Long legs and...

...kittens where the big topics of the day.

Great day in Calgary! and when the sun is shining we take advantage of it! Toby and I enjoyed the early quiet park then met up with the group of Erik, Craig and Trish.

Over coffee the decision was Station Flats for a Ridgeback and West Bragg ride!

On the way out the topic of long legs kept the conversation going for the entire trip, pretty good! and no, not the kind of long legs and pretty women, it was all related to cycling! impressive. well, besides a few side conversation about shorts and who should wear what! From there it couldn't get much better.... but it did!

The trails were in great shape, few mud spots here and there, but hey what would I do on a Saturday night if I wasn't washing and fixing my bike!?... Ridgeback to the Bobcat intersection then up Bob Cat, great climb! and in great shape (cow damage from last year is a bit smoother now!). Went all the way up to Rangers Summit then down Strange Brew. Riding with the boys is usually quiet "noisy", they seem to have this ability to ride fast but keep chatting about bikes usually, parts, building, fixing, you name it... Today the topic was Cats! It was pretty interesting riding behind two of the fastest decenters talking about cats; and it was not going fast, for once they were so into the conversation they forgot about riding! I mean we were missing out of one of the best descents of the day being on the breaks behind them... It was one of the most amusing moments I've had riding with them; the things they new! breeds, and mixed breeds.... wow... eventually we had to tell them to shut their mouth and get of the breaks; not sure they heard it as they were so preoccupied, but the pace did pick up!
From the bottom we climbed up Rangers summit where Erik put the hammer down for a good pace, at least it felt 100% for me. Had a moment to enjoy the view, finished the climb and go enjoy the Bob Cat back down, the boys were flying at this point! Had time to finish Ridgeback climb to the top and back down.

Great day out - and now I know Marvin the cat's bedtime routine of chasing lasers marks on the wall amongst other great facts about cats - and we agree that long legs can be complicated.... I think.

Happy Riding!



 

Our morning quiet time!

Erik putting the hammer down up Rangers Summit! Craig coasting behind :)

Great ride with fast riders! Erik, Trish and Craig!

Temporary signs look good!

 

And we beat the storm!

 

Welcome Home!!!

...Boone!

Even the neighbourhood lady bug is keen to try it out and Toby thrilled to be part of the virgin tour of the hood!

Have to wait for winter to really test it out. With long legs and short body it's never easy to get set up, this one was tougher than normal but the 10 min virgin ride felt ok. 

Ridley's know good bikes and this one might just be the perfect bike for our winter excursions (fully stashed, including disk breaks hydraulic, fender mounts front and rear, two bottle cage mounts, electric shifting yet to be proven to me as an upgrade for winter but definitely feels awesome, and last but not least Treks iso speed decoupler for extra comfort!!!).

Happy Riding!

Recovery weekend...

... went well. It's easy to get too keen on riding after half a week in the office with 25 degrees and sunshine! But I stuck to my plan on taking it easy but get out and ride a little.

Saturday was Toby's day. Met up with Ryan and we ended up heading to Station flats. Rode up Ridge back and since it was in perfect shape we decided to keep going to make it a loop, so up Moose Packer. It seemed very promising as we completed most of the switch backs but as it flattend out and we hit the next section snow appeared and then more and more and deeper!! But at this point we figured we might as well make it to the top. It wasn't with out a lot of snow crawling, even went backwards up on last section of Pnuma to avoide the snowy double track. With that we also had to go down Pnuma a bit, to the utility house and from there we hit the road to Race of Spades. It was much better, finally back on the bikes again, with frozen skins and feet! But RoS didn't disappoint so all worth it in the end. Toby got his first real workout, a bit to go to peak performance, but at least he slept through the night for once :)

Today it was a girls ride. It's been a long time since we've got out to ride. It was great. Headed out to Minnewanka. Thought we left pretty early but as we arrived it was already quiet busy, but not too bad on the trail going out. I forgot how much I enjoy this ride. Since my fully had a shifter break yesterday I was back on the Ht and on this trail it is the perfect match. So flowy and fun. Turned back at the cabin, and on the way back the trail was getting really busy! Conteplated a second ride in Banff but settled for good coffee and snack :)

Dropped the fully off at Ridleys after a shifter mail function and got some good news! Looking forward to the long winter raining rides on what will be the little sister of Cronos :) Hopefully bring home Boone this week sometime.

