We got tons of exercise the way I like it (outdoors) on Saturday as well as ski some awesome pow in return. We spent 4 hours up the singing pass and then up to Cowboy ridge before we got to take off our skins in preparation to head downwards. From all the hard work it was payback time and score some sweet turns in return... so worth it. The weather was pleasant and the snow plentiful. I love the long days of hard work and good fun. Yay for adventures in the snow.
oh and we got our christmas tree...i love the holiday spirit!
Love it when you go away for the weekend with a car packed full of gear...
This weekend a bunch of us headed over to the island to play with some island folk... being vancouver island we brought bikes and skis... This event is usually in November and is called the Mud Ride but this year I suppose we could have called it the snow ride...
We got out on our bikes on a sunny saturday afternoon and began to pedal in snow up the Cumberland trails... The conditions were actually pretty perfect for riding... Most of the mud was either frozen or covered by a thin layer of snow... the sun was shining and friends were abound... It was a ride full of single track, laughs, hard work and chili hot chocolate to finish it off!
After riding or any type of outdoor exercise food and drinks are necessary and a feast is what we had....
SUnday we voted to head to Mt Washington and try out the hill to practice our sweet turns.. Again, the conditions were pretty perfect... Andrew, Paul and I ventured through moguls and trees, and played with daring speeds (well I was trying to catch Paul the whole and so really I was the one peaking my speed limits)... ALthough a fab day on the hill with beautiful views etc...it is no backcountry skiing, the sweat, the bush, route finding, rivers, etc... it definitely solidified my love for backcountry skiing... I love the turns but I love the adventure of backcountry skiing even more I think!
This weekend I was very sad to hear that the Fall Beast Adventure race was cancelled. I was super stoked to race AR again and even more stoked to race and spend time with good friend Megan. I look forward to racing a beast race next year as AR friends and awesome athletes put on some great events.
Well, I got to at least do one of those things..
Megan, Ann and I headed up to Cypress for our first XC ski of the season.... Its always hilarious/tiring the first day out... XC is a true full body workout... and if you have been lazy about waxing skis (like me) and the snow conditions aren't perfect than it adds to your resistance training as well. It was loads of fun and look forward to getting out more on the skinny skis
Sunday I switched to my fatter skis and headed out to Mt Zoa with Andrew, Paul, and Andy. We definitely skied some pow. Check out the sweet video Andrew made:
This weekend, two friends and I headed to Steep Creek to check out the early season snow situation off the Duffey Lake Road. We managed to ski on snow the entire way into camp. It took us about 3 times as long but we enjoyed the pleasant weather and adventurous climbing, over, under, through, tree trunks, rocks, and streams. I managed to get one ski through the lake by accident... oops but all was well just some wet skins..
Sunday we ventured up through the forest to the clearing... it was tough going through the forest but made for some fun route making as there were more than normal amounts of obstacles in the way. Up high on the knoll our first descent was YES through POWDER...pretty impressive turns for early season...Unfortunately our second run proved to be a little noisy as we scrapped some rocks that were hiding underneath the snow... but managed some good turns still.. The adventure continued throughout the day but we had SUN, we had SNOW, and we had SMILES...
This past weekend Andrew, Suzanne, Jas, Julia, and myself headed to Tofino for some surf sessions and relaxation. The weather report was showing rain but when water is the sport you are playin in rain doesn't really matter anyways! I was pretty excited to try out SUP surfin again. I got pretty stoked in California at Battle of the Paddle from all the surf sessions... I also realized how much learning I have ahead of me (exciting stuff, learning is fun!) inorder to be competitive in the surf type races... I want to be good!...
I borrowed the Starboard Whopper from Trident Sports. I remember surfing this board in california and it was fun and stable and great for learning to SUP surf... I was pretty stoked to get a lend for the weekend. THANK YOU Trident Sports. The board proved to be perfect for the conditions and for me. It is wide and stable and big which made going out past the break much easier and catching waves fun(after getting knocked down a bunch....practice and persistence is key to learning).
The five of stayed in a beautiful hostel at the end of Tofino (The Whalers On the Point IH Hostel) Saturday morning we headed to South Chesterman Beach and played in the surf for several hours. There were 3 whitewater kayakers, myself on the SUP and one surfer... We are a diverse bunch of friends! Check out the video that Andrew put together!
The rest of the day on Saturday was spent indoors due to lots and lots of rain... I ended up meeting up with my good friend Jessie, A Ukee born and raised, a killer surfer and painter!
Sunday was tougher, stronger and bigger waves. I found it really tough to get past the break, but was enjoying it all until my paddle got stuck under my board in a tumbling crash and the strong sea ripped it out of my hands. I thought it would have floated to shore as the tide was coming in but it was never seen again :(... ah well, you win some you loose some!
I look forward to some more surf sessions... For now I see snow on the shore mountains and my feet are starting to itch for ski boots, skis and the white powdery stuff!
Fun weekend playin around the city. I don't generally enjoy weekends in the city as much as weekends out in the wild but this weekend had enough variety, excitement, and friends that I definitely enjoyed it and embraced living in the big city.
