Trans Rockies Challenge: 3 Day

After supporting Kate A at the Furious 3 in Fernie last year, then completing my first big race last September, the Bow 80 (cancelled for the 2013 version due to the flood damage), I decided the next goal was going to be a stage race. I had registered and paid for the Furious 3 but, after the event was cancelled, an alternate plan had to be made. With Trans Rockies offering the Spin Sisters Race team a discount for our inaugural race team year, it was clear what race I was going to tackle! The final version of the Trans Rockies Challenge.

ORIGINAL. EPIC. SINGLETRACK. The TransRockies Challenge, North America’s original mountain bike stage race offers riders epic 1, 3, 4 or 7 day adventures with the most singletrack, spectacular mountain vistas, and best-in-class rider support.

Stage 1 TR3 – Fernie to Fernie

A traditional downtown start and finish without the traditional time trial.  This year we will kick things off with a mass start and send you off to ride a 33km route with 1600 metres of elevation gain. Some of the trails include Upper Uprooted, Hyperventilation, Hyperextension, Roots Extention, Eric’s Trail, Splitting Bears, Ecoterrorist and Lower Southern Comfort.

Start line Day 1

This was a hot hot day. I was nervous to start and the way the day panned out didn't make me any less nervous for Stage Two. By the end I was questioning whether I was ready for this epic undertaking. I think I started off a little too hard and was working beyond my endurance capacity the entire stage. It lead to a lot of walking in the hot climbs. It was great to see Lauren, Michele, and Sarah at times on the trail suffering along with me. When you're climbing a trail called Hyperventilation TWICE in a 33km ride, your brain can beat you up pretty good! I never stopped though, forward motion the whole time and I was in good company walking sections with other racers cracking jokes and smiling through the suffering. Having never ridden in Fernie before, I never knew what was coming really. I'd heard it's tougher riding so I knew my skills were going to be put to the test at some point. I managed all the rooty descending on my bike. I'm never gonna be the fastest descender but when I can stay on the bike and in control down technical trails I'm always satisfied and happy. A fully-upright day and minimal walking on descents. After the finish line though I was wondering how on earth my legs were going to bounce back for another big day.

LINK: Finished at 4hrs06, 28th out of 37: 1hr53 after the pro first place woman.

Stage 2 TR3 – Fernie to Fernie

Day two will begin with another downtown start and tackle the Porky Blue Loop.  Today you will cover 44.5km and 1700 metres of elevation gain on the Porky Blue and the Coal Discovery Trails.

Start Line Day 2

This was a pretty good day! The recovery plan overnight must have worked: lots of hydration, food, a cold leg soak in the river, foam roller, stretching, elevation, and compression tights. I also had Garry - my bike mechanic - in my corner each day looking after the Titus after each stage and making sure it was cleaned, ready to ride and at the start line the next morning. Thanks Garry!

I wasn't nervous at the start since I knew my brain wouldn't be required for the first 30kms of the ride. It was all uphill on fire road and double-track. I started the climb with Sarah but I backed off after a few kms to work a pace I was more comfortable with sustaining. She's stronger than I am. I was loving the cool shadows from the trees. Eventually Lauren was there beside me and we rode out the rest of the course together. Nice! Catherine V was at the top of the road portion of the climb cheering me up to the check point. Also nice! She even gave me a little push to the feed table. No Coke though. It was all I really wanted so I was off again right away, with Lauren keeping me company. Up up, some more. At one point, before the big rock face we had to haul bikes up, there was a little bottle neck while we all waited for the air to clear from a bear spray can that had gone off in a guy's backpack. Yikes! Nobody needs that extra challenge! More and more climbing til we finally reached the soul-sucking descent known as Porky Blue. Wow. What a view from way up there.

Unfortunately the view came with the little stab of fear about what would happen if you skidded off the side! Ouch. Dead Goat Gerry was the Ambassador at the start of the descent warning everyone what was ahead. He gave his spiel, snapped a shot of me, and sent me on my way behind Lauren. She's a stronger descender so we said we'd meet at the bottom. The trail was crazy loose and soft and sketchy with many sections only walkable for the typical rider. I did ride a lot of it and was pretty happy with my effort. Extra happy to have made it down unscathed ... I heard later Sarah had an endo on this section but thankfully wasn't hurt. Others were. That section had me wondering why everyone raves about Fernie riding. Really? Anyway, then we were off on the Coal Discovery Trail, which was much much more fun, except when it dished out some more climbing. Who knew Lauren could drop so many F bombs? ;-) That trail took us all the way to town and popped us out to the finish line stretch where Lauren and I sprinted to the end and crossed together. So great to see Sarah, Michele, and Kate M there cheering for us.

