Never knew four minutes could hurt so darn much. Nothing like a 1.2km hill climb to blast out every last corner of your lungs and make your legs burn. Starting with three up, I was paired up with Synergy's powerhouse Steph Rhoorda and BiciSport's time trialist Julie Beveridge. We started off relatively slow, knowing that you had to pace yourself well for this climb. I pulled out into the lead and set what I though was a pretty good pace. Then in the second of seven corners, Julie flew by my and put a good ten meters on me. I could hear Steph breathing hard behind, so I pushed the pace a little harder to try to keep the gap to a minimum. Slowly I felt Steph fall off, but I wasn't making any time into Julie. Coming into the last corner, I finally felt that I was starting to make small gains, so I popped it down one more gear, stood up and hammered up the last incline. I managed to pass Julie in the last corner and put almost 9 seconds on her. I have to honestly say, it wasn't really that fun, my teeth even hurt from breathing so hard.....but it did feel good to blast out the system. My time of 4 minutes 7 seconds was so close to the mens winning time of 3 minutes 19.....watch out Zack Bell, you're all mine next year.....hehe, only have to increase my wattage by at least 300 watts.
The second day of the Tour de Bowness, holiday monday, was a road crit on the lovely roads of Bowness encircling Bow Cycle. Great spectator turn out, lots of great riders, good festivities and great weather. Unfortunately there was a relatively small womens field, maybe 12 racers in the A and B combined. Quickly the race split into the A and B cats, we had a small pack of five girls in the A. Through out the entire race we stayed together, with lots of little attacks and sprints for the preems. I had to work really hard a couple of times to catch back onto the group, I'm not used to the really short, explosive attacks, takes me a little while to get up to speed. With some really fast and some really rough corners, the women's race managed to stay accident free...not so with the all of the men's cats. In the final sprint, I needed about ten more meters to make my mark, but I ended up in fourth place in the crit, and second place in the omnimum for the weekend.
After a couple of easy recovery days, my parents and I started the long drive south to Snowmass, CO. After about 20 hours of driving, made it safely. Pre-road the course yesterday, super long and really fun, lots of climbing, but also lots of single track and really great downhilling. It's gonna hurt tomorrow...yippee.
Friday, 10 August 2007
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Howdy Y'all
Where y’all from? (with a southern accent) was the most popular question of the weekend. Spent this past weekend at the beautiful Sugar Mountain of North Carolina for the NMBS #5 race. After a long day of flying we arrived in Charlotte, NC, met up with Catherine and Kona rider Kris Sneddon (who was left without a ride) and proceeded to stuff three people, three bike boxes and all of our luggage into a rather small Jeep Commander. Those things look enormous from the outside, but it’s all an illusion. There was definitely an art in that packing job, and when the rental agent came back outside he just looked into the truck in complete disbelief, ‘I can’t believe y’all got that in there’….hehe. Our directions to Sugar Mountain weren’t spectacular, and we ended up taking a dark, foggy tour up the really steep and windy Beech Mountain, I imagine in the day time it’d be an amazing view. We finally managed to track down the huge ‘Kona’ house around midnight, nothing like a 16 hour travel day. We ended trading Kris his ride for a nights accommodation at there place, where there just happened to be two spare queen sized bed, thanks to Wendy Simms for her flight being late.
The course left something to be desired and was definitely not suited to me. Each lap started off climbing straight up the ski run on wet muddy grass, then continued climbing on open gravel and pavement roads for about a half an hour. The whole climb, you only ran into two small single track sections, the rest was just an open grind. Once you crested the summit, which was actually the very top of the ski hill, you finally got to the good stuff. The decent was really technical with lots of greasy rocks and roots, which would definitely lay claim to a lot of skin in the race. During the pre-ride I definitely struggled and fought with my bike the whole way through these sections, and the mud was treacherous and I re-tried numerous sections. With about a km and a half of decent left, we popped out onto the ski run again, and finished up with a full speed, open downhill sprint. During my second pre-ride lap in the rain, I managed to survive the gross technical rocky section only to lay it down in front of a large crowd on the slick grass (wasn’t very good for my already sore back).
