Biking – Page 3 – The SMO's stories

Biking, CITS, Pemberton, Racing, Running, Travel, Triathlon, Whistler

Ironman, eh?

October 18, 2012 Christine Cogger

So presumably, you’ve heard the news. Ironman Canada is moving to Whistler in 2013. This is pretty exciting news for a tri-nerd like myself. No, I won’t be signing up. But I’ll be involved in some way and will be following developments closely (and by closely I mean I’ll be following my favourite pros twitter feeds to see if they are coming and hoping the Ministry paves the road between Whistler and Pemberton).

Liz has written a very good account of what race day is going to be like and if you’re racing, I highly suggest you read it. Preparation is key!

Most of the people signing up seem to know quite a lot about Whistler (based on the forum chit-chat I read). Some are knowledgeable, some are grossly and amusingly misinformed (for example, the dude who thought a swim in Green Lake in October would be awesome!) However, no one seems to mention Pemberton all that much so consider this my open invitation to come to my little town and create your own training base!

Pemberton is small, fun, active and family-friendly. It’s a great place to live and train – trust me, since I do both here… If you come to town to train, look me up, maybe I’ll even invite you to a CITS run!

Herewith, some suggestions…

1. The swim.

Despite years of asking for one, Pemberton doesn’t have a community pool. If you are coming to our part of the world between October – June, you’ll be swimming in the 25m pool at Meadow Park. It’s a decent facility (with a hot tub and steam room) but stick to swimming during “swimmer’s hours”… that is 6am – 9am. Otherwise, you’ll encounter hordes of screaming kids and are liable to get landed on by an overzealous rookie on the rope swing. Plus, there are only 2 lanes open during non-lane swim times, so you’ll be battling for space with the head-up breastroker and the one length, board-short wearing sprinter.

If you come from June onwards, the open water swim possibilities open right up. Alta Lake is where IMC will be held, so best to train there. Like Liz said, watch those boats! They are pretty pointing and they go backwards. Lost lake is a great option with the added bonus of a nudie dock (if you’re into that sort of thing). But let’s not forget Pemberton! Mosquito lake is small but clear and beautiful. It just takes a little work to get to… 1 Mile is an ok option, if you don’t mind getting your face caressed by weeds, which I kind of do. Last but not least, Gates Lake in Birken is absolutely worth the drive north. Clear, quiet and big.

Oh – and you’re kidding yourself if you think wetsuits won’t be required at this race!

2. The bike

Perhaps I’m in the minority but I think this course is tougher than Challenge Penticton. It may not have Richter Pass, the 7 Bitches, and Yellow Lake, but the ride back to Whistler at the end of 180K is not to be underestimated, nor is the long out and back in the Pemberton Meadows. It’s pretty much guaranteed that the wind is going to be picking up just in time for the AG’ers to make the turn and that’s when the real drafting, er, I mean work will begin.

If you are coming up here to train, don’t limit yourself to the course. There’s some fabulous riding to be had around here. Riding from Pemberton to D’arcy is a gorgeous and tough training ride. Bring your $5 and treat yourself to a cold Coke at the D’arcy General Store before you start the ride back up to Pemberton. Challenge yourself -as we do every year – to ride from Lillooet Lake to Joffre Lakes sans timing device and see how close you can get to your estimated ride time up the 13KMs of switchbacks and climbing. Ride the Classic “Tour de Train” – ride from Pemberton to Lilloet, take the train back to D’arcy then ride back to Pemberton.

Of course there are lots of hills and rides to be had in and around Whistler. Join the Whistler Tri Club on Wednesday mornings… they’ll welcome you up Cardiac and Kadenwood. Fun times at 6:30am, I swear.

The thing with riding around here that everyone – triathletes, roadies and drivers – needs to remember is that the roads are going to be pretty crowded next summer. Everyone’s going to have to play nice.

I know tri-nerds are loathe to risk injury in the months leading up to their “A” race, but trust me when I say that the mountain biking around Pembi makes it worth the effort. And that’s saying something when it comes from a chicken like me.

3. The run.

The course description makes it sound pretty flat, but there’s a few kick-your-ass deceivers in there. By all means, train on the course. Run the Whistler Half Marathon course.

