Canada Cup at Horseshoe

What's the perfect way for a bike racer to spend a weekend that there is no race? Getting a new bike of course! And the best way to test the new bike? A Canada Cup course at Horseshoe Resort, of course. I had a bit of an odd week, with nerve issues in my back actually. Once I got back to Kingston I had some serious issues to sort out; my right leg had slowly got worse to the point that I couldn't bend my knee past 90 degrees, and any bend in my spine would cause intense pain down by my tail bone. It was a total kicker to have my sweet new bike sitting in my living room and not be able to touch it, not to mention how nervous I was not being able to train (or move my legs or back properly) before the race.

Being a graduate student at Queen's University may be hectic, and unpredictable but it does come with benefits. I'm on a couple of lists for varsity teams, and Queen's really does treat their athletes well! We get discounted physio so that with our health plan it ends up being free for a lot of visits (I hope that I still have some free visits...). Another great thing for me was that my main guy for physio (who had been off for 2 months) was finally back, starting the Monday before the Canada Cup. I went to physio starting Tuesday, and we established that I had some sort of nerve entrapment, and that my muscles were very tight in my bum and lower back, but even after physio on Wednesday all we could do was tape my back and hope that helps. By Friday I was still super stiff, not riding, and leaving town for a Canada Cup. I figured that I'd just have to ride through whatever happens, honestly I have 5 chances at national races this year and I wasn't going to complain or miss one of them.

A photo posted by @cfruetel on Jun 3, 2015 at 12:13pm PDT

Ice baths were a daily occurence for me, anything to numb the pain.

I headed up to the course a night early because, why not? I knew that I wouldn't get there much before dark, but I had some great friends to camp with in the bushes right by the course, though we don't always have the best ideas. My friend Roy and I had been talking about giving my new bike more suspension (according to him, it was as easy as taking out a spacer in the fork), and around midnight after some drinks and much needed campfire time we pulled my fork apart. It turns out that the magic spacer to give more suspension travel doesn't exist, and that we didn't have snapring pliers (we ended up ruining my toolbox tweezers). The end product was an over oiled fork with ironically 30% less suspension.

A photo posted by @cfruetel on Jun 9, 2015 at 5:33am PDT

The course was amazing, and I got to ride my first lap of it behind my coach Andrew Watson, which was helpful to learn the good lines through the trail, and soak up all of the advice from Andrew that I could on rear suspension and course tactics. Turns out that we were messing with perfection the night before, that bike floated through all of the tough sections, mastered the rocks, and flew through the fast sections. The only problem was that I couldn't keep air in my rear tire, I ended up doing the first half of the lap 4 times before I finally gave up on the tire and put a new one on (but I never finished the lap off). The trick for me on this course was wide tires, which help through the sand and through the rocky features.

Concentrating (and probably forgetting to breathe) through the rock garden
(Hannah Clarke photo)

The magic thing about a couple of nights spent in a tent was that it somehow fixed my back. Sure it wasn't perfect, but I wasn't wincing with every footstep, it almost didn't hurt to get in and out of my car, and I could ride my bike and maneuver it comfortably. The race was a big deal, with a really big field, the including number one call up from Guatamala (must be prepping for Pan Am games). It had been pretty dry for a while at Horseshoe, and result was a chaotic start that was so dusty that you couldn't see anything. I wasn't even riding on the trail as we climbed up the ski hill, but I was following the pack and staying on the wheel of the guy ahead of me. Miraculously I've only heard of one crash in this start, Evan McNeely from the Norco team had a tumble, but managed to pull his way back to the podium - well done.

