Not everyone participated in day 5 but I saw this damn event to the end. Despite the fact that they dnf'd me because I got lost yesterday. Too funny considering the rest of the week's events.
Anyway today we raced on the good trails. I still kinda sucked because of a lack of bench cut riding skillz and the inferno heat. We climbed (pushed) up a hill so steep I could touch my nose to the ground without effort. I was very happy to be done.
Keep an eye on Craig's List because podium finishers are offering up their prizes (entry to 2010) at rock bottom prices. Everything must go!
Just so I'm not focusing only on the negative, here are some good things about the race:
- the trough full of cold water at the end of race.
- the food has been nice and the vegan, the veggies and the celiac were happy!
- the volunteers!!! A bunch of older folk who are so sweet and cheerful.
- the TRU residence - just like a hotel
- the other racers
- cocktails at 5:30 tonight.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Intermontane Day 4: Re-defining Murphy's Law
Note: Despite everything you're about to read suggesting otherwise, I did have fun today.
********************************************************
I got lost again today. Sigh. I've never gotten lost in a race before and this is the third time this week.
We missed a turn because the trail marker - spray paint on the trail - got scrubbed away by the riders ahead of us. We had no idea because we hooked up with another later part of the course and it was seamless.
We didn't realize there was a problem until we ran into the race organizer who was (still!) out marking the course. He gave us really loose directions how to get back on track and then took off. We tried for about 45 minutes but didn't figure it out, so rather than get fully lost we continued on the way we were going.
This meant we skipped a large part of the course putting us ahead of the race leaders. So one by one they passed us as we made our way to the finish line. I came in 4th because of this. Despite the fact that I told them I got lost, they had me down as 4th woman, 22nd overall in the final results.
Thank god I didn't podium because they would have called me up at the awards. All the other girls would have been like, who's she? I've been consistently last in my category since the two slower riders behind me haven't finished a stage since day 1. Attrition is working against me in this case.
The Cannondale team is having a rough race. They filled the whole podium earlier in the week but not today. Two of their top riders have gotten really hurt (concussion and crushed vertebrae) and Tinker got lost at the end today, while being 20 minutes up on the next rider. He had to be driven back to the finish line. Sue Butler is winning handily on the women's side but rumor has it there is no prize money for the women as promised.
Worst race ever.
********************************************************
I got lost again today. Sigh. I've never gotten lost in a race before and this is the third time this week.
We missed a turn because the trail marker - spray paint on the trail - got scrubbed away by the riders ahead of us. We had no idea because we hooked up with another later part of the course and it was seamless.
We didn't realize there was a problem until we ran into the race organizer who was (still!) out marking the course. He gave us really loose directions how to get back on track and then took off. We tried for about 45 minutes but didn't figure it out, so rather than get fully lost we continued on the way we were going.
This meant we skipped a large part of the course putting us ahead of the race leaders. So one by one they passed us as we made our way to the finish line. I came in 4th because of this. Despite the fact that I told them I got lost, they had me down as 4th woman, 22nd overall in the final results.
Thank god I didn't podium because they would have called me up at the awards. All the other girls would have been like, who's she? I've been consistently last in my category since the two slower riders behind me haven't finished a stage since day 1. Attrition is working against me in this case.
The Cannondale team is having a rough race. They filled the whole podium earlier in the week but not today. Two of their top riders have gotten really hurt (concussion and crushed vertebrae) and Tinker got lost at the end today, while being 20 minutes up on the next rider. He had to be driven back to the finish line. Sue Butler is winning handily on the women's side but rumor has it there is no prize money for the women as promised.
Worst race ever.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Intermontane Day 3: Full on Gong Show
Remember the nutbar? Well they changed the course last minute to avoid his boobytraps and it didn't really work out... let's just say 90% of the field got lost including the Race Organizer himself who was lead moto. I'm not even kidding, I can't make stuff like this up.
I got lost with 4 others. So lost that we were on a dirt road in the bush using the sun to try and figure out how to get back to Kamloops. But it was my best day of the race so far because the singletrack was pretty fun, more shady and not nearly so dusty and loose. Unfortunately we were on a paved road for the last hour after flagging a car down to find our way.
Anyway the day was neutralized so it didn't count. Many are pissed. Lots of us are sorry for Chuck (race organizer) who obviously is trying so hard but has no idea what he's doing. I'm also sorry for the pro riders who are riding for big cash.
I'm going to guess this is the first and last Intermontane Challenge.
I got lost with 4 others. So lost that we were on a dirt road in the bush using the sun to try and figure out how to get back to Kamloops. But it was my best day of the race so far because the singletrack was pretty fun, more shady and not nearly so dusty and loose. Unfortunately we were on a paved road for the last hour after flagging a car down to find our way.
