BC Bike Race: A week of racing fun, June 28-July 4, 2009

Home safe and sound, I can finally post some pictures and recap some of the highlights of the week. BC Bike Race was fun last year, but this year it was even better. More singletrack for sure! The race itself is a logistical miracle. Ferries back and forth, bikes in trailers and off trailers, tents, gear, etc. Being supported makes the race so much easier, but what a week! Definitely a great vacation for Tim and a good week of 'work' for me. Here is my story:

Day 0: July 27, Pre-race madness. North Vancouver. The team all arrived safely. The van and trailer driving from SLC, Tim and I from Portland, and others flying in. A miracle in itself. We spent Saturday taking a quick ride and then off to registration in downtown Vancouver. I think finding parking near the hotel was our greatest challenge. It is a bustling metropolis!

Tim & I high above Vancouver, B.C.

Day 1: June 28, North Shore, North Vancouver. For all of you who ride, you probably know that the "north shore" is synonymous with hucking and free ride. Well, they sent about 400+ riders on XC bikes on some of the 'green' trails. This is where parents take their 10 year olds to learn to ride. Now I know why Canadians rip on the dh. Man, that was frightening, but fun. I rode way more than I had expected, but the cost of failure on some sections did force me to walk. But I was not alone. It was a rush and a lot of fun. Bryan and I finished out of the top 3, but only by 37 seconds. I knew that not breaking anything was going to be more important than that amount of time.

My race partner, Bryan Alders

Day 2: June 29, Nanaimo to Parksville. We woke up in N. Vancouver and took a ferry to Nanaimo, home of friends Wendy Simms and Norm Thibault. Norm actually helped design the course, so I knew it would be good. Unfortunately my bike came off the semi with a low tire, that didn't want to hold air. After our neutral loop through Nanaimo, about a mile into the race, Bryan & I were forced off the bike to put a tube in. A not so fast flat change forced us to the back of the pack on the singletrack. It was painful. We were walking very rideable trail b/c the masses were not moving. Bryan would dismount and sprint like a rocket through the brush, forcing me to try to follow. It was a slow start. We finally got clear trail and tried to start cutting our losses. We had a great day of riding, but the time lost was massive. We were still in 4th overall, losing 38 minutes to 2nd that day, but only losing 15 to 3rd. We could still climb back to the podium. We remained positive and focused, because we had so much fun riding that day! And anything can happen!

Horseshoe Bay Ferry terminal. Team love.

The ocean wasn't cold enough. Post race ritual at Monavie-Cannondale's camp.

Beautiful campsite. But loud. I didn't sleep.

Day 3: June 30, Cumberland. After waking up on the beach, we all transported ourselves to Cumberland for a fantastic day of riding. Although it all kind of blends together, Bryan and I had a good day, finishing 3rd in the stage, making up a few minutes on 3rd and just off of 2nd. Of course, Ryan and Georgia were untouchable.

Day 4: July 1, Sechelt. This was the ultimate travel day. With a 4:30 a.m. wake up call, we were all transported (sans support) to the ferry, where we took 2 ferry's and 2 busses before arriving to the start line. When we arrived to Earl's Cove, my bike was nowhere to be found. Yes, I got concerned. I don't know what it is about MY bike and semi transportation, but it came off with yet another flight. The mechanic support attempted to fix it, but unfortunately blew up my rim and a tube and new tire would have to do. It was a little wobbly, but nothing I couldn't live with. After 6.5 hours since waking up, we were starting our race. The gun went off at 11 and Bryan and I had a great day of riding, finishing the stage in 2nd. Finally we were where we wanted to be. We had climbed into the GC top 3. Patience had paid off and we were riding strong and having fun.

Happy Canada Day, eh?

Day 5: July 2, Sechelt-Gibsons. As the days run together, the most memorable part of this day (which I had remembered from last year) was the final descent into the ferry terminal. Such fun riding and a good day in the saddle. We were treated to more great riding in the area and Bryan and I again had a 2nd place stage finish. Now only if I could go down hill faster, we could make up some real time. After we arrived in the ferry terminal, we showered up for the ferry over to the mainland again and got a bus to Squamish. But burgers were on the menu for the ferry ride. Lunch. What a concept. And then to the river for a soak of the legs. Glacial run off is not very warm.

