Mathieu Albert's more than welding...

Back to school?

2011-11-03T10:10:00.001-04:00

It as bean a while since I welded, 2 or 3 years, and I'm now a substitute teacher at our local professional school. It's a 3 day gig just for the fun of it. It's lunch time and I can't wait to weld this afternoon.

Carpenter and Welding teacher.

2008-12-24T11:53:00.005-05:00

Fall and winter is off season for our bike shop. We are closed from November to the end of February. During this time, we place orders for next season and then we have time to work on personal project or get a second job to make ends meet.

So, for the first time in 4 years, I started to look for a job. I wanted to learn a new trade. My younger brother is a carpenter and it seemed like a great job. So I went to meet is boss and I started to hammer the same day. I'm so happy to get to work with my brother. What's funny is that he's now teaching me things.

Two weeks later, I got a call from my former welding teacher, how's now the school director, he needed me to substitute an injured teacher. So I accepted and started to give welding classes to two groups of welding fanatics. At first I found it boring but when I got to know the students, the job got much more interesting. It was a wonderful experience and I would do it again if I had too.

Mathieu Albert

2008 racing season...

2008-12-24T10:55:00.002-05:00

Like I said the last time, my racing times improved by 5 minutes each race and that I podium, third, for the first time in the expert class. Well, I had my eyes on the second step of that podium and it happened on the last race of the season!

I went all out at the starting gate to have a good position when the technical part of the course would start. It turned out to be a good decision because I battle for second with a guy that was in better shape than I was, but less experience and skilled in the technical sections. He would pass me on the uphill and I would pass him on the steep and twisty downhills. Lucky for me the course ends with allot of tight, rocky single track and that he flatted on the last lap. You have to me really smooth at Camp Fortune to finish the races. I was only 5 minutes from the first guy, which mean that I still improved me time.

It was my last race on my custom 29er frame. Next season I'll be racing on a Gary Fisher HIFI 29er. I've tested the bike last fall and it's lighter than my hard tail and the ride is much smoother. I can't wait to get my hands on that ride!

Happy holidays,

Mathieu Albert

Work and vacation...

2008-11-25T19:01:00.007-05:00

Once again, winter is back and biking season is over for the most of us. Last summer was my first season as a bike shop owner and I have to say that it was a great summer for me. Working with the public, meeting new people every day, managing orders and bike repairs were all thing that I've missed in the past years.

I've also had the pleasure to work with my new business partner, Daniel Bennett. It's the first time that I can say that my coworker can do all the same things that I can. It was the same thing for him. This is why we had the chance to take 2 weeks of vacation each. My first real break in 4 years! During my time off, my girlfriend and I went on a biking trip in beautiful Charlevoix. 8 days of climbing hills and rain! We had so much fun.

Mathieu Albert

I love biking!

2008-08-02T12:11:00.002-04:00

It has been raining allot this summer, but it didn't keep me from biking more than the past couple of years. Between organizing road rides on every second Monday, MTB ride on every second Tuesday and XC racing on every second Wednesday I bike to work a couple of times each month.

As you read before, my first race was close to being a total disaster, but I got better as the weeks went on. I'm in allot less pain when climbing and hitting trees is fare less frequent now. I've improved my time by 5 minutes each race. Which mean that now I'm only 10 behind the first guy in the senior expert class. I've even reach my goal of finishing on the podium with a third place last race, only 30 seconds from the second position! It's the first time that I've podium in the expert class, but now I want more, second place with the first guy in sight. We'll see how it goes...

I'll also take part of the Q-Cup at Fortune on the 10th of August. I have no expectations for this one.

All this biking have been done on my custom 29er. At the beginning of the season, it weighted 32 lbs... Now it's 28 lbs. Still not a racing machine, but it will have to do for this season. The frame is as solid as the first day, but the paint is pealing off a little. I'll probably repaint it in the next month.

'till next time,

Mathieu Albert

Back in the saddle...

2008-05-29T18:20:00.003-04:00

After 8 years of absence in the racing scene, I made a come back in the Senior Expert category last Wednesday night at the Sunset series in Camp Fortune. Here's how my first race of the season went:

The race starts at 6:30 p.m. and I only managed to be there at 6:00 p.m. I had to pay my season pass, get my license to race, pay my season of racing, change and get my butt on the start line before they say go! I was there with my beautiful girlfriend and the next door neighbor's kid we were babysitting for the evening. When I was in line for registration, she ask me if they could go around the race site and I said that it was OK because my bike was locked on the rack of the car. I was last to be registered that night so I ran out of the main lodge to the car and get my 29er on it's first race. But, I couldn't find the car or the bike! I ran around the lodge and parking lot and they were gone.