It began with a run around lynn valley trails. I am lovin' trail running again, re inspired by the Hallowe's Eve trail race last weekend. I love the mud, the technical roots, rocks and steep terrain. The air temperature is about perfect for running: crisp and fresh. After our run Andrew and friends checked out a new little cafe that opened down the street from our place called the PERCH. It has a total east van vibe, good food and cheap drinks. Its nice to be able to WALK to a gathering rather than bike once in awhile. Biking is loads of fun but you can never feel fresh looking after a ride somewhere...
Saturday Kala, Jason, and I went for a killer run on some of the Seymour trails. It included some good technical flattish sections, steep ups and steeper and even more technical descent... the sun was shining, the air was cool, and the trails satisfying. I finished some halloween last minute shopping and then biked over to Angie and Paul's new place on Main street to help them move in. It's nice to have them a little bit closer for some more hangin out time together... Our group of friends are definitely creating an east van clan... YES! Andrew, Mark, and I headed out for ride on the shore before all the halloween celebrations. The rain just began to come down as we were climbing up to the trails. We managed to hit bobsleigh in the light which was grand and then climbed all the way back up to Witches Brew, dreamweaver and Baden Powell to finish it off. The boys managed to make their eyes adjust to the growing darkness but I was struggling at the end and put my lights on for the last section of Baden Powell... it was a good thing as it was my best performance of the day with the lights on.
Saturday night a group of 8 of us were found riding around town in costumes, honking horns and ringing bells, all with smiles on our painted faces and drops of rain hanging from our costumes! We headed to different parties around east vancouver enjoying the halloween vibe!
sunday morning after a well deserved sleep in and wicked post party breakfast created by ANdrew a bunch of us hit up the northshore trails. The boys biked and SJ and I went for around a 2hour run.... sunshine, fun trails, and wicked company equalled a fun way to spent Sunday afternoon in the city!
I am consistently trying to balance training/playtime on trails and on the water... I love them both and thankfully a city like Vancouver makes it possible to enjoy the mountains/forests as well as the lovely ocean waters. You can even enjoy them in one day!.
This weekend though Andrew and I spent much of our time playing on the trails, mountains and in the forests. Friday afternoon we headed up to Squamish, after Andrew's bike purchase we enjoyed one of the more popular Squamish mtn bike trails Half Nelson Powerhouse plunge etc combination. We managed to rip around the wet forest for several hours enjoying the mud and fall colours and managed to escape the dooming rains.
We spent the evening with good friends in Whistler (I miss you Whistler!) enjoying the off season deals that Whistler had to offer.
Saturday morning Andrew and I decided to ride around the Cheakamus river/Creekside trails. We enjoyed the little side trails that took us to function junction and rode along Riverside trails...nice little warm up for the major climb of See colors and Puke... There were no colors seen but we did manage to find a bear (why do they have to be so cute!) and thankfully no puke instead just sweat and smiles. The scenery was awesome, lightly powdered alpine mountains with colorful subalpine and some sun to top it all off. We enjoyed the fast flowy Babylon trail minus the random eye poking branches sticking out... and then I got to see how much I have improved in my biking skills by riding tunnel vision a trail that when I lived in Whistler I could barely ride any of it! I can proudly say my improvements were fairly obvious...
Andrew and I were lucky enough to represent Steed Cycles at the half marathon trail race on Sunday morning. The sky was holding out with the rain for most of the race, the trails were muddy, rooty and slippery just the way we like'em... I was a little nervous to race as running used to be my forte sport but since becoming obsessed with SUP'in, kayaking, mtn biking , etc there has been less running and less running specific activities on my part. It is always tough racing in a race that in the past you have done well in. Luckily I didn't let it bother me too much and told myself that it was more important to enjoy myself, the trails, and the spirit of the event: and that I did. I had a great run, I felt good (never pushed too hard nor too little) I enjoyed like in the mountain bike my progress on the technical parts of the trail. Its funny, I have almost come full circle in my trail running. I used to pass everyone on the gravel road sections of trail but now I seem to get a little day dreamy on this sections and loose my speed and momentum but am picking it up on the technical. I managed to hold my own because of my technical skills. YES, I am pleased about this as I can also train a little more specific for my running if I found a race I wanted to train for. All in all a fantastic race: the volunteers were grand and I didn't get lost (a more often than I am proud about occurrence). I got my race stoke on again... LOVE IT.. and a big THANK YOU to Kim at STEED CYCLES!
Sorry no photos: the camera was left in the car or forgotten....OOPS.
This is our third year heading to Winthrop for Thanksgiving for some adventurous riding, amazing views, delicious food, and awesome friendships. Whoever thought a place that seems to be like cowboy revival would have such epic mountain biking and bring us back year after year. I must say the word is getting out about the riding here as we saw more people than in the past out rippin' it up on the trails...
Our crew was a little smaller this year and sort of even smaller on most days due to people having to do some extra work/studying (and I wasn't one of them... yipee! for now).
Day 1 we all warmed up on Buck Mountain where the trails are relatively smooth, fast, and fun. We made it back to the car just in time for downpour #1. Kathleen and Angie had to head back indoors to do some work and the boys and I headed for bike ride number 2 of the day - Pipestone Canyon. It was a new route for Andrew, Paul, and I. The present half way up the steep climb was this amazing canyon that appears out of rolling hills. It was amazing, a great chance for me to get a breather in before the rest of the climb. The descent was rocky and more technical than Buck but beautiful. You descend into farm fields and then ride through forest and below the canyons... Winthrop, was not disappointing.
