It's probably time to start moving on...

I tried my best to squeeze some riding into the last bit of fall we had left. September left me with an awesome high and I was feeling at the top of my game. Sections that had troubled me a couple of months earlier passed by without even elevating my heart rate. I knew it was coming, freezing in my hammock in the morning in the Cataract Area was an indication that I should probably stick to doing daytrips from home. But I had some new objectives, and I was able to dial in a couple of technical trails.

Just as in spring when I found myself clinging to ski season, I now find myself clinging to bike season. But it is time to let go as I have a big winter ahead of me.

Bill, too fast for my camera. I had cleaned some sections of this trail that I did not even think I had the capabilities of doing. I returned a week or two later and rode with even more confidence and cleaned even more sections.

I found some other trails to ride that have always been there, but I didn't even know about!

Riding some classics that I didn't get around to doing this summer.

Snow at higher elevations. It is probably time to stick to lower trails.

That is more like it!

I love Minnewanka. Fast and flowy. For an old school trail, it has way more flow and allows you to carry speed better than many purpose built trails with similar goals. They must have known something back then that they don't know now!

I wanted to do at least one ABA cup CX race this year to see how things were. Pretty normal finish for me, 9th  (1 off the 'mid pack payback') after a not so good start, so I'm happy with that.

Ah, but who said the alpine was done for the season!

Why not some rock climbing too? The weather is nice!

Night rides are a great way to cram as much riding as possible before the snow comes.

I just came back from what was supposed to be an easy road ride to Banff and back. There was snow on the ground and the roads were wet, but I was enjoying it. Then the wet snow started to come down, and I started to freeze. I had to pin it back from Banff to stay warm and so I could get home faster. 

Well, I might as well....

Cataract Creek exploration

The "hit list" that I have developed for biking is fairly extensive. A long break from work gave me a chance to check out a couple of items on that hit list that are in a similar area. With snow in the forecast, it seemed like it was either now, or next season before my tires would touch those trails. 

A summer's worth of fitness allowed me to hatch an ambitious plan to ride the 4 trails I had heard great things about over the 2 days. I was riding solo, but fortunately, I had a topo map as a companion to battle any internal power struggle.

Great! I get to ride through horse shit and get yelled at while I take 5mins to pass them!

Good thing I left this ride to the fall after the leaves fell off!

The exploration road quickly brought me into the alpine.

The end of the trail. The map suggested off trail travel along the ridgetop to the right to connect to the pass. There was a trail heading midway down the ridge, but it wasn't on my map and I didn't know where it went.

The first ride was a bit of a bust. Eventually the exploration road petered out and left me with some off trail hiking to get to the ridgetop. Ride #2 was a greater priority for me so I pulled the plug and enjoyed a pretty good descent down the trail that I had climbed.

Ride #2 didn't start off so hot. I was "just riding along" when a rock struck my rear derailleur and sent it into the spokes. It knocked my shifting off, but fortunately by almost exactly 1 index. 

Walking up the creek (and down at the end of the day) was hell. Fortunately it was not very far and  it seemed by fluke that I found the trail.

A hellish creek washout formed by the 1995 floods had taken out the first chunk of the trail and forced me to walk up through the rocks. Soon, I was walking up the trail.

Let's skip the forest section and move on to the exciting stuff! Formerly the highest lookout in Canada (I don't think it got surpassed, it was no longer in operation after 1954).

Raspberry Ridge, home to one of the two lookouts that replaced the Cameron Lookout.

...the other was Hailstone Butte.

Plateau Mountain, unaffected by the ice age. The alpine tundra and rock along the plateau apparently has a honeycomb arrangement as a result of freeze-thaw cycles.

Looking down the trail that I climbed. What attracts me to these lookouts is the well built trails that go into the alpine!

Starting to show her age.

This ride down was awesome, but it still does not equal a similar experience from earlier this year. The descent featured a benched rock sidehill

an exhilarating spine section

and some steep rock and slabs before heading into the fun trail through the forest.

And then back down the creek. 

The goal for the evening was to set up my hammock and I enjoyed looking up at the full moon with a clear sky during breaks in my comfortable sleep, although some clouds in the morning were a little threatening (fortunately I had a tent set up as well). It was cold in the morning, but I had to get a start on ride #3 (hinted in one of the previous pictures.

An enjoyable trail on a reclaimed road (think smooth singletrack that seemed to meander from where either "wheel" of the road was) led to the base of a steep trail, although I could have continued up the road for a less steep but longer climb. 

I chose the steep climb as it would give me a good opportunity to take a look at the descent.

The descent was steep and rocky, with a couple of sections that forced me to get off my bike and walk down.

A clue for ride #4

Ride #4 was the "Queen Stage" of the trip, potentially the longest trail but apparently it held some gems on the descent. The approach was on an interesting logging road, filled with steep climbs and descents instead of contouring natural features, and multiple shallow fords. Closer to the pass, the trail weaves with the Great Divide Trail, the latter offering more technical challenges on the way down, but making for frustrating climbing. Near the pass, the road turned to loose rock and would have forced me off my bike, requiring me to walk the rest of the way to the pass. Feeling "far out there" and by myself, I opted to turn around, so that I could be back home for dinnertime to mend my shattered character after 4 challenging rides.

Man, she's loose! Probably the only place I would take the GDT on the ascent as heck, I have to walk anyways, why not take the shorter and more scenic trail.

About 3km and a steep grunt up to the pass. Maybe for another time, when I have more company.