12 minutes after the start of the race, my better half came back from the village with the car and bike. The kid was hungry! So I hoped on my bike and started to race, alone! There was changes made to the course and I missed the explanation at the start of the race. That led me into the wrong trail going all the up the mountain instead of half way! But I didn't know until I caught up with some guys when the trail connects half way...

Beside the late start and wrong trail, I felt good on the bike. I was flowing on the technical stuff and pushing on the climbs. My second lap was OK, but the last late felt horrible. I was tired both physically and mentally. I made dumb mistakes that made my kiss a few threes here and there and my legs felt like a tone of brick.

At the end, I finished 5th out 8 in my category. But I'm not sure on the accuracy of this result. I'll probably do better on the next one.

Mathieu Albert

Roundabout Cyclery

2008-04-22T07:44:00.010-04:00

I'm back in business!

For the last 4 months, I've been working on a new project. I'm now a proud co-owner of Roundabout Cyclery, Gatineau's latest bike shop.

It's the shop second season of operation and it's first season with new bikes for sale. We got Gary Fishers, Fuji, Commencal, Lemond, Electra, Urbana and 3-Angles. All our new bikes comes with a 5 years maintenance plan and 10% off all accessories in store. Plus, I'm working on a Tree for a new bike program. So when you buy a new bike from us, you'll have the choice of receiving a tree or we will plant it for you. It's to compensate for all the CO2 emissions cause by all the transport of these bikes.

So if you're in our great national capital region, drop by our shop.

Mathieu Albert

Winter wonderland...

2008-01-03T20:15:00.000-05:00

Happy new year!

For the first time in 3 years, I took some time off and had some fun. I went out deep in the wood with my girl friend, good friends and family. We had time to walk in knee deep snow, play hockey on the local exterior rink, sled in the virgin snow and ski at the best kept secret in Québec. Before this mountain, I taught skiing sucked, but after going down their spectacular back wood sections, skiing looked more and more like mountain biking! Here's a look at my holiday.

Best wishes for 2008,

Mathieu Albert

Moving forward...

2007-12-12T20:05:00.000-05:00

It's now official, I'm out of Dobermann. The original ideal was to be the sole owner of Dobermann but you can't force a guy to sell is shear, so I sold mine. After giving two and half years of my life to this company I co-created, I'm moving forward to a more prosperous future.

Bikes have been the center of my life for the last 15 years and I think it's going to be that way until I pass away. I'm more than a frame builder, I'm a rider! I actually prefer to ride a bike than to build one. Last summer I biked to work 9 out 10 days and it was the best part of my day! I've put in some 2 000 KM on my 29er. On the road, XC trails, free ride trails and DH trails (Whistler). I built myself an street bike and learned how to do rollbacks, 180 on flat and foot-jam-tail-whips!

Bikes are my passion, my lifestyle and my inspiration.

Mathieu Albert

p.s. I'm open to your comments, questions, encouragements and suggestions.
mathieualbert1@gmail.com

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Acadian pride...

2007-11-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

About one year ago, I met a short Acadian guy that wanted to weld bikes. He came at the shop and did a few little welds for me on scrap metal. I think he was the first guy I interviewed for this job. About five guys came and applied for the job, but I saw great potential in this guy that looked like Jack Osborne!

So this is for you Gabriel Lang, you came to our shop wanting to weld bikes, but now I think that you're more than a simple welder. A simple welder wouldn't know about everything their's to know about mountain bikes and it's history. A simple welder wouldn't take such a little salary without complaining. A simple welder wouldn't want ride is bike even with a totally destroyed knee. A simple welder wouldn't be able to design and built is own dual suspension frame and ride it like their was no tomorrow!

Without you Gabo, my bike company wouldn't be the same. You deserve as much of the credit as I do. Thanks for being Gabo, the creator of Stella, the Acadian DH rig!

Sincerely,

Mathieu Albert

Stella-Gabo from mathieu albert on Vimeo.

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Golden Vass...

2007-10-31T12:58:00.000-04:00

Go and vote for Frankie Vass. We met Frankie at the Industry skate park comp last winter. We were there with our welding equipment and he was really impressed by our bikes and overall vibe of the company. He asked for a sponsorship a couple of weeks later and now you can see him in action on is 2008 Golden custom Pinscher.

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Main Street...

2007-10-28T15:09:00.000-04:00

About 5 years ago, I was a guide in a bike camp for teens and Vincent Allard was one of my campers. This kid was the strongest rider I ever had. He kept on improving is skills as a rider, but the most impressive is the way he handles a movie camera! If some of you know Michel Plonka, Joe Karam and Xavier Cloutier, it's because Vince's films. You'll notice that Vincent is the guy with the free coaster and Dobermann Indian blue rigid fork.

I kept in touch with him and this is his latest movie. It's called Main Street, a doberman bikes movie. It's a good way to get is name out their and also a great way to learn new tricks!

If your not in the market for a Pinscher, here's the complete movie. Please take note that wearing an helmet prevents brain damage and makes you look cool!

Main Street from Vincent Allard on Vimeo.

Enjoy,

Mathieu Albert

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R&D with the GLC

2007-09-29T19:38:00.000-04:00

I know I didn't give much info on the GLC, like geometry, purpose and reason behind the design.

So th GLC is going to be a Slopestyle frame that is going to look and feel like a hardtail with 4 inches of travel. The geometry is going to be designed to make it nervous and agile but keep it stable in the air. Which means it won't buck you off at the lip of a jump! So basically, the 4 inches of travel will save your behind when casing.

I've made the frame simple and user friendly. One pivot point around the BB makes it single speed compatible, pedaling will not effect the movement of the suspension and since the pivot is so low in the frame, brake jack is kept to a minimum. One more thing about using the same bearing for the BB and pivot point is that your bearings are always rotating so that the wear is evenly distributed, therefore the bearings will last longer. Also, the stroke is concentric with the pivot point and it will follow it's path to minimize wear on the shock and keep the frame travel linear.

Here's a couple of pictures and movies of us transforming theory into facts.

Mathieu Albert and Gabriel Lang

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The new GLC...

2007-09-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

I'm proud to introduce to the world, the new GLC. It's the latest frame from Dobermann that I've been working on for the last couple of months. It's a simple single pivot that rotates around the BB. The particularity of this frame is that the actual pivot of the frame is also the BB axle. We call it the Canadian BB. In fact it's two Spanish BB, one in the front triangle and one in the rear triangle.

The idea for this system came from an night out at the GLC bar in Whistler at the last Crankwork. We talked to friends about making a double suspension slopstyle frame with a single pivot around the BB and our good friend, Jean Rouleau from Bromont, how's also one of the greatest bike mechanic in Canada, told me about this system he taught of a couple of years ago. It was just like in the movies, he draw it on of piece of napkin and all. After that night, I taught of a way to produce it in a simple and efficient way. So check out our first prototype.

Tell me what you think.

Mathieu Albert

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DoberJam...

2007-09-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

A couple a weeks ago we had a great little DoberJam comp at our shop and it was all good check out the pics.

Later,

Mathieu Albert

120 hours of Candian scenires...

2007-08-03T16:04:00.000-04:00

We just came back from the Crankworx mountain bike festival in Whistler and it was the best bike festival I've been to.

It all started with a long ride across our great country, from Gatineau, Qc to Whistler, BC. A 5000 km road trip with a not so good van! We picked up Joe Paterson, a proud Dobermann owner, in North Bay, Ontario, and we continued crossing Ontario. It took us 24 hours to cross that province! We actually ran out of gas in the middle of the night at this small village gas station and there was this phone number that we could call to have some one come and unlock the gas pump and fill our tank with an 20$ surcharge! After that, crossing the prairies went well, nice sunsets. Once we got to Calgary, the Rockies were waiting for us. That's when the problems with the van really started. The engine was over heating and we were loosing allot of power going up hill. The fastest we could go was 30 km/h when climbing and we had to stop on top of each steep climb. Their was also an road detour of 100 km from Banff to Kamloops. 2 hours later, and taking time to visit two shops, we started the journey that is the 99 road...

That road is not very van friendly. It was an 100 km drive that took us 4 hours! It's an never ending up and down, left and right, stop and start country road. Breathtaking views of snow covered mountains, wild white water rivers and gorgeous valleys of pure untouched nature made that part of the trip less painful.

We got to our destination, the camp ground, after 60 hours of driving, stopping only for food and gas. The stench of the van became intolerable, so we set up the tent, took showers and went to sleep. A short 6 hours night and we got up, eat and went down to the artificial Whistler village to set up our tent, bikes and welding equipment for the show.

