Stoked to get Spanked

Well, I've been busy riding.

First off was the Stoked to get Spanked race in Revelstoke on July 8. I had a tough decision to make, whether to race this one or to race the Perogy XC in Edmonton on the same day. But ultimately I could either race fun, flowy, technical singletrack, or tight, cornery trails in Edmonton, so I opted for Revelstoke.

The course was extrememly fun with a good mix of road climbs, technical climbs, technical flat singletrack, flowy descents, and technical descents offering a complete mountain bike experience. The 17km loop which we did 2x was demanding. It was also my first 30degree day of the year. With the long loop and hot temperatures, I opted for racing with a hydration pack, something I should have done at the Bow80 (instead of having to stop to swap bottles).

I rolled with the lead group for a bit until getting gapped a little on the descent, and I had to hammer the climbs pretty hard to avoid getting caught by better technical riders behind me. Ultimately, I finished 4th (BUT I FINISHED 2ND IN MY AGE GROUP!!!!!), completely exhausted, legs cramping (though the hydration pack mitigated this), sore back (caused by the hydration pack?), SPANKED. The cold Begbie Ale provided in the $40 entry fee was incredibly welcome...

Pictures  and here

Overall, a well orangized race. Fun course, they gave away lots of sweet prizes, had multiple age groups and courses for kids races, and kept the energy high in the start/finish area with music and food. I would recommend this event to a friend.

After a much needed dip in Kinbasket lake, which was actually much warmer because of all of the water they have been letting off,



we thought it would be a good idea to ride Frisby ridge. Unfortunately, we found out that it was closed until July 15, AFTER we drove all the way to the parking lot. Oh well, I got to rip Ultimate Frisby again and tell Bill all about how good it was. We tried to salvage the day by riding a trail I rode on McKenzie last year, which ended up beating us up even more.

The next day, I took it easy and rode Flowdown, a new trail build by the Revelstoke Cycling Association last fall. It's like Frisby ridge, but in the trees. Smooth and flowy, and fast, made for a nice recovery from the previous day.