Canadian Cycling Magazine February & March 2022/ Vol 13 Issue 1

This past summer I had a great idea. (They come to me every so often.) My family and I would go bikepacking, or cyclo touring. Honestly, I don’t know what to call it sometimes. At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, I remember when it was just called touring, and there were racks and panniers. Maps were on paper even. My big idea was to go bikepacking right from our front door. I confess, I actually got that idea from a past article by writer Molly Hurford. (She’s back again with new bikepacking advice, as well as tips from Matthew Kadey and Sarah Hornby) It would be the perfect introduction to riding and camping for my wife and my seven year old. We’d use the bags we had and…

Editor Matthew Pioro matthew@cyclingmagazine.ca Senior Editors Dan Dakin, Kevin Mackinnon, Dean Campbell Associate Editor Andre Cheuk Photo Editor Matt Stetson matt.stetson@gripped.com Copy Editors Amy Stupavsky, Rebecca Tucker Art Director Warren Wheeler layout@cyclingmagazine.ca [Roseander Main, roseandermain.com] Production Artist Warren Hardy MTB Web Editor Terry McKall terry@cyclingmagazine.ca Web Editor Matt Hansen matt.hansen@cyclingmagazine.ca Podcast Producer Adam Killick Web Developer Sean Rasmussen Digital Operations Dmitry Beniaminov Publisher Sam Cohen sam@gripped.com Editorial Director David Smart dave@gripped.com Advertising & Sales Andre Cheuk andre@gripped.com Account Managers Joel Vosburg joel@gripped.com, Lorena Jones lorena@gripped.com Circulation Manager Robyn Milburn robyn@gripped.com Social Media Nikita van Dijk nikita@gripped.com SUBSCRIBE Send $20.95 (1 year) or $38.95 (2 years) to Canadian Cycling Magazine PO Box 819 Station Main, Markham, ON, Canada L3P 8L3 or call: 1.800.567.0444 SUBMIT Manuscripts, photographs and other correspondence are welcome. Please contact Canadian Cycling Magazine for contributors guidelines, or see them on the web at cyclingmagazine.ca. Unsolicited material should be accompanied by return mailing address and postage. Canadian Cycling Magazine Tel 416.927.0774 Fax 416.927.1491 cyclingmagazine.ca Gripped Publishing Inc. 75 Harbord St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1G4 Copyright 2022 Gripped Publishing Inc. The contents of this…

Remembering Steve Smith in film Since Steve Smith’s untimely death in 2016, the legacy of the “Canadian Chainsaw” has reshaped the landscape of downhill racing in this country. The documentary Long Live Chainsaw, released this past December, tells the full story of Smith’s inspiring career. While Smith is known for reaching the top of the downhill world rankings, his story starts in Cassidy, B.C. The film leans hard into those Canadian roots. “Stevie is such a hero in Canada, and he was a really proud Canadian,” says Ian Dunn, one of the film’s producers, “We didn’t want to shy away from that.” In fact, the film continues Smith’s passion for promoting Canadian talent. All proceeds go directly to the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation, which offers support to Canadian DH riders. The film’s production…

This wheel with wooden rims is probably younger than you think. Don’t let the Campagnolo Gran Sport hub throw you off. That component, with its steel quick-release axle and aluminum flanges, is from the 1950s. This model of Super Champion hardwood rim, however, was made in the early ’70s. Wooden laminate rims were common into the 1950s. Afterwards, steel and aluminum grew in popularity as production of these metal rims improved. Still, wood held on. “We were selling them in the shop when I was a kid,” says Michael Barry. He remembers his father, Mike Barry Sr., carrying wooden-rim wheels at his store in downtown Toronto in the ’70s. One feature that a wood rim had over its metal cousin was compliance. The laminate rim offered a smoother ride as it did…

In the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, a young man named Chris McCandless burned all of his money, abandoned his car and walked into the woods. His lack of preparation resulted in his death, but his intention, while misguided, was pure: self-sufficiency. Every time I bikepack, I feel a little like McCandless. But unlike McCandless, I like to prepare. It reminds me of something a guy I met on a bikepacking trip in Japan said. Whenever I was stuck without a bike tool or part, Ivan from England liked to remind me: “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, old bean.” I’ve done a half dozen bikepacking trips in my life. In Ontario, the COLT and BT 700 were some favourites. It was my most recent trip on the Full Frontenac…

Most on-bike footage you see has FOMO-inducing scenery or challenging singletrack that makes you break into a sweat even though you’re watching from your couch. But who knew watching a bike roll up to a delivery truck parked in a bike lane, with its rider swiftly issuing a ticket, could be so compelling? Those tickets are issued by parking enforcement officer Erin Urquhart of Toronto Police Parking Enforcement Unit. Though she’s been sharing posts on Twitter and Instagram (her handles are all @tps_bikehart) as a social media officer since July 2017, TikTok vaulted her into viral territory. Urquhart joined in October 2020, but started posting more frequently in February 2021. As of December she had more than 200,000 followers. Rain and shine, cold or sweltering heat, Urquhart rides 15 to 30 km…