Average Adventure Addict

Wow the riding was FANTASTIC on Hornby! The weather didn’t exactly cooperate for Kitt’s birthday on Wednesday but in the end it was all great. We drove up with Panda and the bikes in the back of the truck Tuesday morning, leaving Victoria in the sun, and got up to Denman Island just as the clouds started to roll in. We bit our nails in the tiny ferry line up over to Hornby, hoping the weather would stay dry. As soon as we got to Tribune Bay campsite at 12:50 we threw the bikes out, got changed, grabbed Marc and headed for the hills by 1pm.

Within 5 minutes we were climbing the long hill up to the top of the Mount Geoffrey. 40 minutes and 350 meters in elevation later we were off our bikes taking a photo of the beautiful view of Denman and Vancouver Island in the background. We rode along the Cliff’s Edge trail for a bit before turning and starting down some of the killer trails. I have never had such a good time on my bike before! I don’t really know what I had originally thought the riding would be like, probably something in between Squamish and Whistler, but reality proved to be much, much better! If you have the opportunity to ride Hornby definately make time to ride: 4 Dead Aliens, Purgatory, Chris and Brad’s, No Horses and Cliff Trail.

Day 1 saw us clock out after nearly 3 hours of riding, I think we did 3 laps up and down the hill in total. I was ravenous when we got back to camp so I cooked while Kitt organized and set up our camp. By 8pm we were falling asleep in our chairs. We crawled into the back of our truck where Kitt had set up our bed, a super cushy queen air mattress on top of a twin air mattress (to raise it above the rear wheel cut outs) with fleecy blankies on the bottom and our open sleeping bags and Panda keeping us warm on top.

Day 2 was gorgeous to start off. Super sunny and warm, perfect for Kitt’s birthday (he’s 30 for the 3rd time…) We ate a quick breakfast and hit the trails again. My quads were a little stiff but nothing like a 35 minute ascent to get the blood moving again, (I was a little stoked to have knocked some time off from Day 1 too!). Today was way more cross country and Kitt and Marc tried to show me the finer points of riding up steep hills, but for the most part I just sat there with my jaw down around my knees as I watched them climb these amazingly steep faces. I started to get a little despressed because I was only able to struggle up half to three quarters of the same hills and it seemed like the boys were constantly waiting for me, but then I had a bit of a reality check when I remebered that the 2 guys I am riding with are two of the best in the country. Suddenly I wanted to chase them! Good thing they were only riding at half of thier normal speed to give me a glimmer of hope! 2 hrs 45 minutes and we were back at camp ready to eat again. We had a camping-style birthday bash complete with steaks, chocolate cake, marshmellows and rum! Day 2 ended much the same as Day 1, collapsing into bed with Panda, listening to the rain on the tarp above the canopy.

Day 3 was yucky. Blustery , rainy and cold, it took us a while to crawl out of our comfy nest. It took us until about 10am get going. For the first time in my life I wore 2 jerseys, boiled on the ride up the hill but thankful I had them as we zipped down the trails and I froze again. As our last day, we rode some of our favorites, mine being 4 Dead Aliens, Purgatory and No Horses. We did 2 climbs and I was really sad to say good bye to it all as we rode back to the campsite for a daily total of 1hr 45 min. As always where there is a ferry concerned, we packed in a nano second and got in line so we could make it home in time for me to relax and get stuff sorted for work the next morning. Quick early dinner in Duncan at Chez Wendys (I can’t help it - I LOVE the chili..) and before I could even fall asleep in my seat we were home. Tired, sore and thoroughly content, Kitt and I read for a few hours in bed before falling asleep.

Absolutely brilliant couple of days. Friggin amazing! I am really hoping to go back tons next year and would LOVE it if they brought back Bike Fest…

Sunday August 24th - 60 minute easy run w/ Kitt (was supposed to be 13km LSD but it just didn’t work out)
Monday August 25th - Rest (slept A LOT)
Tuesday August 26th - 3 hrs XC ride
Wednesday August 27th - 2.5 hrs XC
Thursday August 28th - 1hr 45min XC
Friday August 29th - Rest

After taking 2 more days off to let my tailbone recover then previously planned, I am back riding and running with almost no pain. Who knew tubing could be so dangerous? If you can sustain an injury from it, does that make it a sport? Hmmm… something to consider!