Happy Riding!

This was while it still looked promising :)

Great riding with Alana and Trish!

If you look really close you see the rear end of the mountain sheep!

Rear end if Alana and Trish...

Oh yeah.... It'll be fun... But first the season of mt biking....

TransPortugal...

...a few of the typicals...

Typical day on the start - dad always there to see me off, Tiago counts me down - Greg is already on the go but that's the only one before me. 14% for female and 2 % for being in my 11th year of my thirties :)

Typical view during the day (minus the shoe). The profile has a few km marks, this helps me focus on small goals for the day, CP's are part of it, some peaks and water stops. The large garmin keeps me on track, and sometimes it gets me in trouble navigating while going fast down hill, but to everyone's surprise I rode almost 1200 km on the Burt's and not one issue! The large one also serve as a data collecter that is used to verify you did the course and that you stopped for 5 seconds at Stop signs. This race can be completed without your bike as long as you have the GPS track, and of course without motorized assistance.

The little GPS is my time, km and temperature to remind me to drink!

I would also carry a tracking device in my pocket for the to know your where abouts - this saved Eric at least one day!

Typical plate (first of many) at the finish, there is great options. Nice fruits, meats, tuna and bean salads, egg and the list goes on. I would usually visit again after massage (no good shot of the awesome team of massage therapists - but they are included in the typical day - highly recommend this package if considering this race.

After massage a "ice" bath. 

Typical night - dinner and lots of it. Dad on his way in the hunger fighting crowd. Great food all around.

Typical after dinner briefing and GPS handout. Tiago is the timing and GPS master of the Staff. Below is what he goes through.

Typical briefing sheet - we also get our gps back. The info would include water stops (taps or cafés), major climbs, things to note of warning, and stops. Before lights out for the night I would change batteries, make sure the right map (one for each day) is set and make my little frame map.

Typical find your bike action - a group of staff takes your bike on the finish line, then clean it and tune it up! A package I would highly recommend if you consider this race. It's so nice not to worry about the bike, you'll find it almost brand new amongs the others in the morning before your start.

Maybe not a typical view but typical standard of the hotels! It's a vacation after all - so why suffer after a day on the bike. The hotels are nice - Raphael and Paul enjoying tonight's last hotel. The carrot we ride towards for 9 days :)

TP 2014 - Stage 9

...the finale! Wow it seems so recent I was wondering about how can I get through the next 8 days, now there is only one left :)

Pre-race:

99 km to rest on the beach, well at least for a couple hours before the packing and journey home. But it'll be the best couple hours in a long time. But of course it's not done until it's done, and sure it's one of the shorter stages but punchy climbs on these legs will definitely be a challenge. 

Post race update:

It's amazing what your body will let you do to it and how it adapts to pretty much anything as long as your head is in the game. When after day 1 of a 9 day stage race you feel shattered, the next day it'll let you abuse it again, and again....and in the end it no longer feel like abuse, it's just part of the rutine each day. Today some adrenaline of it being the last day got mixed in and the mind knowing it was the last, both puts a whole new dimension to it - pain goes away and you just enjoy the moment of no looking back (literarily). 

Started with a super fast downhill and I managed to miss the turn to the dirt, so up the hill again. Then a little bit of gradual to super steep climb. I chose to walk a bit to and though I rode hard I was looking back for Eric. The course is more suited for my tired legs, lots of shorter ups, but you know you'll get a coasting break going down. It's mostly dirt with a couple of sections of ashpalt. Passed a group of road cyclist out training, up a hill. They were a bit surprised as I passed by with a hello and have a good ride :)

By the time I hit CP 2 and no sight of Eric, I figured it was time to not look back again. This last section I remember from before and after a bit of double track you hit a short rode section up to the view of the cliffs and the ocean. It was windy but I tucked in on the bike, I had tilted my seat forward today, and it help the sitting on the seat part of the ride :) 

Then you hit the beach - it was nice and solid so a light jog wasn't too bad (ok, so I walked a bit too). Off the beach the first up and down and up. It was hot but with a little breeze it was manageable (adrenaline is also good at this point). I "cheated" and looked back, didn't see anybody, extra motivation to keep pushing. Quick back down again and a climb out, passed last CP and a little further up. A few km fighting wind before the last up down up of the day - of the nine days!! The last climb is on the road, quiet steep and with a little bit of view of the path down, looked back again, no sound of bike no view of yellow. The last slight downhill I remember as super fast and I was looking forward to this, but it was everything but super fast. It was more sand, windy as heck so no coasting, and washboard features that reminded you this is TransPortugal and nothing comes easy. I did not remember this section being this long, and was very happy when I hit the pavement for a little bit. 

