Sunny days in May

Alrighty then, time to play some catch up on what's been happening in my world.

Another couple of Squamish Toonie Races under my belt and top finishes in both of them (Yay!). One was down Crouching Squirrel to Kiki (a new, loamy, glorious, LOAMY trail) which was fast and fun and the other was down Cougar Ridge (the opposite of loamy). I had only hiked Cougar Ridge and had never actually ridden it, so I pretty much raced it blind. My run was anything but fast and flowy but I think that was the general consensus among the girls and we were all happy to have made it down in one piece.

Another epic and exciting event that has passed was the Sunshine Coaster. This is by far one of my favorite events for a multitude of reasons:
1. My first year attending I met pretty much the best biking crew ever! BIKE CLUB!
2. My first year attending I won my category in both biking and shotgunning beer on the podium.
3. I love the Sunshine Coast, the weather always rocks!
4. The trails are in a league of their own out there.
5. My second year attending I met Jeremy.
6. The camping is always a HUGE party!
7. Must I go on?

This year did not disappoint as the sun was shining and our camping crew was vast once again. We rolled in on Friday morning and after setting up camp, we were off for some shuttles and training laps. Saturday we took our training a bit more seriously but also had some great laps on the other trails nearby.

Me and Jeremy having fun training!

 After a delicious dinner at the Old Boot, some bike movie screenings at the campground (we camp in electronic style) around the fire and good times with friends, I was beat.
Sunday, race day.
Let me talk about the race course for a minute here; it is the most fun on a bike one can have. Berms and jumps in the open clearcut to some more berms and jumps in a forest with just the right amount of roots and rocks thrown in for good measure and a crowd-pleasing drop near the bottom to keep you on your toes. Perfection.
So since this was an exhibition race and I love the course I decided to just relax, have fun and pin it. I was mostly excited that there was nothing on this course to scare the pants off me so I could just enjoy the day!
Well, my strategy paid off and I came out on top!

Lisa, Myself and Cheryl on the podium. Congrats ladies!

Shredding the course!

So another fun and memorable Sunshine Coaster has come and gone and I just look forward to next year!

In other news, I am very pleased to announce a sponsorship with Tantalus Bike Shop. I am beyond excited to be representing this great Squamish shop! Check em out!

Loeka also just launched their 2012 website, get on there and shop for some hot bike clothes for women! Check out my bio and "like" their Facebook Page as well for great info on the Loeka Girls!

On a slightly less awesome note I am giving a shout out to my good friend Jon Anthony who recently broke his back doing what he loves (biking) and is enduring some serious pain and recovery in the hospital! Jon just had surgery to fuse 7 vertebrae 5 days ago and is already "strolling" about the halls of VGH. He is so positive and an inspiration to everyone! Go get em Jon!!

Whistler Bike Park opened this past weekend and I was lucky enough to get two days of riding in. The trails are in great shape, the weather was drizzly at worst and the crowds were non-existent. Siiiiick!

This upcoming weekend I am really excited to be helping out with the Trek Dirt Series camp in Whistler. I am volunteering as an assistant in hopes of getting my foot in the door for some coaching opportunities. I did one of these camps when I first started riding and I had a blast!

That's all for now.

There's no crying in DH!

Alright, lots has been happening!

Two weeks ago, SORCA (Squamish Off Road Cycling Association) held the first race in the Toonie series down upper Pseudo Tsuga, a blue trail full of bermy corners and rollers and jumpy bits (equals fun!). I decided that since it's a bit flat with some serious pedaling sections, that I would race on my small bike. It was the perfect trail to practice corners which we had been working on with Cory at C4 as well! Long story short, all things came together nicely and I won by 15 sec! Yay! Good momentum going into the weekend for Race the Ranch!

Kamloops was next on the agenda! I love the feeling of setting off on a road trip! As soon as we rolled into Lillooet it was was all sunshine and smiles!

We got into Kamloops early enough to do a thorough course walk and check out what was in store. We walked up the dry and dusty desert-scape and things on course were looking decent until I looked at the only technical section of the track. It was a man-made rock garden, steep corner-type affair and I could feel my chest tightening as I looked at it. Not my forte. I tried to put it in the back of my mind until I could ride it and get a feel for it.
In the morning during practice, I could not for the life of me muster up the courage to ride the corner. It was a total mental block! Tears were shed as frustration mounted and I thought that I'd have to pull out of the race. T-Mo came to my rescue and offered up some much needed support and advice and I went back up, sucked it up and rode the line! I continued to have no problems with it in practice, so to me, the battle was won! To celebrate a good practice day we did a couple of shuttle laps on Rio which is a Kamloops staple and SO MUCH FUN!
On race day, I was as nervous as always and due to timing issues, we were delayed up at the top of the course for over 40 minutes! The camaraderie between the ladies is always so amazing and helped the time pass and soothed the nerves a bit.
My race run was clean, I got past the scary part and focused on the fun, flowyness of the rest of the course. I was very happy that it was over as this was one of the most nerve racking races I've ever had.

Last drop coming into home stretch.

I had overcome my personal battle the day before so anything else was just icing on the cake. My icing came in the form of a 3rd place finish:

Masters 30+ Women's Podium

Congrats to Jeremy on his 2nd place finish and congrats to T-Mo for getting 3rd place in her first race as a pro! 

And it begins...

Bike racing season is a week and a half away and I know all of you are dying to know what I get up to so here you go.

Clearly I've been training really hard.


Seriously though, riding season never really ends here in Squamish so I've been on my bike pretty much all winter. Mostly pedaling the all-mountain bike up hills (who knew!?). But, as we all know, what goes up must come down!

I am really happy to be on board with Loeka Clothing this season. They are a woman-specific bike clothing company and do a great job supporting female riders.
Within the past week, I have been working with Cory at C4 Rider Training to get better and go faster. I look forward to more coaching as I have a lot to work on! 

The upcoming race season is looking really good with eight races on the BC Cup circuit and a few other fun events such as Crankworkx to look forward to. So much road trip fun coming up this summer. I cannot wait!

Next up, SORCA toonie race this Sunday...wish me luck!