First Xterra Experience!

I was thinking mmm... it would be fun to do something different like a multi-sport race, something challenging like swimming, something that involves endurance and being outside… and I always wanted to do a tri but I’ve never been really excited about the fact that most for the race is spent on pavement… So an Xterra sounded like the perfect objective for the summer!

The swimming I think is the part that creates the most headaches to athletes and it has been quite a learning curve for me specially when it comes to open-water swimming

But hey! I wanted a challenge so there! Unfortunately, during a bike training session the tuesday

before the race, I got in a fight with my bike and it won… as a result I ended up with quite a few stitches on my thigh. So I was really on the fence about racing and of course the swim was out of the equation. The option left was the duathlon…I nursed the wound as I could for a few days and first thing I knew, Andrew and myself where on our way to Canmore…!

The day before the race, we were playing with our gear a bit, practicing the switch from our stiff bike shoes to our comfy runners; which really reminded us of ski-mo. We biked the course and I also wanted to make sure that my gorgeous scare would stay sealed over the extended exercise. All the nice stitches stayed in place so I was thinking to myself: GAME ON!… but carefully on!

7am Rockies time, we were at Quarry Lake getting our mountain bike gear ready at the first transition. A different crowd then usual was present for the day, high-level athletes with high value toys…! It was really nice to see! We all gathered at the Nordic Center to get body marking out of the way and get the instruction for the race. We then wondered back down to Quarry Lake and Steve (from ski mo) was out to cheer us on! The duathletes were the first wave to start. At 9 am sharp, we sprinted around Quarry Lake for 3 kms before the first mountain bike transition. We then did 2 laps of about 10 kms on the Nordic Center trail network. The route was nice and challenging with a few long steep climbs, really muddy and slippery sections and nice little chutes. Then the second transition was at the stadium from mt biking to trail running. The run consisted of two laps of over 4 kms.

It was a really fun adventure and we both learnt from the experience and had a great race. Andrew took the overall men category and I won the female and 3^rd overall. We also agreed that next time, we would both do the swim…!

For full results:

http://www.winningtime.ca/index.php?content=10xterra

Thx to Skookum Tom & Greg and Giant for hooking me up with another Anthem while mine is getting all fixed up. Even if the remote fork lock-up on the handle bar is as sharp as a razor blade, I really like the ride!

First Toonie Race in Revelstoke!

Last Wednesday night was the first ever Toonie Mountain Bike Race in Revelstoke. The event was put together by Revelocity, cycling association which goal is to organize and promote road and mountain bike training and racing events in Revelstoke BC. Having spent 5 years in Whistler where the Thursday Toonie Races were events I religiously attended every week, I could not be more excited when I found out about the Revy Races! About 13 racers were on the start line on Wednesday and I would not be surprise if the number increases week after week since the 1^st edition was a success. The race started at the Beaver Lake Parking Lot and took us through some of the nicest trails in the MacPherson Network. There was a lot of great prices for everyone and it was just a really nice and social event. This race was the first of 3 which will be on the 11^th and 25^th of august.

Thank you very much to organizers and volunteers!

More Details at:

http://www.revelstokecurrent.com/2010/07/29/revelocitys-first-mountain-bike-race-was-fun-and-successful/

An other GearJammer

On July 24^th was the GearJammer, an amazing mountain bike race in beautiful Squamish BC. This race was the 3^rd event of 5 in the “Hell of a Serie” . I always look forward to this event since it’s a 47 kms race mainly on single track with very little logging roads. The trails were in perfect shape again this year; dry and fast! We quickly checked out the course on Friday night just to get even more excited about the upcoming event.

Saturday was blue bird and 28 degrees! And the

race started in the heat of the day at 11am. Everyone lines up at Alice Lake Provincial Park with big smiles up on their face ready to sweat a whole lot! The race course took us from Alice Lake on a short FSR to Ed’s bypass, Cliff’s Corner, fast downhill on Bob McIntosh. Up Mike’s Loop, up the Mashiter Creek ….(long climb), up to Skookup, Power Smart and linked to Recycle and Pseudo Tsuga… which to my surprise has been buffed a lot and was fast and nice! From there, we linked to the Garibaldi Park Road where we climbed to the famous power house plunge. From there, we were not done climbing! We connected to Crumpit Wood, Father Side and S&M Connector, Three Virgins (under the power lines… it was smoking hot!…), Seven Stitches and back to the subdivisions on Plateau Drive. It was a technical and challenging course but one of my favorite so far this year.

The race went very well with no mechanical and over all good energy!

Congrats to my friend Michael who won his category and had an amazing race. On my side, I raced 29 minutes faster then last year so I was pretty happy.

For more details on the results, check the following link.

Thx to all the volunteers involved in the race and to Jodi for being there for us as the feed station!

http://www.gearjammer.ca/pages/results.php

Hottest Race in Revy!

