TrainingCoop Kids

Olivia & Levi are sporting their brand new TrainingCoop jerseys, to be raced this coming weekend before coming out to join us at A Rocha. I'm envious!

A Rocha MTB Video 'Trail-er"

OK, fellow Coop-er boys and girls, it's only five sleeps til we are biking, hiking, BBQing and gallavanting around at A Rocha and the forecast looks good :-)! Scott and Deanna are hiking the trails right now (as I type) and they report that the trails are snow free and looking good :-)!!

So ... here's a little video 'Trail-er' from Scott and I riding the A Rocha Centre trails about a year and a half ago in the late fall:

Should be a lot of fun and without leaves on the deciduous trees, the view will be just are clear as on this video.
Sounds like the whole Coop gang and kids will all be there and the food list is sounding great too - fun fun!!

Wheeler Dealer Deanna!

Thanks Deanna for a great deal on your (ah - mine now!) Mavic Crossmax 29er wheels:




Not only are they great wheels, but they were delivered by Deanna and Scott direct to our abode ... where there is now "9 'er" bikes for the four of us (we are storing a few for da boys)!  Thanks Deanna :-)

What am I building? The BIG REVEAL!

Ok, since none of you could actually 'name the frame' ;-) ... here's what I took a "shiner" to (very slick Brian) and is coming to Tommy's herd ... my new steed for XC & endurance MTBing is:

2011 NINER JET 9 - 29er:

ALL BLACK - XL Frame - Fox RP23 rear shock- 100 mm front shocks (TBD) - XT front & back - 29er Mavic Crossmax wheels (thanks for the deal Deanna!) - seat post (TBD) - bars (TBD) - stem (TBD) - crank set (TBD) - pedals (still like my Time Atac) - seat (I love Selle Italia Trans AM) - 1st sticker ("Got Moab?").

Courtesy of my favorite bike shop - Olympia Cycle & Ski and Morgan's skilled advice!

What am I building? Clue #4 - 9 'er 10 know!

Hey, I know of at least 9 'er 10 folks who do know what my bike is!

Clue #4: It's Popular!

Notice how I removed all clues ON the bike! ;-)

What am I building? Clue #3 - It Floats!

Since you guys are only speaking in hints and riddles (scared to commit I bet!;-)), I will help you out some more.

Clue #3:  It Floats!

What am I building? Clue #2

Well ... Graham was oh so close (;-)) ... Scott's a ringer and JP is obviously a man who thinks like me but has better tastes in fine bike kit!
But since no one has dared to "Name the Frame" (quiet Scott!) ...

Here's Clue #2:

Wow man, I think I forgot what it is ... can you help me?
*It would be very embarrassing for me to have to ask Morgan - again! ;-) 

What am I building? Clue #1

It's spring and change is in the air ... Mr Pugsley has arrived ... Mr Karate Monkey has found a new home and my trusty Giant Anthem dualie is now Lori's new MTB steed ... so what's a guy to do for XC and Endurance MTBing?   WHY BUILD UP A NEW BIKE OF COURSE! :-)

So what exactly am I building up and how will it be equipped?  Here's CLUE #1:

  Got any guesses?  Scott ... no insider cheating - eh!

EcoChallenge Video

As promised, here's some video footage of yesterday's EcoChallenge. Enjoy.

EcoChallenge

This is the aftermath of our first foray into the FortWhyteAlive EcoChallenge. Dean & Kara invited us to do it with them as a relay this year, though sadly Dean had to drop out due to a sudden appendectomy, so he recruited his brother Scott, with whom I have also trained, to fill in. It was an absurdly cold late April morning and I felt sort of fatigued before the event even began (owing to all the shivering) but I made it through the opening portage, with Kara, in good spirits. Thank goodness she owns a light canoe. The ice on the designated lake wasn't out yet so the 1st discipline was changed to a 500m portage. Don't be fooled...half a kilometer with a boat on your head (light or not) is harder than it sounds. Of course Kara had to transition from the portage to her run immediately while I got to rest until she completed the run before I began the 1st bike leg.