But Pemberton has some great trails to train on and miles of roads (here’s where that out and back on the Meadows comes in handy… have someone drop you off at the turn around and you can run back to town. It’s not super exciting but it’s scenic and dead flat – what better way to practice leg turnover!) While it’s true that most of the running in Pemberton tends to out-and-back style, we local girls have managed to string together some pretty long loops over the years. Look us up and we’ll let you in on our secrets…

A tried and true and tough long run? Go from Pemberton to Whistler. It’s not very exciting but it sure as hell gets the job done.

4. Nutrition

We triathletes are known to eat and eat well (and often). How much do I love finishing a long run or ride knowing that I get to end the day at Mile One Eating House? A whole lot. You won’t find a better burger and micro brew combo! I’m sure they have some veggie options, I’m just not that interested in what they might be.

We happen to play host to 2 fantastic coffee shops, too… Blackbird Bakery and Mount Currie Coffee Co… Try both, you’ll wind up with your own favourite.

For such a small town, we can boast about having 2 grocery stores, a natural foods/supplement place, a couple of yoga studios, a gym, a physio clinic, the world’s best masseuse but if I told you who that was I’d have to kill you because he’s already busy enough, a totally weird General Store and last but not least, 3 gas stations.

See? Doesn’t it make you want to come and play?

Biking, Kids

A time lapse of sorts

August 3, 2012August 3, 2012 Christine Cogger

Being the 3rd child and sister to 2 active boys, Anja likes to try to keep up. She’s getting pretty good on her little bike.

Sometimes, letting her try to keep up leads to some painful outcomes.

Introducing: Rainbow Face!

Day 5: Piss off with the camera already.

Day 1: 2 hours post-impact, 1 hour post-impact nap.

Biking, Family, weekend, Whistler

Another weekend wrap up

July 30, 2012August 3, 2012 Christine Cogger

That was certainly a full and fun-filled weekend. CITS had to take a backseat this weekend (for me anyway) so that I could partake in the silliness that was Charlie’s Angels.

: DH Angels.

I have to hand it to Tony Horn. I’d never done one of his events and can now say, with certainty, that if he does another event, I’m in. He puts on a great event that was challenging yet achievable and more importantly, all for a good cause.

I haven’t raced a mountain bike race since 2003… and I’ve been on my mountain bike precisely 3 times this summer. I was certainly out of my comfort zone as we rode up to the start of the DH. Surrounded by downhillers, there’s no doubt in my mind that I am definitely more of an Uphiller (that’s a word, right?) I had seeded myself just about last because of my, uh… prowess in the park? However, I couldn’t take sitting up there watching everyone go. So I jumped in and went.

Proof that I made it to the bottom – in one piece, no less.

I loathe time-trial starts and despite not pre-riding the course, I didn’t exactly light the world on fire BUT I laughed (nervous laughter) all the way down, even after I hit a tree and then crashed off a jump. I made it down in one relatively unscathed piece and then flew home to catch the Opening Ceremony. It was, in my opinion, a great way to spend an evening.

Saturday held the XC portion of the race and although I experienced some kick-ass cramping in muscles I forgot how to fire, I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the course Tony put together. It was fun to ride to some fun women I rarely get to see. I much prefer mass starts (it’s where my pointy elbows come in handy) and especially ones that start uphill. It got me out of the fray quickly and on my way. 2.5ish hours later I was at the lake, ready for more Olympic spectating (I immediately turned on my phone to see who won the Phelps V. Lochte dual – NERD).

Of course, no weekend is complete without some kind of medical emergency with the kiddos. This weekend we were treated to 2!

Onwards with the week. Here’s to my arms regaining some of their feeling after the weekend and looking for the next adventure…

Charlies Angels Christine Cogger — Pretty sure I was cramping here.

Biking, Day-to-day life, Family, Kids, Whistler

Monday afternoon in Whistler

July 17, 2012August 7, 2012 Christine Cogger

On our way home from work/bike camp, we spent an hour here… just your average Monday afternoon in Whistler, I guess…

It’s pretty entertaining to, once again, observe the differences between the boys. Will plotted and planned his every move. Rory just sent it!

Post-crash, post-tears, pre-nap self portrait

Biking, Racing, Triathlon

What makes you an Athlete?

