Cheakamus Challenge 2009

One of my favorite things about the Cheakamus Challenge is that it starts in Squamish and ends in Whistler so my wife and daughter come and meet me at the finish line. It gives me a chance to grab a photo with Cara at the end of the race. The Cheak Challenge remains one of my favorite events to do because you get some pretty nice flowy single track and some great views along the course. It is not a technical ride, and even less so this year with the removal of a big section of Trash because of Olympic construction, but it is long and has a ton of climbing. I getmy ass handed to me every year by all the riders that can climb but don't necessarily know how to handle the bike once things get rough.

The race really starts to open up once you get through Brandywine Falls. There are more and more sections of the Sea to Sky Trail added each year and this is as smooth and flowy as you can find in Squamish or Whistler. It is also in this section where you will find the best feed station at any local race. I look forward to downing a can of Coke, a couple of chocolate chip cookies and finish it off with banana and watermelon.

I was able to set a personal best this time round coming in at 4:13. Maybe next year I will get my ass on the road and learn how to climb to try and break the 4 hour mark.

Thanks again to the crew at Steed Cycles for the great ride in the AnthemX. It is an amazing XC bike and I look forward to racing it again next year.

Fromme Mountain Challenge

There is a new event that is turning into an annual event that a colleague and I do - The Fromme Mountain Challenge. He is a ultramarathon trail runner and he challenged me last year to a race on Fromme. He would run up Mountain Hwy to the gravel pit and I would cycle up. He would then come down the road and I would come down 7th to Pipeline and then Baden Powell to the gait.

Last year he beat me by 61 seconds and round 2 goes this Sunday. I have a new strategy this year. Instead of riding my all mountain bike to try and make my time on the downhill I am going to ride my XC bike and get him on the climb and then try to maintain my time on the downhill. We both claim to have faster lap times this year so we will have to wait and see who comes out on top.

Edit Sept 21: I came out on top by just over 2 minutes. The climb to the gravel pit was 34 minutes and the decent was 20 minutes. Rubber match comes in fall 2010.