Anyway the day was neutralized so it didn't count. Many are pissed. Lots of us are sorry for Chuck (race organizer) who obviously is trying so hard but has no idea what he's doing. I'm also sorry for the pro riders who are riding for big cash.
I'm going to guess this is the first and last Intermontane Challenge.
Took the words right out of my mouth
If you haven't gotten enough of my cheerful accounts of this crazy race, check out the Sunshine Princess, aka Rachael, a fellow Upper Canadian who is tagging with her husband (?) Brad.
I got a good chuckle out of Rachael's take on the race as she articulates everything I thinking when I said in the previous post "Kamloops singletrack, you suck".
Poor race organizer Chuck can't get a break. Some nutbar is up on the trails we were supposed to ride today, removing the flagging and adding boobytraps in their place. I can't say I'm too down about it cause its means we start an hour and a half later and they are dropping 30km of the race to a pleasant 50km. Thank you Nutbar.
I got a good chuckle out of Rachael's take on the race as she articulates everything I thinking when I said in the previous post "Kamloops singletrack, you suck".
Poor race organizer Chuck can't get a break. Some nutbar is up on the trails we were supposed to ride today, removing the flagging and adding boobytraps in their place. I can't say I'm too down about it cause its means we start an hour and a half later and they are dropping 30km of the race to a pleasant 50km. Thank you Nutbar.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Intermontane Day 2: Tuesday, Bloody Tuesday
Today was hard again. I stopped eating about 2 hours before the end because I didn't want to put any more sugar in my body. That didn't work out so well. It made me super grumpy and I wasn't enjoying the riding at all. I was all Kamloops singletrack, you suck.
Anyway I finally finished and started learning about how everyone's day went. I heard much of the same...everyone was suffering from the heat and many agreed that they weren't loving the trails. I'd give day 2 a 6.5/10 on the awesome scale where Squamish is a 12/10 cause its so awesome. However, I do think a big part of the suck is the intense ridiculous heat that we were exposed to for 80% of the day. I hear we're heading into the trees tomorrow and I thank baby jesus for that.
I felt better after I heard about Carl's day. Carl got lost for an hour and a half, lost his pump, broke his cleat, fell multiple times, a bee stung his bum and he came dead last. I laughed and laughed as he told his story (with a smile) and realized my day was just fine.
The dryness is getting to me here, on the steep climb at the very beginning of the day I got a full on gushing nose bleed. All my usual riding buddies were then at least 10 minutes ahead and I was in no man's land. It was a little lonely today.
I hope to have a good day tomorrow so I can have something positive to say on here. Feel free to tell me to suck it up already. I mean really, if I wasn't here, I'd be patenting...
Anyway I finally finished and started learning about how everyone's day went. I heard much of the same...everyone was suffering from the heat and many agreed that they weren't loving the trails. I'd give day 2 a 6.5/10 on the awesome scale where Squamish is a 12/10 cause its so awesome. However, I do think a big part of the suck is the intense ridiculous heat that we were exposed to for 80% of the day. I hear we're heading into the trees tomorrow and I thank baby jesus for that.
I felt better after I heard about Carl's day. Carl got lost for an hour and a half, lost his pump, broke his cleat, fell multiple times, a bee stung his bum and he came dead last. I laughed and laughed as he told his story (with a smile) and realized my day was just fine.
The dryness is getting to me here, on the steep climb at the very beginning of the day I got a full on gushing nose bleed. All my usual riding buddies were then at least 10 minutes ahead and I was in no man's land. It was a little lonely today.
I hope to have a good day tomorrow so I can have something positive to say on here. Feel free to tell me to suck it up already. I mean really, if I wasn't here, I'd be patenting...
Monday, July 27, 2009
Intermontane Day 1: A good old fashioned ass kickin'
Hot.
I'm talking smokin' hot. And unfortunately I'm not talking about my riding. The temperatures were unforgiving and many people ran out of water a couple of times, including me (and I was camelbaking). Much of the race was on exposed double track; shade was a hot commodity (pun intended!).
I rode well today but I didn't push hard. I'm sorta riding this race for fun and not worrying about results. But still it kinda sucked when I saw I ended up 11/12. Ouch. Its a strong woman's field though, there are at least 7 pro riders of the 12. Lyne Bessette, that Olympian roadie chick didn't even podium. Tough crowd.
Over all I was 69 of around 100 so I decided to call myself back of the mid pack even though realistically I was top of the bottom of the pack.
We climbed a lot today. It felt like we were always climbing and I think I took an hour and a half to do the second big climb of the day.
The descents were tricky; mostly steep, loose and dusty. A few sections were really fun but overall I would give it a 6/10 on the awesome scale.
Organization is sub-optimal, its quite clear that the dude who is running this race is a total newbie non-mountain bike racer. For example, the marking was sketchy with tape that was green/yellow which blended in nicely with the trees and last minute turn indications even on fast downhills. And there was some kind of big controversy with the prize money but that doesn't quite concern me.
Food was good for most people but us veggies got the shaft today. There was only potatoes and bread and salad for us to eat. We were assured that we'll fare better tomorrow but as the only vegan, I'm nervous...
Time to stretch and maybe get some sleep. I am actually looking forward to tomorrow despite my slightly scathing review. It really wasn't as bad as I made it sound; I think its just that I so damn hungry!
I'm talking smokin' hot. And unfortunately I'm not talking about my riding. The temperatures were unforgiving and many people ran out of water a couple of times, including me (and I was camelbaking). Much of the race was on exposed double track; shade was a hot commodity (pun intended!).
I rode well today but I didn't push hard. I'm sorta riding this race for fun and not worrying about results. But still it kinda sucked when I saw I ended up 11/12. Ouch. Its a strong woman's field though, there are at least 7 pro riders of the 12. Lyne Bessette, that Olympian roadie chick didn't even podium. Tough crowd.
Over all I was 69 of around 100 so I decided to call myself back of the mid pack even though realistically I was top of the bottom of the pack.
We climbed a lot today. It felt like we were always climbing and I think I took an hour and a half to do the second big climb of the day.
The descents were tricky; mostly steep, loose and dusty. A few sections were really fun but overall I would give it a 6/10 on the awesome scale.
Organization is sub-optimal, its quite clear that the dude who is running this race is a total newbie non-mountain bike racer. For example, the marking was sketchy with tape that was green/yellow which blended in nicely with the trees and last minute turn indications even on fast downhills. And there was some kind of big controversy with the prize money but that doesn't quite concern me.
Food was good for most people but us veggies got the shaft today. There was only potatoes and bread and salad for us to eat. We were assured that we'll fare better tomorrow but as the only vegan, I'm nervous...
Time to stretch and maybe get some sleep. I am actually looking forward to tomorrow despite my slightly scathing review. It really wasn't as bad as I made it sound; I think its just that I so damn hungry!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Fruitloops in Kamloops
I just finished continental breakfast here at the TRU University Residence that thinks its a hotel. More on that later.
I met a fellow racer from Manchester at the cereal station when she exclaimed "What on earth are those things?" as she pointed at the fruitloops, "Those coloured circles. Are they candy?"
When I explained, with mild embarrassment for the North American lifestyle, that they were a kid's cereal, she couldn't believe that people ate them for breakfast. "I'd have diabetes" she said with disgust. Yeah, that's about right. Her reaction was comical but sadly accurate.
Arriving in Kamloops yesterday, I was greeted with oven like temperatures. I met two brothers from South Africa at the airport and spent much of the day and evening with them. Its always interesting hearing about your culture from the eyes of visitors. One guy was especially taken back with our excess and waste. He also got a good laugh about the lavender aromatherapy dish soap that would never be found in his home country.
As I said, the residence here is hotelesque including a maid service, a front desk to cater to our every need and a big pool. I'm sharing a four bedroom, two bathroom suite which has a fairly large kitchen. My roomies so far include two nice guys from Alberta; the last has not yet arrived.
The air conditioning will be welcomed after spending hours racing in the sauna like heat. Apparently they've got a good old fashioned heat wave going on here in Kamloops with temps hovering around 40C for the the whole week. Eep!
Looking forward to tomorrow's start where we'll finally get to ride in the 360 degrees of mountains that surround Kamloops.
I met a fellow racer from Manchester at the cereal station when she exclaimed "What on earth are those things?" as she pointed at the fruitloops, "Those coloured circles. Are they candy?"
When I explained, with mild embarrassment for the North American lifestyle, that they were a kid's cereal, she couldn't believe that people ate them for breakfast. "I'd have diabetes" she said with disgust. Yeah, that's about right. Her reaction was comical but sadly accurate.
Arriving in Kamloops yesterday, I was greeted with oven like temperatures. I met two brothers from South Africa at the airport and spent much of the day and evening with them. Its always interesting hearing about your culture from the eyes of visitors. One guy was especially taken back with our excess and waste. He also got a good laugh about the lavender aromatherapy dish soap that would never be found in his home country.
As I said, the residence here is hotelesque including a maid service, a front desk to cater to our every need and a big pool. I'm sharing a four bedroom, two bathroom suite which has a fairly large kitchen. My roomies so far include two nice guys from Alberta; the last has not yet arrived.
The air conditioning will be welcomed after spending hours racing in the sauna like heat. Apparently they've got a good old fashioned heat wave going on here in Kamloops with temps hovering around 40C for the the whole week. Eep!
Looking forward to tomorrow's start where we'll finally get to ride in the 360 degrees of mountains that surround Kamloops.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
An unexpected house guest & Intermontane tidbits
A friend came the other day to do a little renovation work in my apartment. He did a great job as usual. Unfortunately he left the doors open to my place while he worked and now I have a visitor.