Day 6: July 3, Squamish. This was a hard stage last year, with a long road climb that I remembered hating. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was no longer part of our course. We battled it out with Mical and Jeff, putting time into them on the uphills, having them catch us on the downhills. A lot of fun, technical descents. I think I surprised Bryan, because I really love this kind of riding. We held them off for a second place stage finish again. Fun riding and a lot of smiles, followed by another trip to the river and a really hot afternoon in a beautiful setting. After dinner and awards, we headed up to Whistler for a night of sleeping in a bed. What a treat!

Squamish was beautiful.

Day 7: July 4, Whistler. Was the end already here??? I couldn't believe it was the final day. We woke up and sought out some coffee and breakfast, then rode over to Creekside for the final days start. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Last year ay 7 was my hardest day. Rumor was it had been shortened, but they didn't take off the initial climb up the ski slope. A little hike a bike won't kill you, will it??? Lose rocky descents that were way too fast for my liking. Too much brake put us behind Mical and Jeff for the day, but we knew we couldn't make up the difference on such a short stage, so we rode, smiled and finished strong, taking 3rd in the stage and 3rd overall.

At least this bridge had sides. There were many that didn't.

Tim won the last stage!

Our 3rd place overall podium.

Although bad luck made it impossible to race for 2nd, we never gave up. Georgia and Ryan schooled us all, putting 10-15 minutes on us each day. It was a great week of riding with great people. I had the pleasure of riding with former world champion, Alison Sydor, having her patiently follow me down a descent, giving encouraging advice through some really technical riding before she could safely pass. I had the pleasure of following Catherine Pendrel's wheel one day for about a while as they made up time from a wrong turn. That doesn't happen in a XC race. Bryan was a great partner, patient and encouraging, dragging me around for 7 days even though he could have gone faster alone. The encouragement and camaraderie of a race like this is what makes this sport so great and makes me keep coming back for more.

B.C. BIKE RACE, June 28-July 4 : Quick update.

Tim & I are currently at the B.C. Bike race. We have been having a blast and riding epic singletrack. I am partnered up with Bryan Alders and Tim is riding with Matt Ohran. Currently we are both in 3rd. Bryan and I had a really rough day 2 with my bike coming off the trailer with a low tire that turned into a flat just as the race started, putting us in the very back of the race. Not a good place to be when you want to go fast. We lost a lot of time, but we are crawling back each day. I don't think there will be enough days to get 2nd, but we hope to hold on to 3rd. Results are found on both velonews and cyclingnews. I'll post more pictures and reports when I get home!!! Cheers!

It's official: Monavie-Cannondale is BLUE!

With the release of the new, fantastic energy drink by Monavie, Emv, we had our mid-season release of our new colors, including new kits and new bikes. Most of the team traveled to Salt Lake City to be presented at the Monavie conference. A hectic weekend of mingling, talking to distributors, signing autographs, photo shoots and team bonding. Next up: B.C. Bike Race!

Mid-week BLISS!

All in a days work! This week I had to get some long rides in, and for 2 of them, I managed to find company to join me on some of my favorite trails! I love riding my mountain bike. Especially on Mt. Hood singletrack when it is in primo condition! It makes me not want to leave and just ride and ride and ride! And the HIGHLIGHT of the day today was seeing a BLACK BEAR!!! Yep, it was right on the side of the trail, ran about 10 meters away, turned, looked at me, I hesitated, then put my bike between me and the bear and started making some noise. He bolted. By the time Erin got up the trail, he (or she) was long gone. WHEW! So exhilarating. My first time seeing a bear while biking on trails in Oregon! Kind of cool!!! Needless to say, I forgot to reach in my pocket for my camera. But I did take a few pictures the past 2 days.

Arghhh. Trail 450 to 15 mile wasn't quite clear.

We saw a lot of this. Such a bummer, but the forest service is doing a GREAT job & have a lot of the best trails clear already! I just assumed this one would be since 15-mile is. My bad.

Speaking of the Forest Service and one of the greatest trail clearers of all time...

