Iz & I took off after work this past Friday to catch a ferry over to the Island for the second to last BC Cup DH race of the season. We got in to our to be home away from home for two nights, Deer Lodge, about 11p and turned it so as to be rested for practice Saturday.
We got up on good time and had our cup of Joe. I put together some yummy egg-bagel-sandwhiches for us for breakfast, and the nit was off to the lifts for some laps on the track.
This past winter Mt. Washington saw a record amount of snow, and thought that's awesome in the winter, it impacted the summer. They only opened their bike park a few weeks ago, with only a couple of trails. thankfully by the time this weekend started the weather had cooperated, and all but a few trails were still closed.
The race course was pretty new this year due to one of the aforementioned closed trails being what was normally the race course. It had been about 6 years since I'd ridden Mt. Washington, so it didn't really matter to me. It would have felt pretty new still to me!
The course went down "MHT" to "Lower Monster Mile" to "Monster Hawk Connector" to "4 Cross", which meant "pedal" to "technical" to "pedal" to "jumps", which translates ultimately to FUN!
We did 4 laps of training, as Iz was still resting her thumb/hand from Kicking Horse the previous (See: 'Whirlwind Week') weekend.
We hung out with about a dozen fellow racers, which was super fun, that night. Still managed to get to bed on good time after watching a classic movie, Speed on VHS! It was pretty funny, this place had a closet full of VHS films.
Sunday, SUNDAY, Sunday!! RACE DAY! Iz & I did another nearly top-to-bottom practice lap in the morning, along with an easy run on a blue track to keep loose, before our race runs in the afternoon.
I was first, and ripped down clean which made me super happy. Participating in this series of DH races on a 'freeride' bike has been challenging. I know I cannot go as fast as guys on real DH rigs, but am happy when I get down clean. That is all I'm looking to do, since I'm 32 and and have no aspirations to become a pro! I often finish mid-pack, and this weekend was no different. The cool thing this time was though that there were 5 riders in my category and I came second! My first podium of the season!
Iz had her run about an hour after mine, which was nice, as it allowed me to run up the hill and catch her in the jumps section. She's been pretty consistent this year (when she stays on her bike) and is currently tied for second in her category! See: http://t.co/716xaVQ for up to date standings.
She did well once again this race, and found herself also on the podium!
Here's another view of the awards area that is a bit better lit.
Where will we go this weekend?
UPDATE: some sick videos recently posted on pinkbike.com from this weekend can be found here: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/BC-Cup-Provincial-Championships-2011-Videos.html
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