After a successful World cup campaign, I was back home but
still itching for some racing.
Fortunately BC delivered. After a
down week to recharge, my husband Keith and I hit up the local Wednesday night
toonie series in Revelstoke doing as many laps as we could in 1.5hrs. Revelstoke trails are so good I could ride
them all day so the only problem was the fading light and the fact we still had
a 2.5hr drive home for keith to work the next day. More impressive than the trails even are the
amount of women Revelstoke has gotten into racing! When is the last time you have seen a 50/50
guy/girl ratio?
On Friday we were off again in our camperized Sprinter van,
this time to Squamish BC for the infamous Test of Metal. The next morning we joined over 800 riders on
the start line for 60 km of climbing and singletrack. The day winds up with a
post race BBQ and awards where everyone swaps race stories. Test is one of those great examples of how
mtn biking is a lifelong sport. There
are both 15 and 55 year-olds beating the coveted under 3hr finish time. For me these local races are a fun chance to
ride with the guys and push myself and themJ.
Riders like Olympian Geoff Kabush and Max Plaxton can do the
course in around 2h30min, myself around 2:50 (when I don’t flat) while some
people take 6hrs. But we all can do it
and the fans for everyone are amazing….yes you ladies in pink tutus and the guy
with the bag pipes!
Then it was back to some solid training leading into the
Stoked to Get Spanked Race in Revelstoke.
From Nationals in mid-July to Worlds in September there aren’t a lot of non-A
race training weeks so this was an important time to really get the most of my
fitness and training, rest into BCBR (7day mtb stage race) and then sharpen for
Nationals, Commonwealth Games and the World Cups.
Revelstoke delivered once again with a wicked weekend of
riding, racing and spending time with friends.
Saturday was a birthday get-together for Keith at his parents, complete
with Spiderman balloons and piñatas thanks to our little niece and nephew Eva
and Ivo. Then next morning it was race
day again! Early in the race Matt Hadley, Raphael and myself were able to open
a gap on the field until we hit the enduro timed-descent. I gave Matt the lead and as anticipated he
opened a gap I couldn’t reclose. But I
too opened a gap on third and rode solo the next 1.5hrs. Over 2hrs at race pace on Revelstoke trails
is definitely a test of condition. Matt won; I was 2nd and Raphael 3rd. My husband Keith took 2nd in the
Enduro (Wahoo) and 10th overall.
I was pretty happy with a 7th in the Enduro and a great lake
swim afterwards!
Next Race: Packing.
On Thursday I left for Colorado Springs and the final US cup of the
series. I am sitting 2nd
overall to my Luna team mate Katerina and want to show my support for all the
time and energy that has gone into promoting domestic racing this year and
helping us achieve HC status race in North America. Thanks Sho-air and USAC.
Right after the race though I am back to the airport on a
direct flight to Vancouver. I should
arrive at 9:30 pm where Keith will meet me with my full suspension Orbea Oiz
and our camper van so that I can start racing the 7 day BCBR stage race the
next morning at 8am with my Team mate Maghalie.
Perhaps an ambitious schedule, but the kind of thing I
thrive on and feel you should do every once in a while. Races of passion keep the mtb fires stoked
and taking on something ambitious makes you feel capable and ready for anything….
So let the games begin!
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