The Test

Haha, woops!  Wrong video.

What a dumb sport.

There is no official video for the bike race, but here is the site, and some excellent pictures below thanks to Anne.  The Test of Metal is a 67km point to point XC mountain bike race, and is one of the iconic races in BC.  This was my first Test of Metal ever this year (I know, I know).  Going in I knew it was a fast race, but I soon learned:  it is a really fast race.



The first two thirds of the race went great.  I got myself into a pretty good spot in the first few pavement kilometers, and settled into the paceline up Jacks.   I traded pulls with a few other people up Alice Lake until we caught a bigger group at the top of the climb, which was very helpful all the way to the aid station.



You know what makes great bike race?  Having a crew.  Many thanks to Anne and Schomberg for the water bottle hand offs as well as the pictures.

I continued to pass people up the 9 Mile climb through Bonk Hill and the Lava Flow Hill.  This was my first time down the Ring Creek Rip, and it was awesome.  Then I got to the Plunge, made it halfway down, and wrecked pretty hard.

I chose a really poor time to go down.  It was a 30km/h to dead stop type of crash, and a large rock and my left thigh worked together to do all the stopping.  Which means I am pedaling all on one side... which at this point in the race means instant cramps.  Competition time over, I continued on through Crumpit woods (why do I never have a good time in Crumpit woods?) and was very happy to get to the finish line.

So I guess this means I'll be back for round 2 next year.  Looking at finishing times of people I was racing with, a sub-3 hour should be within reach.

I'll try to avoid the large rocks.

Nimby 50 2015: Hot.

Enter the off-season.  XC mountain bike racing in BC and skimo racing are very closely matched - about 2 or 2.5 hours and 1500 meters climbed per race, won on the climbs and lost on the descents.

It was a pretty harsh transition this year - for the first time I had focused almost entirely on skiing all winter, didn't commute much, and then took two weeks off after the Ken Jones Classic.  The first real ride afterwards, Caroline dropped me without trying.   A very convenient work trip at the end of April became a week long training camp on the coast, and I seemed to find my legs by the end.   May was hot, which led perfectly into this years Nimby 50:

(I make a very brief appearance around 1:28.  Look closely.)

The race starts with a few kilometers on the highway. I was basically spun out almost immediately, but the middle of the pack was a good place to get dragged along.

It wasn't an overly eventful race.  Since I had been trying to beat the girls all ski season, I decided to stick with the theme this summer... no luck this time.

It was dusty.  Put your front tire into the trench and follow it down sort of dusty.  At one point on the Red Bull downtime I was caught by the guy behind me, who was being a total wad about getting by.  I found a spot to get out of his way, he passed, and within 100 meters had cramped and fallen off his bike.  Highlight of my race, I think.  Full disclosure: I did not stop or offer any assistance.  I may have made an obscene gesture as I passed.


Heat mismanagement, a crashy moment, and some cramps on the final gravel path (karma?) cost me some time near the end of the race.  I finished 4 minutes over my sub-3 hour goal.  Disappointing, but it turns out this was good enough for 3rd in my age group... which I was not expecting, and missed the podium as I was busy sleeping in the grass.




Picture me on the viewers left.


Results here.

Fixie Winter

With this winter alternating between no-snow and too-much-snow, we have been spending a lot of time on our fatbikes.  These bikes were bought with a more utilitarian intent, but they have turned out to be pretty fun, too.

Packed trails help.  A lot.  With that in mind, if you are near Kelowna, check out:

- logging network off of the Sunset Main, near the top of the connector.
- the Kelowna Snowmobile club
- Posthill and area.
- Myra Bellevue park

Grasslands Provincial Park: Back on Dirt

We finally dusted off the Mountain bikes two weekends ago and headed up to Kamloops.  We had enough snow to make riding in the Kelowna area difficult, but not enough to go skiing - Grasslands Provincial Park it was.

We also got to ride with Dan, which was nice.  Plus he fed us dinner afterwards.

This park is what sold me on mountain biking. 

Perfect Singletrack.

We've come here to ride a few different times.  We have ridden two different areas in the park, and both were so good that we have never wanted to risk wasting time by exploring other areas that might not be as good.  Of course, they could be better.  If that was possible.  

Kash was never far behind.

Unless there were cows to be chased.

Maybe next year we'll take a long weekend so we can ride our favourite trails and explore some more.  It's almost a shame that the season is over.

(50% cow poo)

Elfin Lakes MTB

One of the last things on our "must do before this summer is over" list was to go back to the Elfin Lakes shelter, to see what it was like without 15 feet of snowcover.   The last time we visited, the hut seemed to be missing the bottom story. This was it in winter:

Obviously we approached on skis, dragging a sled.  But now, since it was summer, this time we would roll.

Much better option.  And the sun came out just as we hit the ridgeline.

Things have changed a little since April.

So that's checked off.  I'm ready for the snow.