Portugal Day 9...

...perfect ending of a nine day race. At breakfast I wasn't sure how I felt. Food is less and less fun but I managed to get some awesome buns with some freshly stirred berry jam in me before departure. It was a later start so had lots of time to get ready. Was early at the start line for a change! It was already hot but 99km is just a "short" day so not to worry. The legal get the real test right off the battle; your role a bit more than a km down the road before a steep climb right back up. I left the group with not much effort so I figured today I might as well just go hard and no looking back, the legs felt good. Henry only had to gain 7 min so if I let him catch me and couldn't hang on that could have easily been eaten up, so with ok legs no point of holding back.

From here I started looking back more often. Got an update from my dad and the main group had not gained too much. From there and in I pulled what I had but knowing I had a few steep climbes and the beach yet to go. At the beach I saw Paul and one more guy starting as I was about halfway. Tried to run; not for me, so walked.... Picked up the pace slightly as I thought it Henry back there. We then do a couple of up and down and as I was climbing the other side of one of the valleys I could see Marco on the other side going down. Its hard to know how much time that is but with about 30 km to go the race is still on and I thought maybe I can hold it to the end. I tried not to look back as its easy to make a stupid mistake when not watching where your going; just rode as hard as I could. When we finally start going down toward Sagres and I couldn't see anyone I was really hoping I would hold. Watching every rock to avoid a last km flat and with the strong tailwind it went by fast. <br>
Made it in! First stage win! A few min back came Marco. Now we were watching the time gap to Rui. He had 11 min on me for second. Someone said Vitor had dropped back and was riding with him. 8 min I took in....putting him in second with only 3 almost 4 min ahead of me. Very tight! I think he is happy he had Vitor today. Great day of racing! Now we hung at the beach; had a great banana split and expresso before a dip in the ocean. Katy came in with a great smile and rocks in her pocket that she collected; good thing for light weight gear! Dad was happy with the day and even thouh it was super hot he honored the day with wearing the Ridleys kit! Great trip and met some more awesome bike crazy people with similar passion for the sport as I have. And most likly some of us will cross path again. Happy Riding!

Portugal Day 8...

...was a very long one last year. Yesterday went much better. I quickly settled in to a comfy pace and was happy that there was a bit of cloud to start. It was hot right off the start so any shade was welcome. The cloud quickly disappeared. I filled water at the 49 k mark; both bottles gone, and again at the 86 k. At this stop I also got a nice cold coke.

Shortly after I believe, Vitor passed me. We had started the climbing of the day. I assumed Henry would have got to me first today but him and the Italian made a navigation error and lost time. I still haven't got his story of what happened. So with both bottled full I started the 2 big climbs. The first grave climb is super steep and I was in granny most of the time. This is when Marco and Christopher went by. I didnt walk which is an improvement from last year; very happy with my 24 ring!

The next climb is on the road and is really split in 2..on the first section Rui passed me and I didnt feel i had much to give to hang on. From there on and in it was just a fight with the heat and legs. Almost at the top I get some wire tangled in my chain, derailure and cassette and for a moment after trying to clean it out I thought I was done for the day. I could so see the next guy behind me. But just as I was about to give up I took one last pull on the stuck wire and it let loose with the derailure still intact ...close call...climb the last bit; think i saw the ocean or at least I imagined the ocean. And the next 10 was mostly fast downhill; with a bit of tricky navigation. Made it to the finish in fifty. Rui who passed me way down only got in a minute or so but think he is pretty safe in his 2 position. Me on the other hand will have to look back for Henry today. 99 km and just over 5 min is not much. Today the main group will catch up pretty fast and Henry is super strong on the roads and flats and will probably hang on to main group if they catch him and is able to hang it in to finish. I will do my best to hang on but know the few hills will be hard.

Dad had a great day. Ended up higher than the race went so missed the finish but Im sure there was some amazing views.

The hotel is one of the nicest but easy to get lost and AC not functioning so Katy and I are already heating up.

Next stop; the beach!

Happy Riding!

Portugal Day 7...

...only two to go!

My biggest worry today was the heat. The course is fairly flat and fast but 144 km in the heat would be hard. I was happy to see some cloud cover as at start it was already hot with out the sun out.

I stuck with the plan of staying with my starting group as there is a lot of asphalt to start and lots of wind. My headset made so much noice and about an hour in started getting stuck and pulling me sideways; so I did a little on the bike riding quick fix by loosening it up a bit; not ideal but seem to work and with mostly gravel roads today not a big deal to ride it a bit loose I figured. Hope to get a new one tonight.
The girls and a Paul did a great job in the group ride and that allowed me to spin the legs without burning out on my own. We all rode together until 75 km. We stopped to buy some water and a coke...no water and only one coke left. And no change so 10 euros...made the small bar weekly sales probably.

Then it dawned on me; last year Henry cought me around 50 k mark and we were at 75 and in the bar not paying attention ...so I rushed out and got on my bike and hoped he didnt go by. Dave from South Africa rode with me as well. But the girls took a few more minutes. Shortly after we passed the official drink spot and dad was there; confirming Henry did not pass. So settled in to a comfy pace for now. And it was nice to have Dave for company, he did a couple of good pulls for me. Henry cought us around 90km and from there it was race pace to the finish for me; working hard to not loose him and put in some effort to help when I could. Vito got us a little later and didnt want to play today; rode by and no chance of hanging on. The Christopher and Marco was next at a gate crossing not to far out. Maybe 30 km or less to the finish. The wind was brutal and Henry did some amazing pulling thouh now I got to experience gutter riding; whether it was on purpose or not. He is my closed overall competitor sitting about 5 min behind me so it make sence to not give me a free ride in. And with the side winds he did a good job not letting it come easy, still not sure if it was planned. Held it to the finish today and if I can do that for the next two ill be in good shape.

Katy went with the photographer today which was a good choice to recover her badly sunburn. Hopefully back tomorrow but will see; definitly want to ride the last stage so might save it for then. Treating with some yogurt natural; works well.

Dad had a great day and I saw him at a few points; making sure he captured all the stats. Guess i beat my last years time with over 40 min...thouh last year there was a detour.

Tomorrow is a test of both physical and mental strength! It ends with some climbs that seem to never end. 139km and just over 3000 m. Getting very close to the ocean and I believe if we look around tomorrow we might get a glims.

Happy riding!

Portugal Day 6...

...that means 3 to go!

165 km is a long ride. My legs felt like rocks as we started from the hotel. And pretty much right off the hook we are off climbing. Felt like it would would be a long day. Then down some cobble stone that really shoock you good; that woke me up at least. Tried to keep a steady pace and rode a little with with Lisalore and the guy from Victoria, Rob. They both were strong today. When we were off the pavement and on to the dirt I felt I probably should pick up the pace; though looking back at the day I don't know if putting in much extra before Henry catch me make much sense. Thouh, left them and rode until close to the 100km mark when Henry came up on me. We rode together for the next 20 km then Vitor came up behind. He rode with us; i was thinking that would be good, Henry can get bit of a better pull than I had to offer. But Vitor sort of just cruised with us. Said not to worry about the guys they are far back. Henry kept taking the pull and not more than 20 km from finish or so was Rui behind us. Vitor pulled back to help him bridge the gap to us. Not sure if that was their plan but all of a sudden the pace went up. I held on for a little bit but had to let go at the exact place were I let Henry go last year. At that point I had goosebumps and feeling chilled in about 40 degrees (unofficial temp of day); and I felt empty. I knew if I could hang on the next 12km to the finish would be that much easier and quicker....but when u don't have it you don't har it...simple.
They got 12 min I think... The climb up to the castle almost broke me but I made it. I was happy to hear Henry hung on to the end and took stage win, he is a machine and deserved it, even thouh this might put him ahead of me.

Now legs; knees and achilies specially, feel done. Tomorrow is a flat day of 140'ish km and 2000m so hopefully they will pull through. It is also called for hotter weather and if something will get me its the heat. It definitly got me good today. Drank well so that will be the plan tomorrow.