Day 2 typically our monster day of adventure and mountain biking. We woke up to rain, felt a little casual so decided on a 10 mile or so loop. We were up for trying a new area to keep our sense of adventure perky. Well, an adventure we got. We headed towards Tiffany mountain, about an hour drive or so from the house, up a really long logging road. We decided to park the car lower down in case we wanted to extend the loop form its original route on the map. The temperature dropped from 15 degrees to 10 since we left the house.. brrr.. you could feel the winter air not too far off. We started to climb, first on the road, a little descent and then climb, lunch, single track climb, hike a bike climb.... until we reached our second pass. A little descent through a forest that suffered from a forest fire years back we found ourselves at a junction. A little exploration eventually took us up what I thought was a cliff... minutes later I found myself with the others hike a biking on the side of the cliff.hmmm... I thought this little exciting hike would lead us to the down... the wind was picking up and the air becoming frigid... but alas we reached the pass to find out we were to go up around the ridge to the other side... oh yeah... really I love this stuff.. it reminds me of adventure racing which I love... so off we went on the side of the ridge most often then not pushing our bikes up the sandy, exposed slope. We finally reached Whistler Pass, the wind was fierce and my body chilled quite quickly.. We were off on the longer descent down to our cars.. this trail had obviously not been used in quite some time except for maybe a couple of hikers? last week? the trail consisted of a faint trail through hip high grass... it was interesting and different and well my favorite word: adventurous. I was feeling very very cold so was trying to just make it down before the chill through my body got any worse, my feet and hands were already numb. Happy to say we made it back to the car in good form and ready for beer and chips.
Day 3 Cedar Creek
We wanted to try a new trail not too far from the house. It was to be an out and back to a mountain pass. We didn't have all day on Monday as we needed to get back to our respective homes but the sun was shining in good Winthrop form, nothing better to do than go play outside in such fabulous weather. The start of the trail was steep but fairly smooth so rideable... we made it to the waterfall sweaty but happy. From the waterfall onwards for a good while the trail is steep, rocky, muddy and fairly difficult to ride up (well for me at least), I got some more practice at pushing my bike. Kathleen decided to stash her bike and just walk up... At some point Paul was feeling tired, and prob tired of pushing his bike so decided to head back down to take some pics along the way in the valley. Kathleen kept walking and Chris, Andrew, and I continued up the trail with our bikes in hopes of some smoother trails (like the book told us there would be)... happily fun single track trail appeared and into the valley we rode, the forest opened up and the mountain tops could be seen. The meadows were gorgeous. Due to time constraints Andrew and Chris made the decision to turn around, and head back down what we thought would be a slow and tricky descent. To my surprise the descent was awesome! totally rideable minus some very short sketchy rocks. It was fast and fun! We will have to come back and tackle this trail to the top next year, its a good one!
Stand Up Paddleboarding is my new little passion. I discovered it fall 2008 at Santa Claus beach, a beach just south of Santa Barabara CA. Andrew and I were on our first road trip down the west coast famous highway 101. We were chillin with my teammate Daniel from Yogaslackers and met up with some camp staff I used to work with in MN. They introduced SUPin' to us and I loved it. Andrew's first experience involved paddling side by side with a dolphin, which is pretty awesome in itself. I was on my way to a 6 month trip to South America which involved moutain biking, racing and hiking and soon forgot about this neat little sport I tried until I returned to Vancouver and saw that Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks had started renting some SUP boards. I went out a couple of times and knew this was something I would be involved with. It was a combination of many of my passions (balance from slacklining, full body fitness, and the outdoors)... I needed to know more.... The summer came and left and well so did the winter and school and skiing and lots and lots of great things....
In April Andrew and I flew to Baja Mexico for a 6 day kayak trip and had a couple of extra days to spare. We found a kiteboarders heaven: La Ventana Beach. It was off season for kiting but perfect for SUPin' and so we did just that and explored some SUPin' there again... We saw fish from a new height and enjoyed the exercise and relaxation on the boards. Needless to say I was still intrigued by this new sport.
Spring rolled around and I began working part time at Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks. I realized that I was spending my breaks and time before and after work on the SUP. I decided to race the Indian Arm race on the SUP... It was tough, it was long but it was my kind of race... I found out about this race in Vernon called the Kalavida Classic.. It would be my first real SUP event/race. Andrew, Kala, and I headed over with a board and some mountain bikes. I won both races, I felt great and I loved it. I was onto something.
Deep Cove started a SUP category on their weekly Tuesday Night races. At first this was tough for me because I also love surf skiing and loved using the Tuesday night races as my surf ski training but I was becoming more and more involved with SUPin' and began showing stronger and stronger feelings towards using these races as training for future SUP races.
I traveled the weekend before my wedding to Ucluelet to participate in the Island SUP race series. I had an awesome race coming in 4th overall (regardless of boat class). My presence in the scene in BC was growing and I was finding quick success and passion for this new sport.
