The start of MTB race season

I've been enjoying my time on the new bike. It feels faster on the singletrack and the descents, but I do find that I need a bit more strength to get it going.

Coming off a long ski season and not really riding my bike from early November until the beginning of May, I knew the fitness and the base would be there, it would just be a matter of getting the high end power back into the legs. Racing has felt almost casual and pre race, I have felt very relaxed.

River Valley Rumble XC:

A classic Terwillegar course combining elements of the Fat Tire Tuesday courses (when they were still at Terwillegar). The race was almost entirely different than the riding that I had been doing in Canmore up to that point. Fast punchy climbs, basically an all out sprint for maybe only a minute, but lots of them. I found that I was able to put up a good fight here, I held my position through the race after working up from a weak start, and there has to be some training benefit to going hard up those hills!

Slaying singletrack on the new bike!

Canmore Toonie Races:

Canmore has a decent midweek series put on by RMCC with races every two weeks. Unlike the Fat Tire Tuesdays, the format is different each week. Unfortunately, I missed the first race, a drag race up the Spray Lakes climb, which could have played to my strengths. I did the 2nd race, featuring a couple of heats up the shorter Silvertip climb and I was able to put in the fastest time. The third race was based on the world cup eliminator style with a short 2min loop, all out effort. Again I was able to throw down some fast times to continue building the engine.

My hillclimbing machine!

Deadgoat Summer Solstace:

A little unsure of how the weather conditions would factor into the course, I remembered back to the Giver8er race I did 2 years ago and how the course seemed to survive the monsoon fairly well. This race was no different for us. While the roots were slippery, I had fun flowing the smooth dirt and letting the wheels slide a little in the damp corners. The climbs were longer than at Terwillegar, but they were steep, and I was just lacking the power to continually send them.

Revelstoke Toonie Race:

I love riding in Revelstoke, and they were planning on holding a 1.5hr toonie race, how could I not go? I crushed some singletrack in the early afternoon with my brother, then got ready for the race in the evening. I started hard to string things out, but people were hanging in there. Eventually I was out front with Marty Schaffer and Brendan MacIntosh (owner of Flowt). I could not drop these guys on the hills, and they were consistently putting time into me on the descents. I blew up and slowly faded before losing another 3 places on the last lap. There are some ridiculously fast riders from the Stoke! I felt great on my bike all day, and put in some solid efforts in the race.

Riding in Revelstoke always blows my mind. The Tantrum trail  holds some great technical singletrack.

Iron Maiden XC:

Honestly, I was not really looking forward to this race. My thoughts were that this was a good course for the wet weather on race day for the last 2 years, but it doesn't really use the trails and loops at the Nordic Centre that I enjoy and ride on a regular basis. Plus, that rock staircase thing, the "organ donor", or more accurately the "ass puckerer" scares the shit out of me. But I showed up to the start ready to throw down a solid effort. I was feeling awesome on the singletrack sections, and the "ass puckerer" was closed, so I didn't have to feel the shame of taking the 'B' line! The bike felt great on the singletrack and I was able to flow through sections that others weren't, and not have to chase back on the hills! That's a first! One of my best elite races!

I wasn't sure if it would be worth doing the Kootenay Krusher, but now I think I have to!

New bike: Xprezo W-29. How do I like it?

My Xprezo W-29. Pretty much stock, except for my seatpost, saddle, and handlebars.

Let me start out by writing a little bit about myself. My vision of the ideal race bike has changed over the years. I started out on a 26" hardtail with a narrow 580mm handlebar. I noticed that everyone was riding past me on the downhills. I then moved to a 26" wheeled 4" full suspension and got some 710mm handlebars. I still noticed that everyone was riding past me on the downhills, and I started to notice that the bike also wasn't carrying speed well and I getting bucked around on singletrack climbs. ort travel 26" bikes were slowing me down.

When I felt it was time for some change, I did some research and riding. A lot of people figure that the suspension and the larger wheel sizes take the sting out of the descents, which they do. But equally important is taking the sting out of flat or uphill singletrack sections, allowing myself to rest and carry speed through these sections.

I rode a couple of 29er hardtails. I think they are great if you want a low cost race bike or a ridiculously light race bike, but they are still a hardtail. I rode a 5" 26er and I loved it. Take a 4" race frame, add another inch of suspension travel, you can run your suspension softer and you have a faster bike. And of course I tried a 4" 29er full suspension which I loved as well. When riding the 29ers, I didn't really notice any of the complaints that most people have about them: weight, slow steering, not stiff, and I definitely noticed the benefits: smoother ride, increased braking/climbing traction, and momentum. Okay, I did notice how they made riding a little less playful*, but who cares, I was going for speed! Going faster and not getting bounced around as much can be more fun!