Nothing too exciting to report from the bike. After a brief mud section, the long haul up McCreary Road with a cold north wind wasn't the highlight of the day but I got through it, and after a little forest section I eventually got to the Assiniboine Park to pass off to the other Scott.

Scott got to run a route he's very familiar with, and one that took him within eyesight of our home, before returning to the park and handing off to Deanna for the final bike leg and orienteering section.

Deanna reports that she felt good about the bike leg, and isn't disappointed with the orienteering (it was her 1st time doing any orienteering after a brief crash course on Thursday) though she's already determined how she could cut some time off that portion of the race.

All in all it was a good morning. Thanks to Dean and Kara for the idea, and to Scott for filling in at the last minute. It was especially cool to all be kitted out in TrainingCoop gear - this was the 1st time we did a team event together and not only did we look good but it was easy to locate team members in transitions zones. Thanks again to Puratone and Olympia for sponsoring the team gear.

We're looking forward to improving our time next year and moving up from 2nd to 1st in the standings.

A video of our efforts is uploading as I type this and should be posted soon. Stay tuned...

One of those days

After a winter of good indoor training I've finally got to do some riding outdoors. I think I know what Kevin Ista feels like after he finished the Paris-Roubaix. Maybe we will get a few photos like this after the A Rocha Training Days.

Welcome Mr. Pugsley!

Well it finally happened ... I got my 'new' fat-tire Surly Pugsley bike ... thanks to a sweet deal from Morgan P. (who works at my favourite bike shop - Olympia C & S of course) and his one year old steed.

When I Test Rode Morgan's Pugsley three weeks ago, I immediately fell 'In Love' and offered to buy it when he was ready to sell (by posting my YTube Video and asking Morgan to watch it).  A week passes by and no word from Morgan? ... then I'm chatting with Scott and mention my hopes for the Pugsley ... so he says: "Didn't you get my text from last week that Morgan asked me to send to you confirming the deal?" ... no says I ... I'll check my iPhone right now - no luck!? ... then Scott says "hey wait a minute, I texted your home phone - Oops!".

After Morgan and I agreed on a price, Lori and I went off to Moab to revel in MTB bliss, while Morgan agreed to change the Canti brakes to cable discs ... I appreciated that, but what he actually did BLEW ME AWAY:


WOW ... Mr Pugsley looked brand new! Not a scratch to be found and there were not just new Shimano Cable Disc Brakes!

Here's what Morgan upgraded/improved (all unsolicited!):
- New Shimano Brake levers
- New Shimano Alivio shifters
- New Shift and Brake cables
- New Cannondale handlebar
- New FSA Alpha Drive cranks
- New Odyssey Shark Bite pedals
- New Surly Larry 3.8 and Endomorph 3.7 tires
WOW - WOW - WOW - WOW - WOW - WOW - WOW!!!!!!!

Olympia isn't just a great shop ... it has great people working there!
Now as pretty and perfect as my Mr Pugsley (He's a Dude!) looked all shiney new, that would not stand! It was time to ride ... so off I went in search of any remaining snow (and mud)! I met up with Scott in Assiniboine Park and our ride through there and the mucky forest path are in Scott's HD Test Video posted below.

It was nice to share my new bike excitement with another Surly bike rider (Karate Monkey) and the results were as expected ... sweet and dirty:
WELCOME MR. PUGSLEY!

GoPro HD camera test / Tom's 1st Pugsley Ride

Nothing terribly exciting here...just two guys out on a spring ride. I'm testing my new hi def GoPro helmet and Tom is testing his new Pugsley.

Be sure to select the 720p HD setting in the lower right of the YouTube frame (visible after you click "play") to check out the camera quality.

End March "Get Yer Butt on the Saddle Race" Update

I was on the road at the end of March, so the update is overdue ... but here it is:


March ended with Tom riding down in Moab, including a long road ride to finish off his biggest month of 963 kms (2391 total) ... while Brian also had his biggest month at 644 kms (1676 total). This put Tom ahead by over 700+ kms - but ... Brian is now riding outside and his longer rides have begun!