We had a really good day, we meet allot of really nice people and got to shake hands with some of our West coast Dobermann bike owners. Those that knew us got to meet us and those that didn't got the works on frame building in Canada! At 5 o'clock we took the tent down and packed everything for the night. This was the routine for the rest of the event.

Alain and me had one half day each to ride the Whistler trails. I was first and I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect. Where my riding skills as good as I though? Will all my XC racing experience help me there? So I borrowed a dually from Mathieu Laurin at Marin, just in case. As a guide was Joe Paterson. Ok, I've got to talk a little about this guy.

The first time I met him was at a park comp in London, he tried our Pinscher and ordered one custom with double wrap chain stay. He was so exited to get is bike that he drove 5 hours just to have is bike sooner. When he knew that we had some room in the van for the road trip, he jumped on the occasion. Again, he was really exited and speechless on the phone. We picked him up in North Bay and I pretty much spent all the rest of the trip with him, cause he's just a genuine good guy!

Anyway, we got up the chair lift to do Crank It Up as a first ride. It went really well, I just had to get used to the bike. After that run, we went for a single diamond trail, the A-line. Now I understand why it's so popular. There's like 100 jumps on it, from small bumps for beginners like me to big 20 foot table top . When I got used to the bike, I started to jump farther and faster. I actually had to tell Joe to go faster! At the end of the trail, I was clearing the 10 foot table tops. Really good feeling. But all things have to come to an end, I had to return the bike and trade it for my custom 29er prototype. Little did I know, that I was going to enjoy the ride even more with the big wheeler.

We did A-line again and everything felt solid. So solid that I told Joe to go faster again! Those 10 footer's, I could clear them with my hardtail and I felt in total control. It was bumpy on the fire roads but super smooth on the trails. For the last run we took the Garbanzo chair lift to the top. I now know how fresh mountain air smells like. We were ready for Freight Train. It was actually Joe's first time up too. We were both excited and impressed by the beauty of the Whistler valley. After a couple of nice pictures of the beautiful scenery, we went down the flowy trail. Their was a couple of steep, technical, off camber passes that made us think twice about the good line to take. But at the end, we could both do it all without walking down. I even cleared my first step up on that trail. When we got to the bottom, I looked at my blistered hands from all the fire road and decided that I had enough for now. I had so much fun that day. I felt like a kid again!

The next day, at the expo, I walked around allot and talked to the guys that works at SRAM, DeVinci and Gravity. It's always nice to talk to the behind the industry people. On Friday, I got a big surprise. I got to give a welding crash course to Jim Mcllvain, the editor of Mountain Bike Action! As a teen, my birthday gift was a subscription to that magazine. One of the reason why I got into mountain biking and frame building is because of all the articles I read and mostly all the pictures of bikes I saw in these magazines. It was an honor to weld a frame in front of this living legend. This is definitively an highlight of my short frame building career.

We went at that night at the Monster party, at the GLC. It started out slowly, their was like 15 random people in the club, but after we drank our second pitcher, thing got more interesting. (Note that we were 6 guys on these pitchers, so after two beers...) The big name started to come in. Kyle Ebbett, Phil Sundbaum and Cédric Gracia to name a few. Actually those are the 3 guys I recognized and talked to during the evening. But Gabo and Joe told that they saw allot more pros their. 4 hours and 4 beers total later, I was due for a good night of sleep. I love my sleep!!!

Saturday was the big day. The day of the famous slopstyle. The masses gartered walking trough our tent like we weren't there. They just wanted to see the gladiators of mountain bike do a huge back flip or get injured trying. With last year's show, the expatiation were high. The course was bigger, the riders fearless-er. But it was windy, the jumps and gaps were too big and one guy really got injured badly. Let's just say that I will never do these jump and drops, but I was disappointed. I haven't seen a trick done on these jumps that I saw in a random skate park or dirt jump track. It was fun anyway. The oldest guy won, Ben Boyko! Experience over guts, nice!