Then a little bit of up passed the hotel for the night, back out on some last trail, and down towards the very end, single track to the finish and the beach!! Amazing finish arena, and even better when no Jose passed with a smile saying "go Kate, go!". A couple minutes later he crossed. Glad I never saw him, great guy, but much better this way :)

Time to rest and enjoy the beach town of Sagres. This journey is one of the hardest, most memorable, enjoyable in all weird ways, I do, and three times now, and it hasn't changed my view. I know I will be back, it's just a matter of when.

Team Aardal did well, thanks to dad for getting to most of the CP's out ther, seeing me off the start and again there in the finish. Sharing experiences other than in words makes for a even better time. Only in it can you really understand what this is and why people keep coming back - wether your first or last or in the middle, the passion is the same for what we do. 

Happy Resting!

TP 2014 - Stage 8

...the real test!

With 7 days in the legs, stage 8 is probably the one most suffering occur. It starts out gentle but midways the fun begins - one climb after another, with the real kicker at 109, a 25% gradient to start the first 1 k of this 4 k climb. 

I'm hoping there is something left in the legs to enjoy this otherwise great stage, along with stage 2 a favorite of mine in terms of riding and scenery. 

Today is also the Norwegian constitution day, Happy May 17th! I'll celebrate on my bike.

Post race Update:

Ouch! It was as hard, maybe harder than I recalled. It takes me well over an hour to enable the butt to sit on the seat, by then it's numb and I can give the feet a little rest once in a while. Good thin it's only one stage left; I might have reached the limit to what it can take :)

The first 50 km are pretty in eventful, lots of farm lands and rolling, kept looking back for Eric and Raphael, some company would have been nice. Eventually Raphael rolled up alone. Eric had rode easy to wait for Peter today, good friend. Raphael stayed with me for not too long. So it was a fairly lonely ride today. I was actually quiet happy when the climbing started at around 60 k mark, gets the mind focused on the task and not wondering to all the aches and pains. It was very hot and by the time I hit the second major climb it was well over 30, and trees that used to give you some shade were all gone! It was hot. I'm happy I turns around to ask a couple of farm workers if they had water on the bottom, I would have been very short. This is around the 110 k mark. It's about 4 km climb and very steep. The decent down went safe, not risking anything this close to the end of a 9 day race.

Around 120 and there is almost no more dirt and rock, all paved but still hard, steep and hot and I knew the guys were behind chasing me down. Jose passed me a long time ago at this point. 

Did what I could to keep it steady. And it felt very good cresting the last hill knowing it was mostly down to finish. Made many navigation mistakes today, all fairly short but going down I made sure to keep a close eye on the gps, it's so fast so missing one turn might have you climbing back up a few minutes. I only made two small mistakes, pretty good, it's actually pretty tricky in the last little bit.

Second place just in front of Malcolm. Happy with the day, glad it's over! Tomorrow is a shorter day, ride it safe to the finish on the beach!

Team Aardal also celebrates 17th of May.

 I used this as a little bit of motivation when it got real rough today :) we got it pretty good, so feeling sorry for my self while doing something I on my own chose to do is not really an option. I'm really fortunate to be able to participate in events around the world and live a life totally free to make my own decisions on how to live it. Those who enabled me and the rest of us to live such free and full life's, those are the heros. 

So, happy 17th of May Norway! 

Happy Riding!

Thanks Joao, for photo and keeping my bike tuned :)

Nice to have a little time no solo, Raphael had a good day.

In to second place; then got stung by some bug.... 

Team Aardal! We had a good day again, all cp's covered and second place:)

Miss you little guy!

TP 2014 - Stage 7

... shorter than last years stage seven, but nothing is easy with this race so before I say so I'll ride and then make the call. 

Pre-race:

It's a day for the roadies again, lots of fast dirt or paved road. No climbs to speak of. 

And later start so it will get hot quick.

Gave my other gps to Erik so hopefully he won't get lost once again, and possible come ride with me :) If another headwind both Erik and Peter in a little group today would be super. Goal today will be to save a little bit in the legs for tomorrow's big stage. 

Had a nice little stay at this Eco friendly hotel - fully solar powered, everything around is natural growth, weeds and all stay, the breakfast was the best so far I'd say, maybe driven by no need to rush.

Post race update:

So my verdict on a short easy stage; not in Trans Portugal. No easy day here. This new stage of just over 100km on the profile looks like a walk in the park to some, but with some good winds and tired legs it is hard as any other stage, adding Erik's motivation and drive to get a stage win, made it very difficult to stick to the plan of not killing the legs for tomorrow.

I rode fairly moderate for the first little bit and Erik and Raphael cought me pretty quick. From then on it was race pace to the end. There was a better variety of trail and road today and quiet enjoyable. Some dude joined our ride in one of the early towns and it wasn't great. I don't think he clued understood when I asked him to either go back or go way ahead. He open a couple a gates for us and wanted to pull on sections which was no ok. So I told Erik to stay off it and him and I do the work only (off course not a great substitute for Erik but at least we can feel good after). I told the guy to stay off the front, so he decided to then ride next to me. And for those who know these double tracks, sometimes you have to swap line very quick to avoid obstacles like big sharp rocks (and with Burt's it's key to pick safe lines), well I didn't have this option anymore, he was always right there. On the road he would stay on our wheels, and when it was my turn to sit in I had to push him off Erik's wheel so I could get my spot and not be on his wheel, which wouldn't feel right. Weird deal, but after an hour or so, he smiled and said he had to go home and thanked us for the ride, had been fun he said and back he went. He probably never meant to be a annoyance but unfortunately it was a bit of that. 

Finally could relax a bit and ride normal. 

Erik rode like a mad man again, on the last CP we got the splits from the last cp, 16 to Jose and 9 or 6 to Peter. That was a few kilometres ago so they could be close. I told him to just ride and not look back, about 10 km to go. For the next 7 he rode as strong as I've seen him ride, I could barley hang on to the slight up wich is usually were he slows down. I gave him a couple breaks here and there but he did most of the hard work. In the end, we made it to the finish with no others passing after almost a wipe out in a massive puddle. Jose and Peter came a few minutes later together. And the pack not far after. 

As for my goal for today; a total fail :) the legs left it all out there. I really wanted to maintain a nice pace for legs to recover, but when you ride with someone so driven and so committed to leaving it all out there for this one chance it's hard to not wanna join. And in the end just another day of great riding, and so is tomorrow.

The other half of team Aardal made all CPs and the finish, I believe this might also be a record. Note that last CP was only 10 k from the finish so nice work!

Happy Riding!

TP 2014 - Stage 6

...passed half way yesterday, but no time to rest, a big day today. 

Pre-race:

167 km! First part is the same as previous year but then rather then inland we head south west. The first 15 km are hard! The two climbs are 15-20 % coble stone fun. The first decent is as rough of a coble stone decent we will get. So needless to say, we will all be awake very quickly. From there it would be fast (relative term day 6 in a race), rolling terrain.

Supposedly end at a very nice hotel - something to look forward to after a long day on the bike. Calling for hot weather and a little bit of wind.

Post race update:

167 km is long no matter how you look at it. It started off ok, with quickly getting legs warmed on a coble stone climb, them get shaken up making sure we are awake before second steep climb. At km 19 that was all done with and from there in there was a whole lot of road both paved and gravel. Rolling with not much gradient hence there was no coasting, just constant pedalling all day! In the middle somewhere I got to enjoy a little but if nice strong tailwind, but it didn't last for too long. So back to constant pedalling. The scenery didn't change too much so my view today was mostly focused on the garmin map and the km data that seemed to move so slow. 

