Saturday 17 September 2016

Summer Racing

It was a fun summer of racing. After some recovery following the Golden 24 I dove into the Singletrack 3. A three day stage race with day 1 & 2 in Fernie and 3 in Cranbrook. It's been awhile since I raced a local event so it was fun to know a lot of the racers and have people on course cheering!

It was a three day battle! I won the two Fernie Stages with not much of a lead going into the final day. I didn't have the best day in Cranbrook finishing second and loosing the overall lead. But I was happy with how I raced overall and Alana Heise, overall winner had a great race.

Raven Eye Photography - Cranbrook Stage

Next up was Pierre's Hole 100 miler in Wyoming at Grand Targhee Resort. Steve & I headed down and were meeting up with some friends, Mike and Meagan Piker. I had never been to Wyoming before so it was cool to check out a new place and trails.

The format of the race was three loops with the first slightly different, road climb to start and shorter with less elevation gain. Checked out a few of the trails the day before and they were a lot of fun with some great views.



It was raining the next day when woke but the trails were so dry it was of no concern as long as it stopped ;-). Luckily it did! A short warm up and dropped bags off at the aid stations. Meagan was going to try to be at the aids so that was a bonus. Mike was racing the 100 km. The big news was Peter Sagan was racing the 50 km!

It was part of the NUE series so I knew it would be super competitive.  It was a fast start of course with some women I would never see again and two others I raced with on & off most of race. A double track climb to start which funnelled into the single track that would take us up to the Summit topping out at just over 9,000 ft. From there a fun descent down 38 Special. That's right 38 switchbacks. Some more fun single track before the pavement road climb back to the resort. I quickly grabbed a bottle from Aid #1 and was on my way. The back end of the course had surprisingly more climbing than I was expecting but made it back to the start in good time. Hit the Aid for a bottle of Infinit and the other two women were right on my tail.


It was right into some new single track this time then connecting back into the upper trail after the road climb. Still feeling pretty good on the bike and staying with the other girls. I was starting to feel it a bit coming into Aid #1 but still had a good lap and made good time back to the finish.

Leaving for the final lap the three of us were still wheel to wheel. However, shortly into it I was no longer able to hold on. I was really starting to suffer on the climb up to the Summit. Still turning the pedals but the elevation was starting to take it's toll. Towards the top the sky was getting dark and the thunder was rolling in. I didn't want to get struck by lighting! Made my way down 38 Special with some light rain and more on the road climb. Thankfully it cleared as I was already suffering enough. Back to the Aid where Steve & Meagan were waiting with my bottle. I was kind of gutted to hear Steve was already done. It didn't really make sense but I just carried on to get the job done.

Started to come around a bit on the back end just in time for another wind/rain storm, LOL! Made it back to the finish and I was pretty much done. A lot of people were already in from the other races and 100 miler. Unfortunately it turned out Steve had a mechanical and could not finish the race. Mike had a great race grabbing 2nd in the 100 km for 40+. I was not sure of my placing, the awards had already occurred and people were into the beers & Mexican. It wasn't actually until later the next day that found out I cracked the podium finishing 5th for Open Women. That kind of eased the suffering a bit ;-).

We spent the next few days exploring Jackson Hole with our hosts Mike & Meagan. What a beautiful place.

Teton Pass



Last weekend was my latest adventure. Project 9, a classic local race which I had never done. It is always on Sept. 9th on Project 9 trail with a timed up, down and overall. If you have never had the pleasure it's a 900m climb in just over 2 km on a old jeep road, with four steep pitches. The descent has a bit of everything, rock towards the top, fun corners, roots and some drops if so inclined.

This year was record attendance with 68 riders! It was a total scene with riders in spandex, goggles, jeans, hoodies. I wasn't really sure what the deal was for the start so I asked someone. The guy said "everyone in spandex goes up front". Haha I guess that was me ;-).



The race was on sprinting off the start up to the powerline where the real work began. I was up front for women with some guys ahead. A few guys passed me on the first pitch then I held my position to the top.

Soon into the descent Lesley passed me and I pulled over to let a few fast guys get by. I got into a bit of a groove then pulled over again right near end to let another girl by. In the end finished first uphill and 3rd overall for women. Not bad for spandex and a hard tail ;-). It was a fun race with some beer, pizza, fire and prizes to follow. It was the best $25 I have spent in awhile.