I woke up to scratching at 2am last night and began searching for the source. After 20 minutes I finally found him in the cupboard. He was a tiny mouse! He quickly ran under the stove. Since there was nothing I could do I just went back to bed with earplugs on. I'll deal with him later.
Intermontane updates. The list of competitors is up. The women's solo field is deep. A few of them even have their own wiki page! And take note of the ten grand prize money for first place in the men and women's solo. That's insane.
When checking my flight schedule the other day I noticed that my flight home sucks ass. It was purchased with aeroplan points many months ago with very reasonable times. I kept getting emails that said it was changed but never bothered to check the new times carefully (stupid I, know).
Check this out:
Starting at 3pm on Saturday the 31st...
Kamloops to Vancouver
Vancouver to Toronto
Toronto to Ottawa
Returing home at noon on Sunday the 1st. With the time difference that's 18 hours. To go to Kamloops. Direct flight would be what, 4 hours? maybe five. And this after a 5 day stage race. Nope, its not going to be pretty.
Well, I guess its time to go create a Vegan Vagabond Wiki page ;)
I woke up to scratching at 2am last night and began searching for the source. After 20 minutes I finally found him in the cupboard. He was a tiny mouse! He quickly ran under the stove. Since there was nothing I could do I just went back to bed with earplugs on. I'll deal with him later.
Intermontane updates. The list of competitors is up. The women's solo field is deep. A few of them even have their own wiki page! And take note of the ten grand prize money for first place in the men and women's solo. That's insane.
When checking my flight schedule the other day I noticed that my flight home sucks ass. It was purchased with aeroplan points many months ago with very reasonable times. I kept getting emails that said it was changed but never bothered to check the new times carefully (stupid I, know).
Check this out:
Starting at 3pm on Saturday the 31st...
Kamloops to Vancouver
Vancouver to Toronto
Toronto to Ottawa
Returing home at noon on Sunday the 1st. With the time difference that's 18 hours. To go to Kamloops. Direct flight would be what, 4 hours? maybe five. And this after a 5 day stage race. Nope, its not going to be pretty.
Well, I guess its time to go create a Vegan Vagabond Wiki page ;)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Fat tires on the road
Had a fantastic ride today. After some hemming and hawing, I decided on a gat loop on my moonracer. Strange combination I know. I wasn't too excited about taking my full suspension on the road but wanted to make sure it was up to snuff for my big race and yet didn't want to get it dirty. Wasn't in the mood for cleaning.
Right away I felt good. I looked down at my computer and saw 34km/h. Wait. I felt good but not quite 34 up a hill with fat tires good. That's when I noticed the tailwind giving me a good boost.
The park was pretty dead today, perhaps because many of the usual suspects were either recovering from the Grand Prix or were racing in the Crit. At the top of Pinks I saw Anthony and Blair and close to Champlain I saw Big Ring so at least the Big Ringers were out there.
When I reached Champlain, I realized I was sick of the road and decided to make my way back on dirt so off I went to the 1. Somewhere near fortune I ran into a guy and I passed him on a climb. Apparently he didn't like to be chicked because about 10 minutes later he passed me on the inside on a downhill curve. Bit of a risky move as the trail wasn't too wide in that spot.
I headed down to P7 and then took the 15. It was pretty busy with many hikers. I came up to a couple making out right in the middle of the trail, and as I passed by it looked like he was making his way to 2nd base. Classy.
Finished off the ride on the bike path home paying my dues with a headwind. Entire ride was a little over 3 hours which is just what I wanted.
I was feeling strangely keen at the end of the ride so I threw my dirty bike into the stand and cleaned it up and adjusted the gears. While ambitions were high, I decided to work on my commuter too because it had been shifting poorly lately. This bike is really dirty because it doesn't get much attention and often rides in the rain. Apparently I touch my face a lot while I work because this dirty mug greeted me in the bathroom mirror when I went to wash my hands. I was trying not to laugh in the pic so pardon the bizarre expression.
My thoughts are with the five cyclists who were involved in a hit and run on March Road early this morning. I've been thinking about them all day and hope they all make a full recovery. Things look very serious for two of them. I am glad to hear that an arrest has been made.
8am on a Sunday on a wide road with a bike path. How on earth does someone hit five cyclists in this situation? I just can't understand it. Harder to understand is how they could just drive away. Unbelievable.
Right away I felt good. I looked down at my computer and saw 34km/h. Wait. I felt good but not quite 34 up a hill with fat tires good. That's when I noticed the tailwind giving me a good boost.
The park was pretty dead today, perhaps because many of the usual suspects were either recovering from the Grand Prix or were racing in the Crit. At the top of Pinks I saw Anthony and Blair and close to Champlain I saw Big Ring so at least the Big Ringers were out there.