Katy had another solid day out there and riding her self in shape. Said today her legs felt the best this week. Hopefully the sunburn heals up quick. Her Norwegian bar buddy got his bike fixed so he will be back tomorrow to make sure they have an entertaining day with good stories.

Some other guy was not as lucky today. With 36 gate crossings he managed to not see one on the bottom of a fast decent and went head over it. A couple of broken arms and in hospital is not anything you want to any of your fellow racers.

Dad had a good day even thouh golf course was closed. He was at a few of the checkpoint and ran with me up to the final bit of the castle climb; just to see me ride down on the other side...he thought the top was the finish. He was not about to run down the hill too. So missed the finish line but much better view from up there anyway.

Time to rest up!

Happy riding !

Portugal Day 5...

...makes us more than half way through, only 4 to go.

Today I wanted to ride smart and "recover" legs before the 40 last km. And the plan seemed to work besides the recovered legs part. Though, rode a pace that was ok for the legs and forced my self to eat and drink more than any other day. Last year I didnt enjoy this day at all; this year it was good to me. Thouh since I drank so much my two bottles were gone by 85km and no water fills. When the lead guy cought me at 90 he shared a zip of his water which got me to the same gas station as last year. Henry had cought be prior to this so we both refilled there and while in the station all the bugs that were hiding in my jersey came alive. And those who know me and bugs, not a such a tough girl then....
At one point during the last 30 km Henry lost his food out of a hole in his pocket and at the same time flatted and I missed it all. I thought i was being nice giving him a break on my wheel, when i looked back he was gone. The following pickup told me he lost his food so I figured he would catch up. But never saw him again until the finish. He used the plug he told me about yeaterday that I carry also now and it worked for him; even on a side wall cut.
The last bit in is a lot of up and down...then the finale ...a awesome coblestone climb up to the centre of a castle. Kept looking back but not until I had crossed came the guys behind me...not even a minute. Very close one.

So great day; very hot and hotter again tomorrow so hopefully ill adjust. Drink lots and enjoy the ride.

Dad was planning a day of golf tomorrow since we are at a Golf hotel but unfortunatly its shut down, so he will be out there collecting stats to share for after. Today my strongest leg was the last one which align with the plan.
Missing the crew from last year thouh to feed some insider stories from the main start. Heard there was a early crash in the main group but no details.

Time to rest up and get ready for 165 km tomorrow.

Happy Riding!

Portugal Day 4...

<p>...didnt start as Id hoped.Couldn't find the bike garage this morning so as yeaterday I just made the start though thats pretty good as Katy wasn't as lucky while looking for her bike.</p>
<p>8 km in on some fun rocky decent i got my first flat. I usually put extra Stans in and it was pouring out pretty bad. I watched it for a sec hoping it would seal, put some more in but still no seal. So here I figured this would be the test of the super tubes. The first one lasted for about 1km! Leaking around the vent on a climb. Hank, who also stopped and helped me on my first flat helped me again. We got it all together and Isabella also stopped. As i was ready Hank offered me a spare tube and Isabella a CO2. Very thankful as I needed it later on. The second; lasted well, rode much like tubless and felt pretty good that it would last. My only concern was thorn; which became real just as I had started enjoying the ride with Henry. Pretty slow leak but took no chance and put in the one Hank gave me. Spent more time trying to get the thorn out, longer nails would have helped. Vitor was long gone at around 30 km mark but now the three guys in the lead from the main group and a few more passed by some of who Id passed a couple of times by now.&lt;br&gt;<br>
With no more tubes and 50 km to go I took no risks. Enjoyed the coblestone climb up to the castle and the sunny hot day. Started focusing on eating and drinking a little bit; finished both bottles before the finish line! </p>
<p>At the finish I spoke with a few guys. Vitor told me that out here always put sealant km the tire too. I had the tool and sealant with me but never thought of it. He also said he didnt know he passed me so rode hard to catch me and ended up setting new course record today. Good for him; not so good for the women next year as their handicap will be a bit shorter. Then Henry told me there is a plug kit that is 99% safe and I could have continued with tubless. So tomorrow I will have plugs, sealant and tubes in my pocket.</p>
<p>And Craig, the 50/50 seem right, I chose the bad one first. Second one seem good, patched and ready for some real tests but not until home.</p>
<p>This stage is pretty nice; some good mixture of dirt.&#160; and rocky trail; perfect hot weather, some mud then some water crossings to clean the mud....so happy people crossing the line.</p>

No stats from the chief dad yet; but definitly some places down today. Think around 7 across the line but with the top guys pretty far ahead.