Here's what the training rides have looked like ... Tom still up and down with longer rides, but Brian is also starting to increase his duration ... so we shall see what April holds (Brian is already off to the lead so far)?

Ambition and Talent

Well, I got my motorbike out this weekend so my pedal biking regime is bound to suffer any moment now, but I'm motivated to keep hitting the gym so I look buff and impress the biker bar girls.

In celebration of the return of my motorcycle to the streets here's the quote of the day: "I guess your ambition was greater than your talent, hey?", spoken by Casey Stoner to Valentino Rossi after Rossi made an incredibly optimistic attempt to pass Stoner in the rain on a tight corner.

The result: Rossi took Stoner out as pictured above, and then got back on his bike to finish well within the points. Stoner couldn't continue. He could however bravely deliver the put down of the year to a 9 time world champion.

Here's to hoping my ambition on the bike (pedal and motor) is somewhat in line with my talent (insert wisecrack here).

Conquering Slickrock - Moab Brands Trails

Choosing our ride for the last riding day in Moab was a bit of a process.  I felt that I needed a little more practise time on slickrock before attempting the actual Slickrock trail.  Initially we decided to do Klondike Bluffs again but were reluctant to repeat a ride when there are so many rides in Moab that I haven't done.  Tom suggested a new ride called Moab Brands Trails - it is one of the newest trails in Moab and offers a number of loops that allow you to match length and difficulty to your own taste and abilities.  In the end we decided to try Moab Brands and especially the slickrock sections ...


However, we started our last day in Moab with a pre-ride brunch at the Eklecticafe.  Traveling across the midwest US it is surprisingly difficult to find good coffee - but the Eklecticafe did not disappoint - the food, coffee and the patio atmosphere were great!


After brunch and a little shopping, we headed out to Moab Brands.  Turns out they have a nightly gunfight followed by a dinner and dance - umm....'nough said!


We studied the map and decided to shoot for the Bar M Loop with the plan to hook up with the Circle O which offered some challenging slickrock riding. 


After a quick ride up a jeep rode on the Bar M Loop, we hit the Circle O - the sign promised slickrock that was technically hard but not physically too challenging.  In other words - slickrock without the huge climbs you'd see at the Slickrock Trail. 


That's exactly what the Circle O Trail was and it was just an awesome trail for me - I was able to focus on the technicalities of slickrock without burning out my legs.  The biggest issue initially for me is the point at which these petrified desert dunes meet - low angular dips sometimes preceeded by large bumps and varying degrees of difficulty - some downright scary.  Tom kept telling me to keep my speed up to meet these areas (the opposite of what my instincts were saying!!), keep my weight backward and trust that my dual suspension bike would handle it.  The first half hour I walked rather than rode these areas.  Then, I found a section that offered some less dramatic drops and I rode it successfully - I then rode this same section a couple of times and gained some confidence.  I started to trust my bike and allow myself to hold some speed and flow with the dips and the climbs.  It started to gel for me and for the last half of the 3 mile slickrock loop I managed to ride through the technical sections and get into the 'flow' that slickrock requires - it was so much fun!  Tom feels I'm ready for Slickrock proper, but alas - it's time to go home!


The Circle O trail delivered on all of its promises!  In the future it will be our one of our warm-up rides.


It was a triumphant end to an incredible week of riding and sight-seeing!

Tom's Edit:  LORI TOTALLY ROCKS NOW!!!  I was so impressed with how a solid trail rider like Lori took the next leapt up in technical riding skills.  These pictures do not show the really challenging stuff that Lori rode down and climbed up today ... but fortuntely I have video that shows it and YES I will be posting a video to brag about Lori's triumph today!

Island In The Sky

After our Dalton Wells slickrock riding and lunch yesterday at Monitor and Merrimac viewpoint, we headed up Hwy 313, referred to as the "Island In The Sky Highway" to Dead Horse Point State Park for some evening valley/canyon gazing.


It's just a 45 minute drive from Moab on good highway to Dead Horse Point and it's scenic all the way. 


The reason for the Island In the Sky title becomes immediately evident when you drive past the visitor center on the plateau to the 30 feet wide/narrow crossing to the small point where the main viewing areas are located.  Once there the view is mesmerizing and breathtaking!  We both loved it, but Lori loved it more from a safer distance back from the edges! 

If the picture above spoke "a thousand words", then the little video below will turn that into a full story!

Here's Lori trying to get slowly and safely closer to a great view ... well back, until able to slide just a bit nearer!  We stayed here for a fair while, just watching the lowering sun cast an everchanging look to the Colorado River Valley below.


We did not stay until full sunset, but the changing views were spectacular!  Btw, the jeep road you see snaking it's way down below in the valley is the same road we drove on last time in Moab, on our way back from descending the zigzagging Schafer Trail ... an amazing drive!


On our way back into Moab, the setting sun kept highlighting buttes and ridgelines all the way back.
Pizza was calling and more slickrock riding was on order for the next day :-)

Another member is in the hospital

We should have known as soon as Dean asked if Deanna and I would join him and Kara in the Fort Whyte Eco Race relay that he'd quickly have regrets and look for a way out. Just like Graham and Tom were determined to send themselves to the hospital last year in order to get out of competing in an event with me Dean found his graceful exit strategy: Appendicitis.

As you can tell by the picture Dean is actually thoroughly enjoying the hospital stay and thriving in the knowledge that he's out of the race. What's more, you might notice the stack of triathlon magazines near him which he's using to plan his next solo event where he plans to P.R. owing to his reduced weight (he's approximately 4.42 grams lighter sans appendix).

Despite the brazen lack of team spirit we wish Dean all the best as he recovers.

P.S. Lori, would you like to run a 7 km relay leg in just over two weeks from Assiniboine Park to Omand's Creek and back? Seriously.

Dalton Wells - Big Toe 'Rides' Slickrock

Yesterday, on our fourth day in Moab, it was time for Tom to rent a different 29er (the longer travel Ellesworth Evolution) and enjoy another afternoon of slickrock riding with Lori.  We decided to head back to a favourite area from our last trip to Moab ... Dalton Wells slickrock 'playground'.


This time we drove in from the highway on a gravel and jeep road to the closer trailhead.  As we were gearing up, we met an Albertan who was able to snap one of our few pics of us heading off for more Moab fun.


After a sandy uphill ride we arrive at the edge of the slickrock area and stop to admire the view, when ... outta nowhere ... "Big Toe" our missing "Ugly Doll" pops up from behind a rock and demands a ride up onto the slickrock!?  This was only somewhat of a surprise, since he had gone missing recently and in the past his random forays away from home have been to adventurous locations :-)  Lori agreed to hoist him aboard and off we went ... as it turns out Big Toe found Lori's stash of Cliff Blocks rather quickly ;-)


First up was some climbing ... up and up the moderate to steeper slopes of slickrock in search of fun ride-down lines ...


and ride down we did ...


then back up and down new lines ... Lori having the same fun she had here last time, but with more gusto this time!  Is it the 'new' Giant Anthem dualie or her improved riding skills?  Tom says skills!


Tom had a chance to find himself some challenging areas for careful slow descents and fullout test biking!


Result ... three hours of pure fun - grinding and cruising - that left Lori and Tom beaming from ear to ear :-)!!


So it was time to ride out, but not urgent enough to miss checking out the funky rocks and flora in little hidden spots ...


There was some fun on the alternate singletrack and jeep road ride out that still included sandy washes ... small price to pay though for a great afternoon of slickrocking!  This is the perfect place to warm up for the actual Moab Slickrock Trail.


Enroute to our evening adventure (Dead Horse Point) was the viewpoint for Monitor and Merrimac Buttes (Merrimac on the left and Monitor on the right - named after the Civil War Ironclad ships) ... the perfect place for a late afternoon meal to toast our ride! :-)