Disgusting!!

How dare they!

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 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

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.

My face muscles cramped from smiling

This may have been the most fun weekend on mountain bikes since I got back into riding the fall of 2006. Actually, there is no doubt that it was the most fun. All because I got to go biking with fellow School of Mine'er Scott Sportsman. It may have been 10 years (10 years! OMG) since leaving Golden and the great friends and cycling but the memories have always been with me. sigh. memories. But now I have new memories, a better bike and stronger legs!

I was nervous to ride with Scott. He races. He races long distances. He races long distances without gears. He races long distances without gears or suspension. I'm a wannabe trying my first race with no experience or knowledge other than getting on a bike and pedaling. Of course, I only ever remember Scott (just like all the guys I rode with at Mines) being supportive and encouraging whenever we cycled in Golden. Nevertheless, nervous. What if he was bored with our trails? What if I really am a shitty rider and just have pretenses to mad skillz? What if he had to tell me I'm not ready for the race? What if he doesn't make it though Canada Customs and Immigrations???

A friend lent his Brodie Sauce to Scott who aptly remembered shifting and full suspension on the first day's XCish North Shore ride. We started gently on the Figure 8 loops in Lynn Valley and discovered that the brakes on the Brodie were insufficient, so we rode back down to sea level for a quick adjustment at the bike shop and then back up to Lynn Valley to start the climb to Mt. Seymour. The plan was to ride Fishermans to Bridal Path, climb up Old Buck and then drop the saddles, put on the armor and descend Severed Dick. I only got a little turned around, not lost, just added a few kms of backtracking a couple of three times.... I had to call for a rest break once we hit Old Buck. Maybe if there were more wildflowers for Scott to stop and take pictures of I wouldn't have been so trashed before the second to last climb of the day. The fully suspended ride down Severed was very tasty. Almost as tasty as the burger and beers at the local brew pub after the 5 hour ride. mmmm beer.

I may have a mind like a sieve sometimes, but am 99% certain (at 95% confidence) that Scott said he wouldn't have ridden that on his ss. Success!

Blurry Scott on Severed. I couldn't get far enough ahead to get a good picture! Due to the blur you can't note the full spandex with armor....Not the typical North Shore style of riding clothes...Obviously a tourist!
Since I'm kind (and training for the BCBR) I decided to ride Squamish XC on Sunday rather than show Scott more of the North Shore free ride stuff. That and I'm a lousy downhill rider. There was no goal for Sunday but turns out the Test of Metal course has been marked and once we found the single track there was nothing to do but follow the blue arrows. Of course, I still got us turned around and added a few kms backtracking especially when we rode into the area with active logging. I wasn't keen to meet a skidder or haul truck... Sunday was delicious riding! Though Scott did make wistful comments about not having his Walt today. The downside of riding together was it was not possible to take pictures. I couldn't get in front of Scott (who was now riding a demo Enduro from the LBS as the Brodie hasn't been ridden since my friend got married and had a baby 3 years ago and needed more attention from a wrench), long enough to document his geared and suspended hours. So I settled for his back wheel and attempted to take one-handed pictures on a section of flat wide loamy trail. The best trail of the day was Roller Coaster. Every bit as good as the name implies; fast, wiggly, goodness.
4 hours and a few advils later we decided to go to the Howe Sound Brew Pub for, well, burgers and beer. mmmmm beer. Summer days are long up north and Scott says his knee doesn't give him grief when running so we did a quick jaunt to the top of the Chief after quitting the pub. It's 550 m vertical over 2.5 kms to the top of First Peak. Rolled back into Vancouver around 8 pm and nibbled on crepes and grilled veggies for dinner. There was probably also beer.

I skipped work on Monday and Scott still had the Enduro and was booked on an evening flight. Plenty of time to ride Pipeline on Mt. Fromme. Platforms. Full face helmet. Full armor. Third easiest trail on the North Shore. Conditions were great, the trail was dry, the man mades were in good condition. I think it was a new pivot on the teeter-totter.... My only complaint was that full face helmets mask the smiles and muffle the woohooos. Scott's only complaint was I didn't feed him enough breakfast. We grabbed a quick bite at our much less tasty Chipotle's imitation and headed to the park to slackline; the perfect thing for those mellow in-between times with the added bonus of making Scott stationary long enough for some in-focus pictures. The only word for the weekend was amazing. The riding was wonderful. Probably 12 or so hours over 3 days of riding plus a hike. Scott provided some great tips on the race and some very appreciated confidence boosters about my fitness level/strength and chances of finishing the race. The conversations were fun-- nothing like a couple of Mines geeks talking 'bout the world-- though Scott's American accent often made me giggle. The time off the bikes was pretty damn great too, which turned out to be a relief as his flights out of Van got all kerfuffled and he was unable to get out of town until mid-day Tuesday.

Thanks for coming to visit Scott!! When and where is the next mtn bike get-together? I hear Moab is nice.

Dude

Just like every weekend this year, I was out riding by myself today.

Catch up and pass a guy whose bike is making more noise than the 12 year old VW diesel getta I drove in high school. He smiles and I'm willing to exchange a few pleasantries. It is a lovely day. Yes, I am having a really nice ride, thank you. But dude. I don't know who you are and we are not going anywhere together today. I am going to Whytecliff Park. Alone. At my own pace. My pace which is faster than you on the climbs and very slightly slower than you on the descents. You descend faster courtesy of what is known as 'little g', your heavier bike and the extra mass around your mid-section that probably weighs more than my bike. It's a narrow road to Whytecliff Park and when I have to pass you the second time on the next little roller around the blind corner with the public bus behind me it is not fun.

You can't know that my huge(huge) pet peeve is men passing me on the downhills but being unable to keep the pace on the next climb. But when you pass me for the third time on the third downhill section.. just next time, please, spit down next to your front fork. Not out to the side at 30 km/h.

It was motivating to hammer the next 20 kms just to get away from you.

Regardless of the numbskull on wheels incident, the training is going great with another 100 road kms today. K and I went to Fromme for some mtn biking yesterday. I decided we should go all the way to 7th Secret to scope out the trail conditions. Trail conditions suck. The top 1/3 is still snow covered. We boot skied with our bikes. It was good we had armor as the snow was rotten and it saved our calves when we post-holed. Bottom 2/3 was great. K has wicked skills and it's a treat to ride and get tips from her. It's good the BCBR isn't a technical ride or I'd never be able to hang with her!

Does this count as tan lines?

Burnaby mountain was muddy. After 5 days of not cycling, it felt really good to be back on the bike and ended up with a 5 hour ride. Right on schedule for BCBR training schedule (except for the 5 days in the field). There's not a lot of flow on the BBY mtn trails, but it was still tasty enough to ride Nicole's Pole and Cardiac hill twice.

Sunday--- Sunny skies and warm. Only knee warmers and arm warmers. Longest ride of the year so far! 130 km. Tired and hungry and in love with the Orbea.

There is town in north Ontario

North Ontario is a subjective term. To Ontarians it means anything north of Toronto, which to the rest of Canada is below the 49th parallel and quite far south. North Ontario just means the northern part of the inhabitated bit of the province. If you look at a map of Ontario the exploration mining camp I'm at is geographic north-south middle of the province but quite close to the Quebec border which is an important influence on the regional cuisine.

Every year, I'm spending less time in 'the field' so even a week of hauling core boxes and bagging samples is good fun. This is not the glamerous field work I like to brag about and neither is the location. The Canadian shield is heavily forested rolling hills covered in lakes, muskeg, swamps, beaver dams, mosquitos, black flies and black bears. Over 1.5 meters of snow has melted in the last week so neither the bugs or bears have gotten too active. The snow has melted, but it hasn't stopped falling. It has been COLD until today. Today I only wore one pair of gloves.


There are 4 of these rows of core sheds and foundations are being poured for another 2 rows. Plus all the historic drill core archieved on the core library (aka graveyard). Lots of rock. Lots of $$ to drill and explore for metals. I am always amazed at how little metal costs when you look at the expense of finding a deposit, developing the prospect, defining the ore body, designing the mine, protecting the bugs and bunnies and fish and water and air, operating the mine, getting the concentrate to the smelter, smelting and then sending the metal to some manufacturing plant to make some dumbass disposable electronic device. If it can't be grown it's got to be mined and we don't (yet) pay the true price of for any goods. I either need a raise so I can buy new rain pants or just need to duck tape these so they last one more field season.I'm getting back to Vancouver tomorrow and straight onto the road bike and then eating a HUGE leafy green salad with spinach and drinking some beer! I bet my bikes have been lonely this week.