing to hear comments like, “Gonna be waitin’ for the girl.” Of course, these remarks are soon followed by, “I could hardly keep up with her. Then she hit that frickin’ gap and was gone. Unbelievable.” And if that isn’t enough of a pedigree, she’s pretty much the love interest of all of the boys she coaches.
Introductions aside, I hope it’s obvious that our primary interests are in downhill and freeride and our contributions to this site will lean towards that side of the mountain bike spectrum. While we don’t shy away from good, long, uphill rides (or pushes) to get to the top of a hill, we prefer the downhill part of the sport to the leg burning climbs on epic xc trips or races.
We’ll be juggling the time on our bikes with our careers, a fledgling business, some volunteer work, and trail building. The articles we write for this site will touch on most of these things, in addition to documenting our road trips to places like Nelson, Invermere, Golden, Rossland, Kelowna, Kamloops, Whistler, SunPeaks, Williams Lake, and Gibsons.
2006 is going to be an exciting time for us - I hope you’ll enjoy what we have to write and show you.
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11 January »
Site news »
Ashwin
I got my first mountain bike in 1987, rode my first mountain bike race in 1988, and have been hooked ever since. I even met my wife at a mountain bike race. Over the years, I’ve gone from spending every day on the bike and going for weekend-long epics to trying to fit cycling in whenever I can – after being a husband, father, and fulltime worker first.
Recently, I started racing after a long hiatus (ie. when the kids were little). The only difference between my pre-kid life and now is that now I’ve got a very limited amount of time available to train. My dreams are still the same but trying to juggle real life with training and racing has made it quite a challenge.
For 2006, I’ll be holding the banner high for the unsung, everyday heroes in the Vet Sport Class. For the most part I stay close to home in the South West part of Virginia, although I do make a few forays into West Virginia. The riding out here is fantastic with single track galore, much of it filled with rocks and roots.
Even though I am one of those XC race geeks obsessed with component weights, intervals, and power meters, I love the whole ‘culture’ and ’soul’ of cycling. I love to tinker and wrench in the garage and have tried to become a student of other areas of cycling like downhill, trials, and road racing. The other great thing about cross country racing is that it draws upon skills from all aspects of cycling.
My posts on The Biking Hub will include my thoughts on XC-related products, racing, and training – all from the perspective of a time and genetically challenged athlete. My blog is a daily view into my obsession with cycling.
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10 January »
Site news »
Dan
Now that my first ‘official’ story is out of the way, I figured it was time to introduce myself.
My name is Dan Dakin and I’m a journalist based in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. I have lived here all my life and I’m now married with a four-year-old boy (a future biker perhaps?) Although my full-time job is as a sports writer for a daily newspaper here in the Falls, I have been a freelance writer since about 1996. Over the years I’ve had stories published around the world in dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites.
Like most people, I first put a leg over a bicycle when I was about four years old, but it wasn’t until about 12 years ago that I really got “into” biking. I was 16 years old and saved up money from a summer job to buy a Peugeot mountain bike. It was around $500 which was like buying a Ferrari to me and was my first bike with front suspension. Unfortunately the fun only lasted about two months when it was stolen. Insurance covered the price to buy the same bike again, but I was done with high-end bikes.
Skip ahead eight years and I was now married and getting bigger by the day. As a reporter, I was eating ridiculous amounts of fast food and the result was a McSpareTire. I started to look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. I started riding again and after doing my first race in 2001 I was completely hooked.
Over the past four years my life’s focus has turned to cycling. My house looks like a bike shop, I have almost as much bike clothing as regular clothes and the ‘Favorites’ list on my Internet Explorer is dominated by cycling websites. My collection of bike right now stands at seven: Cannondale Rush XC, Cannondale Chase park MTB, Raleigh Serengeti hardtail MTB, Giant TCR0 road bike, Giant OCR2 road bike, Cannondale Ironman TT bike and an Electra Rally Sport cruiser bike. My new year’s resolution is not to buy any new bikes in 2006, so we’ll see how long that lasts.
As you’ll see by the types of stories I post on The Biking Hub, my focus now is on higher-end cross country mountain bikes and urban/park-style hardtails. I’m also a bit of a roadie, so keep your eyes this site for more developments in that department in the coming months.
There are already nearly 30 events on my racing calendar for 2006, so it’s going to be a very busy, but very fun year.
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10 January »
Site news »
Cory
The Biking Hub was designed to be an easy-to-use resource for cyclists. During the first generation of this site, I used a content management system that I put together myself. Very clever, you say? Well it would have been if I’d chosen to do x rather than y, or to change this function into that one. Instead of a glorious programming victory, what it meant was that obsolescence was on its way.
Also, there were a bunch of features that I thought were valuable sources of information but were missing from my program. The more I added to Making It Easier, the more I thought that things like a search function, comments, trackbacks, and a smart way of displaying lots of links would make the site that much better. I considered building these things on my own but, after looking at some of the available open source options I decided that my time would be better spent elsewhere. In the end, I went with WordPress, mostly because of its ease of use and installation and the large support community that’s grown around the software.
New features on The Biking Hub
There are four things on this site that can really make your time here entertaining and interesting. Now included:
- An integrated search engine
- A commenting system
- Trackbacks
- Lots of links
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