Sunday was pretty relax, so packed the van early and went back to the camp ground to rest for the next day. Monday, the first Dobermann bikes employee and owner ride! Gabo, Alain and I spent the day riding the Whistler trails. Gabo had a messed-up knee and Alain was riding is modified Pinscher (He's used to ride big DH rigs). I was the only one that didn't have a reason to be slow. So I was the one leading the pack most of the day. We did a couple of runs of A-line and Alain had enough, so Gabo and I went all the way up and we did the Freight Train. It was really busy on the trail, having to stop at technical sections because their was people walking the course. I was letting guys go in front of me cause I only had my XC 29er hardtail, but at the end, I was faster than most of them in the tight technical parts of the trail. I knew that their was a nice step-up, so I went ahead to take pictures of Gabo doing it and then went back up so that he can take a picture of me. But he cut my head taking it, so I went back up to take and other one. While taking these photos, their was these guys that were looking at me like f I was crazy going down that hill on a hartail, XC gear and even crazier to climb up, on my bike! They were right, I'm nuts.

After the ride, with packed the van for the last time, went back to the campground for a last shower and we headed for the road again. This time with brought back Eric, a guy that worked in Whistler and broke is wrist and had to come back in Ottawa. It turned out that Monday was Gabriel's birthday. For is B-day, he wanted to eat some chines food in Vancouver and Alain did too. After a terrible ride in the breaking down van, we got the the chines neighborhood of Van, everything was closed and sketchy people were all over the place. It turns out that we were in the bums square. Alain saw guys shooting themselves in the street. Bad experience. We left in a hurry and ate some fast food instead.

Back on the road we were! Going 30K up hill and 80k in the prairies, when it's 110 km/h limit! We got in Ontario and the van was getting worst. We decided to stop at the next dealership to have it check out. 3 hours and a new fuel filter and pump later, the van felt like new again. As it turns out, the reason we were lacking power is because their was no fuel going into the engine. Then we were speeding all the way to Ottawa to drop of Eric, then myself, Gabo and Alain got home alone.

What a road trip! I would like to thank all the people who stopped by our tent and asked us questions about our bikes and fork. There's more to come with us... Next stop, Gatineau, Qc, for the Dobermann Jam on August 25th!

Mathieu Albert

Crankworx is coming and so are we!

2007-07-20T12:06:00.000-04:00

We've been planning this road trip for a couple of months now and we want you to come and meet us in Whistler, from July 25th to the 29th. We're bringing our welding equipment and you'll be able to witness a true frame builder at work. Demo bikes are going to be on hand for your testing pleasure. You'll get a first glance at our new rigid fork and 29er frame. T-shirts and clear-out frames are going to be for sale under our tent, first come, first served. Also, you will meet the owners, designer, sales guy and welders of Dobermann.

See you there,

Mathieu Albert

Vélirium

2007-06-30T18:43:00.001-04:00

Trail building fun.

2007-05-21T11:26:00.000-04:00

This long weekend, Gabriel and I spent our Saturday trail building in Montebello, Québec. We gave a hand to the guys and girls of the ADSVMQ building a new trail. The trail is called rock and ridge and their's a reason for it. You start of climbing to the top of this nice ridge that give you a real nice view on the Outaouais river and then you go down hill on this technical single track. That's were we helped, with moving about 100 small to large rocks to make the trail rideable. The guys were kind enough to let Gab and me ride the first on that part.

I was really nervous because I've been riding my new 29er for only one week and it was my first real technical trail. So I ran the trail two times on foot to check out the lines and then I went for it. After a rough and sketchy start, the rest of trail went real well. If it wasn't for that small tree at the end (I caught my right foot on it), I would of cleared it all. For an xc guy like me, it wasn't bad. On the other hand, Gabo made it look easy. Clearing all the trail without sweating. It's obvious that is a dh rider.

Anyway, I'll organize a day of riding their during the summer. I'll let you know when.

Mathieu Albert

The Tax Mann...

2007-05-05T18:22:00.000-04:00

For people that never met me, I'm 6'3'' tall and as big as a Kenyan marathon runner! My body type pretty much dictates the type of riding I do: long distance riding. So I've been reading about it and asking questions, and it makes sense ; 29'ers are a good option for me.

So there you go, my first Dobermann bike and it's a 29'er! After two years of making frame for every body else, 250 to be exact, I made one for myself. A custom bike for the custom frame builder. Let me tell you, it feels good.

I'll give you the break down on it; It's a 21'' frame that is designed for long xc rides and touring. Disk brake only, with a trick stainless steel rack mount for disk brake clearance. (It's higher than usual) Stainless Steel drop-outs. (with the right welding rod you can weld cromoly and SS) Triple bend seat stay. Double bend chain stay, with a dog bite on the drive side for chain ring clearance. Verus down tube, the same as the Mollosse, and OX platinum top tube. A nice gusset for the down tube (it just looks good). Externally relieved seat, head and BB tubing (lighter and cooler). I also do allot of bike touring, so that's why you see those holes in the seat stay.

