My apologies for not posting yesterday but the day was long and I went to bed as early as I could! So here's a recap of what happened:
Day 3:
Cam and I started the day off in the bitter cold on the tandem and headed west from a small town just outside of Calgary. The roads were flat but there was a wicked headwind, something that I'm sure compares to the stories I've heard about Pemberton to Whistler... Our hour finished and I stayed out there. Getting onto my "Bumble Bee" I rode for another 3 hours until my next tandem shift. A solid performance from the other team members keeping a great pace and making great time through the foothills. Coming into Canmore was beautiful! The scenery is stunning and to have the time to glance around you on the bike makes you appreciate it that much more. Going into Banff there was a lot of construction so we slowed traffic to a crawl as there was only one lane open in each direction. That lasted 17 km's, all of which I was either on the tandem or solo! Finishing the leg into the BC border was pretty special. We met the new riders and were welcomed with some honking, cheering and lots of photos! After picking up the newbies, I had one more session on the tandem bike. They chose me for this section as it is one of the steepest hills on the BC trip. So for the next 45 minutes I guided our bike safely down the hills, maxing out around 65kph and into the final changeover for the day. 160km's isn't too bad for day one. Bring on day two!
Day 3: Golden to Salmon Arm - 250km's
The morning was laid back, people were in good spirits and the first team took off for what was going to be another great day on the bikes. The infamous Rogers Pass was just ahead and I wanted it - badly! On the 3rd shift I got onto my bike and started my day, pedalling for a good portion of today's ride I chose to begin a bit later. Up and up We all went and slogged out one helluva hill. 1330m elevation at the summit and from where we started it was about a 400 m gain in a short period of time. From that point the legs were warm and I was ready to ride for longer. Bombing down the pass was fun, then coming into Revelstoke was nice and relaxing. I took an hour break to calm down and eat some real food then prepared for my next 2 hours. So from revelstoke I rode to the
Shuswap Lake then up a monster hill similar to Seymour, only I was on the tandem! One pedal stroke after another and a few words of encouragement to my riding partner, we made it to the top and basically collapsed! We were exhausted, and I was totally fried. Today I clocked 170km's and 7 hours on a bike. 2 day total now is 330km's.
Tomorrow is the longest day for the BC team. 15 hours are planned to ride 355 km's from Salmon Arm to Hope. We have 2 major hills and lots of smaller ones. It should be exciting!
Next up, HOPE!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Day 1- Meet up with Team Cyclebetes in Calgary
This is the first post for the trip and it's coming via my iPhone... So bare with me in case things don't look pretty! As this is my second year with the team, seeing some old faces and reconnecting just made the day fly bye.
I was fortunately picked up by one of the support vehicles from the airport rather than biking to meet them, a good thing as my bag was fairly large and turning my head to check for traffic could have been tough. Once that was settled we drove to a park just outside of Calgary to set up a community bike ride and meet a local family to start a huge BBQ. I didn't get to ride today as it was only a 15km trip from the park to our campsite and changing into my gear for such a short ride wasn't worth it.
Tomorrow I'm slotted for the 7am ride on the tandem with my buddy Cam. Cam's a 19 year old professional downhill mountain biker and we rode together a lot last season so it should be a fast ride. Weather was good today but actually pretty cold. I'm expecting a chilly start to the day tomorrow however I brought all my winter riding gear which should keep me nice and warm.
And so the ride begins... 100km's tomorrow (or more)
On a side note, we stopped in to an awesome bike shop, Bow Cycles; this place was huge, had a wicked selection of equipment and the staff were very cool (didn't hold a candle to the Speed Theory team though). Check them out online as I can't upload my photo
I was fortunately picked up by one of the support vehicles from the airport rather than biking to meet them, a good thing as my bag was fairly large and turning my head to check for traffic could have been tough. Once that was settled we drove to a park just outside of Calgary to set up a community bike ride and meet a local family to start a huge BBQ. I didn't get to ride today as it was only a 15km trip from the park to our campsite and changing into my gear for such a short ride wasn't worth it.
Tomorrow I'm slotted for the 7am ride on the tandem with my buddy Cam. Cam's a 19 year old professional downhill mountain biker and we rode together a lot last season so it should be a fast ride. Weather was good today but actually pretty cold. I'm expecting a chilly start to the day tomorrow however I brought all my winter riding gear which should keep me nice and warm.
And so the ride begins... 100km's tomorrow (or more)
On a side note, we stopped in to an awesome bike shop, Bow Cycles; this place was huge, had a wicked selection of equipment and the staff were very cool (didn't hold a candle to the Speed Theory team though). Check them out online as I can't upload my photo
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
2010 has been one crazy ride!
I haven't written a blog in ages and so much has gone on. I've taken on a new job, had an amazing summer of training on my bike and competing in triathlons, been hiking all around Vancouver and even completed an insane one-day 14 hour total body exhaustion hike! So here we go...
Things in life happen for a reason - I'm a strong believer in that. I called up a friend to meet for coffee, show him my photos from travelling in Asia and the next thing I know, I've been offered an interview with someone in his company for a very coveted job. I went through the ranks of those applying for and got myself a great job, I'm even thinking career! I now work at TD Waterhouse as a Developing Investment Advisor. I say 'Developing" as it's a 3-year program training new hires to become a fully accredited investment advisor. Currently I'm half way through a 90-day training program, after which I begin building my books and acquiring assets to manage. I have always taken a keen interest in business and have loved being the centre of attention in social events so this position forces me to do both - and I will. Having passed my Canadian Securities Course and compliance programs, I am currently enrolled in Hedge Fund Management and BC Life Insurance courses, furthering my knowledge and ability to do the very best for my clients.
Training for triathlons this year has been totally awesome. With a few missed opportunities to compete in a few races, I only manged two all season. I did the North Shore sprint tri, finishing with a respectable time of 1:08 then trained very hard for my race of the season in Penticton, completing it in a personal best time of 2:26 (Olympic distance). What made that race so awesome was the support crew cheering me on. At almost every turn on the run, friends were rooting me on and on the bike course I would pass people I knew wishing them luck and then leave them in my dust!! haha!
The rest of my training this summer has been without a doubt the best times of my life. There were so many people around me to have fun with and so many good vibes always in the air, how could one not love getting on the bike or running in the trails for fun...
So here we go with the creme-de-la-creme of one day events... ok, it's not an ultra marathon or an ironman, but I'm working up to one of those... My buddy Ashley and I decided last year to 'up the ante' on our triple crown challenge to something insane this go around. On August 2nd, we set out at 6am from Park Royal and rode our bikes up Mount Seymour. At the top, we were met by Ashley's girlfriend and another friend to ditch the bikes and change into hiking gear. From there we all hiked to the 3rd peak of Seymour. Making our way back to the bikes, we saddled up and headed out to Cypress. The ride up Cypress Mountain was tough and we both could feel the grind coming before us. To the top we went and again, set out on foot to the peak of Mt. Strachan. A few photos later and a couple of high fives, we needed to high tail it to Grouse before the Grind gates closed at 7:30pm! Arriving by 7pm, we had done it - all we needed to do then was climb up a little trail. Bah... the Grind never felt so long in my life! We all slogged it up there and arrived at the top. We were pooped! All in all an amazing day with some great people. Next year is part 3 - what will be set out to do...?
Now with the summer wrapping up, a new chapter in my life is beginning. On September 1-5, I am once again riding my bike with the Cyclebetes team across BC. I am raising money for the ride and have recieved some great support from family and friends. This year's ride has more meaning that last year as I have been able to see exactly how diabetics live daily rather than just reading about it before last year's ride. They truely are inspirational people and the Cyclebetes group embraces that. We finish the ride in Cadboro Bay on September 5th and have a comunity ride in North Vancouver on September 4th. We're hoping for as many people as possible to come out and join in!
I have learned so much this year about myself, through challenges, emotions, setbacks and accomplishments and want thank those around me who have shared it. As I begin my professional career I will remind myself to take a step back, a moment out of each day, just to have a deep breath and enjoy what's going on! Carpe Diem.
Things in life happen for a reason - I'm a strong believer in that. I called up a friend to meet for coffee, show him my photos from travelling in Asia and the next thing I know, I've been offered an interview with someone in his company for a very coveted job. I went through the ranks of those applying for and got myself a great job, I'm even thinking career! I now work at TD Waterhouse as a Developing Investment Advisor. I say 'Developing" as it's a 3-year program training new hires to become a fully accredited investment advisor. Currently I'm half way through a 90-day training program, after which I begin building my books and acquiring assets to manage. I have always taken a keen interest in business and have loved being the centre of attention in social events so this position forces me to do both - and I will. Having passed my Canadian Securities Course and compliance programs, I am currently enrolled in Hedge Fund Management and BC Life Insurance courses, furthering my knowledge and ability to do the very best for my clients.
Training for triathlons this year has been totally awesome. With a few missed opportunities to compete in a few races, I only manged two all season. I did the North Shore sprint tri, finishing with a respectable time of 1:08 then trained very hard for my race of the season in Penticton, completing it in a personal best time of 2:26 (Olympic distance). What made that race so awesome was the support crew cheering me on. At almost every turn on the run, friends were rooting me on and on the bike course I would pass people I knew wishing them luck and then leave them in my dust!! haha!
The rest of my training this summer has been without a doubt the best times of my life. There were so many people around me to have fun with and so many good vibes always in the air, how could one not love getting on the bike or running in the trails for fun...
So here we go with the creme-de-la-creme of one day events... ok, it's not an ultra marathon or an ironman, but I'm working up to one of those... My buddy Ashley and I decided last year to 'up the ante' on our triple crown challenge to something insane this go around. On August 2nd, we set out at 6am from Park Royal and rode our bikes up Mount Seymour. At the top, we were met by Ashley's girlfriend and another friend to ditch the bikes and change into hiking gear. From there we all hiked to the 3rd peak of Seymour. Making our way back to the bikes, we saddled up and headed out to Cypress. The ride up Cypress Mountain was tough and we both could feel the grind coming before us. To the top we went and again, set out on foot to the peak of Mt. Strachan. A few photos later and a couple of high fives, we needed to high tail it to Grouse before the Grind gates closed at 7:30pm! Arriving by 7pm, we had done it - all we needed to do then was climb up a little trail. Bah... the Grind never felt so long in my life! We all slogged it up there and arrived at the top. We were pooped! All in all an amazing day with some great people. Next year is part 3 - what will be set out to do...?
Now with the summer wrapping up, a new chapter in my life is beginning. On September 1-5, I am once again riding my bike with the Cyclebetes team across BC. I am raising money for the ride and have recieved some great support from family and friends. This year's ride has more meaning that last year as I have been able to see exactly how diabetics live daily rather than just reading about it before last year's ride. They truely are inspirational people and the Cyclebetes group embraces that. We finish the ride in Cadboro Bay on September 5th and have a comunity ride in North Vancouver on September 4th. We're hoping for as many people as possible to come out and join in!
I have learned so much this year about myself, through challenges, emotions, setbacks and accomplishments and want thank those around me who have shared it. As I begin my professional career I will remind myself to take a step back, a moment out of each day, just to have a deep breath and enjoy what's going on! Carpe Diem.
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