For the second year, Skookum Cycle was hosting last Sunday a really fun mountain bike race in the MacPherson Trails in Revelstoke and for the second year, the race turned out to be on one of the hottest weekend of the summer! The racecourse took us through the Revelstoke Classic double and single tracks with really nowhere to rest so it made for a challenging race for sure! This year over 140 racers showed up for the event divided in different categories, the youth, Adult sports and Adults Elites. The elite course consisted of 2 loops of 17 kms. This year, we had the chance to race aside Catharine Pendrel, 4^th at the last summer Olympics; which was quite inspiring. Catharine is now traveling around BC to go to the National this weekend in Canmore and then to other races around the globe. All the best to her for the rest of her racing season.

The race started just after 10 am, and god did it start fast. It did not take long for the pack to get spread out nicely in the ascent on the “Main Loop” and then on “Space Man” to TNT. Then connecting to “Break a Leg” there was already a few people here and there getting thrown off their bikes. Up to “Dusty Beaver” a new section of trail built last summer unto hydro hill, a really fast descent on double tracks logging road. Then back to good old tantrum. By this point, I was pretty much racing on my own. It was just like going on a casual weekend ride, except a little faster! It’s really fun to get the race at home in trails that you know well. And there’s something about not having to travel in order to race. I was really happy to see the end of that race since it was really demanding. I managed to finish 1^st in the elite 19-29 category but the real star of the race is my friend Michael who came up from Whistler to race. He had a great consistent race and finished 1^st of all categories and set a new course record. Great work Michael!

After the race, Skookum put together a great BBQ and had a lot of great prizes for everyone. Thx to all the volunteers and Skookum Staff who made this event a success!

Chilcotins Canada Day Adventure

After a busy spring with a few races and a lot of work what better then to escape to one of the best kept secret in BC; Bralorne. This small town is pretty much a paradise for mountain bikers who are not scared to be self-reliant. Bralorne has it’s own network of trail which we tackled a little bit… well let’s say one of the trail started pretty much from the front porch of the beautiful log cabin where we stayed (thanks to Andrew’s friends Charlie and Matt) so we had no choice but to go for a spin in the area around Mt Ferguson.

The main goal of our trip was to go on an overnight trip in preparation for longer exploratory missions later on this summer. Both Andrew and myself have dreamt for quite a long time now to ride the famous Spruce Lake area. This is a trip that can be done with floatplane access but we decided to use our legs and lungs

to climb the long Gun Creek Trail. The multi use path presents obvious sings of horses use but is really nice and easy to ride. We started the first day armed with our big packs and climbed slowly our way to Spruce Lake. To our surprise, the meadows were blooming which gave us breathtaking scenery… it was actually hard to keep the eyes on the single track ahead. We camped for the night at the main Spruce Lake Campground where to our surprise, we got snowed on! ….the white stuff milted by breakfast time and the sun came out to guaranty us an other day felled with amazing views. We first explored the trails on the Tyaughton Creek side, and climbed back up to Spruce to take the trail to Cowboy Campground and to Hummingbird Lake. Unfortunately, there was a fair amount of fallen trees in the trail to Hummingbird lake but it should be all clear by now since we met the magic chainsaw men on the way.

From Hummingbirds Lake we then charged back all the way down the valley… and god was it ever fun. The single track that we nicely climbed the previous days was now a flowy tunnel through high grass, flowery meadows, sandy berms and thick forest. You can get going so fast on that trail it’s pretty scarry… Euh.. I mean amazing.

After our 9 hour day, we got back to the car with scratched legs, a few bruises (well not Andrew, just me), soaking wet shoes from river crossings, squeaky bikes but most importantly large smile up on our faces. As images are worth a 1000 words, here they are!

It was quite a TEST!

The Test of Metal! How to describe it???

As soon as I got to Squamish on Friday evening, we could feel the level of energy and excitement rising everywhere we went in town. I made my way to Brennan Park to pick up race plate and such and also met with friends to chat about the upcoming event! A lot of racers were coming and going some looking really serious, some with a large smile up on their face.

After a quick spin just to get the blood flowing in the legs and a thunderstorm later, it was time to make some last adjustments to the bike and get the hydration plan ready for the big event!

At 9:00 am, the cars were already lining up around Brennan Park. There was A LOT of people! It was great to pedal along that one paved road and chat away with friends, fellow racers as getting warmed up. Then, came time to line up the bike for the start. It was something to try to get around and position it for a good start… quite the challenge with close to 800 riders trying to do the same. The energy was really high and the atmosphere was like nothing I have experienced before…

After the national anthem, and the pipe bags, we were on our way for 67 kms of pure fun! The racecourse took us through the subdivisions of the Garibaldi Highlands just to spread out the pack as much as possible before entering the double and single tracks. I was told to get a good start and hammer as hard as possible for that first little while which I did and it worked out very well (Thx Ian!). It was amazing to see how the community of Squamish responded to the event as people were out with cowbells cheering and some also had the hoses out to cool down racers already sweating! What a rush!The race went all the way to Alice Lake provincial park from the Highlands, then took us to Roller Coaster, a nice twisty trail and then to Rock and Roll where a lot of the spectator gathered at the last impressive pitch to see the riders zoom by.

