Fat Dog 50 mile Race Report

Fat Dog you've been a long time coming. 

My Fat Dog initiation was an epic adventure complete with monsoon rains, wasp stings, a Lynx encounter and a suprising finish.  It was quite the wild ride, but it was well worth the wait.  If you want to read the last page, you can check out the race results here and photo galleries building here.  If you want to avoid doing chores or some boring data entry task, then feel free to read on.  Warning: my race reports are my personal journal and a way for me to relive the adventures...80k is a long run so get comfy...

Run BC Project

Girls + Mountains = Rad

Over the past week I have driven 1800kms of winding roads, run close to 130kms of pristine alpine single track and climbed a super dose of elevation in the mountains of BC alongside 11 rad women. The inaugural Run BC Project was an epic road trip to remember and I am grateful to have been a part of it!

Backpacking: Jack's Augerpoint Trail

 "All good things are wild and free." - Henry David Thoreau

Ain't that the truth.

Last week I had the pure pleasure of living in the mountains and on the trails of Strathcona Provincial Park.  With a week off and my other half out fishing the coast I decided to pack up and try to cure some of my wanderlust.  It was a full on 'dirt bag peak week' loaded with adventures and I need a week off from my week off- but wouldn't have it any other way!

Here is how I spent the first few days...

How to Train for an Ultramarathon

The image above captures the romantic idea of training for an ultra. Not every long run is filled with golden sunrises, rainbows and lollipops.  But, for me, quite honestly, most of them are:).  That is likely why I continue to return to tackle the challenge of training for endurance events again and again.  I feel grateful to have the 'half full' gene which makes every challenge seem achievable and every obstacle seem smaller.  Ultra running is 99% mental- and your perspective will ensure your success or your failure.  As they say, 'Whether you think you can or think you can't...you're right."  

Reflections

Is it already January 22nd?  Wowza...2015 is off like a rocket!  

 Flower Ridge, July 2014

Looking back...
2014 was a doozy for me.  I started the year with some health issues that rocked my world and left me with some new perspectives.  I spent the year focused on rebuilding my body and working towards a healthier balance of work, life and training.  It was a tough year for me but it was also a beautiful year...that always seems to be the way. 

Hinde Sight

 

I climbed the Golden Hinde.  

The weather was perfect, I had a wide open schedule and the mountains were calling.  I needed to clear my head and figured a nice, long, solo 'walk about' in the mountains would be the best place to do it.  

Sweet and Sticky: Maple Syrup Trail

If you are a mountain biker on Vancouver Island you have most likely heard whispers about 'that Maple Syrup trail'.  By now, you may have even gone to taste the Syrup for yourself.  So sweet hey?

If you haven't had a chance to sample the Syrup, here is a little taster for you...

I have been spending much more time in my sneakers than my bike shoes this year, and have to say that I came a little late to the party.  By the time I caught wind of the whispers this summer, the fabled Maple Syrup trail on Maple Mountain, had been well worn by thousands of wide grinning riders.  This 'new' trail was, in fact, officially opened last October by the CTSS- Cowichan Trail Stewardship Society.  Friends of friends had riden it.  Profile pics of wide spanning, 'rainbow' bridges appeared on social media.  Rumours of 'an epic ride' with a 5k climb and '10km of sweet continuous singletrack' got me salivating instantly.   It isn't very often that a south Island trail creates enough chatter to drag Valley riders out of our wonderful Cumberland cocoon.  It was time to check this trail out.

A few weeks ago a group of us managed to merge our schedules and book it down Island on a Friday.  The drive is about 2 hours from the Comox Valley and the trailhead is on Maple Mountain, a couple of kms south of Crofton.  'A 2 hour drive to ride a trail' you say?  I can now say that it is well worth the drive!

There are no other trails like it on Vancouver Island.  If you have ridden one, please correct me.  You can either ride about 5kms up the logging road, which is a good grunt with a few steeper pitches on it, but entirely rideable.  Or, you can ride up the new 'climbers trail' which has been crafted at the perfect slope for an enjoyable and very smooth single track ride.  The climbers trail was about 2/3 complete and it only left a short climb to the radio tower at the top.  I was impressed already!  A climbing trail!  The lovely, wide, 'green' trail wove it's way through shadey Arbutus forest, open grass fields and over rocky bluffs.  100 times more enjoyable than riding the road, having a trail to climb makes any ride that much better IMO. 

The view from the top gave us all some perspective on just how much elevation we had gained on our ride up.  The Village of Maple Bay, complete with tiny boats, appeared in miniature, far below. After a snack and a drink it was time to hit the 10k descent.  10k!

Maple Syrup is really like 3 trails in one.  The trail covers so much real estate that it actually travels through a very wide range of terrain from top to bottom.  It offers a combination of Hornby flow, Nimby 50 gnarl and Jughead/Blue Collar woohoo.   As it winds it's way back and forth across Maple Mountain, the trail morphs from steep, technical, rock at the start to mellow, flowy birms at the bottom.  All levels of rider will find something they love on the trail. 

The very top of the trail includes the most technical terrain, with plenty of rocky drops and steep roll overs.  The sun bakes Maple Mountain and by mid summer the dirt turns to powder, making steep pitches loose and challenging.  Quickly, the natural rocky drops disappear and the trail flows into big turns, fun descents and sweet rolling bridges (I call them rainbow bridges), reminiscent of the few park trails that I have ridden.  It is definitely a thinking trail.  After every long descent there is a punchy little climb.  Around every corner is a gnarly rock to navigate over or around.  The trail definitely keeps you on your toes.   By the time Maple Syrup merged into 'Solar Coaster' my body and brain were working overtime.   I loved it!

The trail transitions to more flow and less work over the final kms.  By then, it is a welcome break and an enjoyable way to finish the ride.  Beginners can jump in off the road to experience the lower 'Loggers lane' section of the trail, Intermediate riders can start half way up on the flow of Solar Coaster and those looking for more of a Challenge can tackle the entire trail from the steeps at the top.  Brilliant.  Helmets off to the trail builders who had the vision and even more impressive ability to execute the idea.  They have created a world class trail that will have riders returning for seconds...and thirds...and...

But don't take my word for it.  Go ride it for yourself! 

Still not convinced?  Watch this video of other people having fun riding it...and see if you can resist a road trip...


Happy Trails,
SS

Flower Ridge

Every year I dream of spending my summer exploring new trails and peaks in Strathcona Provincial Park...and every year I seem to fill up all of my weekends with work, races and other adventures before summer even begins.  And so...my list continues to grows\ longer and longer...