(l-r) Jeanine, me, and Jean Ann getting excited about the Tour over breakfast and coffee.Friday, July 22, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Cardiac Classic - June 26
Elite women's podium. Jean Ann and Sandra 1-2.by Sandra
Racing the Cardiac Classic was a bit of a last-minute decision, but since I had some race pace intervals on my training program, I thought: "What better way to do race pace than during an actual race?" So Jean Ann, Ryan, and I lined up on a sunny Sunday morning on Burnaby Mountain, ready to suffer. I was running some new fast tires and I had just managed to cut a pound off of Piglet II. He weighed in at a svelte 21.7lbs. I was feeling pretty pumped, as the Cardiac Classic is all about climbing.
I started off a little more conservatively than I did last year when I killed myself on the first climb and never really recovered. This time, my pace was much more sustainable, and I kept Jean Ann and Ryan in sight all the way up Cardiac. They were able to put down more power on the flat section at the top before the singletrack DH started, but I didn't worry. I zoomed down the smooth and newly groomed top section of Gearjammer and caught back up to Ryan and JA near the bottom. Another short gravel climb, some fun singltrack, and then back into the open, and my two beacons were still in sight on the feed zone climb, where Jeanine gave me a pro right-hand feed and Mike Charuk provided me with a split. Thanks guys!
The second time up Cardiac was much the same. Jean Ann and Ryan in sight, I felt pretty steady, but not strong enough to bridge the gap. They gapped me again at the top, but this time I did not catch them on the DH, and I think at that point they were gone. I didn't see them anymore on the climb and I kind of had a feeling of futility - and fatigue - set in. I just felt plain old tired. I went through the motions and finished off the climb as best I could, counting on the singletrack to boost my spirits - which it did. Then it was the home stretch through the feed zone, I carried as much momentum as I could along Dead Moped, popped back up onto the Trans Canada Trail, and then cruised down the sketchy gravel. The rollers at the bottom were quite taxing. One more piece of greasy singletrack to go before the finish. I cruised across the line in second place behind defending Cardiac champ Jean Ann. "As long as one of the two of us wins, it's all good," I said. Ryan ended up having an awesome race, dropping JA and going on to finish third in his category. Woohoo!
Master 30-39 podium (Ryan on the left in 3rd)!Complimentary burgers, some beautiful medals designed by Alyssa Drown, and a fruitful draw prize session made all the suffering worthwhile. And then we stopped for cappuccinos, baked goods, and paninis at Il Divano in Port Moody on the way home... ah, racing close to home is sweet! Thanks to the organizers for a great event, and to Neaner for the feed!
Home again and The Test
by Sandra
Coming home from the spring Canada Cups in the east was a bit of a relief, because there's nowhere else you want to be when you're sick. It took me a while to recover from that nasty cold that had me out for the count at Hardwood, but a recovery week and quality time with friends helped a lot. The weather we were having still left a lot to be desired, but I guess I was used to it and riding in the mud was the norm. I finally found the time to ride my backyard trails on Burke and was surprised at how greasy they still were! On that ride I encountered a young deer buck, a big black bear (!), and a coyote. That week seemed to be a big week for the wildlife. I also saw several more deer, two bears woke me up one night as they munched on the grass outside my bedroom window, Jean Ann and I saw a racoon during a training ride, and we saw a bunny on a Saturday road ride. Anyway, back to biking....
(l-r): Brandi, Catharine, and Jean Ann on the podium.
Test of Metal - June 18
The Test of Metal in Squamish is the biggest race in BC. Over 800 riders show up to the start, most of whom are weekend warrior types looking for adventure. The Test receives more spectators than a World Cup and it's a 67km loop. Super cool!
Ryan and I drove my parents' 1991 VW camper van up to Squamish on the Friday night so we were able to sleep in and basically roll out of bed and onto the start line. I felt kind of groggy during my warm up despite the good sleep, but I woke up with the fast mass start on the road after the singing of Oh Canada. I was feeling pretty good and set my own sustainable pace. I could see Ryan and Jean Ann just ahead and Mike had already passed me on his orange 'cross bike. I wasn't worried, it was a long race....