New day tomorrow; long pedal day!

Happy riding!

Portugal Day 3...

...wow, not sure were to start. Think ill have to save most and share over coffee after a group ride. It is suppose to be hard, if you come in thinking anything else you will suffer more than most. We all physically suffer equally, then it's up to the strength of your mind to pull you through it. Mine got a real test today.
This stage was my favorite last year, and same goes this year as for the type of riding. But compared to last years awesome views to help the smiles come out this year i was covered in rain and fog with about a 10 meter view for most of it.

It all started quiet nice. I loved the first decent on the cobble, wakes you up thats for sure. The climbs were not too bad but with the wind and some logging going on it definitly slowed it down. But felt I went in a decent pace and focused on eating a gel every hour. And every second I also had a waffle with it. Though a bottle and a half might be something i can work on tomorrow. Though I was frozen more that sweating
today so think i was good.

The first major climb ended and just a bit down (60km in) Vitor comes by. With a smile like the other days. I figure since its defending for the next 10-15 km I could possible hang on. Thouh with no glasses on and wet it was hard; put glasses on quick and saw less; stopped again to take them off and he was gone. Oh well; fun for 10 seconds; take what i can get :)

Second climb started on the road and thouh by time so frozen both shifting and breaking is done awkwardly and only when really necessary, i was in pretty good spirit. The climb brought back a lot from last year. This is where the 4 passes me one by one; Craig being one. So I kept looking back. The wind was so hard I felt i went backwards. And close to the top is when my mind lost its normal positive outlook. When I finally reached the second last top it flatten out a; i was happy for a minute bit quickly fell apart in the heavy wind and wet sand just sucking the last bit of energy out of me; while looking back hoping I didnt get cought. At last CP still no sign of the boys. Now only about 100 or so elevation on the road and them all down. I tried to push a bit harder but bike didnt really move much faster. I remember thinking if they come Ill just fall down and quit. Not a good positive thought so it sort of made me smile on the inside thinking we put our self thouh this by choice. <br>
I made it and the 15 km road decent; little flat gravel section, I tried to hang on the handlebar with my chilled hands and give her in the pouring rain at this time. Actually used the GPS to navigate when to look up; as glasses didnt work today, made it extra exciting.

Crossed the finish second! So happy and so tired. Just like a stage race should make you feel.
Katy had a good day; didnt think it was as hard; she had a Norwegian guy to ride with so of course the Norwegian have that affect. She had a coffee shop stop and thought about shopping a bit, took lots of picture when the fog let up and now enjoying some time on the massage table.

My dad finally made it to the finish line...mostly due to no views so went to hotel.

His stats are telling me I had the 7 best total time and 2 with handicap. Got second overall back.

Off to some great dinner at the awesome hotel H2.

Happy riding!

Portugal Day 2...

... just as hard as I remember it from last year.

It felt good in the beginning and i love the decent about 10km km on the old Roman stone going right down to the bottom of the valley and then takes you back up on the other side. Other highlights; a couple of Roman bridge crossings, some fun technical climbs; followed by same terrain going down on the other side, some Moab like riding with rock surface mixed with sand and off course seeing my dad at all the CPs. Though looks like he missed the finish again, he is planning a new tactic for the day tomorrow so he can beat me, have time to eat and who knows, maybe some golf