Race day, the weather held out, and the course was in excellent shape for our three laps. Off the start, Georgia Gould and Catherine attacked, and the entire pack was strung out up the entire climb. I settled in and found myself riding with Wendy in about 14th position. She had more gas near the top and dropped me on the last pavement climb. I road the downhill a little sketchy, had some good saves and had to run a couple of sections, same as everyone around me. Going into the second lap, I could still see Wendy within about 25 m from me, and again near the top she had more gas and increased the gap. Near the top, I was passed by a Kenda rider and I followed her for the climb in the third lap. Half way up the last lap, a Cannondale rider past me, but I was able to react and hold her wheel till the top of the climb. She beat me into the single track, but I nailed the last decent and past both her and the Kenda rider..yippee. Finished in 13th place, and really sore from all the climbing. Catherine finished in third, being nipped by Willow Koerber in the last lap, for her first NMBS podium.
Sunday morning, got up early and went for a coffee shop spin…mmmmmm, coffee. The short track race wasn’t until 3pm, so spent the day relaxing and stretching. With a pretty good climb in the course, this was one of the most difficult ST courses that I’ve ridden in a while. Started off great, passed a lot of girls right away, but the climb killed me and I started blowing up after about 18mins, and lost two spots. I could see the leaders putting a large gap on the field, and with 2 laps to go I got pulled in 15th place. Although I was really disappointed with not finishing, my body was pretty happy with shortened race. Note for next year…practice climbing
The course left something to be desired and was definitely not suited to me. Each lap started off climbing straight up the ski run on wet muddy grass, then continued climbing on open gravel and pavement roads for about a half an hour. The whole climb, you only ran into two small single track sections, the rest was just an open grind. Once you crested the summit, which was actually the very top of the ski hill, you finally got to the good stuff. The decent was really technical with lots of greasy rocks and roots, which would definitely lay claim to a lot of skin in the race. During the pre-ride I definitely struggled and fought with my bike the whole way through these sections, and the mud was treacherous and I re-tried numerous sections. With about a km and a half of decent left, we popped out onto the ski run again, and finished up with a full speed, open downhill sprint. During my second pre-ride lap in the rain, I managed to survive the gross technical rocky section only to lay it down in front of a large crowd on the slick grass (wasn’t very good for my already sore back).
Race day, the weather held out, and the course was in excellent shape for our three laps. Off the start, Georgia Gould and Catherine attacked, and the entire pack was strung out up the entire climb. I settled in and found myself riding with Wendy in about 14th position. She had more gas near the top and dropped me on the last pavement climb. I road the downhill a little sketchy, had some good saves and had to run a couple of sections, same as everyone around me. Going into the second lap, I could still see Wendy within about 25 m from me, and again near the top she had more gas and increased the gap. Near the top, I was passed by a Kenda rider and I followed her for the climb in the third lap. Half way up the last lap, a Cannondale rider past me, but I was able to react and hold her wheel till the top of the climb. She beat me into the single track, but I nailed the last decent and past both her and the Kenda rider..yippee. Finished in 13th place, and really sore from all the climbing. Catherine finished in third, being nipped by Willow Koerber in the last lap, for her first NMBS podium.
Sunday morning, got up early and went for a coffee shop spin…mmmmmm, coffee. The short track race wasn’t until 3pm, so spent the day relaxing and stretching. With a pretty good climb in the course, this was one of the most difficult ST courses that I’ve ridden in a while. Started off great, passed a lot of girls right away, but the climb killed me and I started blowing up after about 18mins, and lost two spots. I could see the leaders putting a large gap on the field, and with 2 laps to go I got pulled in 15th place. Although I was really disappointed with not finishing, my body was pretty happy with shortened race. Note for next year…practice climbing
Monday, 23 July 2007
My Nationals Curse
Well……. I’m pretty sure that I’ve had my fair share of bike drama now to last me for the rest of my cycling career, or at least I hope so.