The GDT had some pretty technical sections that forced me to walk, but I was quickly back on the main trail and was able to make quick work back to the trailhead with a slight downhill almost making me wish I had gone to the top...almost. It was neat to explore a new area, but solo exploration in an area rarely frequented by mountain bikers is tough. Deadfall, being bear aware, and a general lack of information made this trip mentally draining for a solo rider.

Bonus

 Last winter's record snowfalls and the June monsoon had delayed my exploration of the alpine riding beyond the Canmore townsite. Racing also delayed this, but the motivation to ride my bike and the friendships formed made up for missed opportunities. September arrived and I realized that I had not yet explored many of the trails that I had heard wonderful stories about from guidebooks and internet forums. Fortunately, September has been mild and dry. Any snow that had fallen has quickly melted.

Lately, I have become addicted to big, long, descents. Shorter descents are plentiful in the trails I ride right from the house, and they will remain rideable when winter starts to take its grip on the high mountains.

Something special happens when I am able to earn a nice long descent under my own power. I feel like I have accomplished something, and I quickly forget about the suffering as I let my brakes go and feel the flow of the trail. The long climbs also seem to provide excellent training for the upcoming winter season.

I don't mind watching a group of shuttlers bang off a couple of laps while I climb up a dusty road. The trails down might need a bit of a raking, but at least they are developed and somewhat maintained.

6" bikes are amazing. They can make quick work out of climbs and are enjoyable on the descent. A quick "warmup" lap the day before.

The June monsoon took its toll on the trails.

Beautiful fall colours

However, it is possible to widen the scope of big self powered descents by considering trails that do not have open roads to the top. These have been one of my main focuses for the fall.

After some hike-a-bike up steep roads and along a ridge, we were rewarded with a short descent before completing the rest of the ascent up the face.

It was some steep pushing, but hopefully it was rideable on the way down.

Looking down the ridge, the knoll where the road stops and the shuttlers descend from looks far down.

Nate, confidently riding the steep, loose, rock

and nailing any switchbacks on the way.

The top was a little too steep and exposed for my liking, I checked my ego and walked. It was more rideable for me lower down.

It is amazing what we are capable of doing. I really enjoy this style of mountain biking as I don't feel so "out there" as I can quickly descent back to the trailhead.

Martha Creek Meltdown and skimo camp

I had another tough decision to make: either go to Edmonton to race in ERTC's School of Cross and help out with Hardcore's Hop 'n Hurl, or go to Revelstoke, but I guess the title gives away my decision. I apologize to my Hardcore teammates for not lending a hand pounding stakes, stringing tape, and taking it all down.

Anyways, I struggled riding Martha Creek last time because it was wet, but the forecast was looking prime. The race had a super cool format: Either you could send just the 9+km, 1500m vertical descent, or you could climb to the top, then do the 9+km, 1500m vertical descent. It's probably pretty obvious which option I chose.

The climb was timed, which biases it towards my abilities, so I knew I had a shot at the win. I put in a really good effort on the climb (1:31ish) and had a couple of minutes of a buffer on my opponents. However, I knew that they were all way better descenders than me, so I had my work cut out on the descent!

I don't have the speed and preciseness to be a trail assassin

I hammered the flatter sections up top really hard and rode the rest safely without stopping, except to put my chain back on after it fell off multiple times. I got to the bottom and crossed the finish line (35min ish) into the gauntlet of people cheering and handing up beers. The best finish line vibes EVER.

Look at that hack!  Photo: Alex Cooper

Everyone even including Bill finished safely, and we spent the afternoon eating tacos, getting a massage, taking a dip in the lake, doing some yoga (aka STRETCHING), and then it was time for awards.

I held on for the win, but only because Martin, in second, flatted, but still held his position! Photo: Alex Cooper

Results. Bill had a slow leak on the climb and had to put a tube in, and only put 1.5mins on me during the descent!

So overall, a fun event, definitely on the calendar for next year. I really enjoyed the format, both the enduro style with the climb, and the long DH. From my armchair, DH courses look to be getting easier, so let's see how well people can slay them on bikes that still climb fast. Let's see who can be smooth and has the endurance to muscle around a bike for 25+minutes.

Back in Revelstoke, Bill headed back to Kelowna (probably humiliated :P), and I got to catch up with the skimo team guys. After a good sleep at Jeff's beautiful house, it was time for some track and field action. I think everyone was having some high school flashbacks, and the 5 event series: 100m, shot put, star agility run, standing long jump, and 800m was extremely close with no clear winner until the last event. In the end, Brad came out on top of the competition, which included Stano , Andrew , Ian , Steve , Mel , and Martha, with the help of Jeff and Julie (wheough, that's a lot of tabs!).

After a quick lunch and a good discussion about qualifying for events at world championships, it was time to shred. Ian, Andrew, Mel, Martha, and I headed to the Mt. MacPherson trails for a good rip. Martha showed up on an old rigid mountain bike with cantilever brakes and some big chainrings, but the smile never left her face. We slayed some trail in a nice train, until some mechanical issues (I was clean haha) split us up. I really like MacPherson. Berm Donor, Flowdown, Dusty Beaver, and Tantrum were extremely fun, without the crowds or the bugs you get up on Frisby ridge (but without the alpine-ness, and the bugs go away once it gets cold). And then you can add TNT, Black Forest, Root Canal, and Break a Leg to that! And the trails below Hwy 23, which I have yet to ride...

I had some beta on a trail in Golden, so I hit that up the next day with my legs aching after the 800m.

anyone else see the playboy bunny?

I've been enjoying this fall for sure. I hope to keep it up with the big climbs, big descents!