This is after it spread out a bit and we still had quite a dust cloud (Hannah Clarke photo)

The start of these races are always chaotic, and you can't let anyone gain an inch on you, or you'll get pushed off the trial. You ride with your elbows out, and you stick to the guy ahead of you - especially when the trial gets tighter. I was sitting in good position into the first piece of tight trail (called "singletrack"), and pushed hard up a steep hill that linked to the next piece of singletrack when I got "Quebecced".  If someone calls a pass in a logical place and is going faster and has room ahead, and it's not too dangerous, typically you don't pedal for a second, get passed, and keep on racing. This was not that. This guy called a pass as we were taking a tight left hand turn into the next bit of singletrack, to which I said no (we were riding in a big train, I was keeping close to the guy ahead's wheel, and he was on the next guy up the trial's wheel etc.). He proceeded to check me off the trail into the bush, and another guy from his team made sure that I couldn't get back on the trail by also passing at the same time. I was within the top 25 riders for sure at this point, and something had caught itself in my new bike, I couldn't pedal even. I lost probably 10 positions while fixing my bike, and was riding at a much slower pace than I would have once I got back on (I had fallen to a slower region of the pack). I made a few passes when I could, and figured that I'd make up some serious ground on the long, wide gravel road climb in the last third of the lap.

Losing space up the hill, getting passed by Robin (thanks Catrina for the picture)

I fell back a lot on this climb however, and couldn't seem to find any speed, and had to make back the time on the punchier climbs and technical sections. This is where I'm happy and amazed with my new bike. The race was my 5th ride on it I believe, and I felt right at home, catching up and passing guys through the technical sections of trail. I had a great battle with a friend from Ontario named Robin, he would kick my arse up the hill every time, but I managed to catch him through the other sections of the course. He also passed with courtesy and would let me pass when I called the pass. By the 3rd lap guys were already getting pulled off the course by the 80% rule (if you're not within 80% of the fastest rider, you're pulled off the course in pro national events). This brought a new focus to the race, as in my last Canada Cup at Tremblant I had been pulled after 3 laps. I pulled away from Robin, but he still made a gap between us on the uphill, and that left a long downhill section to catch him back for what could potentially be my last lap.

You can see the wheel that I'm trying to get away from just behind me
(Hannah Clarke photo)

As we got closer to the lap zone I heard the whistle blowing, and there was still some serious ground to catch; if I was going into a corner or technical bit, Robin was going into the next one, so probably 15 seconds ahead or so. I went quick, not taking risks so that I'd fall and lose another position, but fast enough to catch back my ground and pass Robin by the lap/finish zone I figured. I came out of the huge rock garden and started to sprint, only to notice that Robin had already been pulled off course and that they were not pulling off course at the lap/finish zone. Looks like I'll have to get him next time! Not bad for a guy who couldn't ride or walk so well all week, I was 39th, which doesn't sound bad if I say it like "well there are only 38 dudes in the country faster than me", right?? Luckily I have the opportunity to race a Canada Cup again this Sunday, at Hardwood Ski and Bike near Barrie; another Canada Cup...Back to where I broke my ribs last year. I'm scared, but I'm bringing my A game, so watch out!

Canada cup number one and Ontario Cup 2

The first Canada cup of the year always happens on the May 24 long weekend, and it’s generally an awesome time to see everyone again, live in condos for the weekend, and catch up after a long winter. I had the pleasure of road tripping up with a cray half Canadian half New-Hampshirese person (not to be confused with the shire, New Hampshire is VERY different). Catherine was her name and it was her first race back after doing some serious damage to her spine in a bike race in Tennessee. It was awesome to be around someone who while being nervous, was confident and well collected – especially since she raced both the Canada Cup Cross Country and Downhill events. We had a great crew living in the (tightly packed) condo, and the course was pretty different than in previous years. There was one big change for the race as well – I was on a different bike. Rob from Mountain Bike Kingston lent me his sweet Pivot Mach 429SL. This is a very coveted front and rear suspension bike, though it’s not the lightest, raciest bike out there it certainly is a really fun ride, especially on the down portions of the Canada Cup course.

A seriously fun bike! Thanks Rob for the trust and support!