I'm tight with our Forest Service Rangers. OK, Paul Gundlach is a good friend. It was awesome to see him on the trail. I told him to ditch his hoe and ride with us. He is too dedicated. Don't forget to thank these guys when you see them. They do a TON of work so we can ride great trails.

And when they are clear, they are GREAT!

Thursday Erin Ford and I did the epic Dog River/Surveyors out and back. It never gets old. Lots of climbing, lots of miles. 4.5 hours in the saddle. Life is good!!!

The mandatory photo spot. Tested a new hydration system the past 2 days. It is called the VelEau. Pretty cool. You can stay hydrated sans camelback! Nice.

Oxygen is optional: US CUP XCT#4: Colorado Springs, CO, June 13, 2009

Colorado was greener than I had ever saw it, but the moisture and humidity did not mean there was more oxygen in the air. Hmmm? But with nationals next month even higher, I had to go suffer at altitude in preparation. Plus, I don't think I have ever been to Colorado Springs. It was nice.

I flew into Denver on Friday and directly to the course to pre-ride. I opted out of Short Track, due to tired legs from Mt. Hood and Tabor, but I went to cheer for the braver ladies and to cheer my team on. Monavie had almost full representation there. It was great. 4 of the men and me. They had a good go at what appeared to be a rough course. Of course watching it, you wish you were doing it and think you would have been fine. Is fine good enough?

Alex giving it his all.

Race day on Saturday was warm and sunny. We went off at noon. I felt special with my new red/white/blue number plate that is for those seeded in the series. Lucky number 11. Double ones! I had a great start and was in the lead train off the gun. I was thinking I felt o.k. Just breathe. I was sitting in 8th. I didn't ride my best technically. I will blame it on oxygen deprivation, but I think I was just having an off day. Bummer. That off day made me go backwards. I was willing my legs to push harder, but somehow they were stuck at one speed. Kelli passed me, then Pua, then Kathy, followed by Heather and Zephanie who got to witness my slow speed wipe out. It was a slippery pebbly course. Looked easy. It was decievingly hard. In the last lap, Amanda and Amanda went by and I couldn't give chase. I wanted to. I really did. But at some point, you just have to ride and let it be. I finished 15th. It could have been worse.

Friends that come cheer make it all worth it: Mel Pape.

Sunday, my host family, Katie and Mark, plus a gaggle of others, headed out for a 'recovery' ride. Leaving the house and getting to singletrack in 5 miles is pretty cool. We climbed over 4000 feet, but it was 'easy climbing'. Fun trails, good times. But all good things have to come to an end and back to easy breathing at home I went after hours of delays.

Katie and I at the high point of the recovery ride. All downhill from here...I saw CO SPRINGS from way up above. This was maybe half way up.

By popular demand...

...the photos have arrived from Tim's spectacular "judo roll" when Kenji had a unfortunate crash right in front of him at the Hood River Crit on Sunday. Tae Kwon Do training has paid off for Tim years later... Thanks to Tre Hendricks for being at the right place at the right time.






Don't worry. Tim is fine. He had a little mark on his side, but no real road rash. Just a cracked frame. But better a broken bike than a broken collar bone or wrist, arm, etc.

Racing in the 'hood: Mount Hood Cycling Classic, June 3-7, 2009

It has been a trend to do one road stage race each summer. Mt. Hood is almost mandatory because it is in our backyard. Almost literally, with one of the stages passing by the driveway to the cabin. It is a great race and even though this year it was not an "NRC" or "UCI" race, it was not easy. 5 days of racing in a row never is. Here is how it went down:

Day 1: Prologue. This is a quick 3.1 mile time trial to just get things sorted out and started. It was held on Wednesday evening, so we headed out Wednesday a.m. with a car full of groceries for the week and plenty of supplies for a cabin full of racers. Kari Studley, from Seattle, joined me. Tim followed later, b/c he didn't have to do the prologue. With my clip-on TT bars, I raced my way to a 9th place finish, 16 seconds behind the leader. I did beat my time from 2 years ago. That was the real victory for me.