LINK: Finished at 4hrs55, 28th out of 37: 2hr17 after the pro first place woman.

Stage 3 TR3 – Fernie Alpine Resort to Fernie Alpine Resort

Day three will see us move up to Fernie Alpine Resort for our start and finish. The route will travel 30.5km with 1600 metres of elevation gain.  Trails include: Cedar Trail, Verboten, Lizard Lake Trail, Project Nine, Island Lake Road, Motorhead, Hedonism, Gorby Road, Boom, Megasaurus and Rumplestumpskin.

["Ten minutes from start time organizers were informed that a Moose and her injured calf were on the Project 9 trail.  To maintain rider safety, a route change was enacted, resulting in a delay of the start.  Riders would skip the Project 9 descent and, instead, climb Stove Trail and descend Dem Bones before continuing on the previously planned route."]

Start Day 3 at the Ski Hill

Ah, the final day. Day three had us heading up to the ski hill to check out the trails up there. The start was in the ski village under a cool rainy sky. I was really chilled and wet and wanted to get moving but a moose on one of the trails delayed the start. They said they were going to move it out of the way and I was thinking "don't piss it off!" In the end they re-routed us. I hear that was a good thing for us as the Project 9 climb wasn't one my friends really wanted to do. Made no difference to me as I was oblivious each day as to what was coming.

We started out in a tighter pack than the previous days. Handlebar to handlebar up the gravel road. I rubbed someone's tire ... BUZZ. Then someone rubbed mine. No harm done, just an indicator things are tight. We spread out eventually. This was our last day with Sarah and she decided to take it easy and "smell the forest" so that meant she was riding with me while I worked hard. She and Lauren and I rode the day together for the most part. I was having a great ride for the first two thirds, I even got by one of the tandem bikes, which I hadn't yet seen in the race as they were always well ahead of me. At some point I gave myself a race within a race and decided today was the day I was going to beat my friend Michele. She'd finished just ahead of me both of the previous days despite us riding near each other most of the time. She's got way more speed than I do on the descents. I like my brakes more than she likes hers.

We did see her on the trail but before I knew it we were ahead and I didn't see her anymore. We went through lots of climbing and some wicked fun swoopy descents. And then ... well then there was the business of traipsing up to the very top of the ski lift. Every time you thought you must be just about there, another section to climb came into view. You just knew that the higher you got, and the more you had to walk your bike, the gnarlier the descent was going to be. And it was. This would be the end of the "good time" I was making. It might have been less gnarly and more fun factor were it not for the pouring rain that began for the last legs of our climbing. It turned the silty terrain into slick mud and rock snot. The truth is some sections we'd have walked no matter what the conditions. They had put us onto black diamond DH (down hill) descents, typically ridden on downhill bikes, not cross country bikes. Also typically ridden by riders who had ridden up on chair lifts and were clad in full face masks and body armour.

So, naturally, this would be the end of my crashless record for the entire race. I was doing well walking some, riding some, following Sarah down the mountain. And then on one remount I couldn't get my mud-caked cleat into my pedal and wasn't weighted properly on the bike when I hit a rock and got tossed. My back hit a big rock and I rolled a little beyond it, then my bike flipped behind me and hit the same big rock. (Back in Calgary later I noticed the frame took a hit.) Quick assessment. Nope, back's not broken (though bruised and welted). Bike's rideable. Onward. After the snaking snot-rock, muddy trail we crept down, there was some dryer terrain under the tree cover. Loads and loads of ramps and structures to pick through. Then a fun flowy section before we popped out into the sunshine (!) and down to the finish line! Yeah! First. Stage. Race. Done! Nothin' left to do but smile, take photos, and collect a finisher's medal! And wait for Michele.

Sandra came in a while after we did and told us Michele had been near her but taken off the course by an Ambassador on the final descent. Turns out Michele took a tumble and sprained her ankle and DNF'd. Crappy! Heal up Michele!