You can probably guess from the title that I ended up going with a 29'er full suspension. Enter the Xprezo W-29. Xprezo is a CANADIAN manufacturer making their bikes in Bromont, CANADA. They have fully jumped on board with all the wheel sizes (26, 27.5, 29) and have a wide range of bikes from steel hardtails all the way up to downhill machines. I even had a choice of paint and some SRAM build kits. While deep down, I am a Shimano/Fox guy, why not try something new.

Build: 

-X0 build: brakes, drivetrain. I love the double crank, though the gearing is a little tall considering all of the steep singletrack climbs around here.

-Cockpit: heavy Truvativ stuff. The 20" frame is as large as they come, but the stock seatpost was not long enough, so I grabbed a Bontrager RXL off my old bike. I put an Easton Haven 710mm handlebar on as well.

-Fork: Rockshox Reba fork: still getting used to it. I'm running it at the recommended pressure, but I have the gate cranked all the way "+" to get any sort of suppleness out of it. Remote lockout is a bit of a gimmick. It's annoying that you have to run the lever and cable to keep the fork active. If you crash and digger your remote into the dirt, your rattledness will now have to contend with a locked out fork! I have removed the remote and rigged it so that it is always open. 15mm thru axle adds some stiffness up front.

-A nice Fox Float CTD boost valve in the back. As I've implied earlier, suspension needs to be active on the descents AND on the climbs, so I've been running this in the softest "trail" setting, or heaven forbid, in the "descend" mode.

-Wheels: Nice to see some race ready hoops right out of the box. Stans Crest wheelset is light and it is ready to go for tubeless. The LUST Crossmark tires are anything but lightweight at 835grams claimed, I could easily drop a pound by relegating those to some beater wheels and Stans-ing up some normal tires!

Frame: My Acid yellow/green frame is beautiful. Steel/aluminum single pivot rear end paired to an aluminum front end. Tapered head tube, some internal routing, direct mount front derailleur, 142x12mm rear thru-axle. Feels stiffer than my old bike.

Weight: 26.6lbs, I think I could get it down to 25.5lbs easily with some lighter tires. Keep in mind, many of the other 29er FS carbon wonderbikes out there are coming in above 24lbs, even with the super high end builds.

So in summary, stiff, flashy, and fast. I have already been setting some STRAVA personal bests on climbs and bombing down some rock slabs with ease. This bike gobbles up singletrack better than my previous 4+4 26'er: The geometry feels dialed in the corners, the bike is stiff and confident in the rough and steep stuff, and the rear single pivot suspension feels like it is tuned perfectly. Some may scoff at the lack of multiple linkages, but let me assure you, it feels really good, and I'm sure the simplicity is something I will appreciate when it comes time to maintain it...

*there are definitely lots of riders just out there to have fun but I don't see how anyone who normally rides a 6-7" bike on a cross country trail could complain about a 4" 29er being less "playful".

Wapta day trip

This one has been on the list especially after being inspired by Ian's fascination and eventual success with a 7.5hr speed traverse last year. Jerimy was keen while on a trip to Lake Louise and we were able to get Stano along as well. Jerimy had been up to Peyto hut, and I was up at Bow hut last year, but other than that, we were doing the traverse and skiing together for the first time. Weather was looking great. Not a cloud in the sky!

I warmed up with a quick Dolomite Circuit the day before

Because Jerimy had been up to Peyto before, we decided to start from there and do the full traverse rather than start at Bow lake for a shorter and easier approach.

Starting from Bow summit parking (a little higher and a little closer than the normal parking lot), we struggled a bit descending through the trees down to the lake, but at least the snow was frozen solid. Once up on the Peyto moraines, we were a little too high and had to descent a short ways down to the toe of the Peyto Glacier

skiing towards the glacier with Mt Habel and Rhondda taking the morning sun.

We roped up and scooted along an old track, and broke some trail instead of going to the hut. The Peyto zone is fascinating with what looks like some great ski descents.

Mt. Baker SE face. Looking delicious.

Some more climbing, flat skinning, slight downhill, following tracks, breaking trail brought us towards the St. Nic/Olive col.

Approaching the col.

Olive. Another tasty ski descent

After cresting the col, we enjoyed a long "glide" down to the Balfour hut

Skiing down with Mt. Balfour and the next objective, the high col in view.

Fortunately Jerimy and Stano had studied the route well, as I would have thought that the ascent route would go up the gentle bowl looker's left (aka what is actually the final part of the approach from Hector Lake) and not up underneath Mt. Balfour which looked heavily crevassed and threatened by serac fall.

Roping up for the long climb up to the Balfour high col.

Well what I thought was a crazy route up to Mt. Balfour was actually the way to go! Fortunately once we were on it, it didn't seem as crazy as it looked from afar. It was a really cool section of the traverse to break up the monotony of flat glacier slogging.

Once at the top of the col, we sat in the sun for a while and then we descended down the other side. I straightlined the whole thing.

The rope came back on and we headed for the final pass

Like all of the other climbs, the last one was longer than it looked. At the top, we pulled the skins one last time and traversed, free heeled and sidestepped our way over to the descent slopes (Schiesser-Lomas exit). The top was enjoyable with some light powder snow which turned into some corn on top of crust and then some wet snow in the trees. We got caught a little too far skier's left in the trees where it was really steep. Fortunately, we found the creek and skied down to the lake. Crossing the lake and getting to where the Sherbrooke Lake trail really starts descending was the last effort of the day, we then enjoyed a fast luge run down to the parking lot.

My GPS file

So we finished in just under 11hrs. We were on light gear and conditions were not really that bad other than a bit of trail breaking. Ian and Mel's 7.5hr effort last year (and of course Will Gadd and Co's 8hrs on misery sticks) really blows my mind. I found the treed sections quite frustrating and time consuming. We were definitely not hammering at race pace, but definitely tired at the end. 

I actually think the coolest thing about taking 11hrs is it actually puts it close to the same duration as other trips that I have done like "most of Joffre" (12.5hrs) and Lyautey (12hrs). Hmm...what about Fay/Quadra, Columbia, North Twin. The possibilities!

The speed traverse style is cool. We waited for a day with perfect weather. Imagine being "stuck" on a multiday traverse and getting socked in the day you were planning on going over the high col?

2013 Ken Jones Classic

The Ken Jones Classic was the final race of the 2013 Ski Mountaineering Competition Canada Season. After a really hard weekend at Kicking Horse (racing on Saturday and Sunday, banging off a lot of gondola laps on Friday and Sunday), I gave the body a rest with only a couple of days of XC skiing, and a couple of days at Lake Louise checking out the course.

Course: The course involves some of Lake Louise's best descents when considering both steepness and ski quality. As well, I find the length and order of the climbs to be very conductive to racing. The longer first climb separates things, then there are a couple of shorter climbs to jostle around in, and then the long final climb where you need something left in the tank. The descents were all memorable. In Whitehorn II F gully, Eric, Brad, and I were all skiing close together at the same time and sluff balls were pouring down the chute from wall to wall. In Brownshirt main, we were ripping and putting on a descending clinic for those on their second descent. Elevator shaft was skiing great and the slalom through the rock garden was fast, with the final placings on the line!

Off we go!

The treed section at the beginning of the last climb was interesting with some thick forest and lots of traversing outtracks and a meandering skintrack. Our train made a wrong turn, but fortunately we realized our mistake early (no green flags = off course!). A couple of misses on some high speed corners on the descents (they were marked better in previous years), fortunately that didn't change the outcome too much, for us at least!

Engine: I kept my pace steady even though there were times when it felt like I was about to get dropped by Brad and Eric. Although Brad got away near the end, I had enough left in the tank to shed Eric near the top of the last climb, but not enough time or gusto to catch Brad.

Ooops, wrong 'Eric Carter'

Gear: My gear was dialed this year. No skin failures in the cold weather. I used goggles for the first time in a long race because of the cold, and they worked well. My only gear issue would be one that probably plagued many others: my water froze. This could have been combated with a different hydration strategy. Platypus bottle in suit pocket or Camelbak system inside of suit?

Technique: My transitions were good and that kept me in the race, closing the gap before climbs and descents. Very FEW botched kickturns but I would prefer that there be zero botched kickturns. I was able to stay in there on the descents as well.

Okay, so I (R) survived the fast first climb, now time to prepare for another 1.5hrs of battling! photo: Chris Mosely.

TSN Turning Point: After racing together for the entire race, Brad snuck away and put in a sizeable gap on Eric (who got caught in a tree) and I (who was fiddling with water to fuel up before the last climb). When we finally emerged from the trees and Brad was back in sight, I was impressed with the damage he had done! I then turned up the pace to shed Eric, but could not close the gap to Brad. We all made mistakes, Brad was strong.

Behind us, Nick and Stano were duking it out, and I'm sure we'll hear more about that on Skintrack.com. results

I enjoyed a great afternoon filled with lots of Paradise laps. It was a great season. Thanks to my parents, the race organizers and sponsors. I am looking forward to 2014.

With a summer mountain bike season on the horizon, it is time to rest. I am looking forward to the spring skiing season and hopefully I can make some turns in some cool places around here. Ta Ta For Now

More Dogtooth and buildup pictures

Small is the new big. Mini golf lines are great for getting the full couloir experience with less risk. 

This mountain goat was setting a pretty bold uptrack. It had scrambled on top of some cliffs and was seen charging up an avalanche path above a cliff. Bold.

"There is no ice or rock in the guidebook picture"

"The col is often windswept"

A fast ascent in some tricky snow conditions.