When I reached Champlain, I realized I was sick of the road and decided to make my way back on dirt so off I went to the 1. Somewhere near fortune I ran into a guy and I passed him on a climb. Apparently he didn't like to be chicked because about 10 minutes later he passed me on the inside on a downhill curve. Bit of a risky move as the trail wasn't too wide in that spot.
I headed down to P7 and then took the 15. It was pretty busy with many hikers. I came up to a couple making out right in the middle of the trail, and as I passed by it looked like he was making his way to 2nd base. Classy.
Finished off the ride on the bike path home paying my dues with a headwind. Entire ride was a little over 3 hours which is just what I wanted.
I was feeling strangely keen at the end of the ride so I threw my dirty bike into the stand and cleaned it up and adjusted the gears. While ambitions were high, I decided to work on my commuter too because it had been shifting poorly lately. This bike is really dirty because it doesn't get much attention and often rides in the rain. Apparently I touch my face a lot while I work because this dirty mug greeted me in the bathroom mirror when I went to wash my hands. I was trying not to laugh in the pic so pardon the bizarre expression.
My thoughts are with the five cyclists who were involved in a hit and run on March Road early this morning. I've been thinking about them all day and hope they all make a full recovery. Things look very serious for two of them. I am glad to hear that an arrest has been made.
8am on a Sunday on a wide road with a bike path. How on earth does someone hit five cyclists in this situation? I just can't understand it. Harder to understand is how they could just drive away. Unbelievable.
Weather for Intermontane
Long term weather forecast for Kamloops: 35C and sunny.
Hot! Haven't seen much heat in Ottawa this summer.
Hot! Haven't seen much heat in Ottawa this summer.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Bike Shops
This week I went to two bike shops I don't normally go to and here's the story of what happened.
I'm going to protect the innocent and not mention any names. These were isolated incidents, weren't a big deal and one person a bike shop does not make. I will point out that both shops specialized in road bikes. Roadie Shops if you will. Do what you want with that fact.
Exhibit A.
I broke a spoke on my road bike. Went into the shop and asked them to replace the spoke. Hope it would be done on the spot but completely understood when it wasn't offered. Bike-store-guy was courteous but not what I would call friendly.
Got a call later in the day to say it was finished (hurray!) and that the new spoke was not black like the rest of my spokes; it was silver (oh). While I understand this is no big deal (and actually don't care what it looks like) I believe that if I were some tall, slim, hardcore looking guy he would have called and asked if it was okay first. Am I right? Maybe next time I'll go in in a skin suit and TT helmet and see what kind of service I get.
Exhibit B.
I was fixing the back brakes on my road bike and snapped the bolt that holds the cable because it was corroded and wouldn't budge. No problem, only a small piece of the caliper where the bolt was stuck needed to be replaced to fix this. I took the offending piece a different bike shop than above and asked if they had that piece in stock.
This time very-friendly-bike-store-guy goes to look. Comes back and says no, they don't have it in stock but very generously offers to replace my entire caliper instead with cheap calipers. Seriously?
He asks what bike I have because he assumes I don't know what brakes I have. I politely tell him what the brakes are and that no thank you, I don't want to replace the whole caliper because of this tiny part. Can you please just order the part?
So he assumed:
1. I have no idea what parts are on my bike
2. These unknown parts are crap
3. I'd probably rather replace them with other crap instead of waiting a couple of days to replace the part.
He made all these assumptions just by looking at me.
So the moral of the story for us ladies is make sure you know what you want and what you've got before you go to a shop. And the moral of the story for these bike shop guys is give us ladies a little respect and the benefit of the doubt before you assume we're freakin' clueless.
I'm going to protect the innocent and not mention any names. These were isolated incidents, weren't a big deal and one person a bike shop does not make. I will point out that both shops specialized in road bikes. Roadie Shops if you will. Do what you want with that fact.
Exhibit A.
I broke a spoke on my road bike. Went into the shop and asked them to replace the spoke. Hope it would be done on the spot but completely understood when it wasn't offered. Bike-store-guy was courteous but not what I would call friendly.
Got a call later in the day to say it was finished (hurray!) and that the new spoke was not black like the rest of my spokes; it was silver (oh). While I understand this is no big deal (and actually don't care what it looks like) I believe that if I were some tall, slim, hardcore looking guy he would have called and asked if it was okay first. Am I right? Maybe next time I'll go in in a skin suit and TT helmet and see what kind of service I get.
Exhibit B.
I was fixing the back brakes on my road bike and snapped the bolt that holds the cable because it was corroded and wouldn't budge. No problem, only a small piece of the caliper where the bolt was stuck needed to be replaced to fix this. I took the offending piece a different bike shop than above and asked if they had that piece in stock.
This time very-friendly-bike-store-guy goes to look. Comes back and says no, they don't have it in stock but very generously offers to replace my entire caliper instead with cheap calipers. Seriously?
