BC Enduro Series - Race No. 1

The first race of the BC Enduro Series kicked off the season in Penticton, BC on May 17^th & 18^th.  We showed up on the Friday evening and set up camp and hit the trails for some shuttle action to see what the courses would be like. I had never ridden in Penticton before so I was excited to see what the terrain and trails would be like. Trails were marked well enough to find our way to hit up several of the stages for the race. We were able to get a taste of what sort of pedalling would be involved and also what kind technical trails Penticton had to offer. After doing a few stages I was excited for the race. I was ready to roll and stoked to sport our new team jerseys and try out some of our new team gear. My Smith Optics goggles, Bell Super helmet and Alpinestars shorts and gloves. Feeling very ENDURO!!!

The first day was up and out of camp fairly early for the riders meeting and getting set up with our timing devices. Options to shuttle to access the first stage was allowed, don’t mind if I do. Pedalling from the staging area would have added whole lot more KM to the day! Not feeling 100% this morning with stomach issues, stage one kicked my ass! It was a tough stage to start without much of a warm-up. I had nothing to give, I even considered stopping for a bathroom break mid stage. Little did I know at the time I would be returning home with the flu.

Chris Van Luven was on course taking rad shots like this of the racers!

Stage two had a bit more downhill flow which got me excited, but there was a challenging rock wall mid stage I barely made then got a bit zesty and OTB’d on one of the flowy faster sections. Basically stage 2 was a write off! With the biggest climb back to the top for the rest of the stages still to come I was ready to just enjoy the riding and forget the trying to race part. The single track to the top was amazing! Nice flowy trails with great views along the way. It was then that team mate Veronika and I decided we were definitely not cut out to be professional endurance athletes in this life! Maybe we should go back to DH? After picking up some random stray dogs that joined us on our trek and getting to the feed station to refuel we were ready to tackle the remaining stages to the finish.

The second day was up and out of camp a bit earlier than the day before, with a lovely breakfast on the beach. Three stages remained, being described as a shorter day with a shorter climb than the previous day. Well, not sure I agreed with the shorter climb. Being the second day of the race I was feeling the legs at this point. It’s not “ENDURO” if you don’t complain about the climbs, right? The next stages proved to have more downhill sections which were awesome fun but definitely not the kind of terrain you would want to cash on. Riding some stages blind I was definitely riding conservatively to keep from flatting or crashing on the loose shale rocks. I kept it clean and finished without suffering a mechanical. Unfortunately, Veronika my team mate wasn't so lucky.  The course lived up to its billing and was surprisingly technical with lots of loose shale rock sections which caused trouble for a couple ladies in my category. The after party was held on the back lawn of Misconduct Winery where everyone enjoyed the sunshine, local beer and wine and stunning views. When the names were called for the podiums, I was shocked  to learn I’d finished in 3^rd place Open Women and won a cash prize of $100. The cash allowed me to buy a few tacos to pay back the event organizer, Megan Rose, after my puppy accidentally ate hers! Oops!

Over all, great event and wicked fun trails. This race opened my thoughts on Enduro racing. It’s not necessarily the fastest riders that picks the fastest lines that will finish on top. It’s the riders that can ride any type of trail consistently,  stay on the bike and keep it together.  It’s about managing your energy and staying in the zone. This first race has left me looking forward to race #2 in the BC Enduro Series.  Race Recap on Pinkbike.com

Viva Las Vegas!

I'm not one to miss out on great opportunities, so when the chance came up to join three rad ladies on a training trip, I couldn't pass it up...even if it was to Las Vegas (or especially cause it was Vegas). Karen, Saravie and Kim are all training for BC Bike Race and wanted to get away to a warm sunny place to get long rides in Zone 1. Well, before I left I needed to figure out exactly what "Zone 1" was. So I booked myself an assessment at Peak Centre for Human Performance. I spent an hour doing a threshold test where you essentially start really easy and every 3 minutes they up the resistance and you go until your heart is about to explode and your legs just can't turn the pedals. Every three minutes, they take a tiny blood sample and measure the amount of lactate in your system. This is a measure of fatigue and tells you where you aerobic and anaerobic thresholds are. The idea is that below your aerobic threshold, you don't produce much lactate and can essentially go for many hours without getting fatigued. This is "Zone 1", your endurance zone.



Following the test, I had a one hour consultation to review my results where I learned a lot about the benefits of structured training. For anyone interested in understanding more about how your body works when exercising and how to train more efficiently, or simply learn how to get faster and build your endurance, I highly recommend doing this assessment.

So, now with my training zones all set, I was ready to head to Vegas. We were lucky to score a condo on the outskirts of town, a good distance from the Strip. There is a surprising amount of great recreational activities around Vegas, it's sad that so many people don't leave the Strip. The plan for the trip was to spend 6 days in the saddle getting in long rides in Zone 1 and building our endurance for the season ahead. The condo happened to be 10 km from the entrance to Red Rock Canyon State Park, so we did three rides through that area. We rode in West Vegas and out to the Hoover Dam another day, but the best ride was through the Valley of Fire and out to Lake Mead. The scenery was stunning and the roads had so little traffic.

  

Riding through the Valley of Fire

Apparently I'm becoming famous for my riding selfies. Here's one from near Lake Mead

Overall, the rides varied between 48 km to 97 km with a surprising amount of climbing (it's not flat around Vegas). It was also challenging to stay in our proper zone 1 because of the wind. The first four days were exceptionally windy and the added resistance made it hard to keep our heart rates low. But it was great practice on forming a pace line and drafting! 

High winds made for good drafting practice

Riding through Red Rock Canyon State Park

Although we were a solid 30 minutes from the Strip, it was nice to have access to world famous restaurants and entertainment. On our last night in town, we all agreed we wanted to go out for a fancy dinner and check out a night club. We were all exhausted from the biking and agreed to be home before midnight...ya right! We ended up leaving the club at 4am and didn't get home until 5am! Six solid days of training, undone in one night. My body definitely felt more wrecked after one late night of dancing than it did after a whole week of riding. But we had a blast and life's too short to not have a good time. I sure made the most of the opportunity.

We clean up nice!

What Does Strength Mean To You?

Twilight Sparkle (aka Siobhan) was a guest poster on the Marx Conditioning blog describing her experience there.

A quick excerpt follows, should get you keen to read!!

When I started riding just over 5 years ago, I wasn’t fit and I definitely wasn’t strong, in fact the notion of what it meant to be strong wasn’t even on my radar. In the years prior to becoming a mountain biker, I’d had a tenuous relationship with the gym that basically consisted of on again off again attendance, low weight high rep lifting, and a desire to get that sought after “bikini body”.

Full blog can be read here.

Getting our Hands Dirty at The Bikeroom

Are you mechanically inclined? Do you like tinkering with things and figuring out how they work? Do you know the names of most standard tools? What about your bike; do you tend to say thingy, whatchamacalit and doohicky? Depending on your answers to the above questions, this article might not be for you. However, if you’re like me; someone who has been riding for a while, but has felt both uninspired and perhaps intimidated to learn how to fix her own bike, then you might be able to relate. If not, read on anyway, just for the fun of it.

Learning the principle behind brakes

I’m not completely sure why I was so against learning how to fix my own bike. I’m sure there were a few reasons. For starters, I’m not particularly handy. I’m the kind of person who feels proud when I manage to screw the legs on an Ikea table. Secondly, I never had much reason to. There was always someone around to help, including a bike mechanic at home. Finally, I think I was intimidated. I didn’t want to make a mistake or feel stupid. All of this amounted to me convincing myself that I didn’t even want to learn. In fact, as Team Danger Pony arrived at The Bikeroom for a night of learning the basics with owner/operator Jeff Bryson, I even reiterated that above point telling everyone, “I’m just not interested in learning how it works, I just want to ride.” Fast forward three hours and I was singing a different tune.

Although most of the members of Team Danger Pony had a bit more experience working on bikes than me, the vast majority of us had something to learn. This is where Jeff Bryson comes in. Jeff is a 17-year bike industry veteran and a superb DH racer to boot. He started The Bikeroom, located here on the North Shore, just over a year ago and teaches programs ranging from full bicycle mechanic training courses, to service shop manager training to individual programs focusing on wheel building or brake systems. The Bikeroom also offers bench time for people who already know what they need to do, but need the space and tools to accomplish their task.

An incredibly patient and knowledgeable teacher, Jeff walked us through the principle behind the procedure as opposed to just showing us how to do something. For example, he showed us all the parts of a disc brake and we broke down how it all works before learning how to change our brake pads. Knowing how something works, made it easier for me to understand why we had to do things a certain way.

Some of us had never had hands so dirty

In the end we learned a lot, but time flies when you’re getting educated. In just over 3 hours we managed to learn how to change our brake pads, clean, lube, take off and put back on our chains, and perfect our flat fixes (or in my case, change my first flat). All in all, it was a night well spent, but as is the case with many things in life, we didn’t even know how ignorant we were until we started to learn. As a result, our night at The Bikeroom was the first of many. Team Danger Pony has caught the bug for wrenching and we’ll be back. Like fellow Danger Pony, Cheryl, said, “There’s something very satisfying about fixing something broken on your bike all on your own.  It’s like bonding with your bike, getting to know its deeper side.”

www.bikeroom.ca

Riding 5,000 KM in one year

Well, I did it, I reached my goal of riding 5,000 km in 2013. I didn't originally start with this goal when the year started, but in September I looked at my Strava year-to-date distance and noticed I was at 4,000 km. Could I reach 5,000 km by the end of 2013? I don't really set goals for myself but decided to commit to achieving this target. It's been a really rewarding experience and helped me push myself to ride on days I normally wouldn't.