This past weekend I was out on Vancouver Island for Canadian Mountain bike nationals in Mt Washington, BC. This was my second time up to Mt Washington (third time on the island), with the first being last year for Canada Cup finals. It’s a really quaint little mountain village, not very developed and not commercialized at all, with a really tough cross country course. The steep climbs and rooty descents are tough enough when it’s dry, but after days of heavy rain, all I can say is “ouch”.
Okay, a little touch on my bike drama, for those of you who haven’t heard; but I won’t go into the long gory details. Due to circumstances beyond my control, my bike was in bits and pieces up until an hour and a half before the start of the race. So needless to say, I had a very stressful 48 hours leading up to the race, and a very sleepless night; definitely not an ideal pre-race routine and I hope it doesn’t become routine. Thanks to the frantic help from Dallas the night before and from Ben from Shimano the morning of, everything got put together and I had a great working rig for the race. Needless to say, buy this point I was very mentally drained, which is something I have to work on because lets face it, things don’t always go smoothly.
Race time…..more than a little chilly (I swear I saw snowflakes) and more than a little wet, but hey, playing in the mud is always fun. It was a small but stacked women’s field, with all the big Canadian hitters in attendance, except Allison Sydor who seems to be moving towards the enduro events. Off the gun, Kiara pulls into the lead, and I grab her wheel as fast as I can. The first climb is a long double track climb straight up a ski run, which kicks up really steeply near the top. Due to the peanut buttery mud, everyone is forced to get off and push. At the top of this climb is a short technical uphill section followed by a short really steep open section which is tough enough when dry, so we are forced to run. By the time I reached the summit, my legs and lungs are on fire, but I’m sitting in a pretty good spot. The first technical descent I crash gently a few times, slide out on roots, front wheel getting swallowed by mud, nothing major, but definitely I don’t feel at ease. I finish the first lap in eighth position, with the next six spots really close in front. I’m not feeling great about how I’m riding, but I’m really happy that I’m managing to stay in contention, everyone is struggling with the conditions. Slowly however, my body seems to just want to shut down. Usually I’m really good with adverse conditions and being able to just slog through it, but not today. Every movement, every climb, every root, every mud puddle just seems to through me off, and my back is starting to seize up (courtesy of my smart recovery ride crash the week before). By the last lap I’m struggling to just finish the race. Somehow I manage to hold on to eighth place, but I have lost a lot of time on the girls in front of me.
I’m definitely not happy with my performance and how the weekend went. It’s really tough when you put so much effort and focus into an event and nothing seems to go right (which is maybe just my pessimistic post bad race attitude shining through because I did have a lot of fun), but at the same time, it’s these tough races and times that do make you a stronger athlete and person…..so not all is lost. Maybe next year I can crack my ever present nationals curse (which is all in my head) and get my redemption.
This past weekend I was out on Vancouver Island for Canadian Mountain bike nationals in Mt Washington, BC. This was my second time up to Mt Washington (third time on the island), with the first being last year for Canada Cup finals. It’s a really quaint little mountain village, not very developed and not commercialized at all, with a really tough cross country course. The steep climbs and rooty descents are tough enough when it’s dry, but after days of heavy rain, all I can say is “ouch”.
Okay, a little touch on my bike drama, for those of you who haven’t heard; but I won’t go into the long gory details. Due to circumstances beyond my control, my bike was in bits and pieces up until an hour and a half before the start of the race. So needless to say, I had a very stressful 48 hours leading up to the race, and a very sleepless night; definitely not an ideal pre-race routine and I hope it doesn’t become routine. Thanks to the frantic help from Dallas the night before and from Ben from Shimano the morning of, everything got put together and I had a great working rig for the race. Needless to say, buy this point I was very mentally drained, which is something I have to work on because lets face it, things don’t always go smoothly.
