Intermontane Challenge - Day 3 & 4

Day 3...It was a day we certainly did not expect as we planned to start the race at 8am. However, the race was delayed as part of the course we were to ride was sabotaged and a new course had to be marked. We took off the start line at 10:30am in 40 degrees celsius. The first half of the race was great and we had cleaned some sweet descents ... but then we got lost with a few other riders and had to make it back to Kamloops on a road after asking directions! We made it back in over 5 hours, only to find out that today's race had become neutral, meaning nobody's times counted, because so many people had gotten lost.

Day 4 of the Intermontane Challenge....It was another epic day on the trails in Kamloops. We covered 100km of trail in the heat. Fortunately there was a fair bit of tree cover to keep us cool today. The ride started at 7am and we rode strong into the finish line with a time of 7 hours and 15 minutes. We were just a minute and a half back from our competition after a big day on the bike.

The ride took us on some huge climbs that seemed to keep on going and going. We were rewarded with some awesome single track near the end. Once we hit the road to the finish we thought we were almost done but, we were directed up the hill for some more climbing and some fun single track which I am sure we would have been more enjoyable had we not been so tired!

Tomorrow is the final day of the race with the time trial. We will be pushing hard on the trails again tomorrow in the heat. The good news is the day is shorter tomorrow! Until tomorrow...Thanks for reading.

Way to go Heather and KJ!!!

Awesome work girls!!! You Rock!!!!
Love yah both,
Ashleigh

Mommy and Me HIke - July 30th

Whyte Lake Hike - West Vancouver:
Exit the highway at the Caufield Exit. Turn left (west) off the highway exit. Go straight at the four way stop onto Westport Rd. Follow Westport Rd until you go under the highway. Immediately after you go under the highway there is a gravel shoulder on your right that leads up to a parking lot. We'll meet there at that parking lot at 9:30am. The hike should take about 1.5 hours.
See you there!
Ashleigh

Intermontane Challenge - Day 2

Hey

Well another 40+C day in Kamloops today! We decided to start today a bit slower then yesterday, knowing it was going to be another hot one with lots of sun exposure. The start and first half was great, some really fun single track, except for one flat tire of course. The second half led us back up to some more open dessert areas with no shade, and it was just getting hotter and hotter. KJ suffered in the heat in the 2nd half, but luckily Heather was riding really strong so pulled KJ along. The last feed station was further away then expected, we both were out of all fluids by this point. Neither of us have ever drank this much, or ever ridden in this kind of heat! You kind of feel like your being literally baked. Good times! We finished in 5h12 today, loosing a bit of time over the girls in first, and are now roughly 30 minutes behind them. We still feel pretty good about the day overall having finished strong after a gnar classic loose Kamloops descent to the finish.

Tomorrow is to be a long one, 85 km and includes some really tough downhill so we're told, and that will come after 40km of riding mostly up.

Anyway, plan to ride steady and stay on the bike for as long as possible!

Rubber side down!

Our activelife multisport team mate Tara Walsh and her race partner Chris Welsh ripped it up today and are now in third in the mixed teams category. They rode super strong today and kindly offered their assistance when we got our flat. Go activelife team go!

KJ and Heather

Intermontane Challenge - Day 1

Hey everybody,

KJ and Heather here reporting in from Kamloops. We survived, I think, Day 1. It was not exactly what we had expected since we did have the opportunity to preride Day 1 a few weeks ago. Today was VERY different then what we actually road ... about 2 hours longer and over 7000 ft of climbing! It was however, not hot enough at a chill 39C. Ya right! Thank goodness for the amazing volunteers that were very efficient at filling our hydrapaks and water bottles, and even giving us a few head dunks!

We managed to keep a steady pace, finishing in 5h52, just 11 minutes behind the girls in 1st! Not too shabby for day one all things considered ...

Cytomax from Peak Centre for Human Performance, Accelerade, Gu and Thermolyte from North Shore Athletics kept us going today.

Time for some foam rolling, stretching and sleep!

KJ and Heather

Trail Runs - next 2 weeks - Cancelled

Sorry ladies, I will be hiking the Stein Valley... then off to the Okanagan on my summer trip over the next 2 Thursdays - so no formal trail run on Thursday July 23 OR 30th, feel free to meet and run on your own as a group. Next formal run is scheduled for Thursday August 6th - check back in 1 week here for that posting. Happy trails - Charlotte

XC Ride - Wednesday, July 22

Hey gals,

This Wednesday's ride will be a chill fitness ride. Plan is to do Fisherman's, and then for those who want to give'r after, a loop of Richard Juryn Trail. Ride will start at the same place (LSCR start of paved path) at 6:00.

I have your club shirts as well to give out, so if you're able to make the ride this week, please let me know (kjsadler{at}shaw.ca).

Please note that there will be NO RIDE NEXT WEEK as all ride leaders (Heather, Tara and KJ) will be racing the Intermontane Challenge!!

See you soon,

KJ, Tara and Heather

Off-road multisport races!!

Looking for some off-road fun this year? Check out the XTC Off-Road Multisport Race. There are two venues, Campbell River on August 9th and Squamish on September 20th. XTC Squamish was just named on of the 20 must-do races by Triathlon Canada! There is a full and half distance off-road triathlon, full and half distance off-road duathlon and a Kids of Steel race. Check out www.xtccanada.com for more details!

A few of the team members have done the full, half and duathlon versions of the XTC and had TONS of fun. Some of us are planning to hit Squamish this September, so if you're interested, let us know! KJ had the opportunity to help design the mountain bike course and it will truly be a SUPER fun, perma-smile course!

Trail Run - Thursday, July 16 - 6pm

We will be trail running in Capilano Canyon this week! Please meet at Cleveland Dam parking lot, located just off upper Capilano Road (on the way to Grouse Mountain) - make sure you do NOT go to the fish hatchery lower down, but instead meet at the top Cleveland Dam parking lot. See here for map of area. Any questions, email Charlotte at cjo_sa@hotmail.com
Plan for a ~1hr run in an amazing area of the North Shore.

XC Ride - Wednesday, July 15

Hey gals,

XC ride this Wednesday will start at 600 pm from the usual location - Lower Seymour Demo Forest where the old gazebo used to be (start of paved path). Look forward to seeing you there!

KJ and Tara

July 16th - Mommy and Me Hike

Hello All,

Thursday's hike will be the Brothers Creek Loop. The hike begins at the top of the British Properties. We will be meeting at 9:30am. The hike is a bit longer than our usual hikes, it takes just over 2 hours to complete the full loop. If we are in a time crunch, we will take a short cut.

How to get there: Go to the very top of Taylor (above Highway #1) until you get to the roundabout. Turn left onto Southborough Drive, take your first left onto Highland Drive. Continue heading up hill for just over a kilometer until you reach a stop sign at Eyremount Drive (turn left at the stop sing). Then turn right onto Crestline Road. Take you first left onto Henlow Road and then right on Millstream Road. Just up ahead, you should see a short portion of road that goes further up on the left. This is where Brothers Creek Loop begins. Park on the street and we'll meet at the trail head.

See you there!
Ashleigh and Ben

Mommy and Me Hike - July 9th

Hello Ladies,
This Thursday we will be hiking the Dog Mountain Loop trail on Mt. Seymour. Meet at the west end of the Mount Seymour parking lot at 9:30am. The weather forecast calls for sun, so fingers crossed they're right!
See you there :-)
Ashleigh and Benjamin

XC Ride - Wednesday, July 8

Hey gals,

This week's ride will start in the same location, but with a new ride leader, Tara! Ya!

We will meet at 6:00 at the old gazebo location (start of paved path) in the Lower Seymour Demo Forest.

Look forward to seeing you there!

KJ

Trail Run - Thursday July 9th - 730pm

Note the time change this week ladies - a 730pm start to accommodate my work schedule, for this week only. We have plenty of daylight right now, but expect a ~45min route time. We will meet & start at the End of the Line Store - located at the top end of Lynn Valley Rd. Hope to see you there, Charlotte.