June 25, 2012August 22, 2012 Christine Cogger

It’s kind of baffling to me that I ever got into triathlon or endurance sports at all.

As a child, I was obsessed with ponies.

I absolutely HATED swimming lessons (my mother still has the scars to prove it) and I distinctly remember swimming so crookedly in one lake meet that I hit the dock we were meant to be swimming parallel to head-on.

Cycling was something I did to get to my summer job and subsequently something I took up when I sold my first love, an Arabian pony named Macgyver.

I had a boyfriend who was passionate about biking so I think I took it up just to be cool. I sucked, but I was stubborn and did it anyway. Although I thought nothing of piloting a 1000-pound, fairly disobedient animal over immovable obstacles (but let’s face it, I was 17. I didn’t think much about anything), riding down a mountain side (or up one, for that matter) usually had me in tears of frustration and/or fear. The second time I took my road bike for a spin, my front wheel came off while riding over some train tracks and my face absorbed the impact. Beauty.

I was probably thinking about what I was going to eat for lunch at this moment.

first races — Now those are some SWEET shades.

Running was just as foreign to me. The first time I went for a run was in university and it lasted 5 minutes. I think I was too haunted by those Canada Fitness Awards ParticipACTION badges we had to strive for in elementary school. I never did get the gold one, dammit.

Today, it would be hard to imagine life without the release of endurance sports (although I still harbour a fantasy that one day I’ll win the lottery, buy a million dollar steed and represent my country as an Olympic equestrian, by I digress). Despite this, in no way, shape or form do I consider myself an elite athlete. In fact, I struggle with the term “athlete” in general. What makes you an athlete? Are you an athlete because you do a sport every day? Are you an athlete because it’s your career? What if you are just doing something for fun? What does that make you? I used to consider myself a “recreational triathlete” – but I haven’t been on my tri bike in an embarrassing number of months and the last time I was in a pool I was in a hotel in a bikini and I think I’d just had a beer. Does that make me a retired triathlete?

bathing suit race — I’ll do almost anything if you dare me. Including racing without pants.

I love reading how triathletes and other elite athletes got their start in their sport of choice. So many of them were high school track stars, NCAA All-Americans, Olympic hopefuls, etc. It’s always so interesting to follow their trajectory to where they are now. So how about you? How’d you get your start? What do you consider yourself? Pro? Weekend Warrior? Gamer? All of the above?

imc 2007 — I can’t believe this was 5 years ago!

Biking, Travel

Avignon to Paris and THE END

July 29, 2009September 3, 2013 Christine Cogger

We decided to pull the pin on the Ventoux and take everyone to Avignon instead.The clients enjoyed a free day while Ryan and I raced through town shopping for the train ride, returning rental vehicles and generally feeling like we were starring in our own version of the Amazing Race.

True Story: before the bus left, I announced to everyone that a good spot to find a screen to watch the Tour on could be found in Place Pie/Les Halles, and open air plaza surrounded by bars, cafes and restaurants.A client complained to me that I had “promised open air but this place was full of people and establishments and thus I misled her”.I didn’t even have a comeback for that one.

Eventually we got everyone to the TGV and we were off to Paris.Ryan and I wisely loaded up on beer and wine and that made everything a little easier for us.We spent the ride playing bartender/waiter and it went by very quickly.

Once in Paris we split the group between our 2 hotels which overlooked the course, Le Regina and Le Crillon (where Lance and the OLN crew stay, including Phil and Paul).Another few hours of ironing wrinkles out of our plans, sorting out guests and generally putting out fires meant that it was a while longer before we could sneak off to our fantastic suite and pass out.

Night view from our room

On our first morning in Paris, we planned an early morning cruiser bike ride through the streets of Paris, including up and down the Champs Elysee. This was definitely a highlight for me, it was super fun and a great way to see the city before the mayhem really got underway.

Self portrait, Champs Elysee, 8am.

Les Champs

We rode till about 11, and then Ryan and I snuck off to the “Breakfast in America” for a greasy pile of food.We made it back to our hotel, sorted everyone out with balconies and viewing points and watched the final stage of the Tour de France 2009 roll by our window.It was incredible!