Race time…..more than a little chilly (I swear I saw snowflakes) and more than a little wet, but hey, playing in the mud is always fun. It was a small but stacked women’s field, with all the big Canadian hitters in attendance, except Allison Sydor who seems to be moving towards the enduro events. Off the gun, Kiara pulls into the lead, and I grab her wheel as fast as I can. The first climb is a long double track climb straight up a ski run, which kicks up really steeply near the top. Due to the peanut buttery mud, everyone is forced to get off and push. At the top of this climb is a short technical uphill section followed by a short really steep open section which is tough enough when dry, so we are forced to run. By the time I reached the summit, my legs and lungs are on fire, but I’m sitting in a pretty good spot. The first technical descent I crash gently a few times, slide out on roots, front wheel getting swallowed by mud, nothing major, but definitely I don’t feel at ease. I finish the first lap in eighth position, with the next six spots really close in front. I’m not feeling great about how I’m riding, but I’m really happy that I’m managing to stay in contention, everyone is struggling with the conditions. Slowly however, my body seems to just want to shut down. Usually I’m really good with adverse conditions and being able to just slog through it, but not today. Every movement, every climb, every root, every mud puddle just seems to through me off, and my back is starting to seize up (courtesy of my smart recovery ride crash the week before). By the last lap I’m struggling to just finish the race. Somehow I manage to hold on to eighth place, but I have lost a lot of time on the girls in front of me.
I’m definitely not happy with my performance and how the weekend went. It’s really tough when you put so much effort and focus into an event and nothing seems to go right (which is maybe just my pessimistic post bad race attitude shining through because I did have a lot of fun), but at the same time, it’s these tough races and times that do make you a stronger athlete and person…..so not all is lost. Maybe next year I can crack my ever present nationals curse (which is all in my head) and get my redemption.
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Canmore Canada Cup
Photo by Patrick Graham
Photo by Henry Yau
A few cool shots from a few cool locals..thanks guys.
Monday, 16 July 2007
Ziggy Gnarly
So, who survives one of the most technical and tough courses on the North American circuit, only to crash in the parking lot..yup that’s me. And then crash hard again the following day on an easy recovery ride….yup again, that’s me. Now, I’m a little bruised, a little scraped up and very stiff….smart. But enough stories of my inability to keep the rubber side down, for now anyways.
I must apologize, it’s been a while, I’m definitely not in Mont St Anne anymore. The week following that World Cup I was in northern part of Quebec at St. Felicien, competing in the second Canadian World Cup. I must say, what a great course and a great event overall. Besides a little bit of a rough start, rubbing someone’s rear tire and going down (we weren’t moving very fast mind you), I had a great ride and lots of fun, working my way up to 26th position. Oh yeah, I must mention, I did have a pretty hectic and stressful week, and ended up riding on a borrowed frame, that’s a whole other story, but it all worked out in the end.
Then, back to Cowtown for a little stay..yeehaw. My dad, brother and a few friends raced in the 24 hours of Adrenaline this next weekend in Canmore. Dallas and I loaded up his car and decided we’d help out, cheer everyone on and try to sneak out on the Canada Cup course. Everyone road great, lots of teams and an amazing number of hard core soloers, great to see. Had a great relaxing weekend, except for the absurdly loud generator only ten feet from our tent coming on at 2 in the morning..how rude, no sleepL
Now, this past weekend, the much anticipated Canmore Canada Cup…Return of the Ziggy Gnarly. Canmore always does a great job of hosting events, and with all of the great mountain terrain, you can be guaranteed an outstanding course. With a good solid and continuous 15 minutes (at least) of hard climbing each lap, I was definitely looking forward to the very fast singletrack and downhill sections.
Off the start Sandra Walter took to the front and I grabbed her wheel and gave it everything to keep pace with her. Nearing the top of the climb, appropriately known as “the oven”, Amanda Sin came out of no where and smoked by both of us. The three of us rolled over the top and started to descend together. Sandra, just in front of me, dabbed slightly on a small techy climb and I managed to squeak past her. Following close behind Amanda I knew that my only chance to win this race would be to take advantage of my descending skills (because she’s definitely a better climber than me) and I took a chance and passed her through some rough singletrack. I managed to hold my lead for the entire race for my first Canada Cup win of the season, and second of my career. It was very cool passing some really fast men that were suffering on the course (I know, that sounds really cruel), but with above 35 degrees temp, everyone was in a world of hurt.