 And some more Dogtooth Dash pictures from Martin's roommate Pierre

Sizing up the competition

The start. Brad had a pretty impressive gap by the end of the short run.

The Chinese downhill after the start.

Suffering hard, being heckled by the organizer, Ian Gale.

Finishing. About to remove the mask of pain that has covered my face for the previous 2hrs.

2013 Dogtooth Dash

It was my 4th time doing Canada's premier ski mountaineering event at Kicking Horse, organized by Ian Gale and the events team at the resort. The course is great and the event is well backed by the resort. Gore stepped up with some cash as the title sponsor for the event, dubbed the North American Championships.  Andrew and Reiner are still in Europe, so the race was wide open.

I had a free lift ticket voucher, so I skied the hill on Friday. The freezing levels had risen quite high and things were not looking  too promising, but I quickly realized during the gondola ride up that conditions up high would be game on. I had some of the best runs that I have ever had there and it was hard to resist the urge to keep skiing so I called it quits with an hour until close :) . I was put up in some accommodation that I had won during last summer's Kicking Horse Cup, so a good sleep was a given.

A great view of the top 4 in the race. Photo: Malcolm Taylor

In previous years, I have made use of the included lift ticket and the noon start to burn off a couple of laps in the morning, but this time, I decided to sleep in instead. After a pretty brief warmup, it was time to do battle.

Course: Again, this is the best course in Canada, with lots of transitions, steep skiing, and bootpacks to test your technical skills. The course was modified from two previous years with the last descent changed to the final descent from my first Dash! Leg burner! Otherwise the same 2 non-selective first climbs and the 3rd and 4th, which separate the men from the boys.

Gear: Fresh off my Europe trip, my gear was dialed. Needed the grippy skins for one of the ascents, but I wish I could have spent more time on the faster gliding skins.

Technique: Again, fresh out of Europe, my technique was feeling dialed. My transitions were fast, kickturns were dialed in, and my skiing was feeling the best it has been. Very few mistakes.

Engine: Although I made the mistake of doing some trail breaking to "string out the group" on the first 2 climbs, I was feeling like a hero...until Scott Simmons, up from Colorado sped away on the flat section of the 3rd climb. Eric Carter and I were skiing together all day, pushing the pace hard. He was stronger than me on the day, but I am surprised that I collapsed as bad as I did to lose a minute at the end of the final climb.

TSN Turning Point: The 3rd climb again proved decisive and I was able to settle into my spot ahead of Brad, Ben Parsons from Montana, and Nick.

Suffering hard. Felt like I was lacking in the end battle, but I was spent at the end. Great to hear so many people cheering for me, even my Mom!

I am really happy with my race, especially finishing in 3rd place. It again confirms that I made the right decision Re: what to do with my life this year.

After a great buffet dinner, we prepared to battle in the relay race the next day. It was snowing hard, and I opted to race wearing goggles for once! I teamed up with Martin Lafontaine, and wearing jerseys from the teams of our respective provinces, we became "the Separatists". I love the relay format as it is spectator friendly, easy to set up, and is really beneficial to the athletes from a training and technique perspective. We both threw down some fast laps and just barely lost out on the win to the Skintrack.com team of Stano and Eric.

Malcolm was out taking some amazing pictures.

Back in the routine

Legs are still a little "damp" after a week of hard racing in Europe, but fortunately I have a massage tomorrow.

What have I been up to other than racing (and XC skiing and the Canmore Nordic Centre) since I was at Rogers Pass in January?

Running out of ideas, I revisited an area that I have not been to in 3 years. We had such a good day, we returned a couple of weeks later

It had been a great powder day at Norquay since I had last been out ski touring. A good day out with Ryan  set me up well for a nice hard couple of days the week before heading to Europe.

I always have great days in this area. I came back 2 days later for a 2700m day.

A little further north, ,and another big day on a nice slope.

Finding some good powder even after the weekend crowds had done their thing.

Okay, back from Europe. The legs took a little bit of time to get into it each day.

A fun powder day on the little skis with a couple of skimo ladies. http://margsrace.blogspot.ca/ , http://stixnstonz.wordpress.com/

Craig and Bill had been having a good time while I was still in Europe. We went for a good character builder  doing some exploration.

A nice day to get into a cool line

Self portrait

My secret weather forecast predicted high winds, precipitation, and low visibility, but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to go touring with Steve S and Mark Smiley. We had to pull off the objective when we encountered the forecasted weather...

...and move on to something else. Steve and I weren't feeling too comfortable with a  bit of slab over facets, so we bailed on that too.

Back to my favourite zone with some fun new ski partners. I love looking around at the scenery and thinking of future ski objectives in the area.

So yeah, hopefully the massage helps me out so I can get ready for...

The Dogtooth Dash!