A lot of people would say that the riding season is coming to an end, and I guess technically it is, but there is still some great, if not the best, riding that is going to happen all year yet to come. The weather tones down a notch to a respectable level so losing massive amounts of sweat is no longer a factor. And the leaves. I don't get why, but riding my bike over fallen fall leaves puts a smile on my face. Every time. The race season is winding down which leaves more time for riding bikes for the fun of it with some good folks that I enjoy riding with. I think it becomes a bit more social. The best riding happens this season!
As for racing over the past little while, it has been pretty awesome as well. There was the Lost Boys Lungbuster way back on the 18th of August in Fernie where I placed 2nd and 17 seconds back from local legend John O'Shannasy. Sometimes I consider the 2nd a bit of a disappointment because I was setting the pace for much of the race. He caught up within the last km or so and it was neck and neck right to the end. I didn't want to let first place go but he ended up riding better than me that day, and I am okay with that.
Lungbuster Results
Two weeks back started a trifecta of weekends of racing again, just like the beginning of the season did. First up was the Tears and Gears event in Fernie. For this event I teamed up with the Cranbrook local legend Stephanie McGregor Jones to do the running portion of the race. She had to run 21km. I remember running 12 one time and not being able to walk properly the next couple days. She did crazy good! My portion held a 26km mtb ride in what seemed to be all of Fernie's uphills. Together we pulled off 1st place in our category. Riding fernie trails and hanging out with cool people? Awesome!
Mixed Enduro Team <80 Results
Last weekend brought the Six In The Stix 6 hour MTB enduro back to Cranbrook. This was the 3rd year of this taking place and it is pretty incredible to see where it has gone. From 45 racers showing up the first year to over 100 this year, some big name sponsors jumping on board to support, and people coming from far and near to ride in it, this event is sure to get even bigger in coming years. I like to think I played a small part in getting the first year of Six In The Stix together and I think the main idea was to showcase Cranbrook's riding and get the word out that CBK did have a lot of great riding that was underutilized. By seeing how the event went off this year, I would say mission accomplished. It's pretty awesome to see the community coming together to put on an event like this. People volunteering their time to help out in any way they can. And then peoples enthusiasm as they take part in the event. A 6 hour enduro is no easy task, but everyone seemed to have a good time. Sweet.
This year I rode the Six event on a team with young Tristin who I met at the beginning of this year when he started working at the bike shop. As far as I know he only started riding xc this year and has a background of bmx and dirt jump. And he's 15. My main reason for teaming up was to have fun and introduce this punk to the sport of xc-ing. I don't think he needed any introduction to it because he destroyed the course and was getting amazing lap times. This kid knows how to rip on a lot of different bikes. Pretty proud of him for giving his all. So for an event I just wanted to have fun with, we ended up getting 3rd place in our category. That's awesome.
Six Results
With that good of a weekend behind me, it's hard to think about the one coming up. There is going to be a lot of suffering. There is every year. I'm talking about the Kaslo Sufferfest. This will be its third year and my third year attending. They have crazy events like a 200 km trail run, 100 km xc, and many more. The whole weekend is about suffering. I'm signed up for the 100km xc bike but the monster enduro is also looking good. I know the event is going to be awesome but I am not looking forward to the 5am wake up and pain. This race also marks the end of my planned races for 2012.
I saw a movie about the Leadville 100 recently that a friend lent me. Seems like a pretty neat thing to do. But what really struck me in the movie was a part where a guy was talking about how everything that he has or is doing now is a result of mountain biking. Hmmm. Yeah I think I can say the same thing. There have been people/shops that have made a huge impact on what I was doing ever since I moved here nearly 5 years ago. I came to Cranbrook for the forestry work but that changed pretty quickly. From jobs to bikes to friends, there has been a huge part of it related in some way to the insanely awesome sport of mountain biking. That's kind of crazy to think about, but it's the way it is. So I'd like to throw a thank you out to everyone who has helped make the way I am living my life now possible. It's been real sweet and somehow continues to get better!
One more thing before I wrap this one up. I was talking about how fall riding has just started and it is the best time to ride. Well lucky for you there is a group ride going up Mt. Baker on Sunday Oct. 7th. Talk to the guys at Favorit Cycles, or the guy at Sidekick Stickers (now conveniently located in the same building) about how to take part in it.
James from Favorit Cycles has been pretty solid with helping me get set up with everything bicycling related. And helping me see what the future of mtb-ing could offer. Thanks man. Thanks Colby from Giant for keeping the stoke going on riding the best bikes out there. Scott with Gore Bike Wear. This guys has a crazy love for riding bikes. And providing great apparel. Thanks again!
Peace out.