Were does the name comes from? Well, St-Matthiew, (one of the Apostles) was a tax collector and Ludwig Doberman, the creator of the dog breed, was also a tax collector. Since my name is Mathieu (French for Matthiew) and our company name is Dobermann, The Tax Mann felt right.

Beside looking good, It feels better than anything I've ever ridden before. Seriously! I have back problems and biking was becoming painful for me, but the second that I hoped on my bike, my back pain gradually disappeared! Isn't it amazing! But the best part is that my ridding actually got better, especially on steep climbs. It keeps a straight line and the front wheel stays on the ground. The only thing that bothers me is rocks hitting my feet. I'll raise the BB for the next one.

29'ers are as good as people say they are, they just have to be designed to suit your personal needs.

Mathieu Albert

Buying Local...

2007-04-22T22:05:00.000-04:00

It's the middle of our Canadian winter and I'm at the grocery store. Their, I can buy banana's from Chili, Strawberries from ... and red peppers from Israel! Wooptidoo! They're 3 times the price, they were picked to early and didn't get all the nutriments from the trees, probably irradiated and may contain illegal pesticide in our country. So what you end up paying for is gas for the fruit's trip and toxic pesticide, what a deal.

Why not wait for the season of your favorite fruit or veggie to come. It's cheaper, fresher, better tasting and have more nutriment that you actually need. My basic rule of thumb is that if it travels more then 3000 k.m. it's to much gas money.

You can check out this website to know how to buy local on a daily basis. http://www.eatwellguide.org/

Mathieu Albert

Weekend from Hell...

2007-04-22T21:44:00.003-04:00

This is the embellished version of our last road trip; you just wouldn't believe what really happened. It started out as an ordinary bike show in Toronto with the traditional 5 hour drive from the Dobermann factory in Gatineau. Little that we knew that the next 3 days would be the worst days of our young lives. Get ready, it's a lonnng story!

Alain and I were invited to represent our products at the consumer bike show last week end. Since our Toronto dealer had a good selection of Dobermann frames, we decided to travel light. So I borough my Dad's car, instead of taking the huge Dobervan. We left The shop at 6 in the morning in the middle of a snow storm. After fighting true crappy road condition, snow, slush, freezing rain and rain, we were finally in Toronto. This is when everything started to go bad.

I was driving, we were on the busiest highway of the country, the 401, and it was a little wet on the road. We're in the left lane and all of a sudden, I see the minivan in front of me slowing down, so I started to slow down too. But then, it just started to brake like crazy, so I slammed on the brakes to avoid collision. I saw this black car that was side ways, in the middle of the left shoulder and the left lane, this why the minivan was stopping. So with the speed I was carrying, about 90 km/h, and the wet road, I wasn't going the stop in time. So I had a 3 options, 1 run right into the side of the stop car, and seriously injure who's inside. 2 hit the minivan in the rear bumper and destroy the front end of my car, and get hit from behind by the cars that are coming behind us. Or 3, try to avoid the minivan on the right. Alain suggested me to take the third option, but the problem was that there was this big rig in the right lane beside us! Since the car was sliding closer and closer, I waited to the last second to release the brakes and squeeze between the minivan and the big van. So here go's nothing, Bang, Spishhh, these horrible sounds of metal to metal collision, exploding glass and braking sounds still keeps me up at night. After being sandwiched between these vans, the car came to a stop approximately 20 meters farther. The 18 wheeler never stop, the car is a total loss and I just put a full tank of gas in it! It was a seven car pill-up and no one was injured, not even a scratch or whip lash, even the bike and frames were untouched, hell, the air bags didn't even deploy in our car. So this is the first thing that went wrong. The result or the crash!

De Toronto'07

We got to the show after leaving my mom's car with the towing and transferring all the stuff in a cab. 40 bucks later, we were at the convention place one hour late. So we set everything up for the show. Then I started to call the insurance company to get a rental car... My personal nightmare began. Between being transferred 2 dozens times and being on hold for more then an hour, I finally gave up for Friday. We got a ride to the hotel with Rian, his girl and Ozzie, thanks guys.

