Day 7 & 8 Canmore

Arrived in Canmore Thursday evening.  Andre and Karen showed up round 11.  We all were tired from driving so we hit the hay.

Up on Friday to pre-ride the course and sign on.  The layout was similar to last years course.  Probably on of the best race courses I have ever ridden.  There is lots of climbing, fast descending and a few technical spots to keep you honest.  I felt good on the pre-ride and took my time on the descents so that I got a good idea of what line to take during the race.  I almost had a mondo crash on one of the technical descents but somehow managed to pull out of the high speed nose wheely that I had gotten into after going over a bit of a root jump.  

After pre ride we just laid low around the hotel and prepared for the next days events.

Saturday morning came in with a blue sky and slight breeze, perfect for racing in the Rockies. Steve and I rode up to the course and got ready as best we could.  

The whistle blew and we were off.  To start we headed off through a flat section and the began to climb.  I felt good so I went hard and got to the front and ended up staying there for the whole first lap, however Niclas, Devin and Steve were hot on my heels.  Going into lap 2 Niclas started to pull away from me on the climbs.  I never did see him again after that.  Legs were feeling good the second time up Georgetown( a significant climb about 2km from the finish).  So I pushed a little and managed to stay in second.  I knew that Steve and Devin would be charging hard so I did all I could on the descents and put a little extra effort on Georgetown and onto the finish.  So I ended up second which I am happy with.  Steve pulled in behind Devin for the 4th spot.  Mark raced as well but did not have his best day.  Here are the full results.

I can't say enough good things about the Ziggy Knarley course, it is a rip roarin good time. 

We partied a bit that eve and then hit the hay cause in the am it was back to E-town.

Day 6 & 7 The Pass

Well after the Seven summits trail we headed to Christine and Troy's.  A relaxing day was spent on Wednesday cleaning bikes, working on forks and relaxing.  A BBQ for dinner and of to bed. Not much to talk about really.

On Thursday Steve, Troy and I headed to Fernie to sample some of the sweet single track.  It was my first time riding in Fernie so I had to do my damdest to stay on Steve's wheel.  First we climbed up a trail called Cemetery Bypass and then sidewinder then we went on Kids Stuff to Slitting Bears and onto deadfall.  Next we headed across the river and rode up Fat Bastard and Mushroomhead  and then down Dem Bones.  Dem Bones was really fun, it had a real good flow and I let go of the brakes for a bit;)

Back to The Pass, pack up and head out.

We drove the Hwy 20 to 541 and then Hwy 40 and we finished up with the Spray Lakes road were we saw a Moose!

This was the first time I had driven these roads, it is a beautiful drive.  There are huge ranchlands, rolling prairie, foot hills, and you get real close to the mountains.

Tomorrow we are going to pre ride the course and enjoy Canmore a bit.

Day 5 The Seven Summits Trail

The Seven Summits

Well today was the day that we tackled the Seven Summits trail(link to article here).  Since we were going to head to Troy and Christine’s that night we had to get an early start.  After brecky and some trail research we headed off.  A short drive up and out of Rossland got us to the trail head.  Right away I knew we would be in for a treat.  The trail stars out as a buff single track cut beautifully into the earth.  The first part of the trail was a steady climb to a logging road, then on the road for a short bit the back into the trees .  Now the real fun started.  The climbing was awesome, good grades and great trail and it continued for 45 mins!  We took a break just before the hight point of the trail.  The next bit was a mix of climbing, walking over snow banks and short descents.  Once we rode along the ridge for a bit we began the first real long descent of the day.  Lots of rocks and medium drops made you concentrate 100% or else.  Next came some more climbing then some more descending.  Each time the descending got longer until finally we hit a meadow ridge and a super fast false descent onto a logging road.  The seven summits had been ridden.  We then did the Dewdny trail for a some more down, down, down until we popped out at the highway just after seeing a bear.  A 5 km up, up, up back to the hotel and we were done.

Words don’t do this trail justice, you simply have to ride of hike it to appreciate how well it was designed and built. 

A few stats from the day

Vertical feet climbing: 4800 ft

KMs: 44 km

Time: 4hrs 30 min

Bears: 1

Fun Factor:10/10

Here are the details that I left out 

Day 4 Kamloops to Rossland

Two words sum up today: Dri-Ving.  We headed out from the loops, after another delicious visit to Hello Toast, around 10 ish.  The drive south and west was neat, lots of beautiful scenery.  When we hit Penticton we stopped for lunch at some pirate joint, it was OK.  The temp was still HOT and only seemed to get hotter as we headed south.  After we left Osoyoos and climbed into the mountains the whole landscape changed from vineyards and orchards to large trees and big forests. 

After a quick stop at Christina Lake to refresh we made the final push to Rossland.  Arrived, drove around the town for a bit looking for the hotel, only to realize that we passed it on the way into town.  Then Mother Nature treated us to a light show.  Off to bed, big day tomorrow.