California Roadtrip

Sorry that the blog has been a wee bit quiet this last little while. I'm currently on a sweet little roadtrip to my most favorite winter training destination....Salona Beach (near San Diego) CA.

So here is a quick update on my adventures....

We left Squamish last Wednesday night and put the pedal to the metal to get down here, pulling over at 2am just outside of Portland, OR for night #1 and then at a windy little campground outside of Sacremento on Thursday night. Friday mid-day we arrived to Cyril's and Sylvie's house in Santa Monica with a fully loaded car, ready to play.

I was feeling super restless so Friday I did a nice tour around the Santa Monica area, checking out the scene and getting the L.A. feel. I was almost back to the house when the hanger on my bike sheered off, sending me flying into a parked car and leaving me with a good case of road rash on my right leg. Yes, OUCH!!!! Anyway, after cruising back to Cyril's, I got lucky and we managed to get my bike all fixed up and ready for riding.

Saturday morning, Cyril, Christian, Norm and I headed out to the 24hrs of Adrenalin MTB race near Idylwid. Cyril was racing the 24hrs and Norm and I teamed up to tackle the 8hrs. Christian was our amazing mechanic. The race was awesome. Sweet California singletrack, good technical climbs and ripping smooth and sandy downhills on a 9 mile lap course. We competed in the 2 person-open category and out of 30 teams, finished 5th. Not too bad considering that the other 4 teams were all 2 person male. Just as the sun set and the temperature dropped huge, I finished the last lap and back to L.A. it was, only to leave Cyril out there to push through the night. He finished 2nd - sweeeeet!!!
Ok, so Sunday, race #2 of the roadtrip. We loaded up the car and headed to Malibu to do our first Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) race ever. Ahhhh, it was so much fun! Great weather and really friendly people. Some awesome paddlers were on the start line including rock-star and probably the best SUP'er in the world, Chuck Patterson. Ya, I saw him at the start and then not until the end. Anyway, it was a 7 mile down-winder paddle (umm, no wind was present) and I completed the course with a really stylish wipe-out in some big surf at the finish line in front of everyone. Had a good time on the SUP and finished 2nd for females (let's just leave it at that. Let me enjoy my 2nd place, BUT, it's pretty safe to say that I have LOTS of work to do if I want to compete with the best.) However, new sport and I LOVE IT!!

Sunday evening was a nice drive down to Newport Beach. Cat was the hostess with the mostess there, and Monday I got a great ride in all over Newport - what a sweet place! Then Monday night, Bob kicked our ass at his Crossfit class! It was a good time and it even left me with 2 bloody hands after my calusses split open on the pull-up bar! On the plus, I've made good progress on the pull-ups but the downside, hands are destroyed and in pain!! Thanks Bob, good times :) I've been loving my Crossift back in Whistler and so it was cool to see what other cross-fitters are doing around the globe. What a great group of folks here in Newport!

Then it was time to head even further south on Tuesday en-route to TR's. Great drive down the coast, checking out Dana Point along the way and arriving at my most favorite beach house ever in Salona Beach. Such a great set-up here. TR's is 1 block from table-tops surf spot so we've had a few session out there already. I had a great road ride today to Carlsbad and even managed to get a lift from the local lifeguard and meet some great folks at the Encinitis bike shop. My ride was cut a bit short but I will make up for it tomorrow on a ride to Torre Pines and Delmar. Anyway, we finished up the day with an evening surf until the sun went down.

So, there you have it...the California roadtrip continues and I'll keep ya posted!

Adventure onwards.....

Cowichan News Leader

Home to me, regardless of my adventures and travels, will always be in Duncan on Vancouver Island. Don Bodger, sports writer for the Cowichan News Leader has been following my development as an athlete since way back in the days of field hockey and basketball. He tries to keep everyone informed and up to date on my where abouts and epics. Check out the latest.

On another not so healthy note, I continue to deal with something more serious than I orignally thought, achilles issues. I am now on a 100% no run, no uphill walk program. So essentially, it's all about the bike now and some SUP and some crossfit! I am eager to get down to California later this week for a mental re-focus change and some fun racing to get me back on the bike! Keep ya posted on the Cali road trip....

Adventure onwards....

1 Event you don't want to miss!!

The annual Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race is just over a month away. I have spent the past few days out on the race course with Bryan, finalizing route choices and permits. It's going to be sick! The rappel is unreal! Anyone can do a MOMAR. Tons of fun, a good self challenge and a great after party. This year's Squamish course features both a short 30km course and a longer 50km course! It's a great race to do if you are a total newbie to off road racing or are a ripping rock star! Solo, 2's or teams of 4, lots of options to choose from. Check it all out and I will see you here in Squamish on May 23rd.

Adventure Onwards....

Surfing & Playing in the
Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

Last weekend we did a quick 3 day trip to the world's hidden gem! It was amazing! I won't go into the details but just check out these pictures and you will get a bit of an idea! We truly were on "Charlotte time." Trip of a lifetime! Stay tuned for some organized Surf Trips - we are looking to bring a good crew of friends up here later this year!

It's working! It's working!

After being at it for several months, I must attest to my CrossFit training that I have been thoroughly enjoying for a few months now at the Whistler location. Each session that I go to, I am challenged to the max! I never know what Jessee and Jordan have in store for us! But really, it doesn't matter. I am there to work hard and give my best effort everysingle time! It's been humbling as lots of weaknesses are exposed but I find that super motivating at the same time. I want to get better.

I really encourage everyone to give Crossift a try! The body (and mind) are challenged in so many ways. They really focus on technique, over and over again. The power and strength that I have been building has been amazing. Most notably, even after 6 days of running long everyday in my latest race (approx 5 to 7/day), I had no muscular fatigue!! Awesome!!! Check out and see what Crossfit is all about!

I've set myself a little pull-up goal to achieve by the time I leave for California in 1.5 weeks! Stay posted!

In the world of Challenge by Choice...
here is the latest for all you people in
Sea to Sky Country....

Space is limited in the above so don't delay too long. The SUP conditioning is a totally new way to train and the only other place that you will find a similar type of fitness focused session on these boards is in Hawaii! We are really excited for this to start! And of course the TRAIL RUN CLINICS get going again as well in May in Squamish.

Lastly, we have a great group of people already committed and headed to Costa Rica to take on the Coastal Challenge in January/February 2010! The early bird deadline for the races registration fee is for June 1st so if you are thinking about this, let me know! The training package with me kicks off in July! See below!