Saturday morning, we were refused the entrance to this nice breakfast place because it opened 10 minutes later, Alain was really pissed at that. We ate some muffins and went back to the show and I gave the car rental thing and other shot. Same deal that day, transferred, put on hold, and confused receptionist. The best I could do is a car just for Saturday and Sunday and in Toronto only. While I was searching for a ride to the rental place, Alain was eating with hot mamas. I founded a ride with Jean-Martin. As soon as I got their, I had to call my dad's insurance company so that they can fax the required info for the paper work. I got an incompetent on the phone who refused to fax me the info and he refused to give me his name or direct me to his supervisor. I was getting angry. So I called back, I got a nice lady on the phone who faxed all the info immediately! Same company, different policy!? But I had to put a 350$ deposit for the rental, but my my and the company's back account were off line or something and my credit card was full!! One phone call to the credit card company and a 400$ credit raise, I'm good to go with the rental. Finally, I taught...

When I got back to the show, Alain gave me shit for not getting a car to go back home. Now that I didn't need. We were tired physically, mentally and I was hungry. After the show, I drove Alain back to the Hotel and I went out for a ride downtown Toronto. I also called my girlfriend to get some steam out. I got the answering machine !&#$@. 2 hours and a couple of nice pics later I got back to the hotel.

De Toronto'07

We bought 12 beers and 13 oz. of Rum the day before and there was only 4 beers left and no more Rum? Alain was having fun now! I took a shower and we went out at the Devinci party in a nice little bar on College street. Since I was driving, I only took one beer at the bar and my partner withdrawal some more cash and kept on drinking, which is OK... But when you get throne out of the bar because your throwing stuff at the staff, then it becomes a problem. So I had to calm down the bouncer and call a cab to get Al back to the hotel, cause I didn't want this to ruin my night out. So I kept on talking with these really guys from Norco and Devinci and enjoyed the great vibe of the place. When I got back to the hotel, one hour later, Alain wasn't in our room, not even in the hotel. Is coat was in the room, but not him. So I go out to look for him. I saw a guy sleeping on a bench on the other side of the street, nope, just a freezing hobo. (I guess he was having a worst day then I was!) I walked the sketchy streets for 20 minutes and I came back to the hotel. He wasn't there. He came back in 30 minutes later, telling that he was looking for a phone to call an ex-girlfriend, but he only got the answering machine. (Dah, it's 3 o'clock!) He fell asleep fast and so did I.

Sunday, final day. Alain and I woke up with out any problem. (Surprisingly) I refreshed Alain's memories, cause he forgot what happened the night before. The only thing he remembered, that he must of drank a lot for is head to be hurting that much. So he spent a good part of the morning, calling is ex-girl to explain the late call and then called is Dad who was called by the ex and who called my girl... As Alain said, ''There should be Alco-test on pay phones.'' He also had to apologize to a few people and sworn to me that he would never drink again when were on the road. (If you see him with a drink, take it and throw it in is face!) Luckily, the rest of the day went well, people seem to love testing our bikes. They all had a big smile on their faces when they came back with the bikes.

I had to bring back the car to the rental before 4, so Rian gave me a ride in between is runs. He was in the dirt jump contest. We got the car back and after stopping to fill up the car for gas we left the place in a hurry so that he won't miss the finals he qualified for. We made it on time. So far so good for a last day at the show. Until we started to pack is truck with our stuff. We realized that we forgot our personal baggage in the rental car with our keys to our house's and the shop's and the place was closed. Tabarnack! What can you do. We left with our, now very good, friend Rian. He dropped us at the bus stop. That bus ride felt like an eternity. The bus actually stops in the middle of the trip for a coffee stop and then stop at 3 other small places in Ottawa! Let me out!!!

In retrospect, the weekend was not all bad, Alain and I are in good physical shape, we sold a couple of frames for our dealer, I got to meet interesting people, we might get some new frame building contracts, Rian finished 2nd in the dirt jump comp and Ozzie finished 4th. But the best for me was when I talked with Jay from Winterborne bicycles and Hugh from True North Cycles. These guys have been collectively making frames for more then 17 years! I don't know if they were just polite or they really meant it, but they both told me that I was doing great work. They liked the craftsmanship and welding of our frames! It touched me so much that my eyes were full of water because I was choked up with emotions. (Probably because of the lack of sleep and all the crap that happened that weekend) Earring that from them made my weekend.

We left the shop with a car, one bike, 3 frames and luggage and came back home, on a bus with nothing! I feel two years older now.

I hope to see you soon on the road...

Mathieu

p.s. Monday night, when I went to my brother's place to get the spare key for the shop, I got a flat tire on my car and it was -32C. Ya, you can call me Mr. lucky now!

Different kind of bike camp...