He asks what bike I have because he assumes I don't know what brakes I have. I politely tell him what the brakes are and that no thank you, I don't want to replace the whole caliper because of this tiny part. Can you please just order the part?
So he assumed:
1. I have no idea what parts are on my bike
2. These unknown parts are crap
3. I'd probably rather replace them with other crap instead of waiting a couple of days to replace the part.
He made all these assumptions just by looking at me.
So the moral of the story for us ladies is make sure you know what you want and what you've got before you go to a shop. And the moral of the story for these bike shop guys is give us ladies a little respect and the benefit of the doubt before you assume we're freakin' clueless.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
How do I love Joe Mamma?
....let me count thy ways.
I took my bike in to Joe Mamma for the "Eric-over" in preparation for Intermontane. He found that I had damaged my derailleur where it bolts onto the bike and it was affecting shifting into the two smallest gears. Since I will apparently appreciate those gears on Kamloops singletrack (rumor has it), I wanted to get it sorted.
Many bikes shops (not all of them, of course!) would have strongly suggested a new derailleur as option A. $$Cha-ching$$$ Not Eric. Of course it was option B but he asked if he could try and fix it first by cutting out the interfering piece. Being the frugal, environmentally minded gal that I am, I said without hesitation for him to go for it. No need to unnecessarily bin an XTR derailleur.
Eric called back 30 minutes later with the good news that it worked. Now I can afford to replace a couple of holey bike shorts for the race.
12 days till Day 1!
I took my bike in to Joe Mamma for the "Eric-over" in preparation for Intermontane. He found that I had damaged my derailleur where it bolts onto the bike and it was affecting shifting into the two smallest gears. Since I will apparently appreciate those gears on Kamloops singletrack (rumor has it), I wanted to get it sorted.
Many bikes shops (not all of them, of course!) would have strongly suggested a new derailleur as option A. $$Cha-ching$$$ Not Eric. Of course it was option B but he asked if he could try and fix it first by cutting out the interfering piece. Being the frugal, environmentally minded gal that I am, I said without hesitation for him to go for it. No need to unnecessarily bin an XTR derailleur.
Eric called back 30 minutes later with the good news that it worked. Now I can afford to replace a couple of holey bike shorts for the race.
12 days till Day 1!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
I have a crush on my hardtail
Took my hardtail out for its maiden voyage last night. Wow.
I think I'm in love.
I think I'm in love.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Summer fun
It was a good weekend. One of the best weekends of the summer so far actually.
Friday was beautiful. We loaded up and headed out for a leisurely paced all-day ride to Silver Lake Provincial Park. Even though our route was only 120km, we took all day as the loaded bikes and our relaxed mindset dictated the pace.
After enjoying over 20km of Ottawa bike path and about the same along country roads, we stopped in Almonte for a pitcher of Sangaria and veggie burgers at the Barely Mow along the water. A couple more hours of picturesque car-free country roads and then we indulged in another stop where we enjoyed too many cookies and the casual, yet prolific, cursing of the local color of Lanark.
As we neared the end of our day, we were growing weary of dragging our heavy loads through the highlands of Lanark County. The hills were steep and many.
When we woke up in the morning, we were greeted by intense thunder storms. I think the video says it all...
Eventually the intensity subsided and we nervously set out. We headed into Perth on nice gravelly, cottage roads to avoid highway 7. It began to rain again so we hid in a cute little restaurant to wait it out. From Perth we took the easy, flat way home on the route that the Rideau Lakes Tour takes to get back to Ottawa. A wicked tailwind helped make this day much easier than the previous.
A mid-afternoon stop was necessary at the subway in Richmond to avoid yet another downpour. We weren't so lucky when we were 30 minutes from home with no where to hide and the heavens opened up one last time just to make certain our gear would need to be hung to dry.
Here are some pictures of the journey...enjoy.
Friday was beautiful. We loaded up and headed out for a leisurely paced all-day ride to Silver Lake Provincial Park. Even though our route was only 120km, we took all day as the loaded bikes and our relaxed mindset dictated the pace.
After enjoying over 20km of Ottawa bike path and about the same along country roads, we stopped in Almonte for a pitcher of Sangaria and veggie burgers at the Barely Mow along the water. A couple more hours of picturesque car-free country roads and then we indulged in another stop where we enjoyed too many cookies and the casual, yet prolific, cursing of the local color of Lanark.
As we neared the end of our day, we were growing weary of dragging our heavy loads through the highlands of Lanark County. The hills were steep and many.
When we woke up in the morning, we were greeted by intense thunder storms. I think the video says it all...
Eventually the intensity subsided and we nervously set out. We headed into Perth on nice gravelly, cottage roads to avoid highway 7. It began to rain again so we hid in a cute little restaurant to wait it out. From Perth we took the easy, flat way home on the route that the Rideau Lakes Tour takes to get back to Ottawa. A wicked tailwind helped make this day much easier than the previous.