This course went up a gravel access road up the mountain, then essentially rode through really rocky tight trails down the mountain, and then straight back up again. 6 times. The field was elite pretty deep, with a range of riders from around Canada, and even US Olympian Sam Shultz who I met and joked around with on the start line without even knowing who he was, mountain biking seems to attract some great down to earth people! Unfortunately I ended up starting as the last guy (I guess that I wasn’t pushy enough in the corral), which is a dangerous place to be. Everything is magnified the further back you are, if a guy further up the field touches his brake a little bit, and you’re 10 guys back you’re slamming on your brakes. This causes unpredictable riding to happen around you, and of course crashes and bottlenecks.

Awesome album from Canadian Cyclist here

I stayed calm and rode assertively though the first few very bunched up minutes of the race, but by the time that I could really set my pace and go fast up the hill, the leaders already were a minute up the road or so. Additionally, no matter how hard I tried to go, I found myself gasping for a very slow speed up the hill – this was not the pace that I thought I could set. The race was a 6 lap race, with around 60 starters and the 80% rule in effect; those who did not come within 80% of the leader’s time (keep in mind that there are Olympians racing in my category), would be pulled off the course. No questions asked. I had a great time riding the downhill on the new full suspension bike, taking crazy and aggressive lines that I wouldn’t have otherwise been comfortable with on my hardtail, but in retrospect I don’t think that this was in my favour. Instead of taking the fastest lines down the trail I was taking the crazy lines, which though they were fast – they weren’t the fastest. Lesson learned. I was pulled after 3 laps, but had a great time watching the rest of the race – it’s almost surreal that I get to compete at this level, so when I’m pulled out of the race I can still at least watch my friends compete in a crazy course.

Hannah Clarke is becoming my unofficial blog photo supplier, thanks!

The rest of the weekend was spent eating, hiking, and celebrating with friends, though the race didn’t go so well, I was a step closer to feeling my legs under me and sure that Ontario Cup number 2 at Kelso in a week’s time.

See you next time Catherine!

Kelso would be a bittersweet day; the last ride my sweet sweet Trek Superfly (affectionately named My Sherona). It would be a great course to send her off on too, hilly and smooth – or so I thought. The course was awesome, fast and flowy, but with some pretty insane rocky features in the elite course. I was extra delicate on these because I had super thin tires on (with very little grip), but at least that means that I was less likely to hurt myself too! It was a beautiful, windy, but very hot day, and the course had some sections that were exposed to big headwinds, as well as sunny sections (notably the climb up the escarpment!), but I was feeling confident and fairly well rested. Big shout out to the Lynch family for hosting me and giving me a place nearby to crash before the race, it was pretty sweet to be able to hot tub and relax Saturday night!

I'll miss my her, but she's being well taken care of now

I started dead last in the corral as usual (I swear that I’m going to get there earlier next time), but made some progress through the pack throughout the first lap; it was a fast course and riding in groups was advantageous in order to hide from the wind, so I was quite happy to ride with these guys and see how the race unfolded. Unfortunately for me, my second lap pretty much decided the rest of my race, as I went through the feed zone looking for the wrong guy, and then didn’t have anything to drink for the next lap. I think had my chain drop and got passed by like 6 guys, though I normally could have gone and caught them back, I was trying to preserve my energy because a lap at that heat with nothing to drink is something that you pay for later in the race.

Hans solo took this one of me shooting the quick line

I rode a solid tempo for a lap and a half and then ramped it up a bit more for my last two laps. I was fighting off cramps a bit, but all things considered I paced pretty well (this is not to be confused with pLacing well). Apart from the one mishap with my bottle feed, support for the race was amazing! I had friends from university in the crowd which was nice, Matt F as event MC, and the Progressive Nutrition girls were set up giving out snacks and electrolyte drinks – I love it!

I live for Simon's race support

So I’ve pushed through another two races, each time feeling a little bit stronger, and now I’m ready for the upcoming two weekends of Canada Cup racing at Horseshoe Valley and Hardwood Hills respectively. I’ve got a new bike, ready for a mid-season fresh start! Thanks Muskoka Outfitters http://www.muskokaoutfitters.com/for the support with the new ride!