I was away on my amazing honeymoon for the two big races in WA state and wasn't feeling organized enough to head to California to race in the biggest SUP race event of the year, The Battle of the Paddle. I was disappointed but determined to make it happen for the following year. To my surprise Bob from Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks and Assistant Director Mike were heading down and were happy to help me out. I booked my plane a day before I left and I quickly found myself learning to stand up paddlesurf on Dana Point Beach.
I was negotiating the elite race all day/night and the morning of. I decided that in life taking healthy risks usually leads to some kind of growth/learning experience. I would only learn and excel as a paddler if I paddled with the best. So I found myself on the start line with 25 other elite ladies and about 120 elite men.
The course was a W loop course where surfing skills, turning skills, endurance, power and a little bit of luck were all essential to come out on top. I luckily acquired some of these essential skills but confidence and practice in the surf was going to be the difficult portion of the race for me. I had surfed before (not the standing up kind with a paddle) but sparingly, maybe once or twice a year depending on where I was traveling too. The gun went off and onto the board I climbed. I believe I fell off somewhere heading through the surf right off the start, most likely from nerves and being too stiff, so I forced myself to relax and stay calm and just try my best with the skills and knowledge I had thus far. Starboard helped me out with boards, for this race I was on a Free Race 12'6 x 31' Custom board. My thought with taking the slower and wider board versus the more race specific board was to sacrifice my flat water speed by being on a wider board (most elite racers were on 25' or so boards) in hope to stay upright more often in the surf. Well, I had good moments and bad moments... I was lucky at points: where we had to turn in breaking waves the majority of the time I missed the set but I also happen to be unlucky at times or just falter in the surf from inexperience.
I had moments where I wished I had entered the age groups and I had moments of great accomplishments and feeling proud to have taken up the challenge of the elite course. My result wasn't stellar but at least I have time and motivation to work towards improvement. Now, looking back I feel nothing but the feeling of success. I was the only Canadian on that start line, i gave it my all and I started racing and truly paddling 5 months ago. I am stoked.
I spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the expo, talking to reps, sponsors, athletes, etc. It was great to share stories, hear stories, and relax. We spent the night with the Starboard crew.
Sunday turned out to be a relatively big day! lots of good time spent on the board. I entered the distance race. I raced on the 14ft Starboard race board. I had never been on the board which I suppose isn't the best strategy for a big race but I felt lucky to just be there and have a board to stand on. The race included a mass start on the water with 180 paddlers... a little crazy but I made it through noentheless. I was feeling pretty good through the first third but was quickly noticing that I was using tons of effort and wasn't feeling the ease through the water that I naturally do? I pushed hard though through entire race, a little frustrated at not feeling the flow but enjoying the battle of the long course. This is definitely my strength and oddly enough what I absolutely love, just hammering for as long as I possibly can... it's just me against my own strength and determination. I was pleased with my 1:29 time for a 10 miler.. but unlucky for me I was in a tough category... next time..... though watch out folks... I am on a mission.
TEAM CANADA RELAY: 20th out of 50 teams!
I think the highlight of this amazing weekend was taking part in our team Canada relay competition. Kelvin, Norm, Bodie and I rounded out the team. The race consisted of paddling out the surf around 2 bouys back through the surf, onto the beach run 75ft tag your teammate and repeat through whole team twice. We were on the Surftech Bark 12'6, which is a great all around board! My first lap was going great until a board came flying into my head and knocked me off my board (a popular occurrence when you have 200 paddlers going in and out of surf, some with leashes and some without...). luckily I was fine and climbed back on my board to finish off my round.... The atmosphere, the excitement and the teamwork made the experience an unforgetable one. There has got to be something to be said about teammates and working as a team, it is something you just don't get in solo races... It is something I miss a ton from Adventure Racing. The comaderie brings people closer in a way that is hard to match. After our interview for the live webcast and coming off our high, it was all over and time to take down, say goodbye to folks and try and enjoy the last couple of hours in california.
The battle of the paddle is quite the event, it's huge, it's loud, and it's inspiring. The vibe is all about Stand Up and its quite the experience to have hundreds of people so into the same thing.
I have to say I am even more hooked than I was before, and even more keen to teach, to motivate, to give others this opportunity to enjoy this awesome new sport.
I've been wanting to head to the Battle since I first started racing Stand Up Paddleboards earlier this summer. As per usual I was too busy to get myself organized enough before my wedding in August and following honeymoon. By the time I returned a month later and two weeks before the event everyone I knew involved in the sport either had organized their own way there or couldn't make it.... I was bummed but tried to let it go and move on with other things.... THEN... two staff from Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks were heading with space and kindness to share..... and I find myself packing and heading on a plane at a far too early time of the morning tomorrow...
I am sooo excited! I feel blessed that Bob and Mike were willing to let me tag along and I feel compelled and pumped to take in the entire experience and hopefully kick some SUP'IN butt.