Steve, Jean Ann, and Mike hangin' out post-race.
I was enjoying the roots and twists of Jack's Trail when all of a sudden my left foot unclipped - or so I thought. When I looked down, I saw that, in fact, my pedal was no longer attached to my crank, but still clipped to my foot. I stopped and pulled over to rectify the problem, fearing my crank threads were stripped. After some careful work, I managed to get the pedal threaded in properly with no damage to the crank or pedal. Whew! But by that time, many many people had blown past me. In the Test of Metal, if you're not in the top 100 at the start, you are inevitably stuck in a bumper to bumper traffic jam in the singletrack, because there is just such a huge volume of riders and it's impossible to pass. I managed to jump back in line and enjoyed an easy stop-and-go ride all the way to Alice Lake, where the course opened onto a short section of paved and then gravel road. At that point, I knew I was out of the running, but I still wanted to make up as much time as I could, so I focused on moving up through the field.
On the gravel road after Alice Lake, I saw Cory Wallace (Kona) sidelined. I slowed as I approached him and heard him ask: "Do you have a 10-speed chain pin?" In fact, I did. Ryan had insisted I take it along right before the start, so I stopped and handed it to him, warning him that if I broke my chain, I would not be happy.
Basically the entire way to the feed zone was a series of traffic jams in singletrack where I was able to coast and recover, followed by accelerations whenever it opened up where I would pass as many riders as I could. It was kind of fun, because basically I was passing people all day long.
On the 9-mile climb, I was able to just set my own really solid pace and pick off riders one by one. Finally, I saw my Local Ride buddies Paul and Ryan J. I gave them a friendly greeting and promptly powered past.
I caught up to Joele on the Plunge and we rode together through the second feed where Sharon and Alex handed me a bottle. (Thanks guys! I owe you!) I followed Joele into Crumpit Woods, where she decided to switch on race mode. Suddenly it was on. Joele was always two or three riders ahead of me through the singletrack and she was pushing hard to get rid of me. I always felt a step behind. I had to refocus and be more assertive, because I was in a mindset where I was content to follow a wheel, even if it was slower than I wanted to go. When I exited onto the pavement, Joele was a ways up the road, but I latched conveniently onto the wheel of a fellow who happened to pass me at just the right time. He essentially pulled me right onto Joele's big wheel, where I was content to stay until we entered Smoke Bluffs. I recognized that the short gravel popper was the absolute final uphill of the day and I decided to take a chance. I attacked hard up the climb and then gave 'er down the other side, gaining a small gap on Joele. The end of the race, however, was an extended wide, flat gravel path to the finish, and I knew she would be hunting me. It didn't take her too long to catch me again and she quickly went by me at which point I jumped back on her wheel. Joele looked over her shoulder and accelerated. I kept on her wheel. We were running out of course. Entering the final left-hand corner to the finish, I tried to go on the inside, but Joele, an experienced cyclocross racer, got the jump on me. Despite a big sprint effort, she stayed ahead of me to the finish, but it was an exciting battle and a great way to end a race that I had thought would be a bust after my initial mechanical. I still got in some real racing even though I was way off my target time. You can always count on the Test of Metal for a good time!
Jean Ann had a solid race, finishing third behind winner and record-setter Catharine, and local star, Brandi. Oh, and Mike beat me on his 'cross bike, finishing exactly one spot ahead of me. Argh! :-P
Coming home from the spring Canada Cups in the east was a bit of a relief, because there's nowhere else you want to be when you're sick. It took me a while to recover from that nasty cold that had me out for the count at Hardwood, but a recovery week and quality time with friends helped a lot. The weather we were having still left a lot to be desired, but I guess I was used to it and riding in the mud was the norm. I finally found the time to ride my backyard trails on Burke and was surprised at how greasy they still were! On that ride I encountered a young deer buck, a big black bear (!), and a coyote. That week seemed to be a big week for the wildlife. I also saw several more deer, two bears woke me up one night as they munched on the grass outside my bedroom window, Jean Ann and I saw a racoon during a training ride, and we saw a bunny on a Saturday road ride. Anyway, back to biking....