Vitor cought me early today and was nice to slow down for a few man to let me ride the wheel, so nice. But as soon as slopes up a bit Im just not strong enough. So back in my lonesome.
At about 20 km before the finish Henry was on. Solo. He is riding so strong, took his wheel and worked hard on the flats to keep it. He seem stronger climbing this year or maybe last year he was nice to the Dutch that usually rode with him, or maybe im not as strong on the hills, either way I really get pushed to my limits so we will see if can use the benefit of riding with Henry later in the race as last year. Be good if I can.
Very close to the finish two Portuguese guys passed by on a climb, felt like i was standing still. Which I probably were. Henry stuck with me for a sec, I told him to go get them and off he went with a smile. Didnt hold to the end but he nicely bridged the gap and showed those kids how to ride on your own!

From there I rode the slowest 4km I've done. Got passed by another rider but legs could barley turn. About 35 min! And so happy to see the hotel. Think I need to find something good to eat; not getting enough in me on the bike, less than kates standard, not sure what i could put in my pouch for tomorrow massive mountain leg....one bar, a waffle and two drinks in 6hrs..with air buns for breakfast!

Got all my split times and stats compared to pretty much every rider in the top ten or twelve ...good job; dad! I shaved off 30 or so minutes from last year in pretty much same conditions. So happy with my day
Had an awesome massage, some good snacks and got Katy's update. She had a good day out there, finished with a bike in order and walking around on her own legs and survived a few dog chases out there. Good for another day tomorrow after a massage.

Time to rest then dinner...

Happy Riding!

Pre race....

...breakfast...

110 km and 2900 km. Was a hard one last year but need to save a bit for a big one tomorrow. Hopefully less wet and less wind.

Happy Riding!

Portugal Day 1 ...

... definitly did not disappoint those who were looking for a challenge!

Most of the day is mostly a blur; but i remember it was hard. At the start i hoped a few with go with me, but off the start i was on my own. The first climb didnt seem to be affected by the rain so i settled in my own pace and started making a doggie escape plan for km 36. As i approached the farm i could hear one of the dogs barking right away. I thought for a second he was fenced in; but then realise the gate was open. I had my sandwich ready as my plan was to give it some food. But as he comes out of the gate his buddies from last year got a hunch of it all from fields and started bolting over as well. Just to slow to catch me; probably reached my max heart rate of the day. But could calm down on the climb away. Now the dogs were ready for the rest of the field to follow, but so far no reports of injuries.

Two more dog chases later in the race are really the only events i remember. The rest in a general summary. Got cought by the winner at 80km; held his wheel throuh town (a min maybe) almost crashed into him as he thought he saw a water stop and hit his breaks emergency hard!. He flew away pretty quick as soon as the slightly down turned to slightly flatter and up. The day was really muddy and rainy with a lot of wind in my face. Though since i never have a wheel in front I can stay cleaner at least! I held to the finish with no one else passing me; thouh the last 40 km seemed to last forever and not until i could see Henry and his ridding buddy of the day did I kick my self in the rear did I pick it up one notch to not let them catch me. Got a bit concerned when my gps said 142 and still no town in view! :) it did show up thouh after a steep coblestone climb right in to town.
 
Slower overall time for me thus year; with about 20 min. Felt things went good and I worked harder that last year so my guess is the mud and wind had some impact. Hope I didnt dig too deep and have left a bit for the next few days.

Had an awesome massage and soon some dinner and them maybe tonight my circadian rhythm is adjusted enough to allow for some good sleep.

Katy is over for her massage and had to pull out later on the race due to her wheel not holding together. She said she felt pretty good until that point so it should be a good day tomorrow. She supplied us with some nutella, chips and rice crispies so definitly a good roommate !

My dad had a good day thouh missed a few check points and finish line due to some getting lost with the guide. Tomorrow he will turn to our new friend TomTom and see if he can beat me to the finish ..

Time for dinner!

Happy riding!

Portugal day zero...

...was mostly wet.

After a rather long drive up from Lisbon we arrived the hotel just after midnight; which today I learned was just a bit after the bus that left a few hours before us, so i cant complain.
Same hotel, few of the same people, same pre activities and pretty much the same weather; a bit more steady rain and wind today but hoping it'll clear up a bit tomorrow. With all being the same Im pretty relaxed, thouh the biggest change is not spending a week in Norway. My body is feeling hung over and tired from no sleep so hoping for a good rest tonight.

Great to see some of the same people again this year and nice to meet some new once. There is about 8
female riders so hope it'll be a few to ride with.

Bikes are built and a quick test ride with Katy. Bellys are full and now time for sleep.

Happy riding!

Happy dog...

...with a new view. Now, hopefully the new chair will have less white hair.
Thanks to Craig for such an awesome doggie bed; including his own drawer for toys!

So after a lot of bike stuff going on, by about 11 last night almost everything packed. Bike box should meet the 50 lbs limit; the bag after stuffing it with food this morning might not be so lucky. Hopefully the AC check in person is in a mid week happy mood.

Trying to finish up some work, but rather inefficient with the computer guy still working on my computer since 8am!....bad day for IT issues. But soon ill be on an airoplane and that will be the least of my worries.

Start prepping the mind for about 1200km and just over 24000 m of climbing over 9 days....fun? Maybe not but totally an experience Im looking forward to with a bit of worries but mostly smiles. This years addition to team kate is the "coach". My dad will be joining me; and with my lack of preperation i seem to not need to worry. He has it all planned; every day race strategy apperantly in place; based on intensive statistically analyzes of last years race. Go dad! I will just worry about eating, resting and biking ...easy peacy ... Oh and blog updates!

Happy Riding !

Bike knowledge...

...was definitly imroved this weekend.

After a great ride Saturday, Sunday was dedicated to setting up the race rig and test riding in Canmore. Should have been a quick task and allow for plenty of time to pack and get ready for trip. Though I should know better than that; what small projects actually turn out small? In my world, not so much.

Long story short is that Im now very knowledgable on bike assembly and specialty would be headsets and races, also learned a bit about G2 vs regular fork set up and quiet good at the avid integrated solutions.
All my plans on packing and getting ready; well they are still plans and eventually must be put into action but today was spent up north so last call tomorrow.
Looking forward to just getting on the plane.....at that point nothing matters....what i remeber ill have, what works will be great and the rest I cant worry about.
Thanks Craig, Ryan, Suzanne and Toby for help.....

Happy Riding!

Picture ....

....perfect day! Craig thought the view driving out to meet Jon looked more like a picture that the real world we live in. That speaks for how fortunate we are to be so close we can jump in the car and be part of the awesome picture in no time. Today we took it a bit further and found some awesome riding in Invermere. The trails were great and even better with the right company. They kicked my butt and forced me into me in to my discomfort zone; perfect and what i needed. We started with Juniper; fun flowy punchy shorter loop; great warm up. Had a quick snack and rode along Johnson loop and cloosifire (that might not be exactly what they are called); more super flowy fast punchy little bit more teckie awesome views and just fun trails in great spring condition. Then over to mt swanse and climbed a long road up to the first sign of snow so back tracked down slightly and hit steep trail to autobhan and and gravy train .... More DH like trails but a fun way to end a great day. Pizza after some locals recommendation and Jons awesome navigation to Peppis.
Drive home was filled with more awesome views and lots of deer.

One more ride before Portugal!

Happy riding!

No need to....

....drive south when a few km west is as good as it is right now. Craig and I headed out to Canmore for a second mtb day.
Some more TC trail; nice technical snow free and pretty dry. Had a copy of my yesterday lunch at Beamers and then up to Benchlands again. Great ride there too, so many fun loops. Bike is continuing to impress....

Good luck to Craig and then the rest of the riders that will race tomorrow, ill be enjoying the trails on the Superfly100...

Happy Riding!

Mountain bike season...

