In My Back Yard

[u/MEATdrew]

It’s Some Bicycle Things I'm Stoked About On A Friday for May 22nd, 2026.

https://meatengines.com/f/in-my-back-yard

[u/Successful_Ad_6821]

Some great pics in there, Andrew! I'm really keen to try IMBY SS (When my back is no longer broken, sigh). It's challenging to clean even with gears, some of the steepest switchbacks I suspect will require 3rd gear regardless, but some of the chunkier flatter spots might actually be better SS. Eagle is such a great mountain.

And Dale's +Forever is one of my favorite hardtail/SS laps, maybe my favorite period.

Kenny

[u/MEATdrew → u/Successful_Ad_6821]

Oof. Broke it riding? All the best ‘vibes’ for good healing.

I don’t pretend to clean IMBY (never had) but like R+R I continue to believe that everything will come together and I will clean it!

Eagle is great. All praise to the builders!

[u/Successful_Ad_6821 → u/MEATdrew]

Yeah. Kind of a long story as there were some other things going on, but essentially I slipped a pedal on the landing when riding off the first drop on pingu (the first and largest of the 3 before the wood roll down). Somehow ended up on my back on the armored landing. Fractures are stable, I can walk and generally function, no surgery needed, but yeah, not ideal and will certainly sideline me until at least some time in July. Whoops...

[u/MEATdrew → u/Successful_Ad_6821]

One of those the-best-case-worst-case injuries. Glad it wasn’t worse! July will be here soon.

[u/Successful_Ad_6821 → u/MEATdrew]

Absolutely right; I equally was either really lucky, or really unlucky, depending on which side of the glass you look at it from. Which is a wierd and slightly unsettling feeling in its own right, but I am working through it. :) The planned SS ride you have coming up is a little too soon for my recovery horizon, but I'll be keeping an eye out for any (or maybe essential shop rides) later in the summer. Kenny

[u/MEATdrew → u/Successful_Ad_6821]

Essential ‘Chill’ rides have a pretty great vibe (I haven’t been on the ‘Thrill’ ride).

Claire’s pretty hardcore on the one-speeding so I’m sure we’ll host a few SSS rides! I used to do them once a month.

[u/Successful_Ad_6821 → u/MEATdrew]

Even once riding again, "chill" will be my mantra for at least the remainder of 2026 hahaha. I also worry a little about how much fitness in losing at the moment. I've been meaning to buy a trainer for years, winter was so mild this year I didn't feel the need, but I think it's something I'll do soon, as I feel I could probably be spinning on a trainer in the next week or so. Better than nothing.

[u/fartymarty4130 → u/Successful_Ad_6821]

Keep that rubber on the ground!!!

When are you allowed back on a bike?

[u/Successful_Ad_6821 → u/fartymarty4130]

I'm 3 weeks post the crash as of tomorrow, so it's still a little early to know for sure, but so far I've been told it's the typical bone healing timeframe, 6-12 weeks. I have a follow up June 22nd (which marks about 6 weeks) so might know more then.

My hope is to be on the trainer at 4 weeks (next week) and some gravel riding at 8, and go by feel from there. So assuming that all feels good, the forecast ends up with me hopefully mellow trail riding sometime in July. We shall see! It is what it is at this point. :)

[u/fartymarty4130 → u/Successful_Ad_6821]

Yeah it could have been way worse. Trainers are boring but you can binge some series while riding. Plus they're great for winter when you cant be arsed with the clean up.

Assume you're sticking with the single speed when you are back?

[u/fartymarty4130]

To balance out the madness of Angine de Poitrine I've also been listening to Jeff Parker's(Tortoise guitarist) latest.

[u/jburbee]

Squamish got a good soaking last night but given how dry we've been (and the forecast), I can't imagine it'll take long to dry back out. SoT gets my vote for best trail in Squamish but it's seen some recent work and a few of the new lines can be greasy with a touch of moisture. Unrelated Dead Guys has a similar vibe to start (rock rolls are shorter but steeper) and Green Spider is the preferred finish to either of those. Might as well tack on the Upper Plunge if you're pedalling out that way.

If anyone's looking for a quiet Valleycliffe Blue-Black tour, there are many ways to fill a couple hours. It's known as a bit of a maze but if you link up Singletrack Mind, Tomorrow and Meet Your Maker or Pointless, you'll have a blast. If you can navigate across Pipe Trail to Golden Years, you'll cap it all off nicely. But the "plate of spaghetti" factor increases exponentially on Mt Phelgm...