I can't figure out if it feels like we never left or it feels like it has already been a long while since we got back. In reality its been two days! Our honeymoon was just grand. Andrew wrote some sweet write ups on his blog while we were away and I just won't try and compete so definitely check it out HERE
In short, it was my kind of a honeymoon. We biked, we hiked, we canoed and we even raced! We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. It is huge, it is wild, and it is god damn gorgeous.... Biking along the Freedom highway (highway 20) was breathtaking, and in some ways it felt like we owned the road. Biking through the recent damaged forests was intense, so dead of life and sad. It makes one appreciate color, nature, and life.
Hiking the North coast trail was muddy but unique, the amazing beaches that are really not that far away and rarely stepped on are some of the most amazing beaches I have been on.
Bowron Lakes is something that is a natural phenomenon. What an amazing creation to be able to paddle these lakes surrounded by huge mountains and crazy wildlife.
Not only was the scenery and physical aspect of the adventure mind blowing but the people are really what put the icing on the cake. Everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles, welcomes, and cheerful conversations. From Port Hardy to Bella Coola, Williams Lake, Wells, and Bowron Lakes.
The owners of the Bear Paw Cafe Dave and Cheryl put on a lovely event called the seven summits hike and bike challenge. It is a low key but amazing event. You get to experience the trails and the alpine in and around Wells. Dave and Cheryl lent us their mountain bikes for the event and we were both excited to check out the local trails. I told Andrew to go fast on the bike and so we went our separate ways. Well, it was just my luck that I was feeling so good and givin it hell that I got myself good and lost in the mountains, I found a different summit and a different race's markers and a new mountain bike trail but disappeared for a good 2.5 hours until I found myself back on the course again. I managed to finish off the other summits and enjoy the afternoon but no cup for me... I did get the hardluck award and will be back to finish the challenge with the right summits next year.
It is tough to be back in the city after being surrounded almost entirely by trees and water for a month. I am already excited for our next adventure and I am sure it will not be too far off in the distance...
My family is visiting and helping me get sorted for the Big Day coming up on Saturday!
In order to keep sane and have some quality father daughter time, we headed to Ucluelet so I could race in the 4th race of the island series SUP races. I also thought it would be a sweet place to chill before the mad rush of getting a wedding sorted!
I met the crew from Comox Surf SUp and Compass Adventures. They are great and put on a solid race! I got to race on a prototype Starboard SUP board which was fun and reminded me of the "New" board that I have been paddling lately.
I have to keep this one short for now as there is tons of organizing to do but I wanted to push hard and I did and managed to stay in front with three other guys, two of which were on the K15 boards (I was on a 12'6). Yay, it was about a 6km race with some headwinds and chop. I stayed upright, felt good and had loads of fun. The event finished off with a BBQ at Relic Surf Shop.
Jessie, my old roommate, took my dad out on a whale watching tour and it was grand. We saw humpback whales, jumping, playing, eating, and even a mum and baby swimming around. We saw some crazy sea lions and enjoyed the speeds of the Zodiac! Thanks Jessie and Jamie's Whale Watching Tours!
This past weekend to celebrate finishing of my one year teaching degree and officially becoming a teacher, Andrew and I headed down Indian Arm for an overnight paddle camping trip. I thought it would be fun to do it STanding Up on the "New" Starboard paddleboard... it was fun for 99% of the time.... Andrew (aka the mule) kayaked and carried the luggage... We figured loading down Andrew would slow him down a little so he wasn't waiting too much for my slower Stand Up paddling.
Earlier in the summer I wanted to get a bunch of friends out on kayaks and down the Arm but due to a variety of reasons it didn't happen. As we had it Andrew and I were free with no plans for the weekend and decided to take the opportunity to sleep in and then head down to Granite falls. As it happens, this past weekend we were blessed with our first rainfall in over a month and despite some serious lack of desires to head back out in the rain (after a bike ride into town to meet some friends for coffee and getting soaked and cold) we went anyways.
I on the "New" Starboard SUP and ANdrew on the Looksha IV sea kayak. It took us a blistering 2.5 hours to get down to Granite Falls, we were blessed with some little downwind waves which helped in speed and increased the fun factor due to some minor surfing opportunities. I did have to sit down and create a semi canoe type vessicle out of the SUP for crossing through a side chop.... I managed and enjoyed the rest from concentrating on my balance. Despite the dismal weather Granite Falls was still packed with folks but we managed to find a perfect spot waterfront with trees. We set up camp with tarp and all. We managed to hiked around the falls as the water levels were low, ate, drank, and had some proper chillin time out under the tarp and by the ocean... no complaints just smiles.
We awoke to calm weather and headed down to the Wigwam Inn. A posh unfortunately members only Inn.... As we headed up the Arm back towards the Cove the wind picked up and I had quite the baddle with at times on the SUP. I thankfully did not a tow but at times wondered how I would make it back. I kneeled at points to try and become more aerodynamic... all in all it took us twice as long to get back, we hugged the shoreline nice and tightly and cruised into the Cove in time to make it for breakfast at Honey's. I wonder if I was the first SUP'er to make to Granite Falls and back?!?
A fine crew of us headed up to Pemberton for the long weekend to ride our mtn bikes and to celebrate Andrew's becoming Canadian. On Thursday July 29th Andrew became one of 70 new citizens of Canada. The celebration was quite good and the diversity of people was surprising from Russia to Argentina and everywhere in between.
We stayed at the Owl Creek Campground which was basic with a beautiful river (Andrew, Kala, and I had a little dip in the freezing yet refreshing river), the necessary outhouses and somewhere to park our tents. It was dirt cheap and nice enough. It even had two great trees for me to set up the slackline.... Talking about slacklining, a big congrats to the Yogaslackers and Dart Nuun for an awesome race in Tahoe...
We rode the trail 'resurrection' from the campground on Saturday . It was blistering hot with an adventure race style defunked logging road that was so steep and so loose that riding was near impossible... hike a biking up a logging road with our bikes in high heat was not considered to be too much fun by most BUT there was an exciting descent to follow... a little sandy at points but it added to the adventure... I was glad to have my flats and pads on for that one... The rest of the day we swam in the river, enjoyed some sun, drank coffee during a rather abrupt thunderstorm at the Mount Currie Coffee Co, hung out in Paul and Angie's massive tent during the second portion of the thunderstorm and slacklined once the rain ceased a little...
Sunday we rode Nimby in attempts to find the new Stimulus trail but read the map at the bike Co wrong and after some failed trail finding attempts ended up heading down Overnight Sensation, which is one stellar trail.. so all good! This trail has it all from rocks, to smooth in the forest trails, to technical steep trails and of course the heat and lack of rain (the rain the night prior did nothing to dampen the trails) some sand! I found it a little frustrating climbing nimby in my flats but I think with more practice I will get the technique but again enjoyed the steep technical downhill with my pads and flats. I am totally on a mtn bike buzz (as well as SUP and everything else buzz)We finished the ride off with a swim in One mile lake, and ice cream.... Perfect!
Monday it was down to three of us, Andrew, Kala, and I headed up to Whistler area and rode Kill me Thrill Me... despite living in Whistler I had never rode this trail... Yup, one of my favs.... loved it and it made me miss Whistler even more than I already do... what a wonderful wonderful place!
Now its 1 more week of school and then WEDDING and huge Multi sport honeymoon extravaganza!
There is 1.5 weeks of school left with 4 major assignments. I am just trying to keep my head above the water.... One full year of school is almost over and I will officially be a teacher... Woohoo! Its been a long but beautiful ride...
Because of my poor attention span and focus I can't actually do work for an entire day so Saturday my break consisted of running the Hanes Valley Trail with Andrew... He was feeling a little ill but is a superstar and pushed onwards. This is a fun trail that goes from the Lynn Valley Headwaters to the Top of Grouse Mountain. You run along the river, past Norvan Falls, through the valley and then climb up boulders and scree to Crown Mountain Pass. From there you follow the trails over Dam and Goat Mountains and find yourself at the Grouse Mountain lodge. If you don't start at 4pm then you might even make it in time for ice cream.
Workin at Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks is fantastic! I feel so lucky to be involved with such a stellar group of people all around. That being said I was there for 11 hours on SUnday.... I got myself a nice tan on face and arms!!!!
Tuesday Night Races:
This Tuesday Night I met up with the Trident folks and I had the pleasure of trying out a new paddleboard from Starboard called "The New". it is 12 6' in length and 23.5' in width. It is a full on racing boat and not sure now if it was me or the boat really but the two of us together definitely picked up some speed. I was mingled among the surfskis. I was a little worried about stability but I managed to stay upright the entire race!!!!
I enjoyed the easy maneuverability of the board. I could turn it when I wanted and with ease and quickness. I also enjoy the acceleration of the board. It typically takes me a couple minutes to get going but found I could get up to speed quite quickly and efficiently.
I thought the stability would affect my stroke but found that I quickly adapted to the width and with my surprise paddled with ease (luckily, it was a relatively calm night out in the cove..).
It is fast...
All in all it was fun, I especially liked the extra challenge of the stability and the speed!
The race itself is a stellar one: one of my favorite multisport (paddle, run, swim) races...
Look forward to the next one!
Now its time for more school assignments, wedding planning, and whatever amount of work and training I can squeeze in in between!
After much indecision, and plans not coming together Andrew had the great idea to head to Hood River. Two years ago I did a 24 hour adventure race there with the Yogaslackers and remember only good things about the area. I was instantly in. Of course like many of our trips we brought a variety of equipment with us: mtn bikes, mountaineering gear and SUP gear.
I am really enjoying SUPin and the community surrounding it. I am still new to it all but am diving right in there. I love racing them, I know I would love expeditions on them and teaching fitness on SUP boards. Deep Cove has now invited SUP paddlers on the Tuesday Night Races. Last Tuesday a huge crowd turned up... it was fantastic and surprising. The sport is growing fast. I also met some of the Starboard reps. I managed to leave Deep Cove with a SUP board that needed repair in Hood River. SO hence, the SUP addition to our gear list. There also is a race series put on by BIg WInds in Hood River every Thursday night on the river. As we were heading over on Thursday and due to border delays (2 hours...boo) we actually arrived into town just in time for me to race.
Big Winds Race The water in the Hood can get mighty choppy due to wind and current and although not in full force on Thursday the chop was more than I was used to on the SUP. I was paddling the Starboard PIN (which I really like). It was racers choice for the course as the original route would have been too much in the higher than expected winds and current. The racers managed to still choose a pretty lenghty route but I didn't mind. There were some big names out on the water which was exciting stuff for me. It was a shore start which now I am 2 for 2 for terrible starts (I need to work on my off the board starts).
