Radical sports weekend!

This weekend marked the third university cup race, and the first university rock climbing competition of the year! Rock climbing competitions are totally different than mountain bike racing, though the same kinds of people seem to go, and it’s a very similar friendly atmosphere.  Climbing competitions are done while “bouldering” which is basically climbing to no higher than 20 feet up certain “problems”; routes with specially designated holds that make it hard to reach the top. The routes are then ranked and climbers are awarded points based on difficulty. The whole “University Bouldering Series”   is orchestrated and organized by one of my best friends Mr. David Albert-Lebrun (pronounced Daveed Suzuki), and it was a great opportunity to see him since he has moved to the east coast for school. I have climbed 4 times in the last 6 months.

I woke up Saturday morning and had a great idea; to meet somebody at the bouldering series and hitch a ride to Peterborough with some Trent students to go see my mom. This would be a big weekend, travelling from Guelph to Waterloo, then Peterborough to north of Barrie, from Barrie to Muskoka, then back to Guelph again. I packed for all possibilities on Saturday morning and it paid off!

The climbing gym was set up in a pretty cool way; a massive “bouldering” feature in the middle on which they set 50 routes. Most routes were fairly inverted, forcing the climbers to use more strength and skill because they had gravity working against them as much as possible.  Climbing competitions are in such a different setting than mountain bike races, which allows for constant cheering and feedback amongst competitors and spectators, even the newest climber is encouraged by his peers and competitors. I highly suggest that any climber tries one out!

Check out those tan lines on the thighs, clearly the cyclist in the crowd!

Sunday marked the second last University Cup Race that I would ever race for Guelph, and, sadly my last race on my Trek Superfly Elite. I had to wake up early Sunday morning (after staying up late celebrating my Aunt’s birthday) and was a bit groggy but on my way to rendezvous with my buddies from Guelph, and all of the competitors (who are turning out to be my buddies too) from the other universities. I had it in my head that this is my day. I know that I’m capable of standing on top of the podium, so it’s time to grab it, race my last race on my bike fast, and push the limit to my max. The race started out according to plan, though I did not have a pre ride lap or a warm up, but these are minor details when you know that you’re going to be on the podium anyway, right?

Great action shot here, thanks to Kyle Schaltz for the photo!

Unfortunately, though it took a lap, the rock climbing competition caught up to me. By the start of my second lap I realized that my hands could scarcely grip the bars, and by the third lap I was having trouble just holding myself properly on my bike (upper body was in rough shape). I held myself in the race, because my integrity matters much more than any race result, and I will be hitting the trail hard for the final Ucup, thanks to my buddy and fellow teammate Scott lending me a bike!

Stay tuned for a helmet camera video of the race!

End of the year rock climbing relief!

Last weekend I happened to hear about a pretty fantastic thing that happens every semester here at the University of Guelph; the climbing competition! Fourth year is an awful time full of labwork, projects, and tests, and PROJECTS with very little time for bikes, or climbing, or other fun things that I enjoy, but I got warning on Monday that Saturday is the day of the climbing competition.Climbing competitions take place in the climbing gyms, and there are certain "routes" where you climb up the whole wall, or "boulders" where you aren't tied in and you only climb so high that are ranked based on their difficulty. The objective is to complete 5 bouldering problems and 5 routes that add up to the highest total number of points out of the other competitors.
 Having climbed a grand total of about 4 times this semester, I figured this would be a great way to relieve some school tension and make up for lost time! I entered the competition in the top-ranked division (didn't want to be a sand-bagger again, my friends still wont let it go that the last time I did that I won), showed up dressed as a dinosaur with a tye-dye shirt, and I climbed well! Though I had the T-Rex hat on, and sunglasses on top of him to intimidate the competition (I can't grow a manly beard like the rest of the climbers seem to be able to), I was nowhere near even half as good as the other guys in my category, but I am quite happy with the way that I performed and had the best time ever!
The climbing gym is full of great, supportive, and incredibly nice people! Fellow competitors cheer each other on and give beta (the climbing word for info on how to conquer a problem properly). There are no harsh people or harsh feelings at these competitions, and I totally suggest that anybody who hasn't found this gem on campus get there right away!
Check out the stop motion video here, picture taken from a GoPro camera every two seconds, starting from the setup of the gym. This is probably the coolest thing that I've seen in a while! I pop in around 3:50, climb up a spot near the camera at 4:30, 6:49 (for a little while), 7:55, and a few more spots so check it out!
 stop-motion of the climbing comp