A mid-afternoon stop was necessary at the subway in Richmond to avoid yet another downpour. We weren't so lucky when we were 30 minutes from home with no where to hide and the heavens opened up one last time just to make certain our gear would need to be hung to dry.
Here are some pictures of the journey...enjoy.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Going Camping - bike tour style!
I'm off to Silver Lake for a weekend of camping. Ride there in the blazing sun today and back tomorrow in pissing rain...about 110km each way. Taking the backroads on my new cross bike - how's this for a shake down ride.
So excited!!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Cause apparently I didn't get enough riding in at the race...
Before the race on Sunday, I had decided that I should also do a long ride on Monday for back to back solid days to prep for Intermontane. I knew I'd find any and all excuses not to ride so I decided to invite friends so I'd have to go.
It worked. When the time came, I was not looking forward to getting out there but knowing Big Ring was going to be waiting for me at Gamelin, I started to get ready.
I looked out the window at the grey sky, wondering if it was going to rain or not. The weather network was waffling all day...yes its going to rain...oops no, its not...wait, maybe it will...okay maybe it won't. A more appropriate forecast would have been: "UNCLE! We have no idea what is going to happen."
I can see why the weather network was so confused because obviously the weather itself was confused. One minute we'd have a sunny downpour, next minute black skies, then sunny skies, and repeat...but in a random order.
We did a loop of the park. I felt pretty good for the first bit; my legs seemed to be okay with the situation. However, this seemed to change as the ride continued. They began to hurt somewhere on Fortune and got progressively worse on the way back down from Champlain. We were supposed to meet Mark back at Gamelin for another there and back to Champlain but I'll admit I did an enthusiastic fist pump when we saw him at the top of pinks. woot, I wouldn't be climbing pinks twice!
The rest of the ride was pretty hard. My whole body ached at this point. I was really glad I had the company of the boys because I would have given up much earlier. Big 'ol rest day today.
It worked. When the time came, I was not looking forward to getting out there but knowing Big Ring was going to be waiting for me at Gamelin, I started to get ready.
I looked out the window at the grey sky, wondering if it was going to rain or not. The weather network was waffling all day...yes its going to rain...oops no, its not...wait, maybe it will...okay maybe it won't. A more appropriate forecast would have been: "UNCLE! We have no idea what is going to happen."
I can see why the weather network was so confused because obviously the weather itself was confused. One minute we'd have a sunny downpour, next minute black skies, then sunny skies, and repeat...but in a random order.
We did a loop of the park. I felt pretty good for the first bit; my legs seemed to be okay with the situation. However, this seemed to change as the ride continued. They began to hurt somewhere on Fortune and got progressively worse on the way back down from Champlain. We were supposed to meet Mark back at Gamelin for another there and back to Champlain but I'll admit I did an enthusiastic fist pump when we saw him at the top of pinks. woot, I wouldn't be climbing pinks twice!
The rest of the ride was pretty hard. My whole body ached at this point. I was really glad I had the company of the boys because I would have given up much earlier. Big 'ol rest day today.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Ganaraska 1 - Vegan Vagabond nil
Tough race today: full-on tummy meltdown at km 60 of 79...least pleasant 19km ever. oh well. As usual I have trouble falling asleep after a marathon so I thought I'd write this up for something to do.
However, I think I can only muster up point form:
- Mari and the True North gang were there. When they aren't at races, it seems like something is missing.
- First 60km was crazy fun single track. I loved it.
- I came in 2nd. I still would have came in 2nd even if my stomach didn't revolt. Sara was very strong today and I couldn't catch her even when I was feeling good.
- Poison ivy is rampant at Ganaraska. I've never seen so much in one place. I'm so paranoid I'm going to be all blistery tomorrow.
- Driving down with Big Ring and Disco Stu was fun.
- A chipmunk ran between my wheels at the 50km mark. I screamed. I was sure I was going to cream him. Luckily I didn't.
- Disco Stu can pack in a lot of food for such a thin guy. After the race he ate more than Big Ring and I combined.
- Single track is relentless when you're not a happy camper.
- I guess I can get my revenge on Ganaraska at Paul's although I have to admit the 100 is sounding pretty intimidating right now...maybe I'll forget by September. Somebody remind me please and strongly suggest that I do the 60 instead.
That's all I got. Time to try to sleep.
However, I think I can only muster up point form:
- Mari and the True North gang were there. When they aren't at races, it seems like something is missing.
- First 60km was crazy fun single track. I loved it.
- I came in 2nd. I still would have came in 2nd even if my stomach didn't revolt. Sara was very strong today and I couldn't catch her even when I was feeling good.