Caravan

Peloton

We capped off the day with a dinner at the restaurant on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower.What should have been a great send-off was marred by the fact that the restaurant RAN OUT OF FOOD but really?At that point, it just seemed fitting…

I spent my final day in Europe wandering the streets of Paris, visiting the Louvre and the Opera House, walking the Champs Elysée and sneaking down as many side streets as I could find to take it all in.The best part?I was all by myself.

All in all, it was a pretty surreal week.At times it felt like it would never end, at other times it felt like it flew by.I missed my boys terribly.I didn’t get to do as much riding as I had hoped but the rides I did do were fantastic.The stress of managing 110 people in VERY logistically-challenging conditions was hard on us.The fact that we were doing it on no sleep and less food made it all the more difficult.I lost 7 pounds (IN FRANCE.How is that possible?!)

I kept my cool throughout (despite 1 or 2 meltdowns…)I was even polite to everyone until the bitter end (except maybe when someone snatched a dinner ticket out of my hand and the Eiffel Tower without even looking at me and I was compelled to snap “you’re welcome!” and then mutter obscenities under my breath at him.)

Tour guiding may not be for me, but I am keen to go back and tackle all the routes again in better conditions.Anyone want to come?I can drive you around and almost guarantee I won’t get lost!

Biking, Travel

Le Mont Ventoux

July 29, 2009September 3, 2013 Christine Cogger

The morning we were to go up to the Ventoux began perfectly for me despite on getting a few hours of sleep: all alone in the Château courtyard with a croissant and some good coffee.Let’s just say that the next 4 hours after that were particularly trying and leave it at that.

Once Ryan finally met me with the bikes in the parking lot of La Route du Ventoux (a bike shop with the loveliest staff who took wonderful care of me), we opened the back of the moving van… a one ton truck that held no less than 110 bikes.People were stopping to take pictures!It took about 2 hours to unload every bike.Thankfully that would be the last time we’d have to do it.Even the owner of the bike shop chuckled when he saw all his rental bikes crammed in.

I ended up spending 12 hours in the parking lot wrenching bikes, filling water bottles, getting filthy and generally making sure clients made it safely up and down the mountain.I am sad that I didn’t get to ride it myself but really, that just means I’ll have to go back another time.

The town itself, Bedoin, felt like a huge street party.Camper vans and trailers had been arriving for over 10 days to secure a spot on the mountain to watch the tour come through.There were hundreds of cyclists making their way up the mountain and through town.We realized that our plan to take clients up the mountain the following day to watch the stage would have been an exercise in futility, especially since we were meant to catch the TGV back to Paris from Avignon that night.It took people all night to get down!

Thankfully, all of our riders who chose to go up enjoyed their experience of riding through hundreds of thousands of people and everyone made it down safely, in time to enjoy cocktails and a dinner at the Château.

The funniest part of the day for me was when the taxis arrived to take some clients back, I asked if I could follow since I didn’t have my GPS.The driver said no problem, he’d go slowly and wait for me.The fact that he was driving a 600 series Mercedes might have tipped me off that our ideas of slowly would differ.I ended up driving a moving van at 120 kph through the back roads of Provence.Good times!(Sorry, mum!)

I got home in time to clean up, eat dinner and *surprise*!More planning.All I wanted to do was collapse on my lovely ironed sheets in my lovely ironed PJs, but it was not to be.Clients wanted to leave earlier/later/go elsewhere/needed translation/hand holding/someone to yell at, etc.So of course, I obliged, hahaha.Eventually I did make it to my ironed sheets and enjoyed every last minute…

Biking, Travel

Annecy to Provence

July 29, 2009September 3, 2013 Christine Cogger

After another late night of planning, organizing and generally trying to dig this tour out of the hole we seem to have collapsed in, we had an early morning departure planned.The goal was to load up the buses and vans with everyone’s luggage and cycle the group from Megeve to Annecy via Albertville.It was only about a 45K ride and the first 2/3 of it were downhill on a narrow, twisty mountain road.The dark tunnels made it interesting, that’s for sure!The road is so narrow that when a bigger vehicle meets another, they stop to inch by each other.Once we go to the flats near Annecy we merged onto the bike lane and I had to tuck in behind a client because 1) there was a ridiculous headwind and 2) I was completely shattered.

The crowds in Annecy were amazing.The road circling the lake was closed for the Time Trial and the halfway mark clock was a few hundred meters up the road from our viewing point, Chappet House, a quaint hotel on the lake.