My first real week back since life has settled down has been a good one. This morning I rode out to Sidney and back, set a goal to arrive in an hour and spin around 90 rpm. I came in at 55 minutes so I was happy. Had a great lunch too with a lovely jam cookie for dessert from the Sidney Bakery at 5th and Beacon! The ride back on a full tummy was not exactly comfortable but I kept telling myself it was training for longer races where fueling on more than kiddie Sharky’s was needed. The spin back took about 60 minutes and by the end I could start to feel my lower back get tight, so I took Panda for a 20 minute walk when I got home to try and keep things loose and limber. Hot shower, food, nap and now here I sit, at work, doing the night shift. Yup, it sucks, but it pays the bills and keeps me in running shoes!

MONDAY Aug 18th - Rest
TUESDAY Aug 19th - more Rest
WEDNESDAY Aug 20th - 2 gym sessions: 1) 45 min hike on treadmill 2) 40 min Elliptical and stationary rower (word of advice: DON’T use a rower when recovering from a tailbone bruise, it’s absolute agony!)
THURSDAY Aug 21st - 15 min jog w/up, 3 x 250m hills, 15 min c/down (45 min total)
FRIDAY Aug 22nd - 30 min hike with Panda
SATURDAY Aug 23rd - 2 hr ride from house to Sidney, had lunch and came back

The key now is for me to stay nice and healthy for our 3 day trip to Hornby. I’ve heard tons about how great the riding is and how beautiful the island is and am really excited about our mini holiday. Hopefully I’ll have lots of pictures and a story or 2 by the time we get back.

Why has the weather turned to crap now of all times?? Now that our wedding has come and gone, I had visions that Kitt and I would have all sorts of free time to train for the final MOMAR in Cumberland at the end of September. Just when this dream seemed to come true, I woke up to the rain thundering on the roof of the house! I guess the bright side is that we got the last day of nice weather for our wedding on the 16th. Clear skies, warm breeze and a full moon, what more could we ask for? Thanks to the army of family and friends our big day went off without a hitch. I’m sure every bride thinks this, but our wedding was absolutely perfect! Outdoors, BBQ, badminton, bocce and tiki torches galore. After the ceremony (which was short and sweet!) we had 4 or 5 waves of skydivers land in the field and join us for the festivities. I have some awesome shots of them ripping it up on the dance floor in their jumpsuits and parachutes slung over their shoulders! Kitt and I closed down our own party at midnight, which was perfect because the next day we rounded up a crew of 18 people to tube down the Cowichan River.

We’ve done this float over a dozen times, but this time it was absolute carnage and we have no idea why! Of the 18 of us, only a handful escaped uninjured. Some wicked rapid sections had everyone screaming and smiling, but the last one 100 meters before we got out at Marie Canyon was mayhem. There were 2 narrow channels on either side of a big rock which caused some pile ups, interesting tube dismounts and a LOT of bruises. I was near the head of the pack and wanted to go off the small waterfall on the right hand side, so I paddled like crazy only to get caught up with Sergei and Glen against the side of the wall. The water pressure built up and ended up shooting me out like a basketball free throw over the waterfall, tailbone first, right onto a large pointed rock. I just about passed out it hurt sooooo bad. I honestly thought I had broken my tailbone, but at least I didn’t cry! With Kitt’s help I waddled onto shore and waited for the rest of the group. It was kind of funny waiting on the side, fishing out people’s shoes, hats and riderless tubes! RIP to my poor sunglasses that I had bonded with for the last 3 years. Oh well, time to look at some new Oakleys!

I’ve had to give myself a few more days off than intended, (funny how integral the muscles around your tail bone are!) but now I am back training with a vengence. I have a fairly ambitious training schedule ahead of me and some good goals for the 40km Cumberland MOMAR. Well, I’d better stop typing and hit the pavement for some hills, I love Thursdays!