 

Big thigs!  A sweet full suspension, race ready out of the box. Love my new Felt Edict 1

Spring Epic 8 hour

Before my disastrous attempt at the first Ontario Cup of the season and the following flu, I had committed to an 8 hour race the next weekend. 8 hour races are more like festivals really than races; teams of 1, 2, 4, or 6 can be entered and they are raced as relay races. Because there are so many people allowed on each team, you end up with a whole lot of people at the course, all set up with tents, coolers, bikes, and music. Sure there are serious guys and serious teams, but it really just like a festival. Team Progressive/Superfly/Maverix was set up in true style with the Progressive Nutrition girls handing out electrolyte drinks and recovery shakes.

I still didn't really have a stomach that could eat much, but I tried and had an egg and a couple bites of oatmeal, and we got on our way. I was set up to tag team the race with Jasiu Kocemba (also known as Junior), a wicked fast junior racer. We did 2 laps at a time each, alternating while doing the 200+m of climbing. Maverix Racing also had Ryan and Lindsay racing the tag team mixed category, and some guys on a 4 person team, plus Matt and Kelsey testing their legs on the course solo (8 gnarly hours in 30+ degrees!).

Start line stories

The race start was a bit chaotic, I did have a front line position, but I was basically starting in a sandbox and got crashed into by two other people before I could properly clip into my bike and get moving in a straight line. I got pretty flusetered after that and by the time that we had climbed up the first major climb, I was sitting pretty in 4th place - I knew this was pretty aggressive for a tag team rider, but my ego needed it after last weekend. Here I was cruising in the top 10 riders and hear some familiar joking coming from beind me, Kelsey and Matt had made it onto the back of my wheel - for bettter or for worse. I reminded them that their goal was to finish all 8 hours of the race on their own, but I guess we got a bit caught up in the moment. By the last quarter of my first lap I was starting to feel like throwing up and it was a long day after that. I slowed down and let Matt and Kelsey ride away from me, which is never an easy thing to do, but I benefitted in the long run from putting my ego aside and pace more moderately. I still came in from my first two laps in good standing, and Junior was a perfect partner for the race.

Smooth handoffs of the timing chip and safe storage (up my shorts) is important!

I had trouble putting back any food, but between the laps I would eat a half of a CLIF bar and some of the phytoberry and vegegreens product from Progressive nutrition. This small amount of sustenance was enough to keep me motoring as one of the fastest riders all day. Being teammates with Jasiu meant that I was treated like royalty and taken care of by his dad Simon Kocemba, who made sure I always had cold towels after my laps, that we knew when to get the timing chip, and that my bike was always in order. By the end of the day, Jasiu and I managed a collective 15 laps, lapping second place!

A gold medal on my birthday!

The Maverix 4 man team did quite well, with another solid 1st place finish, but I can't say the same for our poor boys out riding on a solo mission. Matt unfortunately had a big crash which resulted in a broken bike and staples to put his knee back together (he has made an unbelievably fast recovery since then), and Kelsey paid for those early sprints with some serious cramping. At one point in the race I passed by Kelsey on the side of the trail bent over his bike all seized up, I wanted to help him but he told me to keep riding. About 10 seconds later my leg seized up too. Real bros have sypathy cramps for eachother.

Happy team going home with lots of hardware, I missed the picture though..

Back to racing 2015 - struggles of the first big race

This year in Canada (especially in Kingston - why did I move here?) we've had a drawn out and cold winter. I managed to get down south for some road bike races with the Queen's road cycling team (not really a focus of mine, but nice to get onto moving bikes outside), followed by an amazing race called the Uxbridge Icebreaker which was the first real mountain bike ride of the season for me!

The weather down south wasn't much better (this is Boston) -Philippe Tremblay photo

The trip to Vermont was amazing, thanks UVM for hosting me!