- Poison ivy is rampant at Ganaraska. I've never seen so much in one place. I'm so paranoid I'm going to be all blistery tomorrow.
- Driving down with Big Ring and Disco Stu was fun.
- A chipmunk ran between my wheels at the 50km mark. I screamed. I was sure I was going to cream him. Luckily I didn't.
- Disco Stu can pack in a lot of food for such a thin guy. After the race he ate more than Big Ring and I combined.
- Single track is relentless when you're not a happy camper.
- I guess I can get my revenge on Ganaraska at Paul's although I have to admit the 100 is sounding pretty intimidating right now...maybe I'll forget by September. Somebody remind me please and strongly suggest that I do the 60 instead.
That's all I got. Time to try to sleep.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Ganaraska or bust
Tomorrow is my debut at Ganaraska for the third marathon. I can't believe I've never been, every Ontario mountain biker I know has been and all gush about the endless singletrack.
I've been practicing a new tapering technique this week I call "not riding". I haven't been on my bike since Wednesday and its purely because I've been wimpy about the rain. I'm trying to drag my butt out there today to go for a quick ride to loosen up my legs. Its not raining so I really have no excuse for a bail except that I don't feel like getting out of my pj's.
Ottawa folks - get on over to the Tall Trees site and check out the Tall Tree Team Time Trial and vote for Aug 30 so I can go. Only vote if you intend on going...and hauling your favourite vegan** around for 200k!
Enjoy the weekend!
** and no, I'm not talking about Matt!
I've been practicing a new tapering technique this week I call "not riding". I haven't been on my bike since Wednesday and its purely because I've been wimpy about the rain. I'm trying to drag my butt out there today to go for a quick ride to loosen up my legs. Its not raining so I really have no excuse for a bail except that I don't feel like getting out of my pj's.
Ottawa folks - get on over to the Tall Trees site and check out the Tall Tree Team Time Trial and vote for Aug 30 so I can go. Only vote if you intend on going...and hauling your favourite vegan** around for 200k!
Enjoy the weekend!
** and no, I'm not talking about Matt!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Happy Canada Day!
Morning! What a great start to Canada Day. Already I've been out for a ride and now I'm working on some watermelon.
The weather is calling for thunder-showers this afternoon so I headed out early on the road bike to do a gat loop. The park was teaming with riders, most of them triathletes from Trirudy doing some kind of long training day..I think I heard six loops or something.
Felt great on the ride. As I was coming down from Champlain, I was yo-yoing with some euro-sport guys so eventually we just started riding together. I kept getting dropped on the downs (any tips on how to ride faster downhill??) but was fine keeping up on the flats and climbs. These guys were super nice and even invited me to their weekly Friday morning ride. Its at 6:30am @ gamelin though...ouch. I'd have to leave my house at 5:50am. I'm tempted to try this Friday though.
On the way home I had an incident with a shad-fly. Before you think I'm some kind of an amateur entomologist or something, I'll admit I learned the name of this insect from Vegan Dad (doesn't that tofu look tasty?) who lives in Northern Ontario and is also getting bombarded by these guys. Anyway I got in a head-on collision with one of them on the bike path on the way home. He got me right in the lip and while it hurt for a minute, I'm sure he didn't fare nearly as well as I did. Unfortunately my ninga skills weren't as honed as they were a couple of years ago when I caught a plump dragonfly between my lips (ew, ew, EW!!) while I was riding near Lac Phillip.
Alright, enough blogging, time to go celebrate Canada Day! I'm thinking a mojito might be a good recovery drink.
The weather is calling for thunder-showers this afternoon so I headed out early on the road bike to do a gat loop. The park was teaming with riders, most of them triathletes from Trirudy doing some kind of long training day..I think I heard six loops or something.
Felt great on the ride. As I was coming down from Champlain, I was yo-yoing with some euro-sport guys so eventually we just started riding together. I kept getting dropped on the downs (any tips on how to ride faster downhill??) but was fine keeping up on the flats and climbs. These guys were super nice and even invited me to their weekly Friday morning ride. Its at 6:30am @ gamelin though...ouch. I'd have to leave my house at 5:50am. I'm tempted to try this Friday though.
On the way home I had an incident with a shad-fly. Before you think I'm some kind of an amateur entomologist or something, I'll admit I learned the name of this insect from Vegan Dad (doesn't that tofu look tasty?) who lives in Northern Ontario and is also getting bombarded by these guys. Anyway I got in a head-on collision with one of them on the bike path on the way home. He got me right in the lip and while it hurt for a minute, I'm sure he didn't fare nearly as well as I did. Unfortunately my ninga skills weren't as honed as they were a couple of years ago when I caught a plump dragonfly between my lips (ew, ew, EW!!) while I was riding near Lac Phillip.
Alright, enough blogging, time to go celebrate Canada Day! I'm thinking a mojito might be a good recovery drink.
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