This will be wierd, writing a post about non-athletic adventures, but I had such a great time I had to tell someone! At least it proves I’m just a normal person who doesn’t spend every waking moment working out or training!

Tuesday afternoon I got a phone call from Rosheen asking me if I wanted to go to Vancouver with her the next day, (Wednesday), as she had to go over for a meeting. I really wanted to go, but wasn’t sure how the logistics would work seeing as I had promised my Mom that I would have a “girl’s night” with her and Danielle later that evening. Kitt suggested that we look into Harbour Air or Helijet if we were worried about time. Rosheen called back a few minutes later to say that with our work discount, we could fly standby return for $150 each taxes included. Considering that the ferry is now $120+ roundtrip for just one person and thier vehicle, and that we wouldn’t have to deal with rush hour OR finding parking, we were set! With only 10 more days to go till the wedding, a stress relieving mini break would be perfect! The only thing that I was worried about was that I worked from 7pm Tuesday evening till 3am Wednesday morning and I knew I would be really tired. I am definately NOT a morning person!!

So I got off work and crawled into bed at 0330hrs and was rudely awakened by a persistant noise from somewhere on the night stand a very short while later. Then, in classic Devon fashion, it became a game of “Hit snooze and sleep more.” I am a master of this game, but I knew that when Kitt got up (he was driving us downtown on his way to work) the game was up. No matter how tired I am though, it’s always uplifting to see a happy dog wagging it’s tail while waiting for you at the door! Poor Panda was going to be alone for nearly 12 hours so we went for a 10 minute brisk walk around the block, and although it was great for her, it left me with about 5 minutes to get changed before we headed out the door.

We picked up Rosheen and Kitt dropped us as close to the terminal as he could before he had to turn around to head back to the firehall. Once we got to the terminal it was so exciting! I’d never been on a seaplane before, and the thought of it only taking 30 minutes to get to Stanley Park in Vancouver was crazy talk! Before we knew it we were on the plane with 10 other people and awaiting take off. I’ve been in the Inner Harbour paddling when these planes have taken off so it was awesome to be on the other side of the coin. Take off was very quick, but noisy. The ride was surprisingly smooth and worry free, except for the fan blowing air directly into my eyes! I tried to solve the problem by closing them, only to jerk awake 15 minutes later as we started to descend into the Vancouver harbour. I have never actually slept on a plane before so I was pretty surprised, and had a good idea of how exhausted I would be by the end of the day.

The terminal is 1 block from West Pender and Thurlow, right where Rosheen was going to have her meeting at 1100. Only problem was that it was 0830. What are 2 girls to do in Vancouver? Get tea to drink and talk about how we should have brought our running stuff and gone around Stanley Park! Or the trail from Ambleside Beach up to Cleveland Dam in the North Shore. We both agreed next time we would be all over it. We started to wander up to Robson and look at the stores just opening. Right away we got into a few stores and knocked half of the things on our list off. It was great fun to try on shoes that cost $500 but you wouldn’t be able to do anything but sit at a desk with. The time for Rosheen’s meeting came and I walked back to the building with her, then set off to amuse myself for a few hours. I had heard about a Nike store near Stanley Park where runners could go in and test drive different shoes and pieces of clothing, but instead of trying to find it, the girly girl in me that I usually try and supress reared her head and I went back up to Robson.

I had forgotten how much fun it can be to just walk and drift for the sheer enjoyment of walking and people watching. I explored a few stores, mostly looking for clothing deals (my fashionista sis Danielle took a look thru my closet, sighed and told me that dry-fit technical clothing in all colors did NOT constitute a wardrobe!) and gifts for the wedding party. Just as my stomach gave a long, loud growl, Rosheen called to say she was done and please, let’s do lunch. Perfect timing. On one of the corners near Robson and Thurlow there is a great little sushi joint called Tsunami Sushi where, if you sit at the bar, assorted plates of sushi float by in little boats and you are charged according to what plate you choose. 10 plates and 30 minutes later we were done. Full and tired. Not a good combination though as we both just wanted to find a place to nap!