LINK: Finished at 3hrs58, 27th out of 34: 1hr51 after the pro first place woman.

Here's a great video recap of the whole three days. It gives you a great sense of what the race was like. Raven Eye Photography was there, popping up on the trails everywhere, all three days. I'll be able to purchase some of their action shots next week and will load some up after that.

Aftermath

I couldn't be more satisfied with how it all went. I admit at the end of Day 1 I was wondering if I'd properly prepared for this thing and if I was indeed kidding myself. But I shook it off, followed my recovery plan, got some sleep and got myself to the start line the next morning. As it turned out, all my hard (but fun!) work, and my coach's plan (thanks Martha!) prepared me just fine for a 3 day stage race. In fact, I had some remorse afterwards. We were leaving Sarah behind after three days as she was pushing on through the 7 day version of the race. I felt bad leaving her and then was surprised to feel bad that I was missing out on the riding she got to do the next day! I felt like I had more in me. The knees had held out though, and the goal was manageable. Next year ... 7 days in BC at the BC Bike Race! I'm already registered!

For now, it's time for some fun and easy riding. What better way to enjoy that than with Sante today in Bragg Creek.

For reports from my fellow-Spin Sisters on this event, check out the club blog post here. 

24 Hours of Adrenalin

This past weekend was my first 24 Hours of Adrenalin experience. That's right, a 24 hour race. No, I didn't do it solo ... nor do I plan to ever. I think I actually snorted when Sean asked me if I'd ever do that. I'll leave that sort of "fun" for him.

I was on a 5 woman Spin Sisters team. Suz reserved the entry a year ago and some time over the spring we formed a Spin Sister team with Sandy, Angelika, and Gloria. A great group of ladies to spend a weekend with camped, quite literally, on a mountain bike race course.

It was an inspiring weekend tracking the Fast and Female team captained by Martha and anchored by Sarah. A 29er single speed team of fast chicks! One of their women had the fastest female lap in the event and they won the 5 woman category. Nice job ladies!

My laps were at about 5pm and just after midnight. The 5pm lap was a scorcher! In the start area the temperature was 29C. Sarah and I were waiting together for our teammates to come in and tag up. I figured she'd be off first and I'd see her after the lap. But then Sandy came into sight and I was out of the start before Sarah. That set me up for a good little mental challenge. She's faster than me so I figured I'd make it my goal to not have her catch me. Of course, I had no way to know how far behind me she was and she's on a single speed but still, it was motivating to know she was chasing me. I figured I was probably a good motivator for her too and I'd better keep the effort up!

Starting a lap on the over/under bridge is a good kick for the adrenalin and I rode that out for the whole lap. I looked down at my Garmin on the first climb and my HR was 177... I never really got it down much. Being this race has a lot of casual racers in it and corporate teams, there were plenty of people to pass, which is also very motivating. I also knew Martha had me slated for 1hr20 laps on this 17.5km course. (Really?) So I was reaching for that. In the end I put down a 1hr24 lap and sent Suz off for her first lap. Sarah didn't catch me. She came rolling in very shortly after I did and said she'd only caught sight of me at the end. :)

Then it was time to clean up, fuel up, mount the lighting system, and wait for my next lap. I lounged in the hammock recovering. Catherine came by with some homemade cookies to share. Nice! The girls were chuggin' through their laps. Gloria was our speed demon with a 1hr13... even the lap when she had to stop and fix a flat came in at 1hr28. Nice job G!

I think I started my almost-full moon lap just after midnight. I nearly screwed up the over/under bridge to start my lap but recovered at the top. I'm not made for this hammer-rest-hammer format. I wasn't ever in a good groove riding. But I was fully in it and did my best. This lap my goal was to try and come in as close to my day lap time as possible. But off the start my HR was in my normal race pace for distance races and I didn't have the extra to push. So I just kept it steady.

There were plenty of people on the course in the darkness but I did spend quite a lot of time alone out there. I actually kind of liked that. Riding through the dark, blissfully cool, forest was a treat, as was gliding through the meadows with the bright moon casting Rocky Mountain shadows. I sure liked being alone a lot better than when some douche bag came screaming in behind me and did't feel the need to give me a couple of seconds to find a safe place to give him a little room on a rooty descent. Really buddy? It's the middle of the night. Do those 5 seconds really matter more than my safety? Some stress, some colourful words, and he was off. Thankfully.