My brother, Casey, and I have an ongoing race between eachother, and him racing in Senior Expert, we always race the same number of laps. He had a solid race, but this weekend I edged him out ever so slightly; but I’m sure he’ll take out on me on the skies this winter. Dallas had great race too, finishing 18th in the elite men’s cat, awesome, especially considering he’s still nursing a bummed knee.
I must apologize, it’s been a while, I’m definitely not in Mont St Anne anymore. The week following that World Cup I was in northern part of Quebec at St. Felicien, competing in the second Canadian World Cup. I must say, what a great course and a great event overall. Besides a little bit of a rough start, rubbing someone’s rear tire and going down (we weren’t moving very fast mind you), I had a great ride and lots of fun, working my way up to 26th position. Oh yeah, I must mention, I did have a pretty hectic and stressful week, and ended up riding on a borrowed frame, that’s a whole other story, but it all worked out in the end.
Then, back to Cowtown for a little stay..yeehaw. My dad, brother and a few friends raced in the 24 hours of Adrenaline this next weekend in Canmore. Dallas and I loaded up his car and decided we’d help out, cheer everyone on and try to sneak out on the Canada Cup course. Everyone road great, lots of teams and an amazing number of hard core soloers, great to see. Had a great relaxing weekend, except for the absurdly loud generator only ten feet from our tent coming on at 2 in the morning..how rude, no sleepL
Now, this past weekend, the much anticipated Canmore Canada Cup…Return of the Ziggy Gnarly. Canmore always does a great job of hosting events, and with all of the great mountain terrain, you can be guaranteed an outstanding course. With a good solid and continuous 15 minutes (at least) of hard climbing each lap, I was definitely looking forward to the very fast singletrack and downhill sections.
Off the start Sandra Walter took to the front and I grabbed her wheel and gave it everything to keep pace with her. Nearing the top of the climb, appropriately known as “the oven”, Amanda Sin came out of no where and smoked by both of us. The three of us rolled over the top and started to descend together. Sandra, just in front of me, dabbed slightly on a small techy climb and I managed to squeak past her. Following close behind Amanda I knew that my only chance to win this race would be to take advantage of my descending skills (because she’s definitely a better climber than me) and I took a chance and passed her through some rough singletrack. I managed to hold my lead for the entire race for my first Canada Cup win of the season, and second of my career. It was very cool passing some really fast men that were suffering on the course (I know, that sounds really cruel), but with above 35 degrees temp, everyone was in a world of hurt.
My brother, Casey, and I have an ongoing race between eachother, and him racing in Senior Expert, we always race the same number of laps. He had a solid race, but this weekend I edged him out ever so slightly; but I’m sure he’ll take out on me on the skies this winter. Dallas had great race too, finishing 18th in the elite men’s cat, awesome, especially considering he’s still nursing a bummed knee.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Mont St Anne World Cup
World Cup numero uno pour moi..for the year. Coming into this weekend I was more than a little nervous, it’s been over a year since I’ve done a WC and I haven’t been too sure of my legs the last couple of months, well since my field school. Not to mention my demons from last years race, with what, 20 good crashes through out the race…yikes. 75 starters for the womens field, pretty impressive for a Canadian World Cup. Based on UCI points, I was given plate 53, not great, but way less pressure being in the back. The course was almost identical to last years, tough steep climbs and awesome techy downhills. Fun and fast, but you definitely need to be on your toes the whole time. It was supposed to rain all day during the race, but only a cool overcast to keep everything perfect.
Off the start, not even 100m into the race, massive pile up. Rumors say that only the first 12 girls got away completely clean, and nearly half of the pack either went down or had to dismount to get around. Slamming on both brakes, with a full wheel lock up and being hit by more riders from behind, the only thing I could do was dismount and basically cyclocross through the mound of bikes and people. In the process the only person that I saw was Kiara Bisaro sitting in the middle of the cluster trying to protect herself from people and bikes. Later found out that she is completely covered in bruises, chainring and tire marks, and a concussion…that poor girl.