Other than the pros out front the rough chop didn't set me too far behind. It was out with the wind but against the current, back against the wind but with the current and then a little loop in the protected flat water area. I didn't want to embarrass myself so I pushed hard... In the end to my surprise I managed to be the first female to finish. Following the race, Andrew and I chatted with some local SUPers, all of whom were very welcoming. I got the pleasure to meet with Nikki Gregg who is one of the pioneers of SUP fitness. She was grand. We tried to meet up again but alas it didn't work out. Next time...
The crew at the SUP race let us in on a campground not too far from town... Tucker Park, we rolled in late Thursday night and very lucky to eventually find a spot... we were not the only Canucks with the idea of heading south for the long weekend... We even got to enjoy fireworks from the campground for Canada Day!
Post Canyon Mtn BIking Friday morning, we decided to check out a local mtn bike area called Post Canyon. The trails are plentiful, smooth, and fast. We rode for about 3.5 hours with a mini adventure Andrew and Lina style (lost but not lost, a little bushwhacking, checking out closed trails, understanding why they are closed and finding the trail we wanted by accident and because Andrew is a curious man in a very good way).
Mt. Hood and its SUMMIT Wake Up call:
Friday night after making dinner at camp and gathering up our mountaineering gear we drove away from sunshine into some extremely harsh weather. We drove up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to get ourselves ready for our summit day on Saturday. We arrived as the sun was setting but we couldnt tell as we drove straight into dense fog, harsh winds and rain. We got our paperwork done and made the back fo the subaru outback ready for bed.... We slept in the car to only get up in a few hours. We began our hike with a harsh 3am wake up call (and we think we were one of the last to leave the park lot that morning compared to the other climbing parties, actually we heard some leaving at midnight or so...). We set off in the dark but to our surprise the rain had stopped and we could actually see some stars... The day was looking hopeful. I was feeling surprisingly good. I really love doing outdoor activities in the dark (it reminded me of my time in Whistler when Megan, Nick, Adrian and I would start some local hikes at midnight due to our weird work schedules, oh and adventure racing...I digress). As we hiked over and on moraines light was beginning to enter the dark sky. Once we hit the top of the ski lifts we could put away our headlamps and put on our crampons... I set us off at a blistering pace over the first hump as I really really had to use the "bathroom" but we managed to catch too many climbers and I wanted to get away from them... AFter my little bathroom experience with a blue bag (lets just say I don't deal with bodily things very well...) As we headed past the crater and onto Hogsback one of the first climbers was on his way down... speedy guy. The climb wasn't too bad and the toughest part both physically and mentally was the last pitch to the summit. It was steep, I had crampons but not mountaineering ones and one axe that I hammered into that snow each time with effort and security (in my head it was my lifeline...) the tough part was that we managed to catch a load of people and so found ourselves heading straight up the middle of three chutes and right below two guys making their way down. While they were coming down they were knocking chunks of icy snow down along with them... one managed to hit me square face right in between my eyes on the top of nose... I was concentrating so hard on sticking all of my spiky things into the hard snow that I neglected to pay attention to the snow falling on top of me... I am still wearing my hard core scab from it all..haha.. I decided the best solution was to stop thinking and just giver' to pass the two guys coming down... it worked. Andrew and I reached the summit at about 630am... But we didn't hang out there for very long as the summit managed to be a long huge cornice hanging over a steep cliff... hmmm... not my idea of a place to chill... so we took our pictures and began the descent.
Now, I am definitely an UP girl.... I find descents tough and a little more nerve racking. You always read about deaths and injuries from people coming DOWN... SO, I took my time. We eventually made it through the tough spots, stopped for second breakfast and tried out some glisading to save the knees but instead gave ourselves bum burn (the snow was sharp...). We were back at our cars at around 10am... We spent the rest of the day napping, swimming in rivers, drinking coffee and doing that kind of thing. We wanted to head out for a SUP but alas it was too windy and we couldn't get ourselves any boards...
Surveyor's Ridge Mtn Biking We fell asleep quite early Saturday night due to our early start and so getting up fairly early to get in a bike ride didn't seem so harsh, well especialy after our 3am wake up the morning prior. We headed down to another mtn bike area and found a loop that would take about an hour, 8 mile loop (we were heading into to Portland to meet a good friend of mine, Risa from my MN camp days). The ride was a blast, fun single track up and down with great views... loved it! We will be back for more biking...
We met Risa, ate, caught up and then headed back north... the border was a breeze and now its full on with school work, assignments and other life things....
all in all a fabulous weekend away with my awesome husband to be (wow, thats kind of nutty sounding but love it....)
I am back from the rockies and have a lot to write about. First though, I would like to write about my first big SUP race experience. Traveling, and going back to school within the same year has drained me financially and so the sport I fell in love with for a couple of years (adventure racing) has been put on hold for a little bit (I'm not done with it just yet...) due to its high expense, finding myself without a team, and other life things, etc etc..... no biggy: always looking on the bright side of things and always searching for new ways to test my abilities and limits it has forced me to look for other opportunities locally in the same sport, related sports and new sports.