At one point I rode past some dug up loam and figured a bear had been looking for some grub. The day after the race this photo was posted ... funny enough, right where he is in this photo, that taped log had been moved into the middle of the trail in the night. Mister Bear messing with us!

When I came through the top loop of the course and rode past our campsite I gave Suz a "Woot! Woot!" to let her know I was coming through and she should think about getting to the start line for her tag up. The rest of the course went well. At one point I had myself convinced I'd already finished the Long Road to Ruin and was about to pop out for the last bit to the finish. But the darkness was messing with me. That was obvious when I came to that left hand turn that keeps you from going up Georgetown. Damn. Time to dig deep and keep on climbing.

I finished that lap in 1hr35. I was happy with that for a night lap! That was the last of my riding. I'm still trying to rehab my knees and give them as much recovery as possible going into the TransRockies this weekend so I didn't want to push through more laps. In the end Suz and I both logged two laps, Sandy and Gloria logged 3, and Angelika, our hero, logged 4.

Angelika, freshly off ankle surgery, had done our Le Mans (running) start AND cheerfully got up Sunday morning ready to do a fourth lap to prevent us from DNFing. If you don't have a rider on the course after 11am then you technically Do Not Finish the 24 hour race. So cheers to our hero! A fine teammate, even if it takes significant strategy and effort to wake her for a lap in the middle of the night! Sorry about throwing that shoe at you Angelika ... even though you didn't even notice!

A great event to experience. Not sure I've got another one in me. Never say never though.

Ready or not ...

Mid July already? Mountain biking season goes too fast! We've still got 2-3 months left I hope.

Catherine, me, Liana. Photo by MJ

The first week in July was a big volume week for me. I was on vacation and got to ride with Marth and Liana mid week, with a very welcome surprise appearance from Catherine Vipond. It was a pleasure to see her smiley bike face after she's spent a year of not being able to ride. Catherine's a national team member who's been recovering from an injury. I met her at our Nipika MTB camp and she is really energizing to be around. I think it's the giant smile made even bigger when she talks about bikes.

Liana and I chased Catherine and Martha around the 24 Hours of Adrenalin course for a while with some coaching mixed in for me. I always get a lot out of a ride with Martha; it's pretty nice when the person coaching you is also a friend. It's always humbling for me to ride with faster riders but I'm lucky to have positive, encouraging friends who can work my pace into their training schedules from time to time and help me strive to get faster and better. I think it's working!

Recovering post-ride.

Friday was Stampede parade day so Michele and Lynda were off work and joined Liana and I for a cruisey ride in West Bragg with Sante and Lynda's pup.

Saturday's plan was to take my already-loaded up legs and put a 4 hour steady ride into them, Bow80 style. Sarah, Liana, Sean and I ventured out to the rainy deserted k-country trails we normally access via Station Flats off Highway 66. With the bridge being washed out we parked at West Bragg and ventured out on Moose Mountain road (essentially the winter track-set ski trail) and climbed up to Ridgeback. It was eerie being out there and not seeing another soul.

Pirate Sarah

Clockwise, we did Ridgeback (which now has a brand new canyon cutting through the trail at one spot) and Tom Snow down to the Station Flats parking area then hit my old nemesis: Suffer Springs (Sulphur Springs) up to Pneuma and then down Moose Packers. The trails were largely in good shape aside from some deep channeling in places and more rocks to ride over since the surface soil was washed away. There is nothing like taking on Sulphur Springs to remind oneself that one has barely made a dent towards mastering this sport. Maybe on fresher legs I could have felt good about it but instead that climb made me feel like a first season rider all over again. I couldn't keep my heart rate down to just gut out the climb. I had to stop a few times and recover while walking. Ugh.

The canyon cutting through Ridgeback.

All in all though the day was a good marker to show me I can do steady long riding on tired legs. I'll need that for TR3. I was annoyed at how slow I felt but I felt a little better after Sarah did the math for me the next day (we all know I don't do math) and figured I was on a 7.5 hour pace for Bow80, which is my hopeful target, if the race even goes this year. I hope it does so I can see what I can do to improve on the 8hrs50 from last year.