Second mountain bike ride of the year - Uxbridge Icebreaker - Hannah Clarke photo

There are a few reasons that I didn't cover these races on my blog - school (I've been working so much here that I ended up growing a "paper beard" that I wouldn't let myself shave until I finished a paper)

A quick selfie in my office at Queen's - what do you think of the beard?

And because I wanted to give some coverage of the exciting new team that I get to be a part of; Team Progressive powered by  Superfly/Maverix Racing! Small bits of info and teasers have been coming at me all winter from Jay, our main man/team manager and it all came together for me when last week I was invited to a nutrition seminar at the Progressive Nutrition headquarters. I met half of the team there (some of them for the first time), and was greeted in the parking lot by Jay, who had some important things for me. Firstly, he had a burrito, the Jay E. (he's kind of like Jay-Z) special from Mucho Burrito (you can ask for it anywhere in the country, I like mine with a little extra spice), next he had some fresh kits (what bikers call uniforms), and finally he had some AWESOME swag fro POC.

A hood full of awesome new things (good thing for THULE to make my car an SUV right?)

The nutrition seminar was great, but at the end I had to ask "So how big is my shopping list if I want to get all of these things?", apparently everything I need except DHA and EPA fats (which I can get in fish oil) come with 1 shake per day of VegEssentials - not bad. I'm pretty excited to be working with Progressive Nutrition because for a guy like me who's always busy and doesn't exactly have tons of time for shopping and cooking, it's nice to just have a shake and worry less.

Missing tons half of the team here unfortunately

We got all set up on the Saturday of the weekend with a new tent/expo area to hang out under, and it was great to have such support at the race. Saturday a few of us Maverix guys took groups out riding on the course to build confidence on the trails, and I was really enjoying the beautiful day - I really didn't want to leave (and spent a bit too much time in the sun).

Riding with these guys was a treat, So great to see their improvements after just one lap!

On Sunday, I showed up with a perfect bike, but 5 minutes after I got there I had a flat tire, and then a brake issue. I put my bike into the stand under the tent to get to work on it and I was almost pushed out of the way by our MVP this weekend Simon, who fixed and cleaned my bike.

On the start line I was calm and ready, I had trained harder than ever this winter, and some some pretty great fit things - time to reap the benefits. The race start was fast, but not out of control fast until we reached the first steep climb of the lap, and that was when it started to really hurt. I told myself that I would settle in, and that I could do these efforts, so I pushed it hard to keep my position in the pack. I was gasping for air and definitely not going as fast as I thought I should - but I pushed, thinking that the efforts would feel more reasonable once I had raced a bit longer.

I really couldn't manage a smile - not feeling good at all (Thanks Elissa for the photo)

By the second lap I had been passed by more and more riders, and I knew that I wasn't feeling good. My back seized up, and I really contemplated dropping out of the race. What was the point of all the work that I had done if I was even slower than last year? I started to think about all of my goals for the year and how they were all so unlikely now, and really got down on myself. I knew that I was racing for dead last, and it was painful that that became obvious to me in the second lap of a five lap race, but I stuck it out. I thought that maybe all that I needed was to train at the super high heart rates that a mountain bike race brings on, so at least I would be "racing into fitness" (using races to get performance gains). Besides, I'd rather finish DFL (Dead eFfing Last) than have a DNF (Did Not Finish) beside my name, at least I'd finish with my integrity.

Even my hoverbike didn't help me that day (Thanks Elissa for the photo)

Maybe a smile would have made me ride faster? Probably. 

I tried not to show how unhappy I was and be a good sport, but all of the pictures of me in that race I have this same dumb unimpressed look, sorry guys.

This is what grouchy Chris sprinting on to a lonely sprint finish looks like:

I'm convinced that I will be racing a lot faster in the future, and that this is an isolated incident (I was in bed for the day 3 days later with the flu). Thanks Mom too for coming to watch me race and hand out water bottles, love you! I'm planning to be back on top of my game for the 8 hour race on Saturday at Mansfield. It's my birthday and 8 hour races are almost like bike festivals for the day, so I invite anyone to come out and race a few laps! Mostly it's a great social event to get out, try a race course, and meet lots of people.

PS throw my new team some "likes" on Facebook and Instagram, we've got some great media and love to see the support!

Adirondack super awesome shred gnarliness: the path less traveled

Adirondacks March 2015 from Matthew Farquharson on Vimeo.

Different people have different tactics for getting to through the winter, I'm all about embracing winter for a period of time, then forcing it out of my life. One way I like to do this is give it a good wrap up weekend; "Hey winter, let's have fun one last time, then see you in November, okay?". I decided to plan a trip in the Adirondacks and invite all of my friends! Matt. I love you buddy.
I got confirmation that I had a travel partner at noon on Friday, while gorging myself at an all you can eat buffet for students, Matt was coming and he'd be at my place around midnight.
Around 1:30 Matt showed up, we finalized our route plans, and went to bed at about 2 (I was too excited to sleep actually) and we woke up at 5:30am to get an early start on a big trip (Noonmark Mountain, Dix Mountain, Beckhorn, Hough Peak, South Dix Mountain, East Dix (Gracie) Mountain and Macomb Mountain on day 1, followed by a massive hike around Elk Lake to the next range where we would do Pinnacle Mountain, Blake Peak, Mt. Colvin, over Elk Pass to Nippletop Moutain, then Dial Mountain, and Finally Bear Den Mountain before a big hike out to the car.). We didn't look too hard but it seemed to be something like 2 20km days and about 13 mountains or something. Time to sleep.

The first mountain (Noonmark Mountain) was 75% incredible, the whole way up was really nice and challenging, but once we were about 3/4 of the way up, we were above the ceiling (in the clouds), and couldn't see much. We quickly found out that down could be a lot more fun, and started running and jumping to a slide on our bums (or I even penguin slid on my stomach once or twice). This was like going down a waterslide, except for the fact that there are trees and cliffs around, but it was fun and significantly less effort so why not?

We made quick distance along the valley to the next mountain range, where we started climbing Dix Mountain. This was a complete wall to climb, but once we could get to the top we were able to hike along the dagger's edge of the range, the problem was that there had been so few people using these trails that they were very hard to find.

Matt climbing up Dix Mountain, we did this steepness for about 45 minutes. 

I managed to spot some faded snowshoe tracks, and we began our treck from Dis Mountain to Beckhorn, then across to Hough Peak, and eventually South Dix and East Dix. Getting along the razorback of the mountain proved tougher than we expected for a few reasons. Firstly, it being so late in the winter, we figured that we didn't need snowshoes because it hadn't snowed recently. What we didn't foresee was that nobody gets that far out and does the trails so that we were sinking into the snow up to our knees or crotch or armpits. The next problem was that because the prevailing winds always come up one side of the mountain and down the other, you end up with a snowdrift effect that piles snow taller than the trees, and out past where the cliffs and rocks are. This made for precarious walking, as it was a pretty snowy storm, and if you stepped to close to a buried tree, the snow wouldn't support you at all and you could be up to your armpits in snow.

The struggle was real here (and in the video at the end of this post). 

Hiking along the ridgeline was pretty awesome as the cliffs dropped off on both sides, but it was a bummer that there was so much snow that you couldn't really see out. It was a slow going, with lots of crawling just to keep on top of the snow, or to duck under the limbs that make the tops of these trees, and by the time we hit the turnoff where we would go to East Dix Mountain, we decided to do the responsible thing and get over Macomb Mountain so that we got to shelter on time before it got too dark.

Look how skinny these trees are, they're the tops of trees!

When we summitted Macomb, the trail just stopped. We couldn't even find the faintest trail at all. Upon looking at the map, I realized that we had definitely continued along the Dix Mountain chain, and were actually way out on East Dix mountain. We ended up there because we mistook a fork in the trail. In the summer there would have been more forks than there are because nobody had blazed these trails, so we went much too far up another mountain, and now had to get to the shelter for the night as fast as we could before dark. It was hard to see trails in the light when you're not near the well traveled paths, and it was starting to rain. We never got up the elusive Macomb mountain.

Cliff? What cliff?

We found a lean to just as it was getting dark, and after about an hour of running/hiking in the rain.  Thank you Lillian Brook for giving us a dry spot to sleep. I guess that you can't really trust maps in the winter so much, because you're at the mercy of whoever has blazed the trails before. We were pretty relieved to get to the lean to and start boiling water and re-hydrate our space food. I was sitting in my sleeping bag mixing my packet of dehydrated food and boiling water that I realized what my greatest fear would be: if the whole mixture somehow opened while in my bag. Which happened about 20 seconds after this thought occurred. I may have had water and pad thai all over me, but that night's sleep was the best one that I can remember in a while, bundled up in a 3 sided log cabin with a roof over my head. We slept from 8pm to 7am, ate some oatmeal (we had to share Matt's breakfast because I thought that he said he was going to bring me one too), and hit the trail.

Ready to leave our snowed in accommodations

We got out for a long day and started to work our way around the southernmost bit of our route, out past Elk Lake and then wrapping up north west toward the Blake Mountain Range. It was precarious just like the day before, sinking feet in the snow all of the time, which led to a nervous mission-impossible style of hiking, trying to be light on our feet even with the heavy packsWe got about 14 km from where we started and the trail just stopped. Judging by the map however, there would be a trail intersection in less than 1km, so we decided to trudge through some seriously deep snow. How deep? I don't actually know, because if you're walking on pure snow you typically only ever sink to your crotch. I did however see the tops of what would be ~8ft beech trees sticking out from the snow, so I like to imagine that we were in snow over our heads. Went went over a small mountain pass this way and then the trail stopped. 

It took us more than a half hour to go about 700m. And the there was no trail, just signs where the intersection should be. Our options were clear: hike 4 more miles to up two mountain peaks to where we THINK there would be packed trail again, or turn around, and hike 15km back to where we started, and another close-to-20km back to the car over the Dix range again. Given that we couldn't even guarantee that the trail was packed in 4 miles (and that that would take about 8 hours maybe), and that we only had a couple of CLIF bars left, we turned back. Close to 9km later we were back on trail that was hard enough to run on, still 5 or 6km from where we had woken up, and more than 6 hours into our day, which started at 8am. This meant that it was time to run. We set a good pace along the trail, with a fast walk up hills and inclines, and running flat sections and downhills. Our next trail decision came when we got to the fork that would be either taking a trail straight up Dix Mountain, or going a slightly longer route up Hunter's Pass. Either way, we were more than 30km into our second day of hiking, with limited food, limited daylight, and weather that was getting colder. Matt was a big advocate of going straight up and over Dix, we thought that we could back down in the valley on the other side in an hour and a half. Dix mountain broke us. It took more than 2 hours just to reach the summit, and the trail was TOUGH. 

The higher we went, the further from the top we seemed, worn out smiles

Matt had gotten into his every man for himself mode. We were no longer singing songs (which is fair because we were going up a mountain and that requires a lot of breathing), but the banter back and forth had stopped, and it was a stone cold process of walking, crawling, and sinking through the snow. I could also tell that something was wrong because I could take it easy for a minute and still catch up to him. I'm never faster than Matty up a mountain. After more than an hour of silence (mixed with my mumbling about stupid snow and having to swim through snow to get up a mountain) Matt looked back at me and said that he was cold. Sure, it's the winter and it's quite cold and windy, but the trail was very steep and I wasn't cold at all, the poor guy had bonked, and had no blood sugar left. We stopped and shared the last CLIF bar, getting colder but re energizing at the same time, and kept going. We were climbing a bit of a razorback up the mountain, summitting Beckhorn before continuing up Dix, allthewhile with cliffs on both sides, and only somewhat sheltered by the trees from the wind which prevailed from our left. Finally, we were completely exposed and had made the summit of Dix Mountain, which was a dangerous mix of icy rocks and a lot of wind. 

The way down Dix gave us both the energy to keep trucking, sliding down wall that took us 45 minutes to climb the day before was pretty awesome, like a dangerous icy waterslide that lasted 5 minutes. I set the pace across the valley as we ran back to the car, and just as it was getting dark, after 11 hours of hiking, we got back to the road. It was 19 combined hours of hiking, and about 74km in 2 days, I'm glad that I've got great friends to push myself and find new places with, and that when things go went bad, we manged to make the right call and get out of there, even if it involved 48km in one day in the Adirondacks. Thanks for the support buddy, we'll get that whole route in the summer.

The faces of snowshoe racing

It all started with a crazy run to a crazy event on a morning that I felt pretty rough, but it was beautiful day, so why not? After an unlucky snowshoe loss near the end of the race, I was left just off the podium. The next week I had a chance to snowshoe race in Gatineau at a pretty big event, and was rewarded with a silver medal (the participation medal looked pretty great too). Now was my chance to get a good sleep, not eat fast food that would cause me to wake up in the morning and get out of bed, and to win. For the third week in a row, there was a snowshoe race!

I was thinking of trying to run to the race, I knew that I had seen the “Odessa” sign not too far from Kingston whenever I’m driving but, but upon checking the real distance it was 40 something km, and the race started at 10am. No way.  I managed to hitch a ride with this awesome man named Jack Judge; a true northern guy. The man was 63 years old and had just completed his first 100 MILE race in the fall. These winter multisport athletes are a pretty impressive bunch. Anyway, we got out to pretty much nowhere in particular when I saw a big red barn and a bunch of cars parked nearby. A very Canadian venue for a very Canadian sport. 

Mark Robinson photo

There were a lot of people at the event, it was great to see some people that I had raced with and who train in obstacle course racing at the Alpha gym, as well as a lot of people from around Ontario. This snowshoe racing is such a great community with an awesome draw, with a friendly atmosphere and great organizers it's a great challenge for anyone from an elite athlete to a person who just wants a challenge, and I appreciate the mix! 

The race was essentially a 6 and a bit km course shaped like the letter q; with about 2km out, a 2km loop, and 2km back. Right from the gun I ran with intent to win and led for the first km or so, until just before the course got into some tighter forest trail, where Charley Murphy (who knew the course and has been winning these things for years apparently) took his opportunity and flew by me. I figured that he was just going to blow up and I'd pass him again at this pace, but after a little while running behind him I just couldn't keep the pace. 

Confidence in first place (Mark Robinson photo)

The first thing that I do when I lose first place is to stubbornly stick to the leader until they either blow up or I realize that it wasn't a fake burst of speed. The first thing that I do when I realize that first place faster than me is look back to where third place is. And so beings the game of cat and mouse. 

Getting the fire ready for soup and keeping tired athletes warm (Mark Robinson photo)

John Bartello, a very fast obstacle racer from Toronto was back in the trail, not far back enough that I couldn't see him, but far enough back that I wasn't too worried about being caught. It's a real mind game, as the trail twists through the forest, or if you hear something behind you, you have to judge how close they are, keep calm, keep pace, and not fall. I was relieved by cheering on those who were still running the first 2km out, giving high fives as I ran my final 2kmI managed to keep ahead, and came in for another second place finish for the second weekend in a row. I couldn't help but think that for the second weekend in a row, the guy who was expected to win did so, and I was second place, but I tried! 

The following photos are a great sequence captured by Mark Robinson, of all things I'm thinking near the end of a race:

Focus. Don't fall. 

Don't give up.

Look up. Am I following a trail?

A photographer. Better smile.

That smile sucked. Better cheer.

Cheering is exhausting. 

Focus. You're close to the finish. 

Done. Time to not do anything. (Grace Vanderzande photo)

The awards after the race around the bonfire were great, and I was happy to have such great soup and be in good company. Flanel is a good uniform in the off season I think?

Thanks Derrick for the great event (Grace Vanderzande photo)