(l-r): Brandi, Catharine, and Jean Ann on the podium.Test of Metal - June 18
The Test of Metal in Squamish is the biggest race in BC. Over 800 riders show up to the start, most of whom are weekend warrior types looking for adventure. The Test receives more spectators than a World Cup and it's a 67km loop. Super cool!
Ryan and I drove my parents' 1991 VW camper van up to Squamish on the Friday night so we were able to sleep in and basically roll out of bed and onto the start line. I felt kind of groggy during my warm up despite the good sleep, but I woke up with the fast mass start on the road after the singing of Oh Canada. I was feeling pretty good and set my own sustainable pace. I could see Ryan and Jean Ann just ahead and Mike had already passed me on his orange 'cross bike. I wasn't worried, it was a long race....
Steve, Jean Ann, and Mike hangin' out post-race.I was enjoying the roots and twists of Jack's Trail when all of a sudden my left foot unclipped - or so I thought. When I looked down, I saw that, in fact, my pedal was no longer attached to my crank, but still clipped to my foot. I stopped and pulled over to rectify the problem, fearing my crank threads were stripped. After some careful work, I managed to get the pedal threaded in properly with no damage to the crank or pedal. Whew! But by that time, many many people had blown past me. In the Test of Metal, if you're not in the top 100 at the start, you are inevitably stuck in a bumper to bumper traffic jam in the singletrack, because there is just such a huge volume of riders and it's impossible to pass. I managed to jump back in line and enjoyed an easy stop-and-go ride all the way to Alice Lake, where the course opened onto a short section of paved and then gravel road. At that point, I knew I was out of the running, but I still wanted to make up as much time as I could, so I focused on moving up through the field.
On the gravel road after Alice Lake, I saw Cory Wallace (Kona) sidelined. I slowed as I approached him and heard him ask: "Do you have a 10-speed chain pin?" In fact, I did. Ryan had insisted I take it along right before the start, so I stopped and handed it to him, warning him that if I broke my chain, I would not be happy.
Basically the entire way to the feed zone was a series of traffic jams in singletrack where I was able to coast and recover, followed by accelerations whenever it opened up where I would pass as many riders as I could. It was kind of fun, because basically I was passing people all day long.
On the 9-mile climb, I was able to just set my own really solid pace and pick off riders one by one. Finally, I saw my Local Ride buddies Paul and Ryan J. I gave them a friendly greeting and promptly powered past.
I caught up to Joele on the Plunge and we rode together through the second feed where Sharon and Alex handed me a bottle. (Thanks guys! I owe you!) I followed Joele into Crumpit Woods, where she decided to switch on race mode. Suddenly it was on. Joele was always two or three riders ahead of me through the singletrack and she was pushing hard to get rid of me. I always felt a step behind. I had to refocus and be more assertive, because I was in a mindset where I was content to follow a wheel, even if it was slower than I wanted to go. When I exited onto the pavement, Joele was a ways up the road, but I latched conveniently onto the wheel of a fellow who happened to pass me at just the right time. He essentially pulled me right onto Joele's big wheel, where I was content to stay until we entered Smoke Bluffs. I recognized that the short gravel popper was the absolute final uphill of the day and I decided to take a chance. I attacked hard up the climb and then gave 'er down the other side, gaining a small gap on Joele. The end of the race, however, was an extended wide, flat gravel path to the finish, and I knew she would be hunting me. It didn't take her too long to catch me again and she quickly went by me at which point I jumped back on her wheel. Joele looked over her shoulder and accelerated. I kept on her wheel. We were running out of course. Entering the final left-hand corner to the finish, I tried to go on the inside, but Joele, an experienced cyclocross racer, got the jump on me. Despite a big sprint effort, she stayed ahead of me to the finish, but it was an exciting battle and a great way to end a race that I had thought would be a bust after my initial mechanical. I still got in some real racing even though I was way off my target time. You can always count on the Test of Metal for a good time!