We then crossed over and down the Diamond Head to pass by the Power Plunge Feeding Zone were lots of friends gathered to cheer and feed racers. This was a great boost for what was coming up… the 9 miles hill. Personally, I pre-rode everything but… and I did not really know what I was getting into. I was wondering why people were slowing down that much. Things were going well on my side looking for shade wherever possible, hydrating along the way, having a time but I was far from knowing that the hill is really 9 miles in length and becomes steeper as you go. Fortunately, I did not bunk but I was really glad to get to the top! It was really rewarding since we then buzzed down the “Ring Creek Rip” a fast and refreshing single track (refreshing for the legs anyway…), then to the Power House Plunge, which is a bit more technical. It was a bit greasy from the rain on Friday night… nevertheless, it was challenging at this point in the course to keep a good focus and good balance. Then back through the Power House Feeding station where friends were waiting again with large smiles and nothing but amazing energy to give to racers! We were not done quite yet, a bit more climbing and some great single track with roost and rocks took us back to the pavement for a small section then through the Bluffs and back to Brennan Park! I crossed the finish Line with a big smile up on my face, with no mechanical issues, no cramping and no bunking. Since I was aiming for 3:30 and finished in 3:22 I was really happy (1^st in my category and 8^th overall women). Congratulations to Michael Robinson who also finished 1^st in his category and had an amazing race. Congrats to Cros, Jed, Mike and all the great friends who also did the test! Thank you very much to Rose and Kevin for feeding us all and for cheering! Full Results and pictures at: http://testofmetal.com/

Iron Lung in beautiful Canmore

This weekend was Back-to-Back mountain biking event at the Nordic Center in Canmore. Both events were put together by one of the largest cycling team in the Bow Valley; Cyclemeisters. The event brought together many other race teams from Alberta for a total of 300 riders. Saturday was the XC race event with Sports, Novice, Elite and Expert Categories. This race was part of the Alberta Cup Series. Sunday was the Organ Grinder 5 hours enduro race. I only enter the Saturday race since there is a big event coming next weekend…I am so excited already… but more about this race first!

It’s always such a treat to go to Banff/ Canmore. Friday, as pre-riding the course, which was a bit soft not to say greasy, it was really hard for me to focus on the single track ahead. The mountains around the Nordic Centre and to view from across the valley were simply amazing. It’s funny how we often forget how lucky we are to live in such a gorgeous set up. I completed a few laps of the course with a local as the sun was setting on the strong and impressive rocky peaks.

Saturday, race day, each category had a different start time and of course, they kept the experts and elites last. We gathered at the start in the heat of the day (2:30pm) and it was hot!!! The Elite mans started with over 20 racers. Two minutes later, the expert mans were next with over 40 really competitive racers. Then the elite and expert woman followed. The laps were about 6 kilometers in length with a mix of double tracks, single tracks, steep ascents, a few technical sections in the descents… for the people who biked at the Nordic Center before, how fun is the Devonian Drop!!!! It’s just a bunch of dirt jumps and berms followed by a few sharp turns in a steep bank…loads of fun… and of course that’s where most of the spectators were so it was a bit of a no fall zone. They also had the racers go through a pretty good drop just before entering the stadium at the cross over point…another place where you definitively did not want to hit the ground! In all, it was a really fun 20 kms race. With such a short distance, it’s like a sprint for runners, no room for recovery… It was my first time doing a provincial race and I’ve never raced in Alberta before so it was all new to me. I have to say I was a bit intimidated by the head to toe sponsored racers lining up right next to me. But in the end, we were all there with the same goal in mind, … well maybe not but mine was to do my best, push the limits, have an amazing time and give it all and so I did! We all started the first climb really fast and then the pack started to spread out. 2 Girls took the lead but I managed to keep them close enough that I was able to pass then both on the descent and away I went. I kept the momentum all the way to the finish line knowing that a really experience rider was just at my tail. This was a great experience for sure and so much fun to ride somewhere different with different a crowd. Congrats to Marty who did his first race in a while and ranked 11^th in Sport Category. Congrats to Don as well, great work with a 20^th place in the most competitive category. Don also did great at a XC race in Merritt last weekend, coming in 3^rd place. God I wish I could be that fast!

This was a leg warm up also for a totally different type of race going on next weekend in Squamish: Test of Metal, 67kms XC race. I have been looking forward to riding this event for at least 3 years so this should be a lot of fun!

Thank you very much to Skookum’s Steve and Adam who gave some well-deserved love to my light blue beast just a few days before the race. It made a great difference. Pictures of the race to come soon!

Full race results at: http://zone4.ca/results.asp?id=3051