To test my mettle a little more, the next day I squeezed another 2hours (almost) out of the legs with Sarah at the Nordic Centre. Then we spent an hour in the day lodge using their wifi to try and register for the BC Bike Race for 2014 over poutine. Early bird pricing was up for grabs. But the thousands of people looking for a deal crashed the server. Ha! We eventually gave up and hit the highway to head home ... then Sean phoned saying he'd got in and registered Sarah, so I pulled off the highway and registered myself using my iPhone. I didn't get the best pricing but I did save a couple hundred and ... I'm IN! Yikes! Got a whole year to prep for that adventure!

That was the end of my first vacation week for the summer, then it was back to reality of the office drone downtown. I did get in a few easy spins on sore knees (one in Bowmont, which turned out to be destroyed post-flood), then pushed a faster ride for 1hrs30 on Saturday with Linda B and Anna. That was it for my knees. They're feeling the effects of pushing volume and a bigger ring so I skipped Sunday's ride. Massage, physio, icing, taping, more massage coming up ...

This weekend is the 24 Hours of Adrenalin (I'm on a 5 woman team) and then it's time for my first stage race July 27-29 in Fernie.

Bowmont. The old swim hole.

Liana with a Twisty Dog.

Bowmont

Canada Day Long Weekend

This week has been the start of discovering of what the "the flood" has done to our communities and our landscape. Calling it a flood doesn't seem to suit the situation. There needs to be another term. Flooding conjures up images of high, but still, water in places it doesn't belong. The volunteering going on where needed in our communities is about the overland flooding, the stuff you envision when you think of a flood. When it receded, it left property soaked, belongings destroyed, and a thick layer of sludge everywhere.

That flooding captured the nation's attention. There were images of water in the streets, water in the Saddledome, brown water spilling into communities far from the river banks. But the other astonishing images are of the landscape literally carved out, in short order, by what often couldn't be seen. You saw some of it with homes in Canmore and Bragg Creek teetering on disappearing banks. The work that water did under the surface is revealed now. I can't get my head around how hard and how fast the rain fell to create that power -- you can only imagine it suddenly raging down the sides of mountains above Canmore and through Kananaskis Country. It started as rain. Just rain. Yeah, I realize the Grand Canyon was carved out by water ... but, over centuries. You never think of the mountains changing shape or a river changing its location in a matter of hours or days. But that's exactly what you see when you take a look.

I've been out on the bike this weekend. Though our usual access is restricted by the changed landscape. Bridges are gone. Rivers and creeks are relocated. Highways are missing. Most of Kananaskis country is closed to the public due to all of these things. Hiking and mountain biking trails are washed out and or inaccessible. Campgrounds too. Parts of the park that are open, are not accessible due to roads and bridges being washed out.

It's going to take some time for things to get back to normal. But there's riding to do still. Saturday I went to West Bragg with Michele and rode the Southern Flow loop and a little bit of Braggin' Rights. It felt great to be out there. Not a lot in that area is unrideable but you can see where the water was... pine needles left on the trail in wave patterns, washouts in places, some bridges moved or missing. We rode though and didn't see many others.

Sunday we returned with Cindy and Anna and ran into more people, including some trail builders already out there doing great work repairing trails. We climbed in reverse this time, up Boundary and Snagmore then down the other side where we tried to find a route to Station Flats ... the river is now far wide of where it was, which would be why the bridge on 66 is out, restricting access to Station Flats by car. We bush whacked but didn't end up crossing Ranger Creek to get over to the road. Steve and Gerry reported later that they'd simply gone out Moose Mountain Road from the Bragg parking lot and got to Tom Snow and up to the trails in that area. I'd heard Tom Snow wasn't an option but sounds like it's doable. Yay!

Today I drove out to Canmore to ride with Martha and Kate. It was my third day of hot hot long riding. Though not quite as long today, with only 2 hours on trail. We did Highline trail and that was a first for me. Great trail! Lots of bike handling and rocky trail. The climbing took the snot out of me but it was fun. Check out this fella we met on the trail ... on his fully rigid 1996 Giant Iguana. He was fresh as a daisy in his jean shorts, cotton shirt, hiking boots, and ball cap. No water ... just a hunting knife, a camera, and a can of bear spray on his belt. Now THAT's hard core!

I'm grateful to have had some time in the mountains this weekend. I always am. But this weekend was bitter sweet ... so much has changed. Mother Nature; she's the boss. For now, we play where we can.

Happy Canada day everyone! I hope you played outside!

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