Jean Ann had a solid race, finishing third behind winner and record-setter Catharine, and local star, Brandi. Oh, and Mike beat me on his 'cross bike, finishing exactly one spot ahead of me. Argh! :-P
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Canada Cup #3 Report – Hardwood Ski & Bike - June 5
So the team plan was for me to win this weekend, since Jean Ann got it last weekend. After all, fair’s fair. But, unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. It started on Tuesday with a sore throat. Despite frequent and faithful salt water gargles, the pain persisted and the infection moved to my sinuses. Ugh. Let’s just leave it by saying I felt pretty miserable and just walking up a flight of stairs had me wheezing. Even so, I was determined not to let this bug stop me from racing.
Race day conditions were ideal. Temperatures were in the low 20s, with clear skies and low humidity. Thundershowers the previous day had packed the course down and made it super-fast and grippy. With Emily, Amanda, and Mikaela back from Europe – not to mention Jean Ann (who told me even though I was supposed to win, she wouldn’t just let me win), Catherine, and Brandi – I knew it would be a tough race.
As usual on the Hardwood course, the pack stuck together for the first bit, a wide open chip trail section that kicks up slightly before it hangs a right into a narrower trail and another steeper uphill kicker. I was fine and dandy and well-positioned in the pack until things starting pointing uphill and then my lungs started to burn and I couldn’t maintain the effort required to go that fast. By the time we reached the first singletrack, a whole bunch of girls had passed me and I was resigned to ride my own pace.
Every time I tested my legs on a little climb, I would be wheezing and struggling to recover at the top. My cold was really affecting my lungs and ability to recover. I kept on riding, however, focusing on riding the singletrack fast, smooth, and clean. As long as I concentrated on that and not over-exerting myself on the climbs, I was actually able to have some fun. I eventually did reel in a few of the girls that had gone out faster as they faded and I remained steady.
At the front, Jean Ann tried to stay in contact with leaders Emily, Amanda, Catherine, and Mikaela, but eventually things splintered and everyone finished alone, in the same order. I finished ninth.
Jean Ann relaxes on the deck after the race.
Congrats to everyone. It was a good race on a fun new course. Looking forward to Nationals in 2013/2014! Thanks to Dawn and Ron for the pro feeding job, as well as the usual five-star accommodations and hospitality!
Dawn prepares the post-race meat!
What I’m really looking forward to now is spending some quality time at home and getting healthy. Maybe some sweet BC singletrack is the cure….
Race day conditions were ideal. Temperatures were in the low 20s, with clear skies and low humidity. Thundershowers the previous day had packed the course down and made it super-fast and grippy. With Emily, Amanda, and Mikaela back from Europe – not to mention Jean Ann (who told me even though I was supposed to win, she wouldn’t just let me win), Catherine, and Brandi – I knew it would be a tough race.As usual on the Hardwood course, the pack stuck together for the first bit, a wide open chip trail section that kicks up slightly before it hangs a right into a narrower trail and another steeper uphill kicker. I was fine and dandy and well-positioned in the pack until things starting pointing uphill and then my lungs started to burn and I couldn’t maintain the effort required to go that fast. By the time we reached the first singletrack, a whole bunch of girls had passed me and I was resigned to ride my own pace.
Every time I tested my legs on a little climb, I would be wheezing and struggling to recover at the top. My cold was really affecting my lungs and ability to recover. I kept on riding, however, focusing on riding the singletrack fast, smooth, and clean. As long as I concentrated on that and not over-exerting myself on the climbs, I was actually able to have some fun. I eventually did reel in a few of the girls that had gone out faster as they faded and I remained steady.
