A Hike, a Dark Knight, and a Mountain Bike Ride

Another great weekend in the books. Mother Nature has been so so generous to us all summer and fall! I couldn't find a riding partner for Saturday so I planned an in-city hike with the dogs. I'd be on my bike for a race in the evening anyway, so I was just going to keep things mellow. But, when I invited Beth along for a walk, she suggested a real hike instead. It was another beautiful fall day, so ... I'm in! We drove out to Powderface parking lot and climbed Prairie Mountain. One of my favourites. Full on climbing up, up, up for an hour and a half, then some glorious views. The trouble is coming down. I always forget that's gonna hurt later!

Back to the city for some quick food and get ready for my second cross race: Dark Knight. I lost my motivation a bit after the hike but was informed that Kate and Craig cut their bush whacking ride short to get back to town in time to see me race. Right then. Off I went to COP to try my luck in cooler temps and on a different course. The jury was out still on whether I liked this CX racing or not, remember? This time I'm signed up for a "Newbie" category. Only 30 minutes this time. I can survive 30 minutes surely. I met Wendy there and we pinned numbers and headed out for a pre-ride of the course. Wow! So different than the Euro Cross. Lots of punchy little climbs, with tight turns at the top to swoop you down into another tight turn, and back up, and around, and across, and here there and everywhere. This is more like I thought a cross course would be ... plus they put us through a long tent with smoke in it and one large sand pit and another little one. There was a jump too... with a chicken run beside it, which I happily rode instead. So, at about 30% effort, the pre-ride lap left me tired! Ha ha!

Off to the start line soon after. Kate and Toby and Craig were there to send us off. The race organizers also put some seasoned riders in the start with us to encourage us through the first lap. And we were off. The first lap gassed me ... but I was hanging on with Wendy. Eventually she left me behind though. She was on her mountain bike and I was a little jealous of her granny gear! The second lap was a thirsty-maker and I knew I was in for two more. (I gotta figure out this thirsty thing at these races ... maybe I need to chew gum and ride. Hmm... two things at once. Eek.) Oddly, I really wanted to quit after two laps but the next two actually felt easier. Anyway, I messed up on only a couple of hill climbs, declined the offer of some spray whipped cream around one of the spectator corners, and at one point didn't make a turn tight enough and skidded on my hip through a stake and ribbon. Oops. The spectators were kind to the Newbies ... no heckling oddly. Largely I successfully navigated the course and it was pretty fun in places.

The end result was I finished my first CX race! Haha ... nobody lapped me. I think I came in second-to-last, in front of a young lad on a mountain bike and three lapped riders. It was 35 minutes of trying to breath and willing my legs to keep moving. I think the jury hasn't yet returned ... I keep thinking the right level of fitness is going to magically appear one day and this stuff is going to feel a little less painful!

The joy of mountain biking returned today with sore and tired legs. Mostly, I think, from the descending on the hike yesterday. I met Kate M at Barrier Dam and we headed up Prairie View trail with the dogs. (Kate A's ride plans had to be altered at the last minute due to her shoes still being at home, and not at the trailhead with her, so Toby -- The Man -- joined us. Second prize for the little yellow dog today.) Despite the tired and sore legs I got through the climb and the hike-a-bike and had a great time descending down Prairie View and Jewel Pass, though the legs were complaining here too. I did this ride in July with Linda and I was happy to find that this time I was 100% comfortable on this more technical descent and loved every minute of it. It's a fun challenging trail with lots of roots and rocks to navigate. It was nice to feel the skill-improvement on a trail that I'd previously ridden with a pretty decent margin of "eek!"

That wraps up the real-life for this week. Back to work tomorrow. Boo!