It's pretty hard to believe I've pedaled this much in one year. The majority of my mountain bike rides tend to be under 15 km, so most of my distance was put on my road bike. I commuted a lot to work (20 km each way) and would routinely add a loop of Stanley Park before heading home. We've also had a very dry fall and early winter, which has allowed me to ride more than I normally would this time of year.

Riding in the Chilcotins

I really love exploring new places on my bike. Some of the highlights from 2013 include six days in Sedona, the Rapha Women's 100, my unofficial Tour de Cortes Island, the Hot on Your Heels Enduro race in Squamish, my second float plane drop in the Chilcotins and exploring the amazing trails in Revelstoke for the first time. But my top achievement for 2013 and the one I'm most proud of was road riding to the very top of Mt. Baker, a total of 110 km and over 1,800 m of climbing.

Top of Mt. Baker with my husband, Dan

I know a lot of cyclists out there hate Strava, but I really love it and attribute meeting this goal because of the website. I found it very motivating to see how many miles I could put on in a week or see how much elevation I climbed on a long ride. Sure, you could do this on your own with any simple bike computer and Excel, but Strava made it easy and fun to share. Seeing my friends ride on miserable days motivated me to suck it up and get out on the trails. It may not be for everyone, but Strava has allowed me to easily track my rides, follow my own progress and that of friends, while motivating me to get out more and yes, feeding my competitive side.

Somewhere near Cornville and Cottonwood in Arizona

It's been an amazing year on my bike. I've explored a lot of new trails and rediscovered old ones. I've really gotten to love road riding and found enjoyment in long, slow rides. I'd like to thank all my awesome riding partners, especially my husband and the Ponies. Can I ride 10,000 km in 2014?! Stay tuned!

Couldn't ask for better friends and riding partners

Bikes, Beer, Bacon, and Babes - A Team Danger Pony Weekend

It had been a while since I’d gone away with Team Danger Pony for a girl’s weekend, so I jumped at the chance to head to Vancouver Island with Isabelle and Cheryl for the Remembrance day long weekend. I’d heard great things about Cumberland from a number of people and the fact that it is one of the stages in the BC Bike Race made me even more stoked to go check out the trails.

We left Friday afternoon and despite getting to the ferry an hour and a half early, we were still lucky to make it. After arriving in Nanaimo, we loaded up on groceries and adult beverages for the weekend. The selection at the cold beer and wine store in Nanaimo was mildly overwhelming, but everyone still managed to walk away with some winners and losers in the craft beer department. 

Unfortunately Uber Blonde was a miss

We were super lucky to have Isabelle’s local friend Amber offer to show us around on Saturday. We met up at Dodge City Cycles, a friendly well stocked bike shop located in Cumberland and set off to explore the trails from there. The trails in Cumberland offered a little bit of everything; fun climbs, flowy descents, and a surprising amount of woodwork.  We were incredibly lucky to be some of the first to ride Truffle Shuffle, a fast flowy trail with steep berms that left everyone smiling. Everyone was like BRAAAAAP! After exploring for nearly four hours, we got back to the shop just before running out of light. Time to drink some beers and eat some food.

Ladies love wood ;)

Truffle Shuffle left us with smiles for miles

Forbidden Plateau was a hit with all of us

Sunday things were a little slow to get going in the morning, perhaps due to some of the aforementioned beers, but with the help of some bacon and coffee, TDP rallied and managed to get out the door. Boy was I ever glad we did. Forbidden Plateau was amazing. You can shuttle it, but since we had little bikes and only one vehicle, we pedaled up. It’s an easy road climb, but light was fading fast and none of us was quite sure where the trail head was, but it all worked out in the end. According to Strava, we rode Cabin Fever, Slither, and Puntledge Plunge.  It was a total blast and offered a little bit of everything- loam, roots, booters, rock faces, and all of it was fast fast fast.  I can’t wait to ride this in the BCBR. The ride 
finished with big smiles once again just as the sun disappeared.

Cheryl and I on Forbidden Plateau

Bacon cures what "ales" ya

Unfortunately most of Monday was spent in the ferry line-up; we’ll be making reservations next time. Nonetheless, it was a small price to pay for a weekend or bikes, beer, bacon, and babes!

Pumpkin Cross

One of the best cyclcross races in Vancouver is the Pumpkin Cross hosted by the Local Ride bike shop in Maple Ridge. A really fun course combined with hilarious costumes and a well run event make it a really good time.

This year, TDP was represented by Aja, Isabelle and Siobhan, who was participating in her first ever cyclocross race. Siobhan finished mid-pack in beginner women, while Isabelle was happy not to finish last in intermediate. Aja turned on the jets after her first lap and made up 10 spots to take 5th place in the intermediate category. Way to go Aja!

See full results here.