Mont-Saint-Anne World Cup

I was touching elbows with the World's best mountain bikers this weekend. Trying to support kiwi rider, Justin Price and helping out with the media coverage made for a busy weekend. As mtn bikers, we need all the press we can get. This weekend, there was coverage for the athletes from all over the world.

check out http://www.velirium.com/media/press for my contribution to the weekend.

Many of the riders were unhappy with the UCI this weekend for penalizing late riders by starting them at the back of the pack. There was rumor of a slow start lap in the women's race to protest, but I think when the riders got on the start line there drive to win overtook the will to protest and the race was on.

Collecting really fast riders together can be a recipe for crashes, and there was no shortage of those this weekend. The women's started off with a crash within 10 seconds of the start, involving Kiara Bisaro. Later Marie-Hélene crashed trying to pass a Chinese rider. However some amazing riding came out of the races, with international podium finishes, and our Canadians placing well. Geoff Kabush, 3rd. Marie Hélene 4th, and Catherine Pendrel 12th.

Hardwood race

Well... my plan to finish in 2:10 wasn't going to happen considering the heat of the day. I think I started my last lap when I planned to be finished. My first lap felt slower than my pre-ride the day before. It was one of those days when I felt like I could have had a minime version of myself running the course faster than I could ride it. I drank a bottle on the start line and am pretty sure I had sweat it out before the bell went off.

There were a few racers that were sent off to hospital with heat stroke, but none of them were on the Chinese women's team that showed up to the race. On the third lap I hear a quiet voice behind me say 'hello'then 'thank-you' as she rode by. The three of them managed to lap me.

A big thank-you to Kevin from Norco who fed me and fixed my rear derailer on the first feed as I came into it with no rear gears! I was thinking it was going to be a long race with only my front derailer.

I'll attach some photos... one of a guy about to bite it on what they call the 'Bone shaker' and of myself at the bottom of the section in my new Sugoi outfit.

Hardwood tomorrow

Hardwood Canada cup is tomorrow.
My goal is to take 15 min off my last race time. I know it's a totally different course but the aniticipated lap times will be about the same. 4 laps to do.

This is a power course. not technical like the last three, so I'm hoping that it may be my strength. I've done some good training in the last few weeks to lead up to this, so I'm feeling strong and I'm feeling really positive about this race.

we'll see what tomorrow brings....

Vermont

I have a new idea for our medical system…. We should have emergency outlets in the US for places that are heavily populated with Canadian visitors. I headed to Burke, Vermont on Sunday with a group of mtn bikers from the club at Bromont. It seems to be a popular weekend destination for Quebequois. It seemed the others on the trails were more likely to open their mouths and have French pop out than English. I can imagine that many of these people did not have insurance for the day. I know I didn’t. What would happen if someone in the group was to break a leg? It would have been a painful drive back across the border…. I wonder if they let you across the border if you are displaying signs of shock.

Anyhow, had a good day of biking. There were two options for the area. A big hill climb with 45 min of downhill or a flatter area with lots of twists, turns and roots. We took the later having a few young kids with us. It was raining when we first arrived so the roots were slippery. At one point I got mud in my eye then slipped on a root and landed on my derrier! I’m sure it wouldn’t have hurt as much if I hadn’t done hill reps the day before.

There was a trail called Widow’s peak. Annie in our group turned and asked me what the word in English would be for her husband if she wrote herself off on the trail. I told her I couldn’t think of an English word for male widow… is there? So therefore she needed to ride it well, and not slip down the off camber part full of clay.

Anyhow, it was a good day out and ended up being sunny at the end of the day, so a dip in the cold river was very rewarding for the bruised bottom.

Club race Bromont

I remember years ago, showing up to a Toonie race in Vancouver to race. There was one other girl racing. At the end I asked the organiser, how far ahead of me was she? Her response, "20 minutes," totally disheartened me... until she said, "but she is pro-elite." "Oh."

Now many years later the tables have turned and I've had my chance to be the fast girl. I participated in a club race at Bromont last night. It was fun to do. The club is really strong in the area. It's so good to see, especially with the number of kids they have participating, trying out for the Quebec team. I've really noted how much support Quebec offers it's riders. It's awesome.

Ottawa

Who needs a Swedish Sauna, when you can just visit Ottawa. It was so humid while I was there last week that there were awesome thunder and lightening storms each night as the humidity built up during the day.

I was visiting a couple of friends in Ottawa, one that I met on the plane to NZ last year. Really makes it a small world.

While I was there, I crossed the bridge, back to Quebec to ride in a big park in Gatineau.

http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16297-16299-9970&lang=1

As I didn't know where I was going, I was quite relieved to have car pass me with a mtn bike on the roof. So I followed him into the park and ended up joining Bryan and his mates for a two hour hill climb.

I find there's a common misconception out there, that if you race elite, you are always fast. Sure, in general, someone who rides all the time is faster, but I think the real time that elite riders are fast are when they are fresh, and that is not often. My ride in Ottawa was day 7 of a hard training week with a race in the middle of it, so needless to say I was a bit fatigued, not to mention aclimatising to the swimming pool lurking in the air. phew. yeah, yeah, I'll stop mentioning the humidity in this part of the country by the time I return to my dry Okanagan :)