Once through the mayhem, I found myself in the mid twenties and breathing really, really hard. My first two laps, although clean, didn’t feel good at all. I struggled with some of the techy stiff and my climbing was sooooo sloooooow. By the end of the second lap I found myself in the mid thirties with a big treat to go backwards even more. Then, in the third lap, I don’t exactly what happened, but everything started slowly waking up. Teammate Susan Haywood and Wendy Simms passed me handedly, but I thought to myself “That’s enough damn it!!!!” and I grabbed Sue’s wheel. For the start of the third lap I followed her and a couple of European girls not feeling too bad at all. On a climb part way through I made my move and passed them both in an attempt to grab Wendy’s wheel. Then, following her for the remainder of the lap, passing a few more girls in the process, I punched it at the feed zone in the fourth lap to pass Wendy. I was definitely feeling a lot stronger here, not saying that the climbs didn’t hurt, but I was able to move a little faster up them. Midway through the fourth lap I also caught up to Canadian and travel partner Sandra Walter, and feeling really good I pushed slowly past her.
Entering the fifth and last lap I found myself in 25th position with two girls about a minute ten ahead. I could see them at the top of the first climb and I started pushing harder. In the end, I almost caught 24th position, missed by less than 2 seconds at the line, with 23rd within sight the whole time. Honestly, regardless of the fact that this wasn’t my best placing at a World Cup, I’m really happy because my splits from the leaders was I think the smallest ever for me. Racing an event like this definitely helps you learn how to push yourself a little more than you could before and the experience of actually racing next to someone the whole time is a whole new ball game.
Now, we’re spending a couple more days of relaxing in Mont St Anne, and then heading up north on Thursday for the next WC. Today matt Hadley, his brother Adam, Sandra, Jean Ann McKirdy and I went exploring some of the local trials and found miles of awesome singletrack. Definitely can’t complain about that J Now it’s time to feast again.
Off the start, not even 100m into the race, massive pile up. Rumors say that only the first 12 girls got away completely clean, and nearly half of the pack either went down or had to dismount to get around. Slamming on both brakes, with a full wheel lock up and being hit by more riders from behind, the only thing I could do was dismount and basically cyclocross through the mound of bikes and people. In the process the only person that I saw was Kiara Bisaro sitting in the middle of the cluster trying to protect herself from people and bikes. Later found out that she is completely covered in bruises, chainring and tire marks, and a concussion…that poor girl.
Once through the mayhem, I found myself in the mid twenties and breathing really, really hard. My first two laps, although clean, didn’t feel good at all. I struggled with some of the techy stiff and my climbing was sooooo sloooooow. By the end of the second lap I found myself in the mid thirties with a big treat to go backwards even more. Then, in the third lap, I don’t exactly what happened, but everything started slowly waking up. Teammate Susan Haywood and Wendy Simms passed me handedly, but I thought to myself “That’s enough damn it!!!!” and I grabbed Sue’s wheel. For the start of the third lap I followed her and a couple of European girls not feeling too bad at all. On a climb part way through I made my move and passed them both in an attempt to grab Wendy’s wheel. Then, following her for the remainder of the lap, passing a few more girls in the process, I punched it at the feed zone in the fourth lap to pass Wendy. I was definitely feeling a lot stronger here, not saying that the climbs didn’t hurt, but I was able to move a little faster up them. Midway through the fourth lap I also caught up to Canadian and travel partner Sandra Walter, and feeling really good I pushed slowly past her.
Entering the fifth and last lap I found myself in 25th position with two girls about a minute ten ahead. I could see them at the top of the first climb and I started pushing harder. In the end, I almost caught 24th position, missed by less than 2 seconds at the line, with 23rd within sight the whole time. Honestly, regardless of the fact that this wasn’t my best placing at a World Cup, I’m really happy because my splits from the leaders was I think the smallest ever for me. Racing an event like this definitely helps you learn how to push yourself a little more than you could before and the experience of actually racing next to someone the whole time is a whole new ball game.
Now, we’re spending a couple more days of relaxing in Mont St Anne, and then heading up north on Thursday for the next WC. Today matt Hadley, his brother Adam, Sandra, Jean Ann McKirdy and I went exploring some of the local trials and found miles of awesome singletrack. Definitely can’t complain about that J Now it’s time to feast again.
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