We persevered though, for the good of our wardrobes and went into one of Rosheen’s favorite stores, Banana Republic. I must admit that this was my first time in this store and it made a sizeable dent in my wallet! All thier summer office apparel was on sale, so we grabbed a little of this and that, spent some time in the changeroom and then onto the till! It was fun to try on pants that were the same price as a new pair of Asic Kinseis, and mine desparately need replacing so I couldn’t justify it! Once we got outside into the beautiful sun we decided that it was maybe time to head home. Purchases in hand, we strolled back down to the terminal and waited to board. It was awesome, even though we were standby we always got on the first available flight. I tried to stay awake but it was no use. Once again I woke up as the plane started to descend for the water.

After picking up the truck from Kitt at the firehall and dropping Rosheen off at home I really craved a nap. Panda’s happy expectant face at the door told me maybe I’d sleep after I threw the ball for her at the park for a while. Aside from the fact that she had been home alone for 10 hours, she’s just too cute to pass up! 30 minutes later, all played out, we came home again and I tried to nap. It didn’t work at all. The only thing I could see was how messy my kitchen was and how much dog hair had collected in the corners in just 2 days. Kitt came home and I knew I was too tired to sleep. Best to do something, so I went to Thrifty’s and bought groceries for the next week. I hopped in the shower when I finished putting everything away and got the “where are you?” phone call from Mom and ran up to her place.

It was a surprise bridal shower!! My amazing Mom had thrown me a beautiful tea party style bridal shower with wonderful nibblies, tea and some hilarious games! My favorite was dressing Kitt, my brother Richard, and Danielle’s boyfriend Shaun up in toilet paper wedding gowns for a judged fashion show! I have not laughed that hard in a long time. Hopefully pictures will soon follow this post… I received so many fantastic gifts and feel thoroughly spoiled. Thank you everyone! I promise to start churning out the cookies and other recipes from the cook books as soon as the wedding is over! Around 10 we had cheesecake and tea and everyone started to head for home. Kitt and I went back downstairs and literally collapsed into bed. Thank you Mom for the wonderful shower!!

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Over the last month our team has been very lucky. First came our amazing sponsor, Marty’s Mountain Cycle who has been so incredibly supportive. Next came our great first race as team Marty’s Mountain Cycle. Now I am very pleased to introduce Ocean River Sports of Victoria as our kayak sponsor, and our brand new tandem boat, the Doubleshot, by Point 65 Kayaks from Sweden. This is the first Point 65 tandem in North America and Kitt and I are the very willing guinea pigs!

This boat is sweet!! It’s 20 feet long, 26 inches wide, weighs in at 84 lbs, orange in color (it matters to us girls!) and can really move. It’s a new design by Nigel Foster with a shallow arched/hard chine hull configuration that allows coordinated paddling teams to make really accurate edged turns. Brian (the owner of Ocean River and original creator of Current Designs Kayaks) has dubbed it the “Passat Killer” and I can’t wait to race it at Cumberland and see! When we first took it out Kitt and I noticed almost immediately how very maneuverable it was. It actually skates into the corners which makes it super fun to paddle. One of my favorite things about the Doubleshot is that while it’s fast for racing, it also has tons of room for expeditions. This kind of duality in a boat is exactly what we wanted, race it in a MOMAR one day, take off for a week in the Broken Group the next. There are 2 large hatches both forward and aft, a middle sized mid compartment and 2 day hatches.

My one complaint is that my paddling skills aren’t good enough to take full advantage of how fast this boat really is. Just as I started to realize this Brian offered to teach Kitt and I how to use wing paddles and help us tweak and refine our paddling technique so we could really give it a fair shot at racing this boat. As with all things outdoorsy, Kitt’s skills dwarf mine, but I am game to learn. When Brian said this I started to squirm with excitement and wanted to go out and start right away! Ocean River is the perfect kayak sponsor for us, they carry everything a paddler could possibly want and have a large selection of clothing and camping/outdoor gear. Thank you very much Brian!

If you are interested in having a look at this great tandem (or taking it for a paddle! If you do - let me know what you think!) it’s kept in the showroom at Ocean River Sports. It’s adventure racing debut will be at the MOMAR in Cumberland on September 27th.