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Have a question about anything you've read on this page?
Just Email JF at JF@Gords.com and he'll get back to you
pronto.
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Gord's Ski & Bike
2 Locations to serve you better!
[L1]
2 Donald St
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CANADA | 204.284.2952
[L2]
1765 Kenaston Blvd
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CANADA | 204.269.2952
info@Gords.com
1.877.GORDS.61
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Getting to know Clear Lake in a way most only dream of
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THE NEVERENDING RIDE
 Where
do I begin? First off, we decided to ditch our planned
ride to Ingolf because the forecast was calling for 100%
of heavy rain - all day. Brian our resident bridge-builder
and all around great guy suggested Clear Lake and I rubber-stamped
that idea... We'd never been... and while Brandon Hills
(our usual go-to-place when Ingolf is unpleasant) is fun,
it's not exactly the favorite place to ride for many of
us. So Clear-Lake it was.
So off to Clear Lake we went with JF's truck and Leanne's
car. Carmen was held up at a wedding thing so she could
not make it so the ride consisted of Kevin (thanks for
coming Kev, you should be a fixture on these rides...a
GREAT help and delightful to ride with), the always beaming
and immensely kind Brian, Leanne "I'll rip your head
off if I have to portage just one more causeway"
Batenchuk, The ever so delightful and great friend to
all Michelle, The wonderful Jenn: The only girl to ride
clipless, regardless of the fact that the marrow in her
tibia is starting to ooze out, Gavin "you want me
to do WHAT?" Morrison, Kenny "Hey guys my crotch
isn't even CLOSE to the water" Meech, Reeko, Rocky
and "but don't you idiots know I can't SWIM?"
Lola.... and me, the guy who would rather go by sextant
than by GPS: JF.
So what started out as a "yawn" old fart ride
quickly deteriorated into a 6.5 hour practice for some
twisted third world sponsored-by-water-wings-inc. adventure
race... Punctuated by amazing riding, not-so-amazing riding,
eerie chainsaw massacre-type abandoned campgrounds, abandoned
roads, beaver-dam crossings, waist-deep muck fests, great
riding, thick brush episodes that taxed everyone's will
to live, alternate trail discoveries, wet tall grass that
thankfully wasn't quite tall yet, marsh riding, "let's
just walk in the lake, at least we won't need tetanus
shots when we get back home", Fallen trees that would
need major chainsaw action to rectify, more fallen trees,
quicksand, good riding, more abandoned roads, a near-mutiny
that would have seen me hanging from a tree, face first
in poison ivy... And a nice ride back in a head-wind that
would topple a trailer park.
I remember at the beginning of the ride, I looked at
Annandale as she gave me the "you're #@!$ kidding
me, right?" look and I said to her "hey, it'll
give us something to talk about on Monday" I'm sure
that's how Sir Ernest Shackleton started that expedition
hundred or so years ago.
Personally, during this ride I cursed the gods, thanked
the gods, found wading in waist-deep water fun, aggravating,
depressing, refreshing, maddening and kinda cool... I
was almost killed by several people on said ride and I'm
pretty sure if it had not been for Brian Wood's kind demeanor,
Michelle's love and Kevin's "Hey, this yellow leech-infested
cesspool is kinda neat to walk through!" attitude
I'm sure I'd have been strangled with my hollow-pin SRAM
bike chain and left to dangle from the before-mentioned
lynching Leanne was pondering... Or lashed using some
of that left-over barbed-wire we found from that barbed-wire
bed we ran into (the absolute highlight of our visit to
the camp-ground of the damned).
So just to ease some leftover mutinous angst (and mostly
because Batenchuk is standing over me with her foot on
my throat): ok, I kinda got us lost. Although (now that
she's left my office) since we were on the lake-shore...
I still maintain we were NOT lost but instead "off
course".
The loop around Clear Lake is supposed to take 3 to
4 hours... We broke a record and did it in 6.5... Although
I suggest taking an alternate route at the camp-ground-of-the-living-dead...
And now that it's over, I think it was fun... And I might
just do it again... Although next time with chainsaw.
Epic ride indeed... and a great ride. I'm sitting here
at my desk this morning... slight aches and pains... But
nonetheless with a huge smile on my face... Ah, to ride.