2007-04-22T21:24:00.000-04:00

Summer is here and I can see all the kids in my street riding their bikes. It reminds me of when I was a 14 and my mom registered me and my brother on this bike camp. Yeah, I was going to do an 11 day touring trip with 10 other kids and two guides. For two teens with a big mountain bike background, we were psyched, but had our doubts. I remember that after 2 days we called home – “hey mom, the pace ain’t hot and we’re not hitting the big trails”. She told us to stay cool and let the journey unfold. We never called back. The next day was wicked - we were on a gravel road, we stopped at the beach to cool down, we visited this neat place were they blow glass, (kind of arty, but really cool), we cooked an awesome meal and spent the night round the fire pit at the camp site. It turned out that the biking part of the trip was actually really good, but it was the other campers/bikers and the two guides who made the trip fun and memorable. I liked the trip so much I returned for a new challenge the following year. This camp helped increase my self confidence and I learned how to work as a team. Ten years later, I had the chance to share my love of biking and adventure with four amazing groups, when I returned as a guide. I hope that those campers caught the biking bug like I did and discovered that adventure is a question of attitude! This summer experience is what got me into biking and I never stopped since then.

Last year's Pontiac group.

Mathieu Albert

Trail building...

2007-04-22T21:21:00.000-04:00

I just came back from a weekend of training for trail building with the ADSVMQ. They're affiliated with IMBA Canada. They taught us how to design a long lasting, low maintenance mountain bike trail. I had no idea how much work goes into planning and designing a new single-track.

The day started with a theory course, we were introduced to the tools that are used for trail building. There's the McLeod, the Pulaski and the chainsaw! Then we went in the wood to actually decide where the future trail was going to be. When designing the trail we had to keep in mind a few things like making sure there would be no water irrigation problem, not making the trail go in straight line in a hill and not to disturb nature too much.

This is the rough part of the trail.

After all the walking in the woods, we went back to this nice log house and ate some BBQ and got to taste some home brew beer. We also watched an IMBA trail building movie. After the movie I went back home and got some well deserved sleep.

Mathieu Albert

3 bikes and a funeral...

2007-04-12T17:59:00.000-04:00

I recently lost both my grand-Dad and today was my father's dad funeral. I went to the shop, welded a frame, went back to my place, changed in a nice suite, went to a very emotional funeral and after a couple of sandwiches, I came back to the shop and welded 2 more frames. It's the first time in weeks that I have had a clear head. André, was going in and out of the hospital for the last year or so. Knowing that he was no longer in pain was kind of a relief.

My mom's dad was a very good cook and even better businessman too. He gave me allot of advice on starting my own business. I remember once I went to this fishing trip with him and my grandma. It was weird, I was 11 or 12 and we slept in the big van because their was to many bears in that area. I can still see my grandpa shooting rocks and waiving a flaming stick at the bears so that they wouldn't come to close to the camp site.

My dad's father was an electrician. He taught me how to wire a 3 way switch. The best memories I have of him is when we went to his no electricity, no running water cottage! Playing around the fire in the hot summer evenings and skidooing during winter. He used to tell the story of the time I fell asleep in the back of the old yellow skidoo. He woke me up to show me the porcupine that was on top of this small three. The three was so small that it bent almost all the way to the ground under the weight or the small animal.

Good memories and passed on knowledge is all the is left. It as been an difficult and emotional past year for me. Thanks to the support of my loving girlfriend, Maïline and all my family and friend, I got threw these hard times with relative ease. Life is not easy and death is only one part of it.

Mathieu Albert

Listen up...

2007-04-11T19:53:00.000-04:00

I'm the kind of person that doesn't speak much. I listen. I observe. I analyze. But now I feel like I need to express myself and share what I've been listening to, observing and analyzing in the past 28 years.

I live in a nice city, Gatineau, Québec, Canada. My apartments is close to the trails. I bike to work. I'm usually nice to people. I have a beautifully girlfriend that loves me. But they're things that bugs me, that are not quite right. Things that you know that could be better. But hey, noting will ever be perfect! Like bikes. How come I can buy a complete bike for less then what we pay for the rough tubing of the Dobermann? How bad are the working conditions of the people that made that bike? How much do they get payed? How many kids have worked on that cheap bike? Does any of those kids have a bike? Does it make sense that the more I pay for a bike, the less it's worth at a junk ward? Why is it so cheap to bring a bike across the ocean, when It's so expensive to go there?

Stop and think about it.

Mathieu Albert