Hop 'n' Hurl

Sunday was the Hop 'n' Hurl cyclocross race at Goldbar park. I was disappointed that the course on the technical guide was not the actual course as I enjoy the trail at the south end of the park. Instead, the course circled the lake and then headed to the north end of the park. The trip around the lake included a short section in sand which could be ridden if you stayed close to the lake where the sand was harder. There were two chicanes that offered some challenges. On one easy climb, the course had three very tight corners and, shortly after that, there was an off-camber chicane which had a high-speed approach. I tended to brake a little going into the last one because I thought my front tire might slip in the grass and send me sliding under the course markings.
The start offered few difficulties until a tight set of corners on the far side of the lake. The whole group was still fairly close together at this point so I almost had to stop while waiting for the bunch to feed through these corners. After that, I picked a few good spots to pick up a place or two but also gave up a few places as I settled into my race. I ended up riding alone and seeing very few people during my last three laps.
My lap times varied between 10:37 and 10:50. I completed all four laps for a total of 13.8 km and finished with a total time of 42:59. My average speed was 19.2 km/h with a maximum of 45.3 km/h. There was about 45 m of climbing on each lap. I didn't work as hard during this race compared to the previous day as I averaged only 162 bpm with a maximum of 178 bpm.
Recently, I've read about time trial pacing and not going out too hard. I followed this approach for my two cyclocross races this weekend and, while I've felt good throughout both races and finished with consistent lap times, it might be better to fight for position earlier in the lap. I'm not fighting for wins but I am losing quite a bit of time waiting for the pack to filter through some of the technical sections. Having someone to chase would also prevent me from falling asleep mid-race once I'm alone and have settled into my position.

School of Cross

Saturday was my first cyclocross race of the season. After some troubles with Bow Cycle while trying to buy a new back wheel and that causing me to miss my first four races, I got a wheel on loan until they find a wheel they can sell me. The course in Edmonton offered two contrasting elements; a mostly flat section in the playground with an overabundance of twists and turns and a short ravine section with a difficult downhill followed shortly by a difficult uphill and then some stairs. The playground contained the barriers, which someone said were much higher than UCI regulations allow, a trip through some deep sand and course markings which were difficult to see. I wasn't the only rider who took a wrong turn or two. Now, after that short list of negatives, it was actually a great race. Kyle was giving great commentary and updates so racers knew what was going on, there was lots of snacks from the Wild Earth Cafe and the playground was still accessible so Julie was content while I raced.
My race got off to an interesting start as a Hardcore rider missed clipping into his pedal and caused a small crash right off the start. It happened right in front of me but I just stopped and waited for the pack to get rolling again. No major technical sections kept the pack moving well until a good order was established. My first lap was my most eventful due to the crash, a small crash of my own just before the stairs and planting my bike in the deep sand instead of picking it up cleanly while I watched a rider in front of me try to carry some speed into the sand. I really enjoyed the hairy descent but never had any troubles with it. I have some mountain bike experience so I knew to use my top brakes and get my bum well behind my seat. In fact, I had my stomach on my seat while going down it. I was able to do the very short but difficult climb on my second and fourth laps. I'm not sure how many riders had to run up that one.
I ended up completing four laps as I was lapped by the top three riders late in my last lap. My lap times were consistant between 9:59 and 10:10. In total, I raced for 40:13 and covered 10.3 km for an average speed of 15.4 km/h and a top speed of 35.1 km/h. There was just over 30 m of climbing each lap. I averaged 173 bpm with a maximum of 186 bpm.

Water sports

I don't like water. It ruins all the sports I enjoy. Cycling and hiking in the rain isn't enjoyable. Baseball games get cancelled. Outdoor speed skating is finished when your rink looks more like a pool. On Friday, water wrecked a good round of golf for me. I'm well aware that water hazards are part of the game and I shouldn't complain if I'm not smart enough to stay away from them but my latest round of golf went from good to worse in a hurry when I stopped avoiding the water.
On the first hole on the Spring nine at Elbow Springs, I was the only one to avoid the water but a three-putt meant a double-bogey. A one-putt then saved a par and I got another par on the third hole. Pulling my drive left and being knocked down by a branch then putting my second shot into a fairway bunker meant another double-bogey. Four holes, four over par. That's a good round for me so far. Then, I started finding the water.
The fifth hole was a par three and I mis-hit a four iron and just barely missed clearing the water on the left. The penalty and second tee shot cost me two strokes. Next, I topped my second shot after a great drive and it rolled a short distance into some reeds just before the water hazard. That's an extra two stokes than if I hadn't topped my second shot. The seventh hole was the same as the fifth. If there's no water I can still chip on and get a bogey. The eighth hole was straight into the setting sun. I cheated by not penalizing myself for a lost ball because no one was able to see any of the drives due to the sun and I was the only one not to find my ball. I got a penalty anyway because I didn't see the water hazard beside the green due to a small hill and staring at the sun. I dropped beside the water and chipped on. The last hole had water on the left side and my drive rolled into it. I was able to bogey the hole even with the penalty.
If there was no water, or if I had just avoided it, I could have saved myself eight strokes. Instead of an average 53 over nine holes, I'd have shot a great 45; bogey golf. I've shot 100 a few times over a full 18 but never broken that so any nine holes under 50 is good on my card. Maybe I'll take a few lessons next year and finally break 100.

