Monday, July 25, 2011

Trip Report: Juan de Fuca Trail

Another delayed post: we hiked the Juan de Fuca (JDF from now on) trail the beginning of this month.

A few years ago we hiked the West Coast Trail, which is the original coastal trail.  It basically ends 200 metres to the north of where this one begins.  We went in expecting the West Coast Trail (WCT from now on) all over again, which the JDF definitely is not.  The WCT is all about getting to the beaches at all costs (ie 100 meters down a slippery ladder, walk for half a kilometer, then the same thing back up again).  The JDF is a little more sensible, and because of this spends more time in the woods.  At first I was disappointed with this, but I think there are good aspects to both:

WCT:
- you get to use ladders to get to each and every beach
- there are tons of people who can't wait meet and hang out with you
- it is ~7 days long, giving you lots of time to immerse yourself in the trail

JDF:
- you don't have to take ladders to each and every frigging beach
- it isn't crawling with tons of dirty hippies who can't wait to meet you
- it is only 4 or 5 days long. "Immerse" is hippie for "smelly"

Overall, a really good trip.  Also, if you hike it South to North, each day seems to get better and better, at least in my opinion.

My favourite picture is below.  I don't know why I like it so much, but there it is.  Clicking here will take you to the full album.

Juan de Fuca Trail

Tour de Victoria

I wrote this up, and forgot to hit "post".  Here it is.  A few months late.

First inaugural Tour de Victoria this weeekend year.   I'll cut to the chase.  The results are:

140 km
1400m elevation gain

Caroline              :   5:09
Matt                    :   4:34
Ryder Hesjedal   :    4:03

Next year, Ryder.  Watch out.  Caroline's got you in her sights.

The Tour was fantastic.  Incredibly fast. Lots of good hills and twisty downs.  And I imagine that if I hadn't been watching the wheel in front of me the whole time, it would have been very picturesque.  You can find the routes here.

The rest of the weekend was spent sleeping, eating, and...watching more biking.   We ended up catching a few crit races on Sunday, one of which was the Cat 1/2/3 (ie pro) mens devision.  That was awesome.  I don't think I ever want to be a crit racer.  Although they look awfully cool:

2011.05.28 TdV (19)

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Weekend of Races

Both Caroline and I had a race on this weekend, and for once neither of us were competing in both...so we each finally got a race crew.  Definitely a nice change.

The Squamish Gearjammer was first.  This is a 53km "cross country" point to point mountain bike race through Squamish.  This was my first mountain bike race, and I learned one very important lesson:

Residents of coastal BC have a very loose definition of "cross country".

So the race was an experience, to say the least.  Here is me coming up the hill that comes right after the "Powerhouse Plunge".  I am told most locals really enjoy this trail, and consider it a great relax before the next climb. I pretty much walked the entire way down.

Squamish Gearjammer 2011

You'll notice I am alone.  That means I am either way out in front, or way out in back.


Anyways.  Caroline's race, "Diva on the Run" was more of a success.  She even got a feather boa, and was covered in sparkles.  You may be starting to understand why we weren't both entered in both races now.  Her result was 7th overall, and 1st in her age group:

Diva Run


Today was spent drinking chocolate milk and lying on the couch.  And watching movies about bike racing.

(clicking either of the above will take you to a few more pictures of the weekend)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Most Active Weekend Ever

The following video documents how I spent the most active weekend I have ever had.

I have condensed the entire weekend into 11 seconds for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy.