Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Finally 100
It's now less than 3 weeks to the BCBR!?!? Shit. I already had my first bad dream about the race...I should be used to this and know how to get my mind under control but I still have dreams where I think that there is some required coursework from undergrad that I never went too and turns out I didn't actually graduate from Mines. Then there was the night before my yoga teacher training final practicum. The dream was that my teacher pulled me aside and said, "Emily, we're sorry but you just don't have what it takes to be a yoga teacher." Argh! Who dreams about failing yoga teacher training?? The stupid part of this mental state is that our goal is to finish the race with the more smiles and woohoos than any other team. We're not looking to be the fastest, just have the most fun.
After a weekend with visiting family members necessitated short 2 hour rides last weekend, this weekend provided two lovely rides. Saturday was a road ride. It was great for four reasons. First, it didn't rain. Second, I finally climbed Mt. Seymour on the Orbea. Third, it was my longest ride ever on a bike -- 173 kms. Fourth, I actually ate enough during the ride to stay reasonably fueled. I've been too intimidated to climb Seymour since moving to a compact. Last year (still on a triple) I passed a guy when on Seymour and he made a comment about how he wished he still had a triple. Since then it's been in my head that it would be really really tough to climb this 1040m in 12.5 kms with a compact. It was a steady climb and there were a few times I noticed I was reaching for my shifters looking for another gear, but it wasn't an absurd climb. The downside is that it was cold, probably 5-6 C and foggy at the top. The leg and arm warmers were not sufficient and my feet were like bricks at the bottom of the decent. The rest of the ride was just lovely and pleasant and solitary; lots of time with my thoughts which have been lovely and pleasant the last couple of weeks. :) Rolled back home to North Vancouver in just under 7 hours of ride time (6 hours 55 min).
On Sunday, with the rain, I cold have sworn some giant sneezed on all the skinnes and covered them with snot. If you even thought about touching your brakes your back wheel would instantaneously skid off. snotty. slimy. slippery. Lower Crippler was a new trail for me, having been previously scared off by the name. But Andrew is very encouraging, not too cheerleadery, and drops one or 2 little nuggets each time we ride that helps me get better. He said that I'm at the point now where I'm rolling most everything including the drops meant to be hucked...After the BCBR it may be time to go to a bike park and rent a super squishy ride for some true DH skills. I really want to ride this once the June Monsoon is over (I was just too scared this weekend and not willing to risk injury before the race).
Also from gutsploder.com
After a weekend with visiting family members necessitated short 2 hour rides last weekend, this weekend provided two lovely rides. Saturday was a road ride. It was great for four reasons. First, it didn't rain. Second, I finally climbed Mt. Seymour on the Orbea. Third, it was my longest ride ever on a bike -- 173 kms. Fourth, I actually ate enough during the ride to stay reasonably fueled. I've been too intimidated to climb Seymour since moving to a compact. Last year (still on a triple) I passed a guy when on Seymour and he made a comment about how he wished he still had a triple. Since then it's been in my head that it would be really really tough to climb this 1040m in 12.5 kms with a compact. It was a steady climb and there were a few times I noticed I was reaching for my shifters looking for another gear, but it wasn't an absurd climb. The downside is that it was cold, probably 5-6 C and foggy at the top. The leg and arm warmers were not sufficient and my feet were like bricks at the bottom of the decent. The rest of the ride was just lovely and pleasant and solitary; lots of time with my thoughts which have been lovely and pleasant the last couple of weeks. :) Rolled back home to North Vancouver in just under 7 hours of ride time (6 hours 55 min).
On Sunday I rode Fromme with my co-worker Andrew. It was raining and cold. Andrew has been in the field too much this last year and smoking to many cigarettes when in the field, so the climb was an easy spin. My legs didn't feel too bad but I was riding platforms so there is just no comparison with being clipped in. The plan was to ride Upper Oilcan, Oilcan and Lower Crippler. Oilcan is good singletrack, a little old school, with some excellent low consequence skinnies. From gutsploder.com....I didn't take a camera b/c of the rain.
On Sunday, with the rain, I cold have sworn some giant sneezed on all the skinnes and covered them with snot. If you even thought about touching your brakes your back wheel would instantaneously skid off. snotty. slimy. slippery. Lower Crippler was a new trail for me, having been previously scared off by the name. But Andrew is very encouraging, not too cheerleadery, and drops one or 2 little nuggets each time we ride that helps me get better. He said that I'm at the point now where I'm rolling most everything including the drops meant to be hucked...After the BCBR it may be time to go to a bike park and rent a super squishy ride for some true DH skills. I really want to ride this once the June Monsoon is over (I was just too scared this weekend and not willing to risk injury before the race).Also from gutsploder.com
Monday, June 9, 2008
Field Work and Midweek Ride
I've been low on chargeable work for the last few weeks (although this is dramatically coming to an end the same week I move into my new condo, have my g-mom and sister visiting and the week before the BCBR). One of my girlfriends at work was looking for someone to set up 2 evaporation stations at the Nickel Plate Mine near Hedley, BC. Hedley is about 4.5 hours east of Vancouver on Highway 3A and is the place with my favorite rock outcrop in the province on Stemwinder Mountain. Lovely layered sedimentary units, intermediate intrusions and skarn metasomatism. So I volunteered. The plan was to leave early in the morning, drive to site, set up the stations, and drive home. There was plenty of space in the rented truck (I've only had a car for one year out of the last 14) so I brought the Trek.
View to the west of Hedley and Stemwinder Mountain from the Mascot Gold Mine
Instructions for the scenic route to the mine from the valley bottom highway visible in the previous picture: For the adventurous soul with a good car: On Highway 3A.....blah blah local geograhpy you don't know...This road is a single lane, dirt, steep, winding road not for the faint of heart, but with spectacular views. Stay on the main road, past the tailings facility and turn into the gate at the NPM mill facility.
I didn't get to the mill facility because of this. Who doesn't like mass wasting events?
I had to backtrack and take the long way around to the mine. Once on site, the set up went well with only a couple of hiccups (literally, airlocks in the lines between the evap pans and the water level logger). Got off site around 6 pm and went for a short 30 km road ride near Penticton. This areais the main produce and wine region in BC. It's also host to a large international ironman tri (read lots of good road biking) and Skaha, a great climbing area.
Spent the night in Penticton. It was raining when I got back to Vancouver Thursday morning. The June Monsoon is right on schedule.
View to the west of Hedley and Stemwinder Mountain from the Mascot Gold Mine
Instructions for the scenic route to the mine from the valley bottom highway visible in the previous picture: For the adventurous soul with a good car: On Highway 3A.....blah blah local geograhpy you don't know...This road is a single lane, dirt, steep, winding road not for the faint of heart, but with spectacular views. Stay on the main road, past the tailings facility and turn into the gate at the NPM mill facility.I didn't get to the mill facility because of this. Who doesn't like mass wasting events?
I had to backtrack and take the long way around to the mine. Once on site, the set up went well with only a couple of hiccups (literally, airlocks in the lines between the evap pans and the water level logger). Got off site around 6 pm and went for a short 30 km road ride near Penticton. This areais the main produce and wine region in BC. It's also host to a large international ironman tri (read lots of good road biking) and Skaha, a great climbing area. Spent the night in Penticton. It was raining when I got back to Vancouver Thursday morning. The June Monsoon is right on schedule.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