Ribbon Lakes Backpack

I was able to close out this summer in style! Peter, Rod and I were joined on the Labour Day long weekend by James and Simeon for a backpacking adventure. For probably the last time, the campsite decision was left mostly up to me and, with quite a bit of consultation with Peter, Ribbon Lakes was chosen as the destination.
We had decided to do something in either Banff National Park or Kananaskis. I consulted the lists of backcountry sites in Kananaskis again and checked the routes in. Tombstone, which three of us did three weeks prior, seemed to have been a good warm-up so I wanted to pick something a bit longer. Ribbon Lakes promised a few different options for getting in and out so I thought it would be great. We decided against going in and out over Buller Pass and only going out that way meant a long, long car shuttle. If you come in along Ribbon Creek, you have to tackle a rock face with the help of some chains. All descriptions said that way was tougher to come down and, since I thought a loop would be more exciting, we decided on a small car shuttle which allowed us to go in along Ribbon Creek and out along Galatea Creek. On the way out, we would have to cross Guinn's Pass.
Ribbon Creek turned out to be an easy walk in perfect weather. With James in the lead, we set a fast pace up to Ribbon Falls. We passed a few groups and encountered a park ranger, with whom we chatted at length. After the falls, the trail rapidly started to gain some altitude to the rock face. Our quick pace up the creek left us a little tired going up towards the chain section but we made it after some frequent rests. James and I charged ahead up the chains and were soon at the top. Peter, Rod and Simeon were a little slower up the last of the trail before the chains and had to wait a bit more as Rod experienced some cramps in his calves. The chain section wasn't as difficult as on-line guides had led me to believe but one section was probably a bit more difficult than anything I had scrambled before. It was definitely doable without the chains but they were helpful since I wasn't so nimble with a large pack on. I ended up going back down without my pack and lugging Rod's up as he suffered with his cramped legs; his gamer energy drink might have left him lacking some electrolytes. Peter and Simeon didn't mind lightening their packs at this point and sharing their water and snacks with Rod to help him out. Once at the top, it was again an easy walk to the lake and our campsite.
The next day was supposed to start out tough but would be downhill from the top of the pass. After a short walk through the trees, we took the turn up to Guinn's Pass and really started to go uphill in a hurry. The path was well-packed on the scree slope so walking wasn't difficult. Again, James set the pace and I stayed right on his heels. Rod was a ways back with Simeon and Peter a little further down the trail. It was a good grunt up Guinn's Pass but the view was definitely worth it. The other side proved to be another scree slope but not as well-packed so I was glad I was going down it. Again, James and I led the way with the others following at their leisure. After gathering together on the south side of the pass, we were off down Galatea Creek. James and I got into a nice rhythm and we flew down the path without any breaks. It was an overcast day and nice to put in a long, uninterrupted walk like that. The sun came out just before we hit the final parking lot and we had 40 minutes of lying in the warm sunshine before Rod appeared, followed quickly by Simeon and Peter.
After having the heaviest backpack during the Tombstone trip, I think I was the lightest on this one. I had pretty much the same equipment except James was carrying my tent poles and Rod's Grand Stew and I had forgot my camera. The stew would be even heavier this time since three of us would be sharing it. Peter weighed his pack once he had returned home and found he was carrying 16.6 kg, or nearly 30% of his body weight. My pack weighed 12.8 kg in the end or just 16% of my body weight. It's no wonder Peter struggled up the pass and I was on James' heels all day. As I took Rod's pack up the chains the first day, it felt like it was definitely a little heavier than mine.
We're all looking forward to more adventures like this next year and we hope a few more friends will join us.