Tag Archives: race report

Hurt’n Albert’n 550

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It was 5.40 am and only just light when we arrived in the Cross Iron Mills carpark for the start of the inaugural Hurt’n Albert’n. The carpark already had a cluster of riders gathered in it, and I got my bike together with a whole two minutes to spare. Group photos, hugs and goodbyes, then we headed off for a neutral rolling start along the pavement at 6.05 am. I was mostly in a sleepy daze at this point. There were lots of awesome looking bikepacking folks riding around me. I didn’t know any of them, felt like it would … Continue reading Hurt’n Albert’n 550 →

The Kootenay Gravel Grinder

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It was 6.50am on Saturday morning, and Alex and I were at the 7-Eleven in Fernie grabbing a spare pair of lithium batteries for the Spot Tracker. I had no idea how old the batteries in the Spot were, and I was about to go and line up to … race? take part in? ride? the Kootenay Gravel Grinder. Race details had been kind of sparse, and organisation levels minimal. There was originally a 7 am Grand Depart from the clock tower in Cochrane but then it turned out the Cochrane riders wanted to leave on Friday, so they decided … Continue reading The Kootenay Gravel Grinder →

24 Hours of … no, wait, just 12 hours this time

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Wildly anticlimactic. Choked off. Like an explosion of mud. An attempt to ruin every bike. Worst racing conditions ever. Best racing conditions ever. Incredibly high levels of wetness. These were all just a few phrases used to describe the 24 Hours of Adrenalin this year. It started muddy, and got muddier. Trails that were just initially a little wet were gradually transformed into a saturated mess, and from there into a dirt soup or porridge that was several inches deep. The course was re-routed to avoid some of the single track sections, which was great for the singletrack but just … Continue reading 24 Hours of … no, wait, just 12 hours this time →

Golden24

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As I edge dangerously closer to doing a 24hr MTB race solo, I found myself doing the inaugural Golden24 (in Golden) (yeah) as a mixed pair with Felix. It was a plan laid back in winter 2015, when the very idea of the challenge of riding as a pair sounded fascinating. As it got closer, it started to sound less fascinating, more alarming. But we had been riding our bikes up a lot of hills, and were feeling pretty good. It was only the first year for the race, so the field wasn’t huge. And there were a lot of … Continue reading Golden24 →

Salty Dog – solo once more

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For the last couple of years I’ve raced the Salty Dog* in a pair. This year I was worried about my knee, and rather than risking letting down a team mate, I decided to just sign up solo again. I was really looking forward to the drive all the way back out to Salmon Arm after we just drove back from Squamish six days earlier (Note – I was not actually looking forward to this). But at least I had a road trip buddy! Kat and I were racing in the same category, as I had managed to convince her … Continue reading Salty Dog – solo once more →

We got pie!

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Ok, so with the title I rather gave that away… (well, for anyone who is familiar with the Salty Dog 6hr race it’s a spoiler) But first things first. The Salty Dog is a 6hr race out in Salmon Arm, BC. It’s a traditional season starter for Canmore folk. We started our Salty Dog weekend with a stop off on Saturday to ride in Revelstoke, where the trails are amazingly fun. Then the race was on Sunday. It’s my third time, but still feel a lot of pre-race nerves. And even pre-lap nerves after I’ve started. I was racing as … Continue reading We got pie! →

Grizzly Ultra race report

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At 50km, the Grizzly Ultra is barely an ultra-marathon. Which just goes to show how perspectives change – when you’ve started hearing all about other people who are out doing 300km+ trail races, 50km barely seems any sort of distance. Which isn’t the best mind set to fall into. Despite having the best of intentions when I signed up for this race, I managed to yet again fail to train properly. I definitely got in a lot of long, slow runs, but apparently that wasn’t enough, and I really did need to get in some more shorter runs that actually … Continue reading Grizzly Ultra race report →

24 Hours of Adrenalin 2014

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Another year of riding with one of the teams from work – Go Team! After all the setting up, and excitement, and hoards of lycra-clad fools running in bike shoes, it was back to the same old rhythm of sit and wait. And cheer. And eat food. And catch up with people. And get ready. I was up third in the team order this time round. The weather was ok. A bit warm and dusty during the day, but a little rain late in the night and early in the morning settled the dust down. By the time each of … Continue reading 24 Hours of Adrenalin 2014 →

Rundle’s Revenge – The Iron Donkey edition

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Rundle’s Revenge – mountain biking a 12.5km loop on Saturday, and trail running the same loop on Sunday. Up at the Canmore Nordic Centre. I did it back in 2012, and completed the “Half Donkey”, with 50km of biking and 25km of running. Apparently that wasn’t hard enough, so the next time round I signed up for the Full Iron Donkey. 100km of biking, and 50km of running. Just on the verge of being impossibly stupid, yet attainable. In 2013 the race was cancelled due to the floods, and I heaved a massive sigh of relief, as I was in … Continue reading Rundle’s Revenge – The Iron Donkey edition →