Along came Stand Up Paddleboarding.... I am not too sure where it all started but I believe in November 2008 at Santa Claus Beach in CA with old Camp Olson friends.... a little play in the surf and trial with the boards ( Andrew paddled with dolphins...super cool) I instantly fell in love but was off to travel South America so forgot about it for awhile...
Then upon my return last summer and my keen interest in kayaking I found that Deep Cove Canoe and kayaks had started renting a couple of boards.. I went out a handful of times last summer and my interest in the sport peaked again but they were expensive and I didn't know much about the sport...
This summer I got hired with Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks as a kayak guide and found myself even more "obsessed" with stand up paddleboards and with more opportunities to try them out. I now check websites, race reports, fitness and lesson ideas and it is becoming part of my daily life without actually owning a board or anything to do with SUP.... but it all has to start somewhere and usually it starts with being motivated, inspired, and keen to learn the history about what you are getting into.
I raced my first SUP race in May at the Tour de Indian Ar, which is primarily a kayak race but this year they added a SUP category as well. It was tough but I loved it.
While reading about the sport on the web I came across a posting for a race in vernon the Kalamalka Classic. Well, Kalavida Surf Shop did a good job of convinving me I wanted to go this "festival" that incorporated two races and a little dinner with festivities. Andrew and Kala came along and we brought bikes as we knew there was good trails in the area.
Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks lent me a rental Starboard 12'6 Cruiser for the race. I had no idea if this was a good board or what? but was so happy that I could borrow it and have a board for the race that I didn't care.
The first race was Saturday morning, a 3.5 mile loop with a 200m portage run with the boards through a park. On the start line there were about 8 male and 8 females. They played a cheesy song and tried to use the conch as the start horn (you can watch this on the video at the top of the page) and then I managed to have the most horrible start EVER... I got squished between folks and then a girl fell off her board right in front of me, but being a rookie I just tried my best to paddle around her and catch the people in the front. I managed to catch the two girls in front just after crossing the Riviera channel... and then eventually pulled passed Jen Segger. My eyes were on the guys infront of me and the bouys we were to paddle around off in the distance. I kept a good pace and managed to pass the guy in fourth place before the portage. The portage was a greta little addition but with these huge boards tough to run with. I had to stop once to re adjust my fingers that had managed to loose grip... After the short run and back on the boards my chest could feel the sprint and I was breathing hard (I definitely need to do more sprint work outs... but I love the enduro stuff)... I never quite managed to catch the guy in third and had no idea how far infront I was from second place for the females so just kept paddling away as best as I knew how... I rolled around the corner to hear on the microphone that I was 1st female.... it was a great feeling to finish so well. After cooling off in the lake with Andrew and Kala we all headed for lunch and a ride around Kalamalka Provincial Park and Cosens Bay. It was a great ride on smoother trails than we normally ride! We managed to escape the thunder and rain, had another dip in the lake and some slacklining on the beach.... I love lakes as they make you feel so clean and refreshed!
Saturday night we headed to Gatzke Farm Market for a buffet dinner, music by some local ex surfer/musician dude.... he even wrote a song for the race! I managed to score a surftech paddle for my win and a bunch of nicely vibrant trucker hats and stickers for the crew....
Sunday morning, I forced the crew up nice and early (sorry! but thanks for being good sport about it) so I could get to the race start and find out which direction the race would be heading. We had to paddle the length of the Kalamalka Lake from Oyama to Vernon... Andrew and Kala dropped me off and met up with some friends and they hit up some more biking trails while I put my arms and back to the test in a 20km or so paddle across the lake. Only three brave ladies showed up for the big race.... we started off first and 10 minutes later the men took off... they wanted us all to finish in and around similar times and so decided to stagger the start... I thought the guys would catch up a lot quicker than they actually did and so the stagger actually worked out perfectly.... well calculated! We took off and the three of us stayed somewhat close together for the first quarter but I slowly pulled away and then didn't look back and didn't know how far behind anyone was at any point in the race... I figured it didn't really matter anyways cause I wasn't going to really push much harder so early in the race... I didn't want to fade or just not make it to the end... It was kind of neat to be in front for such a large part of the race... a little worrisome at points as I began doubting myself if I was heading in the direction (hard to get it wrong really but it happens when you get tired and think people should have come passed you already).... eventually the first two guys Beau and kelvin paddled past me. I was glad when they did as I was loosing my motivation a little with a wandering mind and seeing them sail past me got my mojo going again and I had someone to follow and try to catch! As I neared closer to the fnish a couple more guys paddled past but no girls.... I was starting to feel soreness in my arms and the heat was starting to get to me in the last third of the race but I paddled on as I knew if I stopped for anything I might have trouble starting again.... I managed to paddle into 1st place again and get crowned the Queen of Kalamalka...
There were some great athletes out there and this sport is something I can see myself really getting into... I enjoy this sort of pain and mental battle. I met some great folks, paddlers and volunteers. The volunteers were grand by the way and kudos to the organizers Kevin and michelle! Please do it again next year...
You will find me in more SUP races..... its the beginning of something big.... I can feel it!