Day 2: Stage 1, Cooper Spur Circuit Race. We rolled out of the cabin on our bikes to our 9:10 a.m. start. It was hardly even chilly going downhill to the start, and I knew things would be heating up fast. This is never an easy race, but it was a bit more relaxed than 2 years ago, thank goodness. I hung with the leaders until about 2-3K to go when I missed an attack and got dropped with a small group of gals. Another 9th place, losing 34 more seconds. This was Tim's first stage and he had a strong race, finishing in 6th.

Tim zooming by Mountain Shadows Drive where we were cheering!

Day 3: Stage 2, Scenic Gorge Time Trial. A time trial is sometimes called the race of truth. There is nowhere to hide. Well, this race of truth was quite scary, with winds blasting like they usually do in the Gorge. Headwinds and sidewinds made for an interesting race. I am a bit of a sissy in the wind, but I clipped on my TT bars and held on for dear life. It was not my best effort, but I suvived. I lost a lot of time on this stage. Almost 5 minutes (4:47), but I kept telling myself this was for training. Tim also had a rough windy TT. He lost less time than me (4:17), but got 18th. Not what he was hoping for, but with most of our competition riding expensive TT bikes and having more experiences with time trialing, we are o.k. with our finishes. I can't see spending thousands of dollars on a bike I would ride once a year. Too practical for that. But sometimes too competitive to not want to.

Day 4: Stage 3, Wy'East Road Race. Today I did the unthinkable. The weather was pretty nice for a 92 mile ride. A bit chilly in the a.m., warmer later on with a bit of weather threatening to make the end of the race a bit nippy. The race was pretty chill most of the day. Not to many attacks. Pace was reasonable and sometimes a bit 'slow'. We got into the section of nasty side winds and then the climb out of the valley that was pretty much a full on head wind. At the pace we were going, I thought we would never get done with the race. At about mile 80, I was feeling a bit chilly after one of the slight descents in the long climb, so I just kept the gas on when we started ascending. Not really a full on attack, but apparently enough that allowed me to just ride away. I turned around a bit shocked that no one was behind me. I had 2 choices. Floor it, or put the brakes on. I figured I needed to get some race pace work in, so I floored it. I put my head down in the headwind and just pedaled. Somehow I stayed away for 12 miles and claimed a victory in the stage. Heck, I knew I couldn't win the race, so it was kind of fun to win a stage. I didn't think I was going to hold it off, but when I kept getting time gaps that would only waiver about 15 seconds, I knew they were not working to chase me down. I had decided during the last kilometers of climbing that I had come that far and I really wanted to win. I did, but barely. My lead was reduced to a mere 29 seconds. It was pretty fun to cross the line first and get some podium time. Tim had a good race. In the stacked masters field, the peloton was shattered in the last climb and he finished in 13th.

Still smiling on the breakaway.

Self portrait post race on Saturday. Missed the mountain. Oops.

But the mountain is in the podium pic.

Brad Ross insisted we do a deck podium with champagne. Just an excuse to open the bottle. Podium girls and all!

Day 5: Stage 4, Hood River Criterium. I love racing crits. For someone that does not like road racing and does not like close proximity with other riders at high speeds, I somehow like crits. Being that the Hood River crit was my first ever 2 years ago, I was excited. I felt pretty good, managed to stay towards the front of the entire race, accidentally pulling a few laps, didn't position myself correctly for any of the primes or the final sprint, but was in the race and finished 7th. There is a lot I need to learn for that style of racing. Position is key. But somehow I can find myself in the wrong place most of the time. Ahhh, road racing...

Crit racing...

Post crit racing... beer tent with the girls.

Tim's crit didn't end well when he got taken out by Kenji. Bike didn't fare so well, but he is fine. Good thing for Tae Kwon-Do training.

Day 6: Cabin clean up, a bit of R&R, and back to reality. Post Crit, I headed back to the cabin with coach K, made some dinner, watched movies and drank red wine. A pretty successful block of training. Good fun and good friends at the cabin. Bike racing is fun. Thanks for all that were there cheering and for the fun messages and texts I got all weekend! It kept me going. Sure, overall, I only got 8th in the race, but like all of us mountain bikers/cross racers tell ourselves, "it was only for training. "