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THE LONG TRAVEL HOLY GRAIL
What we look for most in a full-suspension bike is intuitiveness. When a bike simply does its job, no fuss no muss. Rare is the ride you just jump on and go. Rob and I share that appreciation for that particular underrated characteristic. Many 4" travel bikes deliver that "comfortable hardtail" feel, I'm no expert but I kinda believe that the drama free suspension experience of 4" bikes has something to do with the fact that, well... quite simply, there's less suspension travel... so it's more "buttoned down". Examples of solid, intuitive 4" designs are many including the Jamis Dakar and the timeless Rocky Mountain Element family of bikes.
 Getting bikes with more than 4 inches of travel to behave in that efficient, solid, yet lively way is not that easy it seems. Very few "5 inch and up" bikes that we've tested over the years managed to deliver the feel of a 4 inch bike with one or two more inches of travel. Once you get up there it seems that many bikes get wobbly knees or either get heavy in order to counter that long-travel challenge... The less-than-perfect examples simply become "squishy"
When we find that rare combination of balance, poise, comfort and efficiency it's usually very subtle. These bikes rarely jump up and shout "HEY LOOK AT ME! I DO MY JOB INTUITIVELY!" When we find a bike that blows us away we usually quietly look at each other and go "pssst! I like this bike" and ride for a bit longer until we add "hey, I think you should try this bike out, I'd like your thoughts"... all the while smiling and simply enjoying the ride.
 To say that 2007 and 2008 have been very good full-suspension test seasons would be an understatement. With 3 sweet new bikes recently inducted into Gord's Long-Travel MTB Hall-of Fame. The Jamis BAM, the Scott Genius and the very bling Commencal Meta 5.5... Joining such superlative squishy icons such as the stalwart Jamis XLT, the Ellsworth Epiphany, the Rocky Mountain SXC and the much loved Jamis XAM.
Life is pretty sweet at Gord's. How fortunate are we to have some of the very best long travel bikes that don't act like big fat spongy marshmallows. Long travel bikes that make you wonder why anyone would ride less.
 Listen, if you ride any trail, flat as it may be or steep as you can find... If you're over 19 years old and you want to keep on riding into your sixties and beyond... if you're still riding that hardtail WAKE UP! Give your head a shake. Do yourself, your body and your ass a favor, get with the times. INJECT SOME FUN in your moribund life, get a full suspension bike and join the ranks of those who do more than just ride, join the ranks of those who are having the time of their lives on their bikes, join the ranks of the living. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO RIDE A HARDTAIL. (We should make a T-shirt!) Check out our full-suspension page HERE |
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BEST
BUILT
BIKES, PERIOD.
When bikes arrive at our door from suppliers, they're unfortunately
not assembled. We proudly employ highly qualified technicians
to carefully assemble our bikes and pay them hourly. In
fact, we're convinced our bike builds are the best in the
city. Our experienced tech shop staff guarantee it. Our
27 point quality verified assembly process ensures that
your bike will ride well and require less maintenance in
the long run. It's pretty simple: Less down time equals
more fun time.
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PHOTO ALBUM
It all started with Matt Goyer (mattgoyer.com) a good friend
and computer aficionado and JF taking pictures here and
there... Enter uber-camera-guy Gavin... Matt started hosting
out pictures on a server... Thousands and thousands of pictures
were taken, an extensive record of all our great adventures.
Unfortunately now password protected to shield the innocent.
Wanna surf the album? simply join the Gord's MTB Club, get
a free Username and Password and BAM! you're in.
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JOIN US!
We've said it before: It's all about the ride. The ride to Seven Eleven, the ride to your buddies house, the ride we call Ingolf, the ride at Panorama, Fernie, The Seine River, the ride through the monkey trails at Assiniboine Park, the ride with your 30 favorite buddies or the ride with your daughter.
Yes the bike is important. But more important than the bike is the smile on your face. So get off your butt, dust off your bike, throw on your helmet and come riding with us next season! For more information on how we can help get you out, click on the following link:
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Attention all bike lovers! Gord's is very proud to announce that we'll be offering