...is here!
I survived another winter but so very happy ill see less of my great cross bike and more of my 29ers ! Less roads and more dirt!
Started out with a city ride during the week and so sweet. The Superfly100 rides much like my hardtail but didnt reAlly get to Ride It....
Today i got the real test and it was awesome and cant wait to push it further when the snow is gone higher up.
Craig and I headed out to Canmore to search for some dirt. We succeeded but Toby was the big champ of the day!
With no real training under his collar he rode two good rides. Benchlands west and east. Both directions in great shape. And then a shorter ride on the TransCanada trail. Think a rest day tomorrow is in his books. Me; no time to rest, one more week of riding then pack and get ready for Portugal.
So Canmore again tomorrow.

Happy riding all, time to get the mtb's out!

Will this ....

...be my new best friend? Well if look counts it has a good shot!

Happy Riding!

Mud and....

...some more mud!

That summarizes one of the few rides the last couple of weeks. Work and some home front things put a bit of a damper on the motivation to get out; oh and of course the snow! Calgary finally had some winter this week.

The weekend group ride last week was a bit of a hard plan but got at least one good ride in with trying to hang on to Gabor on our way to Coochrane ... from there we tagged on to Erik and Shawn for a nice ride back to Calgary.

This week was mostly work. Went out for a little city NW path ride including Starbucks.

Today the group was down to three with Alana, Cesar and I. In mildly winter conditions; mostly ice/rain/snow/wind...until the last 2 min with the sun peaking out. Still a great sw and se city path ride.

So far three visits to Cadence today...that must be record mocha day for me.

What to plan for tomorrow?...a couple of more weeks to Portugal.

Happy Riding !

Windy...

...day after.

Alana, Michelle, Craig and I met up at COP and planned a ride to Cochrane. My legs felt it for sure from yeaterday WV ride but if im gona do 9 days in Portugal i better get suited up to ride with bad legs. The wind was right from the west going out, and can you believe it?...out of the Northeast going home....though since Craig did all the pulling im not really allowed to complain other than about the noice....it was very noisy. We practised some echalong; not pros yet but darn good (though im not even sure I say the word right...)! Had a great stop for coffee and grilled cheeses; some more gourmet than others. A new member of the Terrascape team joined us here. Planned to show off the Glennbow path but at the one gate we met the ranger. And I guess you Dont mess with them, maybe if I told him "Im good to ride the ice...I know where the holes are and won't crash again" though he seemed pretty set on the rules ; so back toward cochrane; and up and out at the parks official entry point. It was a great just short of 100km ride.

Good weekend of riding; ready to take on another week at work...4 day week :)

Happy Riding!

Ridley's ...

...Jon and Kate plus eight. That was the crew leaving cadence Saturday morning.

Craig just got there in time after a few concerning phone calls; it was confirmed he is on his way. He would be the last person I know that would miss this day for no good reason. He just happened to have one of "those" mornings mixing up time. Erik almost had to ride the plus 200 with no gloves, but now he just owes Cindy one (probably more than one....). Katy  and Keith are too busy these days, but great when they have a minute to stop by for a coffee.

So slightly after plan we leave north; Jon and my self, Craig S and Craig M, Cesar, Thomas, Erik, Pat, Mark and one of Eriks friends. And a few km north of the city we picked up Graham who road out to meet us. A group of 11 for a 200km ride in march (almost April i guess); id say that's pretty good.

Last year I had no idea what to expect; but whatever that could have been; it was. This year I knew and it didn't disappoint.
Perfect day, sunny and not too cold.  Awesome group to ride with but the ride is still hard! Good hard. We hit the lunch stop, local Water Valley pub at the 75 km point, that's not even half way in. Great spot with all sorts of animals on the walls. The stop is as it can be with only one cook; we snack and go. Next stop Cochrane 100 + km. Mostly gravel road; a couple of bald eagles and a huge owl, some hills up and some down. Not much wind. We make it to Cochrane; Erik makes sure we get all the way to Calgary and fuels us all at Starbucks. We ride some awesome new "pathway" and Craig gets hijacked by a party bus but in the end we all make it home and its not even dark!...210km and a bit....long day in the saddle but even though my butt hurt and my legs hurt I feel so fortunate to have a passion for something that lets me experience these days. The ride, the people, the experience ... Im very lucky...where to ride tomorrow?

Happy Riding !