Nimby Fifty and more...

Fun weekend in the Sea to Sky area. We were off to Pemberton for the Nimby Fifty mountainbike race.

It started off with bbq and good times with friends in Whistler. I really do miss that place.

Andrew and I woke up Saturday morning to rain. We were both registered to race in the Nimby Fifty mtn Bike race in Pemberton. It was to be a 35km course (that felt like 50km) on some new trails in Pemberton. I was looking forward to the ride. Thanks to Chantelle we got to sleep in a warm house and sleep in a little as we didn't have to be in Pemberton until quarter to 10. After a nice breakfast of oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit and of course choc chips we headed to the Aplpine Cafe for some coffee to make sure our bodies would be stimulated and ready to work hard.

We arrived with plenty of time and rain! After registering and getting ourselves organized Andrew noticed that his rear shock had blown?!?!? What? He is a bike mechanic and of course made sure my bike was sparkling and in good order and was sure his was in good form for the race as well...

Andrew being the amazing guy that he is didn't think twice, met the race organizer and volunteered to sweep the course on foot. Awesome. I think he had a grand ol time and the race organizers kindly gave him an entry for next year and he will be there..... more on his story here

Anyways on to my story...

I was up for a good time and my goal was to enjoy the race and do my best. I have steadily seen improvements in my riding and am getting pretty stoked on the whole downhill part of mtn biking...hehe..

I started off mid rear as to not feel too much pressure in front and behind me. As we rolled through the first loop of the course, I managed to find a pretty good spot as we headed into the 101 switchback climb... not too many people to pass and not too many people that needed to pass me. I felt pretty good on the climb, just taken it easy in the good ol granny gear. As we crested the top, there was some quick fireroad descending and onto some steep fairly technical trails. I was happy with my riding here although I was a little slowler than others I was riding most of the trails. I did manage to go over my bars off a mini cliff...oops! After this there was lots of climbing and descending, hike a bikin' and some more single track rock slabs and technical riding... I never really bonked but did manage to loose a little of my mojo for some reason. I slacked off and lost my speed. No real reason that I can think of... hmm.. oh well, I managed to come through the line muddy, tired, and happy! There is some good ridin out there. Also there was a strong STEED team representation! Way to go STEED cycles! It was comforting to be part of such a strong and wonderful team covered in green and white!

Following the race and when Andrew finally arrived, we enjoyed burgers, music, and drinks! Tom, Ned, Holly, Megan, Andrew and I managed to close down the party. We were the last ones up enjoying the beautiful countryside of pemberton. The rain had stopped, the bonfire was roaring and the chatter and laughter with good friends created a most perfect evening. We managed to be the only ones that decided to stay and camp in the nearby forest.

The following morning, we were moving a little slower but all headed to the Whistler Bike Park! Thanks to the Bike Co for the bike rental!

Lovin' Pemberton

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!

lina

MOMAR 2010 Squamish

Can I make it? Will I make it? Yes, no, yes, no, maybe, no.....yes!!!!! I am so glad that I was able to participate in the race. First off a much needed THANK YOU to my very own Andrew for essentially getting me there and making it all happen for me. Second, a big huge thanks to Bryan and Jen Segger for putting on yet another fabulous Momar Event.

I hadn't realized how much I have missed AR racing until this weekend. It hasn't even been one full year since my last big race but I have been getting the itch for some time now to race another AR race... YAY!

This was my first attempt at racing AR Solo style... I was nervous as I can not even navigate when there is flagging on a course. Nav is not my strong point. Sometimes, one of the best ways to learn is to just put yourself in a situation where you must learn (I must do this with learning to drive stick...).

The Leman's start proved to be a great way to quickly disperse the racers before hitting some single track. The climb up was tough in sections with steep steep climbs on loose gravel. I was happy with my push to the top. I managed to ride close to all of the climbs. I have been riding more than usual this spring and it has shown in my confidence on the descents. I am excited that my technical riding is improving and I still have so much improvement to go... the learning is endless. The single track was awesome along with some of the classics and some new trails. Heading into the O course I was getting nervous (my weakness). Despite no significant time loss or major errors I kept my pace slow and tried hard to concentrate on my position at all times which sometimes is hard for me and my short focus span. It took me a little longer to find certain points but it could have been much much worse... I lost some time but did not panic about it. Finishing off the technical biking with the plunge and only one humorous fall off my bike it was time to hike the chief. I was feeling a little tired at this point and just took the hike up slowly but consistently. I managed to totally forget that I needed to summit and just followed signs without thinking. Fortunately, Lucy, another female racer pointed it out to me... I was annoyed that I had to backtrack etc. but got over it after the awesome repel off the Chief. I rocked the run back down (I am feeling so much more confident on my downhill running!!! running on the shore with Andrew has helped tons). The river crossing was great for the legs and I got to smile for Jordy and the cameras. I kept my eye on the map (which I amazingly was able to destroy by the end of the race....map cases are recommended for a reason) the rest of the bike ride to town to ensure no unnecessary slip ups. Made it into town surprisingly as the first female...?!? I was confused so I just smiled and kept going certain I wasn't first. The urban run was short and sweet... It paid that i took some seconds to switch to my running shoes as running in bike shoes is just no fun at all ). I came through as the first female in 5 hours and 30 minutes. I am so happy with my performance. ALthough not a perfect race I tried to stay calm, stay consistent, have fun and not get lost... I succeeded. Thanks for a grand race and thank you ladies, for pushing hard... There are some strong women out there!