TT Half way point

The crowd

The clients all eventually arrived at the house and although it took several hours, lots of scrambling, some money spent and some calming down of people, everyone eventually was fed and nicely liquored up and they enjoyed watching the racers come by at blistering paces.It was incredible to see just how teeny tiny the riders had gotten after 2 weeks of racing.

Skinny fast dudes

When Armstrong went through the Americans in the crowd went bananas (embarrassingly so…) but I will admit that it was impressive to see the caravan.I got to see George Hincapie and a few of the Italians I really like so it was worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Armstrong coming by, can you tell?

A few more hours of relaxing for the guests meant it was time for us to scramble to get clients back to the buses parked 2K away (in, of course, a last minute torrential downpour).We also had to pack 110 bikes, luggage, clean the hotel and then drive 4 hours down to Provence.All in a day’s work, HAHAHA.

I drove our trusty 9 passenger with Crystèle, another coordinator.She was lovely but, holy hell, the woman is a TERRIBLE driver.Unfortunately for me, she had to drive while I scrambled to coordinate buses, driver schedules, 5 separate hotel drop offs/pick ups for the next morning.Long live blackberries, that’s all I’ll say.I have never before experienced the feeling of completely running out of hours in a day to get things done and I hope to never again!

We finally arrived in Provence at the MOST spectacular Château I have ever had the privilege to stay in, Château de Rochegude.Thankfully we managed to arrive about 30 minutes before the bus so I had a few moments to take it all in, chat with the concierge and his dog and prepare.Of course, as was de rigueur for this trip, the guests arrived at 1:30AM and everything went completely sideways for about an hour until they were all in bed…I finally fell into bed at about 3, knowing that Ryan was somewhere on the road with all the bikes and having promised 3 riders that I would take them to the Mt. Ventoux the next morning to meet the bikes and send them on their way before awaiting the arrival of all the other riders a few hours later.I wanted everyone to enjoy the Château for a few hours in the morning!

http://www.chateauderochegude.com/

Biking, Travel

Parking lots, climbs and delirium

July 28, 2009August 22, 2012 Christine Cogger

When Ryan finally arrived to pick me up with the 30 bikes, it was about 10:30pm. I had been sitting in the parking lot waiting for him for over 3 hours at this point. I was hungry, chilly, getting swarmed by mosquitoes and sitting close enough to a French karaoke bar that I could hear every terrible word being warbled. Ryan’s phone was off so I had no way of knowing where he was… By the time he rolled up I was ready to skin him alive and then run him over with the moving van he was driving. I yanked the door open and Ryan said “All right Cogs, lemme have it”. And of course, we both dissolved into hysterical giggles.

After loading all the bikes into the moving van and searching for food (nothing says recovery like a Nutella crepe and a beer at 11:45pm, right?) we started the long drive home. A wonky GPS and construction in Grenoble got us home at about 4am. I washed my face and collapsed into bed – how gross is that?

The next morning I had planned on sleeping a bit, but decided to get up at about 6:30 to check on Ryan and make sure the group was ready for the day: the plan had been to bus the group to the base of the Col de la Colombiere. They would then ride up to the restaurant at the summit and watch the Tour come through. My plan was to send them off and go back to bed.

Of course, Ryan had other plans for me… Because many in the group had been unable to ride l’Alpe d’Huez, the group split. Most would go up the Colombiere, some would take the day off, the rest would come with me to l’Alpe d’Huez. Which of course meant that I got to drive a 9 passenger vehicle on 2 hours sleep through mountain passes! Yay!

I slurped down a coffee, threw some gear in a bag, loaded up my passengers and off we went. The nerves were getting to me – I was determined not to get lost or sheer off the mirrors of the van through the passes. I succeeded!

Once in Bourg-d’Oisan, we got everyone organized and off they went up the mountain. I waited for one last client to arrive from another hotel and got my co-guide organized with the “sag wagon”. I finally decided that rather than sit in the parking lot all day (did I mention that at this point there were thundershowers?) I might as well suit up and ride the damn thing. So I did.