At the front, Jean Ann tried to stay in contact with leaders Emily, Amanda, Catherine, and Mikaela, but eventually things splintered and everyone finished alone, in the same order. I finished ninth.
Jean Ann relaxes on the deck after the race.Congrats to everyone. It was a good race on a fun new course. Looking forward to Nationals in 2013/2014! Thanks to Dawn and Ron for the pro feeding job, as well as the usual five-star accommodations and hospitality!
Dawn prepares the post-race meat!What I’m really looking forward to now is spending some quality time at home and getting healthy. Maybe some sweet BC singletrack is the cure….
Jean Ann and Sandra’s Canada Cup #2 Race Report – Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec - May 29
Canada Cup #2 in Baie-Saint-Paul, QC could not have gone better for the Xprezo-Borsao Race Team. Despite torrential downpours throughout the week and race course that resembled a filthy slip-and-slide, all three of the riders finished in the highest possible positions on the podium. Matt topped the elite men’s field, and Jean Ann and Sandra packed a 1-2 punch in the elite women’s race. As the cherry atop a muddy Sunday, both Matt and Jean Ann now hold the Canada Cup leader’s jerseys.
The elite women’s race was fast from the gun, with Catherine Vipond, the leader after the first race, setting a quick pace through the start loop and into the initial single-track. Jean Ann positioned herself right on Catherine’s wheel, while Sandra got caught up in some traffic in the tight and slick trail, and lost contact. The first lap was a bit of a shot in the dark, as the course had changed drastically from the previous day’s pre-ride. Lines that had been perfectly rideable on Saturday had turned into knee-deep mud bogs in places, requiring much dismounting and running.
About halfway through the first lap, Jean Ann was able to get a small gap on Catherine, through utilizing her skills of running with a bike, honed over the winter cyclocross seasons. After the first lap of four (shortened from the original five due to the extreme conditions), Jean Ann had a 30-second lead on Catherine, with Sandra chasing close behind. The order remained the same, until Sandra caught Catherine on the descent of the third lap. With more rain falling on the trails through the course of the race, the terrain literally turned to a river of mud. Many people struggled with mechanical issues associated with hub deep mud, and slippery and blind descents, including previous series leader Catherine.
Sandra and Jean Ann are stoked about their 1-2 podium finish, and are super happy with how well the XTR Dyna-Sys worked for them in the extreme conditions. They are looking forward to checking out the new race course at Canada Cup #3 in Hardwood Hills on June 5.
Thanks to Xprezo's David and Jef for the feed and umbrella-holding in the start box. So pro! :-)
Sandra :)
The elite women’s race was fast from the gun, with Catherine Vipond, the leader after the first race, setting a quick pace through the start loop and into the initial single-track. Jean Ann positioned herself right on Catherine’s wheel, while Sandra got caught up in some traffic in the tight and slick trail, and lost contact. The first lap was a bit of a shot in the dark, as the course had changed drastically from the previous day’s pre-ride. Lines that had been perfectly rideable on Saturday had turned into knee-deep mud bogs in places, requiring much dismounting and running.
About halfway through the first lap, Jean Ann was able to get a small gap on Catherine, through utilizing her skills of running with a bike, honed over the winter cyclocross seasons. After the first lap of four (shortened from the original five due to the extreme conditions), Jean Ann had a 30-second lead on Catherine, with Sandra chasing close behind. The order remained the same, until Sandra caught Catherine on the descent of the third lap. With more rain falling on the trails through the course of the race, the terrain literally turned to a river of mud. Many people struggled with mechanical issues associated with hub deep mud, and slippery and blind descents, including previous series leader Catherine.
Sandra and Jean Ann are stoked about their 1-2 podium finish, and are super happy with how well the XTR Dyna-Sys worked for them in the extreme conditions. They are looking forward to checking out the new race course at Canada Cup #3 in Hardwood Hills on June 5.
Thanks to Xprezo's David and Jef for the feed and umbrella-holding in the start box. So pro! :-)
Sandra :)
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