It was a hot day, over 30 very quick, so I was good at hydrating. Stopped at the first cafe around 70ish, and the lady didn't seem too happy with the 4.50 tip on a ..50 bottle water!! Guess I could have bought a whole bunch and left it outside for later riders. Think this will be the plan next time, having a bunch of coin rattle in my pocket would not be an option. While I was in the store I forgot to keep an eye on outside, I thought I heard someone yell but when I got outside I didn't see anyone. I was hoping Erik would be showing up soon. Learned later he was lost a couple times. Instead around the 100 km mark Peter (also from Belgium) road up behind me. He is a machine on the road, so I was very happy to have him to ride with. He pulled so hard I felt obligated to earn the spot behind him, hence when it was my turn I gave what I had, maybe not the smartest move, still over 60 km to go. We stopped at the last chance for water at 111km. Rushing through the dark (stores seem to save by keeping all lights and no refrigeration on) I grabbed a large bottle of water and apple juice. Or at least so I thought. The darn juice bottle was so securely locked I had to ask the lady for help to open, she looked at me funny, grabbed a knife and cut it open. This in it self should have in all normal circumstances been a clue, but not to me today. I was determined to down the juice before Peter was ready so I didn't hold him up. So I took the first and biggest gulp and wow, this was not juice at all! But when your trying to down something it takes that one split second to get the taste so half of it was already in the belly, half a bottle of Apple vinegar!!! I do not recommend trying this at home! I ran out of the store to release what I could, got the water and tried to wash it out, while still focusing on filling bottles and get on the bike. Quiet a mess, and not a good belly for a while after! Lesson two learned; read the labels! 

From there I got a little bit more hammer pace before Jose rode up behind us, also wondering where Erik was. I was pretty spent by that time so had no plans on trying to hang on, I waved Peter to go, but he said he'd stick with me. Now I felt awful as I know he was strong enough to hold Jose wheel. So I figure I'll try, hang on for a second or two ha ha... At least this woke Peter up and he continued the effort, almost to the finish. The Belgians know how to pedal hard! I was left to battle the old train tracks on my own, I'd say at least 30 km of them....the kms move oh so slow. But I survived yet another adventure.

Ancle held up very well, loosend up the pedals to make it easy to dismount and had no issues what so ever, good news story as yesterday it did not feel so great. I even climbed another fence today, but did a very detailed risk assessment first :) 

The hotel is in the middle of the fields. Little single units with a main hotel with the spa and pool facilities. A nice place to relax. Enjoyed a little time in the pool, and a massage in fancy settings.

Tomorrow is another new stage for the race, appetantly shorter, so we start late (11), this means it'll be hot right off the gate. But short before day 8 massive stage is much welcomed by me.

The scenery wasn't the greatest for the time keeper today, though access to the CP where easy and he even cruised by alone one of the road sections. 

Happy Riding!

TP 2014 - Stage 5

...by the end of this stage we will have rode half way! Jay...

Pre- race:

Another big day. 144 km with the hard part at the very end, and if the wind gods are not on my side it might be sooner. One of the classic finishes though; in the middle of the castle village after a brutal coble stone climb including some steps at the end to get there. One of my favorite, the finish that is. 

A couple people had to pull out today due to saddle sores, it shows the reality of this race. It's been hot, days are long, lots of us have less hrs on a mountain bike so not surprising we get beat up. I keep telling the other girl in the race who is a first timer, that it'll get better, body sort of adapts to all of it. I'm hoping I'm right.

Food is getting less interesting, not the offering but the motivation to eat it. Bring what I can on the bike and if need be today might be a coffe shop stop if appetite comes back.

Post race Update:

Got into the race much quicker than the other days. The first climb early in in the race got legs warmed up and from there a lot of rolling and fairly smooth terrain and some road. This seem to suit my bum and feet as I'm able to stand more with out bouncing the feet and give the rear a break. With all the strong roadies I expected some group would come by pretty quick today so made sure I didn't leave it all out there on my own. Soon after checkpoint 1 Erik (Belgium) and Raphael (Italy?) came by just as I pulled my shorts back up after a pee break. Good timing. On the dirt they kept a moderate pace but as soon as we hit some asphalt section Erik would do some great pulling. We would eventually loose Raphael, and then it was the two of us for the day. Great to have a ridding buddy, mentally the time goes by so much quicker and he is a machine on the road when I get slow. The real race, or the hard parts really don't start until the end after 100 km. By then it was about 30 degrees! We stopped at the same gas station I've stopped both other times. Got some water to get us through to the finish. Hoped no one had gone by, and as we got to the Big Dipper at 115 km there was no tire marks on the hike out, so looks like we were still in the lead. I quiet enjoy the riding after this. We follow the river for a while, up and down, then some rolling hills with some nice rock features. As we got closer Erik started getting really happy about possible beating his Roomie for the first time. He told me to go as I could win the stage, but 20 km is a ways and he rode as good if not better on the flats, so didn't see a need to go kill my self alone. Hoped steady hard would work out. With less than a km left, climbing up the castle cobble to the finish Jose comes from behind, off the seat determined to win, and so he did. New course record! Fast day with tail winds and perfect conditions had the first 3 of us getting in under the previous record.