Fo results and pics go here

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

A weekend of Firsts

Life is getting busy again,... but I love it.

This past weekend was full of firsts...

Good friends SJ and Tom invited Andrew and I to a bike tour to Bowen Island (first) for Norwegian dinner (first with a glitch), to meet Tom's grandpa Jan (first), to hike up Mt Gardiner (first), and finally I enjoyed my first SUP race (first).

We met SJ and Tom in Horseshoe Bay Friday evening and headed over to the Legion on Bowen in hopes of enjoying a Norwegian dinner created by Tom's grandpa, Jan. His dinner was so delicious and popular that by the time we arrived it was all gone... no worries, we had done a little grocery shopping and enjoyed pretzels, carrots and other munchies and some drinks. We managed to close down the bar (I won't tell you what time that was) and enjoyed some time with Jan before we hit the sack Friday night.

Jan is an amazing 97 year old man who is more social than I could ever be! We woke up in time to eat and be out of the house before his first of two social hostings were to occur at 9am. We decided to explore Mt Gardiner, despite some minor glitches in finding the path we managed to summit in good time, had a delicious second breakfast/brunch, and hung out in the sun. We took a different route home and made it in time for tea and relaxation with Jan before we had to brave the hill to get us back across Bowen and catch the 3pm ferry.

Sunday I decided to try the Tour de Indian Arm on a Stand Up Paddle Board. It was a 10km route with wind, boat wash and other exciting moments... I had no idea about anything so just gave it my best shot.... there were about 5 other guys who were definitely of the more experienced nature but I managed to hold my own and make it in about 1 hr 40 min and not too far behind 2nd and 3rd place... there will definitely be more of those sorts of races in my future... I can feel it!

Okay back to the books for me

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

Kayaking the Sechelt Inlet with 13 teenagers.....

I wasn't sure what I might be getting myself into when I signed up for this trip... what took place? A beautiful long weekend on the water exploring old abandoned bible camps, hippie communes, abandoned family cabins, coasteering, bush-wacking and lots of kayaking, eating and campfires. I had a blast with the staff and students from SEMI Secondary. Here are some pictures to show off our beautiful backyard we live in!

Live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

Salt Spring Guide exchange...via bikes

Andrew joined me for a fun weekend hangin out with kayak gurus... We decided to bike over in order to save on some ferry costs and increase the adventure aspect of the weekend.

The guide exchange is run by the SKGABC and occurs twice a year.

This one was hosted by Island Escapades on Salt Spring Island.

Andrew and I headed out Friday afternoon and managed to catch all the right ferries and make it over to Ganges for dinner. They cooked up some tasty curry and angel cake. We watched a slideshow of kayaking from Salt Spring to Alaska which got the adventure twitch roaring.... (it doesn't take much for me)... On Saturday we headed to the Samsun Narrows and practiced bracing, ferrying, current rescues and enjoyed a lovely day on the water.

Andrew and I headed to the Tree House Cafe (we love this place) for a delicious meal and live music. We finished off the day back at the Lions Club enjoying some live music from a local band called Synergy!

Sunday it was time to get a little more serious with our CPR recertification (not that serious though) and our adventure back home.

PICS from the weekend!

It's neat to see how certain communities migrate. On the ferry home we met and chatted with a bunch of "bike tourers"... the world is small.... love it!

We also decided to change our honeymoon plans on the ferry and created one heck of a local adventure. We will celebrate in the UK come Christmas time as we decided to explore some of the amazing local adventures to be had right from our front door. We are combining some of my favorite things into one big adventure.... bike touring, hiking/trail running/canoeing and camping... more to come on that one...

for now.... i gotta keep staying fit so off to Crossfit I go.

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina