2017 is done and it was quite a year. Some big events for me and my family.
The first big one to happen was getting my first tattoo. I’d been wanting a tattoo for a very long time, and it was a good friend of mine that started a conversation about tattoos that lead me down the path of finally getting it done. We researched shops together, did the consult together, and when the big day came, she sat in on part of the process. I love this change to my body as it represents a big part of who I am. Mountain biking, and cycling in general, is a core part of me and has truly changed my life. Signifying this on my body is a constant reminder of this.
Another big event was the BC Bike Race. I still think about the race regularly. The first half of the year involved a lot of training. I’d like to say I enjoyed it all, but there were a lot of wet miserable rides that really weren’t a lot of fun. I did enjoy the changes to my riding, and to how strong I felt though. I was in the best shape of my life and felt great. I’d like to hold onto some of that fitness through 2018 and beyond.
After the race was done I shifted gears quite a bit. Life slowed down, and I was able to spend more time with family and friends. Camping trips, supper clubs, whisky tastings, some riding, and more. Life feels full with all of this.
Christmas time Canadian Blood Services is always in need of extra blood donations. This year my schedule worked out such that I donated yesterday. Lots of festive decorations up this time of year.
Donation 82 all done. Still aiming for my 100th donation. Approximately another three years for that though.
Heart the dog is now 11! Happy Birthday girl. You still love walks, runs, curling up in a sun beam, sneaking food, eating garbage, and avoiding rain. You sure enjoyed your treats on your special day.
Recently I was challenged on Instagram to do the Black and White photography challenge. The rules were simple
Seven days.
Seven black and white photos.
No people.
No pets.
No explanations.
Invite someone new each day.
I didn’t end up inviting anyone, but I was inspired to take pictures again. Years ago (wow, just looked it up and it was 10 years ago) I did a 365 project where I took a picture every day. It was a lot of work, and I got burned out pretty quick. Part of the problem was that cell phones weren’t in common use, so I had to take the picture, offload it from my camera to my computer, do any editing, then upload to my site.
This challenge was a little different. I was able to do all the editing in phone, and posting was super simple. In fact, I think I could even automate the posting a little more to make that step even easier.
This has got me considering doing another 365 Project, but keeping it super simple, and not getting down on myself if I miss a day here or there. Something to consider for the new year.
I’m all set for tomorrow’s Tripleshot Cross Fondo. This is their second year, and my second time doing it. Hopefully by this time next year I’ll have a cross bike to use for the race. For now I’m sticking with my trusty Transition Covert. Not ideal, but she’ll get the job done.
Last week was the annual guys biking road trip. This years destination was the Sunshine Coast. Leaving Victoria we headed to Nanaimo to catch the ferry, but didn’t get far before we hit our first issue. There was a car on fire on the highway leading up of town. We managed to sneak one vehicle around it, but the other was stuck in some pretty bad traffic. Then I required a pit stop before getting to the ferry terminal. Both of these caused our car to miss the ferry by 5 vehicles because we hadn’t made a reservation. Boo. 2 hours in the terminal also meant we missed the connector in Vancouver to Langdale. Eventually we made it and located the air bnb we were staying in. The place was huuuge! We needed up scrapping the ride that day due to the late hour. Instead we did some grocery shopping, then went out for dinner.
Friday we met up with a couple locals to show us around.
What an intro to the local trails. Lots of climbing, then a big steep descent. I was having a great time until I went down had ona right hand corner. My front wheel came out from under me, I narrowly missed hitting my head on a bridge, my right elbow landed in a mud pit, and I smashed my right thing onto something which immediately bruised it and caused a charely-horse. The worst bit was it threw off my confidence. I hesitated on some further tricky descents and it really messed with my mind.
At one point the group got ahead of me, and in my haste to catch up I went to ride an A-frame, which turned out to be a gap jump. I ejected and landed on my feet, but my bike tumbled a bit before stopping. I had to shake it off and just get on with riding
At the end I was charging hard again and it truly was a good day on the bike. I’m starting to get a bit of confidence with berms, which has lead to a few instances of the rear, front, or both wheels breaking traction. That is an odd feeling and requires a lot of trust in relfexes and knowing when/how tires will grab again.
Saturday I was on my own. The rest of the group wanted to ride Coast Gravity Park. Knowing myself, and how much I like to ride fast, I opted out. In my DH days I often crashed hard while pushing my limits, and I know I would have been pushing my limits at the park. Instead I set out from the house to explore some different trails and to ride Mach Chicken, which looked like a fun trail based on some videos I saw online.
The ride started off straight up. Legs and lungs were complaining until I realized I was still in my big ring. Oops. Dropping to the small ring made a huge difference. The trail I used to get into the trail system was the closest, but really not a good trail to ride up. Definitely an exit path. Logging roads got me a lot of elevation until I got to a trail called Highway 103. What a blast! So much fun, that I wanted to do it again. At the end I popped out into a gravel pit/hippy commune. There were a 1/2 dozen guys sitting around a camp fire in the middle of their farm/tent community. Spooky.
After 103 I dropped into iTrail. This went downhill quite quickly and I checked my map a few times to make sure I wasn’t going to have to climb back up to Mach Chicken. iTrail was great, but Mach Chicken was amazing. Fast, flowy, bermy, jumps. Everything I wanted. At the bottom I lost a lot of elevation quickly, but I eventualy came out on the highway and made my way back to the cabin. The hot tub was waiting!
Sunday we wanted to do one more ride before heading home. I convinced the guys to do Highway 103, iTrail, and Mach Chicken.
For this ride we parked part of the way up the road, then went straight up the logging road to Highway 103. The whole ride up the road I am sure they were cursing my name, but a few minutes into the trail there were a lot of smiles.
Mike even hit up a gap jump that I was too chicken to do.
Bikes, beer, food, good times. We even came across the Donald curling!
I’m all set for tomorrow’s Tripleshot Cross Fondo. This is their second year, and my second time doing it. Hopefully by this time next year I’ll have a cross bike to use for the race. For now I’m sticking with my trusty Transition Covert. Not ideal, but she’ll get the job done. 