Erik came just behind me very happy with the day, dancing :) great to see.  We also got to enjoy some cool wild life today, deer looking thing run beside us then cut in front by jumping two bar wire fences, pretty neat.

At the finish I couldn't get off my pedal, a early race mishap jumping over the first gate and since I lifted bike over I also had to jump over the bike. Bad plan, bad thinking and totally badly executed - live and learn. Landed weird and ankle did something weird. Was fine on bike all day and now it's ice and elevation and crossing fingers it's just a simple sprain. And as if that silly mistake was not enough, as we ride through the castle to the hotel Erik Desided to stop for water, and I watch him while I slowly ride, hit a curb and almost go over the handle bars, knee hit hard and another bump! It seem to be the simple tasks that get us in trouble - so keep your mind on the simple things as well.

Tomorrow is partially a new course, 167 km! So if folks thought today was long, tomorrow sure will be a "treat" in the heat.

Happy Riding!

Amazing view off this bridge... 

Great day, still stuck on the bike.... 

TP 2014 - Stage 4

... the first of the "flat" stages. But those who know, know Portugal flat is not to say easy.

Pre race:

107km today, last time it took me a while with a few flat tires. I hopefully have learned and know the very first decent will have some rock. 

Body feels sore after the first three stages, my hope is it'll get into the groove sooner than yesterday, and keep it steady. Blue sky and up towards 30 today, hydration will be important. Had a great dinner last night, and so many options for breakfast this morning it was hard to choose - until next time Unhale de Serra!

Post race update:

Ok, I must be too old for this. I watched a few people crossing the finish at the end of the day, smiling and looked like they have had a great day out there; some new memories with a friend or two, some photos, coffee stops and all the things I enjoy but that wasn't my day - but it sure sounds nice right about now. 

My day was noisy from the wind, pain in places that should not have pain, and just trying to survive. Well, that was the first half at least. It got better; the things I enjoy came back again. Looking back this stage has some fun parts to it, two longer climbs for those who enjoy that (me included), some rollers and punchy hills, some very steep hills including one castle visit, and some road. A little bit for everyone! The road and the wind made for less solo folks, the folks behind me seem to have found their partners and are starting to figure out the need of working together. The first pair cought me after a fairly long road section and very windy. I was happy to see them, but unfortunately that was it for the section of flat road. They fell back on the climb and didn't see them again. Next two was Jose and a guy hanging on for dear life. I had just stopped for water and was drinking and moving slow, but quickly tried to get my self together to hang on for the fun for a little bit. It was a perfect section, enough wind to make it possible for a few minutes. But unfortunately the guy in front of me had done what he could and slowed down and me not able to get around to hang on to Jose. And closing a gap was not in the books today (or any day if the guy is Jose). I figured if the guy with Jose could hang on jose he should be a good one to ride with. But he was spent and fell back as well. So onwards on my own. 

About 77km in we do one little road section were Craig and the boys caught me in 2011, before the last longer climb up to the castle. A wicked switchback coble stone climb, steep but not too steep. Just before turning off the road two riders come flying by so fast even if I wanted to take a wheel I would have had no change. Unfortunately for them it was time to turn right. Didn't see them again after the climb. 

The decent down was a killer on the sore feet, shoulder and bum, but so much potential for fun. And from there in it's lots of rolling terrain, fast when not into the wind. By about 100km the last pair cought me, on a steep rockie decent that I was not taking any chances on this close to finish. Luis and Malcolm were not worried, they both flew by me! Not much longer a short but wall looking hill, we all rode up, but I bet if I was alone I would have walked. Peer pressure is so good sometimes. It was nice to ride with a couple people, chat a little, sit on a wheel and enjoy. Rode with them to the finish. Rough day, but so nice to complete.

So that was the "easy day". Tomorrow is longer one, think 144km.

Happy Riding!