Some of the 21 switchbacks

Alpe d’Huez was a really spectacular ride. The grade around the first turn is at about 12% and there are signs at every turn counting down the turns from 21. The view of the valley was incredible and the reward at the top was crossing the official “Tour de France” finish line. Everyone was high-fiving and celebrating so it was a really nice end to the day. Coming down was a little nerve wracking (to say I was shaky at this point is like saying sometimes it rains on the west coast). The difference in drivers is remarkable though: someone honked at me and I got all upset – but he was honking to cheer me on!

After feeding my gang at a local pizzaria, we loaded up our van and headed back to Megeve. We made it back in time for the group to have dinner and in time for me to get bombarded with questions about the following day, for me to make maps, lists and plans and for me to miss dinner… again!

Yeah, I’m too cheap to pay for the orginal.

Hot tip: if you want to go to France and make friends, wear a Canadian jersey. People will love you and give you food.

Biking, Travel

Climbs and more climbs

July 27, 2009August 22, 2012 Christine Cogger

It’s hard to believe that less than a week ago we were in the Savoie, riding up the (in)famous Col de la Croix de Fer and l’Alpe d’Huez. I’ve decided to spare the details of all the bad stuff that happened because in retrospect it doesn’t seem like such a big deal (or maybe my sleep-deprived brain just doesn’t want to think about it anymore).

I can say that riding on that first day was QUITE an experience… Our bus dropped all the riders just outside of St-Jean-de-Maurienne ON the climb (no warm up here!) It was a ridiculous way to start but everyone was antsy to get going, so they did… right passed the turn off for the Col de La Croiz de Fer. I tried to catch the lead group which had gone up about 30 minutes before me (I didn’t know they missed the turn and in fact at that point, *I* didn’t know I had missed the turn). After about 2 hours of climbing the lead group turned and caught me as they were descending: a local had told them that they were not headed to the Croix de Fer, that in fact we were riding the Col de la Toussuire. Evidently there is a way to link the Toussuire to the Croix de Fer but the road had recently crumbled… So back down to our starting point we went. At least the descent was fun!

It was now about 1pm and it was HOT. People were getting hungry and they were quite pissed off at having gone 2 hours in the wrong direction – uphill! It was definitely our “bad call” to not have tested the ability of the riders before hand because this became an EPIC day.

The sign in St-Jean-de-Maurienne said that the next town was a mere 5K away, in the direction of the Croix de Fer. A very long story short: the sag wagon had disappeared with all our water/food (he was waiting at the top… kind of defeats the purpose), riders were walking, the bus was trying to get to us… Turns out the town ended up being 15k up the road. And I mean
UP.

self portrait up the road…

Seems pretty obvious.

Personally, I was having a lovely ride (despite being yelled at, cursed, etc). I like to climb! Unfortunately, the stress of trying to find people, vehicles, etc fried my brain and I forgot to eat. By the time I got to the last town before the Croix de Fer I was desperate for something — anything. I met up with a really nice group and we stopped at a little café for some nice cold Cokes. When I asked the owner how far to the top he said “15K”. I almost punched him. Turns out he was joking!

We were 5K to the top and they were pretty damn spectacular! I was SO happy to get to the top and grab… a coke. It was all that was left! Damn! After a quick photo op we hopped back on for the 25K descent into Bourg-d’Oisan which is the base of Alpe d’Huez.

Done! I was STOKED!

When we finally got to Bourg-d’Oisan, we were still hoping to be able to ride l’Alpe d’Huez, or at the very least catch a bus to the top. However, the very strict transportation laws prevented our driver from being able to go anywhere but back to Mégeve (this particular AMAZINGLY talented drive drove a 63-person bus up and over the Col de La Croix de Fer. It’s kind of like driving a bus , well, I have no comparison. Suffice to say he said he’ll never do it again). This transportation restriction led to me sitting in a parking lot (waiting for Ryan), with 30 bikes, for 2.5 hours in the dark. Oh yeah, in my chamois. Gross.

I still can’t believe the bus went up this – the image doesn’t do it justice.

At the end of the day, my heart rate monitor/computer showed that I had ridden for a total of about 6.5 hours, fueled by 4 water bottles, 2 cokes and 1/2 a powerbar. Not exactly ideal. Didn’t bonk though, which I am still trying to understand.

Day 2 led us back to l’Alpe d’Huez on 2 hours of sleep, but that’s a whole other story! Time for me to get some much needed sleep!