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