In the Saddle and on the Rock... Penticton Adventures

Andrew and I headed out to Penticton Friday afternoon (following my morning run) to meet up with some friends in Penticton for a weekend of biking, climbing, eating, camping and more. We rolled into the hills of Penticton Friday evening and made our way over to the trails of Three Blind Mice and rode for a couple of hours before making our way to camp. The campsite was gorgeous situated right on lake Okanagan. We met up with Mark and Nikki for some needed beers and mexican food! After a day of driving and biking we were both zonked and enjoyed some much needed rest!



The next two days consisted of waking up with hot sun, good coffee, and some healthy morning faff. We rode our bikes from camp to the trails: big rides entailed. The trails in Penticton are very different than those in Vancouver. For one, they are much much dryer and a little smoother. The climbs were technical and I enjoyed seeing my improvement throughout the weekend. The descent also allowed me to practice really letting go of the brakes and learning to let speed be my friend. The views of lake Okanagan were beautiful as well as riding past the multiple wineries really reminded me of bike and wines throughout Mendoza Argentina. We rode from 4 to 5 hours or until we were hungry and the heat was too fierce.




Back at camp we had Lunch and lounged/slakclined until the sun eased a little and our energy got renewed enough to head to the crags. We managed to get in enough climbs inthe evening i the peace and welcoming shade. It was really great to get to the crags as people were leaving from a full day of climbing. On Sunday night we literally had the crag to ourselves. It was nice to get back on the rock. Climbing with the crew was geat as well as they are confident and knowledgeable climbers.





Back at camp we made loads of delicious food and enjoyed time by the campfire.

All in all a wonderful weekend out by the lake in the hot sun!



Live, Love, Laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Crossfit Vancouver and training

I am feeling stronger and stronger after each session of crossfit at the Vancouver gym. I feel like this will improve my power, speed and strength enormously and in return allow me to perform even better in whatever sport I am currently participating in.

I am also enjoying training again back in Vancouver. I have been on the bike loads, back on my feet running (although I would like to get out more on technical trails) and back in the boat kayaking. My next big race is Explore Sweden with the Yogaslackers and am hoping to conquer some trail runs as well as some kayak races. I am looking to race in the cyclocross circuit this fall on my new cross bike that I absolutely love thanks to Steed Cycles and Giant Bicycles.

Lots and lots of fun to be had.... Waking up everyday is so exciting!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

The Giant TCX first bike tour: Hornby Island!

 Following a morning of volunteering for the North Shore Triathlon Bike Check at Steed Cycles Andrew and I biked over to the Nanaimo ferry on our cross bikes (all toured up with panniers and camping gear). We had decided last minute to bike to Comox, Denman and the highlight: Hornby island for the weekend. It was to be my first time touring with panniers and touring on my lovely new Giant TCX Cylcocross bike. It was also my first time on Denman and Hornby islands. 

We managed to leave Steed Cycles at 2pm to catch the 3pm ferry (we left the car in west van to save time) to Nanaimo. We were so glad to be on our bikes as the ferry line-ups did not look appealing or fun at all. We arrived on the island around 5pm and with loads of energy took the scenic route around the bay before hitting the Island Highway. The highway between Nanaimo and Nanoose Bay (Parksville) is quite busy and loud and not the peaceful bike ride one looks for on the island but once the highway splits into inland and oceanside the noise diminishes, the nervousness of getting hit diminishes and island life begins. I love the smell of the forest and the ocean... Its the one thing I miss loads living in the city... After many hours of riding, singing, chatting, get lost within thoughts we made it to Comox by 10pm. I must admit that my neck was cramping rather vigorously within the last 15 km and I believe I biked those last km with my neck cocked sideways with a little grimmace on my face. Arriving at Mark and Nicki's place in Comox was a welcoming site, some pizza and beer were on the menu along with some good chatter...

The next morning feeling strong again, the three of us heading back down to Buckley bay and managed to catch the 11am ferry to Denman. It was a gorgeous sunny day and my excitement was building. We rode across Denman quickly and managed to time it perfectly with the Hornby ferry so we rolled our bikes on and enjoyed the scenary and break. 

Once on Hornby we cycled to Tribune Bay and took lunch and coffee at Vorizo cafe. SO CUTE! Bought some snacks and some beverages for the night and made our way to the campsite at Ford's Cove. It is lovely there with some really cool rock but we prabably couls have done without the roosters in the morning! I think they decided to have a mass meeting right beside the campsite!!!

After setting up camp we jumped on the bikes sin panniers and found some trails and went for a walk around Helliwell Park until we all got very hungry. Back at camp we made some curry in a bag and enjoyed some fine wine and a fire until I fell asleep on Andrew in front of the fire. 

I had such a great sleep that night. Which is a blessing as we had a big day ahead of us. Before leaving Hornby we rode up one of the trails to the summit. It was gorgeous! and to my surprise I loved the offroad descent on my cross bike... go figure!

We stopped for lunch on Denman (best brie/pear bagel I have ever had!) and laughed at the poor cars waiting in line for the ferry as we cruised by and caught the next ferry on our bikes. Back at Buckley bay Andrew and I said bye to Mark and we began our big journey home. We made it on the 7pm ferry with relief and enjoyed pizza, fries and coffee with pleasure... we deserved it!

a beautiful weekend on our bikes! I have learned that biking onto the ferries is the way to go: cheaper, no lines and lots of fun!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

clean and jerks

my pecs and lats are still aching from tuesdays work out. My heel infection is slowly looking healthier but whats on my mind? how to get my cleans down.... I got the jerk but am trying to get those fast twitch muscles to wake and move quickly for me... I will get there (mostly because I am stubborn and do not like to fail at things....). Life  back in Vancouver is proving to be even more fun than when I left for 6 months. I did my first ride down Neds (not the quickest nor prettiest ride but am getting there) and heading for another mtn bike tonight on Burnaby mountain. I am looking forward to running again once my heels are a little less swollen.  I am also back in the kayak in Deep cove (i love deep cove) This weekend I will get to try out my new Giant cross bike as Andrew and I are going on a mini bike tour to Denman and Hornby Island... Now I only need to have a talk with Mr. Sunshine and order in more constant sunny days...

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

Certified Kayak Guide

I spent the last 10 days on the beautiful west coast of Vancouver Island on a kayak guiding course with SKILS. It was a wet ten days but that didn't stop me from having the time of my life. I got to know 10 amazing and inspiring kayakers and developed a soft spot for the west coast of the island. We spent 4 days around Ucluelet learning about weather, tides and currents, navigation etc and then 5 days out on the wild west coast waters. I learned how to kayak surf, make sushi on the beach and more about our first nations people, seaweed and intertidal pools (to name a few). I am stoked about the ocean and stay tuned for some more ocean kayaking adventures. The pacific northwest keeps blowing my mind.....umlimited terrain to discover and adventures to be had. 

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

check out some pics here 

Ucluelet and Clayoquot Sound Kayak Training

I am getting stoked about the next week. I will be spending 9 days on Vancouver Island learning and expanding my skills in order to be an overnight assistant kayak guide. I will be working with SKILS to achieve all the necessary skills and information. 9 days camping in Ucluelet and the Clayoquot sound.... meeting new kayak enthusiasts and learning more about this beautiful part of British Columbia... doesn't get much better than that.

Crossfit training has been going well. I feel stronger already. Training session number 6 coming up today-looking forward to it in a type2 fun kind of way!

This week I also found out that I got into teacher school at SFU... I begin in September! woot woot!

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!

lina

Garibaldi Neve: Ski Touring

Ski Touring the Neve has been something I've wanted to do since I got introduced to the wonderful world of backcountry skiing. The Neve is a point to point traverse that can be done in either South to North or North to South direction. Most people begin the traverse at the Black Diamond parking lot in Squamish and finish at the Garibaldi Parking lot further north off of highway 99 towards Whistler. Last year most of the crew had done the traverse in that direction but really disliked going down 9 km of tight switch backs that were mostly ice; therefore we decided to try it going the opposite way. I jumped aboard this time (having some free time in between courses, and looking for a job etc). 

Saturday morning we did some car shuttling (in order to have a car at the end of the traverse as well as the beginning) and began our trek on the road towards Garibaldi Lake. We were lucky enough to hike the first 3 or 4 km with skis on our packs (really not that lucky...hahaha. It is amazing how much heavier the pack gets with skis tied to it). We eventually put on the skis and finished up the switchbacks... at least it felt a little shorter with the walking start?!? We had a gorgeous day so the 4km ski across Garibaldi Lake didn't feel as long and we had some beautiful sights to look at and let minds wander off. We arrived with plenty of time to cook in the sun (so nice to winter camp outside without shivering in the dark) and watch the sun set across the lake and rest behind the mountains. 

The Burton hut was crammed with folk so we decided to set up camp outside; seeing that we brought tents we figured the weather was nice and the sleep wouldn't be too cool. Well, we were wrong about the warmer nights: it was still mighty cold and I had to put on all of my clothes throughout the night... Unfortunately two of our party decided to head back down the switchbacks and home due to lack of sleep etc. 

Then there were three Andrew, Kala and I headed off toward the Neve. The sun was hot, the climbs steep, the crevasses big and the scenary magnificent. We climbed hard through the heat and managed to score some sweet turns on spring snow conditions down the Neve, across the sketchy Gargoles, to Elfin lakes, across Paul's Ridge and down from Red Heather to the parking lot and celebrate at the Shady Tree in Squamish.

 The traverse has it all, ups and downs, trees, and glaciers. I was feeling the heat of the sun going up the glacier and had to stop and drink tons of water. My knees were causing me some problems half way through the traverse but I pulled through with some Ibuprofin and mental strength. The snow happen to be pretty awesome for our turns and the ski out was easy and quite peaceful. 

Another great weekend spent in the mountains, on skis with fantastic friends. 

I am truly enjoying my time in Vancouver since my return from South America. We live in a spectacular part of the world so go out and play!

Paul's Pictures here

Live, Love, Laugh,...DREAM!

lina