tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80343448718163239562024-03-19T00:34:09.439-07:00MaC's WeblogMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-25844345041431425872013-05-25T11:28:00.002-07:002013-05-25T11:30:12.524-07:00Mount Baker Easton Glacier Spring Ascent (Attempt #2 of 3)Well. Last year <a href="http://mattandcaroline.blogspot.ca/2012/02/mount-baker-winter-ascent-epic-fail.html">we tried to climb Mount Baker</a>. For a lot of reasons, it did not go well. It barely went at all, really. This year we tried to learn from all those lessons:<br />
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- ascend in the spring, so less snow issues, crevasses are still full, and tons of daylight<br />
- make sure the access road is drivable before you leave the house<br />
- allow a lot of extra time so that you can adapt to weather and other unforseen issues<br />
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We did all that. We were feeling great. Really prepared.<br />
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Then, the weather forecast lied. 3 times. The border crossing took hours and hours. The access road washed out and was undrivable 3 days before we got there. The same rain that washed out our planned access road also washed most of the snow off of the secondary access road....except for a big, deep, undrivable patch 2 km before we could start skiing. We finally made a break for the summit when the fog lifted, only to discover that the forecast had been wrong yet again, it was much colder than we expected, and we no longer had appropriate gear to ascend safely.<br />
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So next year, I guess.<br />
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A more formal trip report:<br />
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<b>Maps: </b>National Geographic 1:100,000 "North Cascades" (MEC) and USGS 1:24,000 "Mount Baker" (shows complete Heliotrope ridge route, does not show the complete Easton Glacier route)<br />
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<b>Access:</b> Heliotrope ridge access road is shut within 1km of the main highway. Totally impassable, and the locals do not estimate a quick fix. <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mbs/home/?cid=stelprdb5150431">Look here</a> for updates (#39, Glacier Creek road). We ended up using the Easton Glacier route, access is just past Baker Lake (FSR's #12 and #13 off of Baker Lake road). At this point this season, the road was almost drivable right to the trailhead. If we had been 5 days earlier, we would have parked 3km away and skinned the whole way. As it was, we parked 3km away and had to walk 2 of them due to lack of snow.<br />
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<b>Route</b>: <br />
We followed the well used snowmobile route up to the easton glacier moraine. Protip: bring a case of beer to bribe a snowmobiler for a lift. This section is long, boring, and full of snowmobiles. Try to avoid melting snow for water from here, unless you like motor oil aftertaste.<br />
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We camped in the moraine at about 853975 (truncated UTM: see <a href="http://bivouac.com/PgxPg.asp?PgxId=155">section 3 here</a> for details).<br />
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We were planning on getting to high camp the next day, but barely made it out of the moraine before soupy fog rolled in. With zero visibility and crevasses on the mind, we spent the rest of the day in the tent.<br />
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The next day started at around 4am. The Easton glacier is very straightforward, with a huge, nearly unbroken highway right up to the summit cone. At this point this season, the crevasses were either non-existent or almost completely filled in. While we ascended with ropes on, another party did not and we were very confident to ski down unroped. On this day it was much colder than expected, and the previous days mush had turned to ice. Without crampons, we ended up turning around at ~2600m - the final route up the summit cone was significantly steeper than the rest of the glacier and the icefall below did not look like a fun place to slide into. We made it out the same day without difficulty, although as soon as we were back in the moraine the temperature raised by about 30 degrees.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8809000301/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7446/8809000301_08c5088190.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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First (unexpected) major obstacle: getting off the bridge across the creek.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8809007295/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="422" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7416/8809007295_be61866377.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Finally out of the moraine.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8819600468/" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="355" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7321/8819600468_17d53610d0.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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After a day in the tent, the clouds cleared on Sunday night.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8819608296/" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="424" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7319/8819608296_822f5245d3.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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Early morning start, but the sun was up at 4am.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8809026689/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="424" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5470/8809026689_6e40469c00.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Skis and skins not much use: ski crampons would have been useful.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8809031763/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8136/8809031763_0f563ebfde.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Heading up the Easton highway. Our final route would have been to the right side of the summit cone.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8809041761/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="424" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3826/8809041761_6289a54a89.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8819637756/" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5457/8819637756_1d123c696c.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8809060339/" title="Baker Spring Attempt by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Baker Spring Attempt" height="424" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3826/8809060339_358f051939.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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Not a bad backdrop.<br />
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Full set <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/sets/72157633633204577/">here</a>.<br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-43259208367991678652013-04-02T08:57:00.003-07:002013-04-02T08:57:28.469-07:00Stride AnalysisWe were back in Ontario for Easter. With no bikes on hand, but access to a brand new track and Mike, we figured this would be a good time to do some stride analysis on our running to try and identify any major issues. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8613980838/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Stride Analysis by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Stride Analysis" height="359" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8530/8613980838_f37c546997.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I won't bore you with the full 20 minute slow motion video from multiple angles - but here is a short version so see what we were up to.<br />
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Also it was snowing.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SUpzL9aXsnA" width="640"></iframe></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-69078770944884395802013-02-24T11:30:00.000-08:002013-04-02T12:20:44.254-07:00Slim CreekIn short: the "North Trip" of ski touring trips. It was a lot of fun. I think in future "vacation" type trips, we would make some changes:<br />
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- go when it is warmer<br />
- allow more days for rest (or snowstorms)<br />
- do a more in depth cost analysis of helicopter access versus two days of your life and being able to say you did it under your own steam<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8501826719/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8525/8501826719_81157dde14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The drive to Lillooet was spectacular, if a little long. Also not sure it would be something I would want to do with snow on the roads, but our conditions were fine.
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8502933294/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8512/8502933294_98661d6436.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our sleds. These worked out pretty well. Overall travel speed with the sleds was slower than I expected, but our total weight was not carryable, so we didn't have much choice. When hauling a sled I felt like I was working hard, but wasn't uncomfortable like an 80 pound pack would have been. Changes for next time will be a better harness system, and probably the use of some sort of duffel bag - this would be lighter than using packs, and would also allow easier access to contents during the day. Depending on the trip, being able to ditch the backpack and haul just a sled would be way more comfortable.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8501830061/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="422" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8521/8501830061_cff5ea52e5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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First sunset of the trip, still with a few hours left to haul. We had a a few stretches of skinning in the dark on this trip. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8502938118/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8506/8502938118_d0df20fcd5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Day 2 of the trip, still hauling our sleds in. At this point we had already decided to change the trip plan, from an extended loop to an out and back. The idea was to have more time to explore in the alpine without sleds, but even with the reroute we were still looking at another day past this one. Almost the entire access was along a logging road.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8502942040/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8086/8502942040_703776fd5f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Finally. 35 kilometers and 17 hours of sled dragging later.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8502944230/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8502944230_2570ae317b.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Hazards of the trail.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8502947792/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="425" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8516/8502947792_fd02648b58.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Basecamp, drying in the sun.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8501841739/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8237/8501841739_034d606e18.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We were going to take a laid back day on day four to recover from all the sled dragging. But after a few hours relaxing in the sun we couldn't stand not taking advantage of the nice weather anymore, and headed out. This meant a pretty late day.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8501847677/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8105/8501847677_11bbf44d12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And this is why we should have allowed more time (and maybe taken a helicopter). One week of dragging a sled along a logging road, with a few days in the alpine? Pretty good. Two weeks of pulling a sled through terrain like this, with days off to bag peaks and go skiing? Unbeatable.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8502955306/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="425" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8111/8502955306_e6f5d95949.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We were able to get to a skiiable point just five minutes before the light left. (which meant once again finishing the day with a few hours skinning under starlight)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8501852113/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="395" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8241/8501852113_4e71cbb2cd.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next day we really needed a rest day. It was also mostly cloudy and snowing, so we spent the day almost completing an igloo. Those are hard.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8501855749/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8501855749_9777675b91.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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The day out we decided to go for it. The packs were finally carryable (for the most part). Kick wax and desperation got us through all 35 kilometers and back to the car by 7pm.<br />
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Click <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/sets/72157632836049301/">here</a> for the full album.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8501851239/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Slim Creek 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Slim Creek 2013" height="190" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8092/8501851239_8e337779a4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-20398264991028440722013-01-19T08:54:00.000-08:002013-04-02T08:54:39.194-07:00The North Side Isn't Always BetterIt hasn't snowed in awhile around here. In fact, it's been getting kind of warm. So when we were talking about touring this weekend, trying to find some gorgeous powder runs wasn't even in the picture: not only would they have been tracked out over this past week (terrible, I know), but they would be covered in sun crust and possibly experiencing some wet snow sloughs. Instead, we decided to go tree skiing on the north side of Needle peak, where we would be in safe terrain and have snow that hadn't seen any sun.<br />
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Well. I guess that all the snow on top of the forest sees the sun, gets heated up and mushy, then falls to the forest floor and freezes into death chunks. Within the first 2 minutes of our skin up, it was obvious skiing was pretty much out.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8463480629/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Needle Peak January 19, 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Needle Peak January 19, 2013" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8463480629_3634e04660.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Not to mention the surface hoar that we saw from the parking lot.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8464581802/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Needle Peak January 19, 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Needle Peak January 19, 2013" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8089/8464581802_6ca98ef792.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Wow.<br />
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In any case, we had already driven all the way out there, so we went for a bit of a tour along the ridge. Lots of ideas were generated for future trips when skiing is better.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8464581284/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Needle Peak January 19, 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Needle Peak January 19, 2013" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8094/8464581284_51a8ca07a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Click <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/sets/72157632737720557/">here</a> for the full album.</div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-86170373434339903822013-01-18T22:35:00.000-08:002013-01-18T22:35:59.288-08:00Skate Skiing at NordicThe sun came out today, which hasn't happened in a while. Conditions were gorgeous. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8393431823/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013.01.18 Skate (5) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2013.01.18 Skate (5)" height="478" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8050/8393431823_8ab9190b40.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8394516618/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013.01.18 Skate (6) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2013.01.18 Skate (6)" height="312" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8517/8394516618_380fd5d64a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8393432163/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013.01.18 Skate by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2013.01.18 Skate" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8393432163_1824ea2d58.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-7407578612789300772013-01-14T12:27:00.001-08:002013-01-14T12:41:17.783-08:00Birth of the IcefieldWe spent this past weekend in Vancouver - Caroline went down midweek for a work conference, and her company was good enough to pay my way as well. We figured we could use this as a great excuse to hang out in Vancouver and, more importantly, go to MEC.<br />
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The drive down was slower than normal. I spent 2 hours at the Coquihalla summit looking at this:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8381671150/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Coquihalla Summit by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Coquihalla Summit" height="374" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8190/8381671150_aa7a27f608.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Notice the people who should be on the bus are standing beside the bus. Bad crash I guess. It was too bad I was driving alone - someone could have skiied a run or two. <br />
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In any case, I finally got to Vancouver on the Friday night. Saturday we spent four and a half hours at MEC learning and refining our gear selection. Which was a part in allowing us to finally kickstart planning this Icefield trip for this winter. First step was to assign the reading:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8381671846/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Icefield reading list by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Icefield reading list" height="374" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8515/8381671846_21d5cf6a1e.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Then we figured out our stove setup. This has been a long time in the refining process, but I think we have it nailed. Our next overnight we plan on boiling two pots of water, one with the full set up and one with nothing. Maybe another with half the setup. It should be interesting.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8381673470/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Winter stove by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Winter stove" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8228/8381673470_ca79b5966b.jpg" width="374" /></a></div>
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It boils down to 3 components:<br />
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1) The Base Plate. This is critical, or the stove will melt itself into the snow and fall over, which pretty much ruins your night. There are lots of do-it-yourself systems out there with various types of foam, aluminum foil, plywood, etc. They all seemed pretty complicated, large, and heavy. We found this one at MEC. I have high hopes.<br />
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2) The whatcha-ma-call-it. To trap a lot of the escaping hot air. This is half the weight of the setup, but I think it is very effective. We will test.<br />
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3) The Muffin-Top. Light and effective.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8381672498/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Winter stove by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Winter stove" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8091/8381672498_a8925fd20b.jpg" width="374" /></a></div>
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We also worked on refining our route choice. More on that later. However, while researching various routes I found a bit of a gem in a trip report:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Fyles and Dalgleish went on to the final, tottering pile of
rock which called itself a peak, but seemed hesitant about announcing their
victory. They commenced throwing rocks at the blade like crest of the ridge and
triumphant shouts finally re-echoed their success in knocking over the
unattainable summit. "</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I like their style.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-65070649113420796532013-01-07T12:33:00.000-08:002013-04-02T08:38:06.732-07:00Okanagan Mountain Dog TestWe had a quick (very quick) night out in Okanagan Mountain park this weekend - the idea was to make sure the dog didn't explode spending a night out in the cold, with a very easy escape route if it looked like there was going to be trouble.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8465936326/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013.01.05 - Okanagan Mtn (3) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2013.01.05 - Okanagan Mtn (3)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8101/8465936326_c63241e8f6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was a success. I think the dog may have been more comfortable than we were - as it was only -8 degrees, and we had our full winter tent and -20/-30 bags. Being too hot in the winter is awkward. We also decided that sleds are an absolute must for any multiple night ski trip. Even with the bare minimum for a single night, the weight of our packs focuses most of your attention on your shoulders, rather than where you are.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8464836093/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2013.01.05 - Okanagan Mtn (2) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2013.01.05 - Okanagan Mtn (2)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8464836093_f035e8eebb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-35438164969440366942013-01-01T12:35:00.000-08:002013-04-02T08:47:29.662-07:00New Years on NakNew Years Eve on Nak Peak. We ended up cutting the route short, but the skiing was fantastic. Every time I go out I say it was the best backcountry skiing I ever had, but this time - I really mean it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8464784905/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nak Peak Jan 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Nak Peak Jan 2013" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8094/8464784905_9da876c59e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Dan also managed a spectacular double ejection that I was lucky enough to catch.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8465885404/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nak Peak Jan 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Nak Peak Jan 2013" height="425" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8465885404_8a7e1e57f9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8465889934/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nak Peak Jan 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Nak Peak Jan 2013" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8530/8465889934_c7408bc098.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8464792857/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nak Peak Jan 2013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Nak Peak Jan 2013" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8245/8464792857_b2ae281d0f.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Click<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/sets/72157632741066021/"> here</a> for the full album.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-75465372898158660302012-12-25T22:06:00.001-08:002012-12-25T22:33:00.503-08:00Merry ChristmasChristmas.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308895125/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0985 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0985" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8223/8308895125_114bfb979a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308893049/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0961a by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0961a" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8495/8308893049_a1fe2669c5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8309943298/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0969a by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0969a" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8351/8309943298_2fe5b25009.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/105191378056391330042" target="_blank">+Caroline Reid</a></div>
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Animals everywhere.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8309943746/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0977 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0977" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8352/8309943746_21d02b06da.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308896557/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_1002a by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1002a" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8359/8308896557_ea19871099.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308894467/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0982 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0982" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8217/8308894467_aaa9e3f0fd.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308896129/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" title="DSC_0998 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0998" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8308896129_85e5292f14.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308895643/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0995 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0995" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8221/8308895643_f01bf4e3b0.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-62232543288658070482012-12-18T23:14:00.000-08:002012-12-25T23:14:15.281-08:00First SnowOr at least, the first snow that I think will stick around town for awhile.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8310030660/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.18 Snow (7) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.18 Snow (7)" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8076/8310030660_71b091d310.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308980303/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.18 Snow (5) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.18 Snow (5)" height="395" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8503/8308980303_f3c5e0796a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8308980029/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.18 Snow (6) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.18 Snow (6)" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8212/8308980029_b96472588d.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8310030986/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.18 Snow by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.18 Snow" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8083/8310030986_7bb392f9ec.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-54223018225642311602012-12-16T20:46:00.001-08:002012-12-17T15:57:25.510-08:00Needle TreesHands down, our favourite backcountry ski route is Needle Peak on the Coquihalla. We don't have that many to choose between so far, of course. But it has never let us down. This last weekend Tracey was here to visit Caroline, so I thought it would be a good idea to get out of town. Obviously, Caroline was unavailable. Dan was patrolling. So I sent the following email to Andy:<br />
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Earlier this week, the Coquihalla received approximately a metre and a half of fresh snow.<br />
Read: there is a ___-ton of snow up there.<br />
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Since then, temperatures have remained cold throughout the day.<br />
Read: it is still light and fluffy.<br />
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Snowfall has tapered off, with little expected over the next few days.<br />
Read: avalanche conditions are favourable.<br />
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Caroline cannot make it this weekend.<br />
Read: I have two sets of beacon/probe/shovel available.<br />
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I was thinking of skiing the trees at Needle.<br />
Read: 1. low avalanche risk. 2. it is straight up / straight down, so snowshoes are more than adequate (also available from my store). No splitboard required.<br />
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This doesn't happen very often. Whatever you have planned for Saturday, this will be better.<br />
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Apparently, this was such a convincing argument that two other guys from work came along as well.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8280327042/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.08 Needle (7) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.08 Needle (7)" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/8280327042_7ec4de1547.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
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It turned out that I was right in almost every aspect of that email. I took off my skis at the top, and fell in to my armpits. I have never had snow that deep before. I had also borrowed Mike's AT setup, so instead of trying to learn how to telemark in armpit deep powder, I could ski it normally. Just fantastic.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8280327684/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.08 Needle (2) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.08 Needle (2)" height="422" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8209/8280327684_7ee1fbfc0a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The one aspect that I got wrong was snowshoes being adequate. They were not. With all the postholing and slipping backwards, I think Jake and Andy climbed 5 times the elevation that I did. Next time, with skis or splitboards, we can hopefully do a few more laps.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8279271039/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.08 Needle (10) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.08 Needle (10)" height="422" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8485/8279271039_546852228d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8279271797/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.08 Needle (12) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.08 Needle (12)" height="422" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8488/8279271797_811fdf5e5b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Full set <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/sets/72157632262300147/">here</a>.</div>
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-47826002160856260802012-12-01T22:10:00.000-08:002012-12-01T22:10:13.550-08:00Zoa Peak: A Dog ExperienceWe went to the Coquihalla today for the first ski tour of the season. The weather was pretty dodgy on the way there, but about half a kilometer before our pull off, the snain switched to proper snow. It hovered around zero at the low elevations for the rest of the day, with wet snow off and on. We only had to bootpack for about 50 meters before we could put on our skis, so it was definitely acceptable.<br />
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It was the dog's first ski tour ever. First, he had issues with the rope:</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8236250827/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.01 Zoa (2) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.01 Zoa (2)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8339/8236250827_18fdb1b7ff.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then, he spent the majority of the ascent trying to hitch a ride on our tails:</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8237318656/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.01 Zoa (11) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.01 Zoa (11)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8207/8237318656_a3223dd2de.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And when we finally reached the top, he required a restart:</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8236252083/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.01 Zoa (13) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.01 Zoa (13)" height="395" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8346/8236252083_5bb055e173.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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All in all though, a good way to start the season. I think the dog is hooked.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8237318370/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.01 Zoa (8) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.01 Zoa (8)" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8202/8237318370_835d91de99.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8237319000/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.12.01 Zoa (12) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.12.01 Zoa (12)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8490/8237319000_8e6303aaca.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-16869422726078774812012-11-30T22:10:00.001-08:002012-11-30T22:10:53.599-08:00Back on DirtWe finally dusted off the Mountain bikes two weekends ago and headed up to Kamloops. We had enough snow to make riding in the Kelowna area difficult, but not enough to go skiing - Grasslands Provincial Park it was. <br />
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We also got to ride with Dan, which was nice. Plus he fed us dinner afterwards.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8234425618/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (3) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (3)" height="395" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8234425618_91f5e232b1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This park is what sold me on mountain biking. </div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8233363243/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (4) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (4)" height="395" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8065/8233363243_afe98d60d2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Perfect Singletrack.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8234426192/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (5) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (5)" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8482/8234426192_1bd996e91c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8233363679/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (6) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (6)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8066/8233363679_60ca660c59.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We've come here to ride a few different times. We have ridden two different areas in the park, and both were so good that we have never wanted to risk wasting time by exploring other areas that might not be as good. Of course, they could be better. If that was possible. </div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8233364249/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (9) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (9)" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8341/8233364249_5388058dd4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Kash was never far behind. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8234425402/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (2) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.15 - Kamloops (2)" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8066/8234425402_5a044a7b96.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Unless there were cows to be chased.<br />
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Maybe next year we'll take a long weekend so we can ride our favourite trails and explore some more. It's almost a shame that the season is over.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8234427178/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="2012.11.15 - Kamloops by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.15 - Kamloops" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8208/8234427178_7949e23565.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(50% cow poo)</td></tr>
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-57833122325884499942012-11-11T20:37:00.001-08:002012-11-11T20:37:08.483-08:00Sunday BonkLiving and riding in Vancouver for the last few years, the "off season" has really just meant the wet season. You ride less because you could be skiing instead. Starting today's ride, I was faced with the thought that the Kelowna Off Season might actually force me off my bike. Terrifying.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8177395214/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Untitled by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="478" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8342/8177395214_598b0c653d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Luckily, my bottom bracket and I warmed up. So far it has been the perfect temperature to keep the snow on the hills, but melt everything off of the roads. The original plan was to do the Sunday ride, but no one showed up. Sissies. I decided to ride around the lake, which is something I wanted to try all summer - but the ride did not fit well with training for a Sprint triathlon. I only had one Clif bar and one bottle of water, but on the past few Sunday Rides this has been more than enough. I figured I could make it to Vernon and refuel there before finishing the ride.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8177364923/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Untitled by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="478" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8057/8177364923_c999fdcd77.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good fishing to be had off of log booms.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In hindsight, there were a few problems with this logic:<br />
<br />
- I had eaten a smaller than normal breakfast a few hours before leaving, rather than a large one 10 minutes before the Sunday Ride as usual.<br />
- This route is 50% hillier than the Sunday Ride.<br />
- Vernon is 90km into the route, not the 60 or 70 that I had thought.<br />
- It is really cold out. Apparently that burns calories.<br />
- I have just had almost a month off. Apparently that is not so good for fitness.<br />
<br />
In any case. I have never driven myself into such a deep hole before. The first two hours got me 46 km into the route, at which point I hadn't eaten in an hour and a half, and had already done more climbing than the entire Sunday ride. Things started to go downhill (figuratively only), fast. All I could think about was Mars bars. Baked Lays. Tim Horton's. Gatorade. Many Mars bars at once. At one point I actually caught myself riding with my eyes closed. Things were not looking good.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8177365669/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Untitled by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="478" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8343/8177365669_4c040e348e.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a 140km route looks like. An hour and a half into the ride - and I need to round the far end of this lake.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And then I saw it. The convenience store. I would survive after all.<br />
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<br />
The brown bags are full of Chicken Samosas and Strawberry Turnovers (only 89 cents!). After consuming almost all of that food, including the entire litre of orange juice, I felt a little better. Not perfect though - I had to leave my stuff on the table to go to the bathroom. I was very worried that someone might either steal or poison my remaining bag of candy, so I wrapped it up tight and took special note of exactly how it was sitting on the table. When I got back, the candy was still there - and so was my phone and credit cards, just lying in the middle of the table.<br />
<br />
I ended up deciding that I was too cooked, and there was too little daylight left to finish the loop. Luckily, Caroline was able to pick me up in Vernon, so it was a relatively flat and easy 30 km into town for about 85 km total.<br />
<br />
Next time: bring more food.<br />
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-55780100079108224162012-11-10T22:28:00.000-08:002012-11-10T22:31:50.746-08:00Hiking the BurnOriginal plans for this weekend - our first weekend of freedom - consisted of Mountain Biking locally on Saturday morning, followed by Ski Touring in the Coquihalla on Sunday. <br />
<br />
Well.<br />
<br />
As of last weekend when we drove by, the Coquihalla was under about a foot of water, and yesterday we woke up to six inches of snowfall here at our house. Not the way things normally go, but I'll take some local snow without complaint. We headed to our MTB destination on foot, so we could at least scope it out for springtime.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8174267201/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.10 MB Burn (6) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.10 MB Burn (6)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8061/8174267201_6b43bcabe6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Gorgeous. There is nothing like hiking through a burn after a big early season snowfall. My pictures don't even come close to doing it justice.<br />
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<br />
We saw a large wolf as well. Not pictured.<br />
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<br />
We ended up hiking (slowly) for about two and a half hours, doing a big loop through the park. This was our first time, and we had no map - when we found our way back to the car, it had felt like a pretty long hike. Without knowing anything about the park, I was worried that we had just spent a morning circumnavigating the entire park - it was fun, but if we could do all that in a morning on foot, we were going to run out of mountain bike real estate pretty quickly.<br />
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<br />
Not the case. This is most excellent. We will probably be able to spend all winter here on skis, and as soon as we have skiied it out, we can start exploring all over again on bikes.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8174268451/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.11.10 MB Burn (23) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.11.10 MB Burn (23)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8174268451_96e18de564.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-33225681899825952472012-10-24T12:29:00.000-07:002012-11-05T20:49:28.232-08:00Not Our Best Race<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The title is a pretty
accurate summary. There were no
catastrophic failures like flat tires or getting our goggles kicked off, but
neither of us performed as well as we would have hoped, and the results showed
it.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As an aside, a lot of
people have told us that "we tried our best", and "just getting
there was a victory", etc etc. We
both really appreciate the support, but I disagree. Yes, there has been lots to gain in terms of
life experiences. But we signed up to
race, not to simply participate. Neither
of us were as fast as we could have been - for example, I pre-swam the swim
course two days before the race in 12:30.
Same course on race day, with the advantage of a pack draft, and I came
in at over 14 minutes. A minute and a
half over a twelve minute race is a lot to lose, and I could list out similiar
performance measures for all stages of the race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Now, even with our
best race, neither of us would have won - but we could have done better. I don't plan on sitting around and pouting
about it, but I do think that it makes more sense to look at the race
objectively and possibly find some improvements. Trying to improve is what this type of sport
is all about, and I would much rather take a hard look at what I did and find
some improvement, rather than just write the whole experience off and get the
same result next time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">With the aside aside,
here is my race experience as best as I can recall:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8160080833/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Age Group World Championships by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Age Group World Championships" height="422" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/8160080833_050e40a595.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Support: Cliff and Lori were in New Zealand on their Honeymoon during the race. They took the time to come watch and support us, which was pretty awesome. We also stole the pictures they took.</span><br />
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<br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Swim:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Considering how
competitive this race was, I was expecting a lot more violence and
"accidental" grabbing and maneuvering here. There was almost none, which was really nice
to experience. I swam straighter than I
had in my practice runs, which was also nice.
On the way back, I felt someone on my feet, and had another person just
beside and behind me, which convinced me that I was doing pretty well and was
with the main pack, so I stopped sighting so much and tried to stay with
them. Eventually I looked up, and I
guess everyone I was with had the same thought process - we were way off
course, almost into opposing traffic, and were definitely not with the main
pack. Damn. I spent the rest of the swim being very
conscious of not swimming into any lifeguards as I got back on track.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Transition 1 (Swim to
Bike): <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I came out of the
water knowing I was behind where I wanted to be, and feeling half drowned, as
per usual. I was also surprisingly
thirsty. I knew this transition was a
long one, due to the organizers having to find space for 3000 bikes. Like, seriously really thirsty. What is the deal. In any case, my on the fly strategy was to
make sure I passed at least two people, but other than that not to kill myself
here, so that I didn't fall off my bike when I tried to get on (I have done
this once before). I got to my bike at
the same time as another Canadian four bikes down the rack. He looked me in the eye, paused, and said
"I really ____ing hate swimming". I decided he was my kind of person.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bike:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In the week leading
up to the race, I had practiced all of the hills on the course, and decided
that I could get up all of them about halfway down my cassette in my big
ring. I got to the first hill with this
in mind, and immediately almost passed out.
I think I was in the granny gear by the time I got to the top. This was pretty much all I could think about
until I coughed up a mouthful of phlegm, and then all I could think about was
whether it would be considered unsportsmanlike to spit it out right in front of
the rider behind me. So I am
going to put a bit of blame on being sick the two days leading up to the
race. I also have to admit a bit of a
mental problem here too - normally the bike portion is my strongest, and being
passed here by more than a few people definitely got into my head. It was a really fun course though, and this
was still my strongest placing in the end.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8160120318/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Age Group World Championships by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Age Group World Championships" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/8160120318_eb39513a7c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Transition 2 (Bike to
Run):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">By the time I got my
bike back on the rack, I was thinking that I was going to have to go home and
measure just how long this transition was.
Pretty sure I had already done my run distance at this point.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8160120974/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Age Group World Championships by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Age Group World Championships" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8057/8160120974_457fff46bb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Run:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sometimes, I really ____ing hate
running.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8160084395/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Age Group World Championships by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="Age Group World Championships" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/8160084395_99663c14bf.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So. A few lessons to be learned. Maybe we'll do it again someday, but I think
we will definitely wait for it to come a little closer to home. For now, we have two weeks to explore New
Zealand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And then we will be
home, probably just in time to start ski touring. And I'm going mountain biking. I'm looking forward to it already.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-11815266113190468242012-10-19T22:20:00.000-07:002012-10-19T22:20:26.860-07:00One More Day...and I am super sick. <br />
<br />
I have mixed feelings about writing that, since it sounds like I am already making excuses for a poor performance before I even race. I thought it would be more heroic to just suffer through it, maybe.<br />
<br />
Well. I have been complaining to Caroline all day, and it looks like it will extend to the internet also. It came on incredibly fast last night, and I have basically spent the day in bed. My only hope at this point is that if it comes on fast, it will work its way through my system fast as well, and by tomorrow night I will be feeling OK. Not the ideal race prep, but not really anything I can do about it either.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8104487440/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSCN0626 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSCN0626" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8104487440_6328743042.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Yesterday the swim course was opened up for us to do a practice lap or two, and get used to the water. This was pleasantly surprising - during the aquathlon a few days back it was so wavy and rough that people had to be pulled from the water. The temperatures have been a concern also, with officials only giving a range of 14-16 degrees Celcius. Most people, myself especially so, were pretty worried. But - it turned out to be relatively calm, and the water was almost... refreshing. Definitely wetsuits required, but nothing like Banff which we raced at the beginning of September. The sprint course is below - the two yellow bouys have to be swum around for one lap total. The Olympic course is twice as long, but instead of doing two laps, is just extended to a sort of T shape out in the harbour.<br />
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<br />
<br />
Today Caroline went down to watch the Pro Women's race. They are pretty quick. You should definitely click on the picture below (a few times) to maximise it to see the whole thing. That section of whitewater on the right is them swimming.<br />
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Tomorrow is the Pro Men's race, and then we check our bikes into transition that night. Getting close.</div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-65674014626450121662012-10-18T01:10:00.002-07:002012-10-18T01:10:58.520-07:003 Days Till Race DayThis is our first update from New Zealand. The last few days have gone quickly. The flight(s) over here were painless. We arrived at about noon local time, and got right into the New Zealand timing, so jet lag has been non-existent. Our bikes survived the trip with only minor scratches, so that was a big load off.<br />
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<br />
<br />
The first full day here started with a team bike ride on the race course. Riding on the left side of the road is interesting, and currently terrifying. Especially starting out in downtown Auckland, you don't really have some time to ease into the concept. We have a week to get used to it, and to get to know the course as well as we can. Interestingly though, on race day the course will be run on the right side of the road - so hopefully I can forget what I have just spent a week learning as quickly as possible. The course looks good though. Fast pavement, a good variety of hills, and turny enough that being able to handle a bike well will be a big advantage. The last five or so kilometers are flat and wicked fast back into the downtown transition area, which will be an excellent way to end the bike portion.<br />
<br />
We also discovered an open air, salt water, unheated 60 meter swimming pool within walking distance of the hotel. The unheated and salt water parts are the key parts, because it makes this pool a perfect way for us to transition from swimming in an indoor pool or a warm lake to the cold ocean that we will be racing in. There is also a long stretch of seawall right next to the pool with a running lane. Definitely no complaints about the training facilities that are available.<br />
<br />
Today was a rest day, so we went and checked out the expo and the grandstand area. It's pretty cool being able to race in a race like this, with the full ITU set up. Feels very professional.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8099310696/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0013 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0013" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8468/8099310696_fe577651f1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
And then the athlete parade. Also a very cool experience. According to the MC at the athlete dinner tonight, there are 3001 athletes racing the age group races. Of these, over 600 (20%) are from Australia. Team Canada has just over 300, so at 10% we aren't doing too bad either. There is also 1 athlete from Belgium.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8099297635/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSCN0623 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSCN0623" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8052/8099297635_3baaeaedbf.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I apologize for the crap pictures, by the way. We'll work on it.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-48142987657043643842012-10-11T20:05:00.001-07:002012-10-18T01:15:27.556-07:00World's InfoSo this is it. We leave Kelowna tomorrow morning for Vancouver. We will be staying there until our flight out, later on Sunday night. Then we lose a day of our lives, touchdown in Fiji briefly, and arrive in New Zealand.<br />
<br />
Some general information is below. As we find out more we will update the blog.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Race Times:</u></b> <br />
<br />
Both of our races are on Monday morning, the 22nd of October, New Zealand time. We will be starting in separate waves:<br />
<br />
Matt - starts at 7:03 AM. Hopefully I will finish in 1:15 or less, which puts me in the finish chute around 8:15 AM. (that equates to Sunday in Canada. 11:03AM start / 12:15PM finish PDT, or 2:03PM start / 3:15PM finish EDT)<br />
Caroline - starts at 8:45 AM. Caroline's target is 2:30 or less, which puts her in the finish chute around 11:15 AM. (that equates to Sunday in Canada. 12:45PM start / 3:15PM finish PDT, or 3:45PM start / 6:15PM finish EDT)<br />
<br />
Please don't ask me to do those time changes again. You may want to check my numbers.<br />
<br />
You can find the starting list <a href="http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102654456817-393/AG_OlympicSprint_Wave_StartsAKL2012.pdf">here</a>. Notice that for the 80+ year old males in the sprint distance, all they have to do is finish to get a medal. The 75 year old woman is guaranteed gold. Not a bad way to go into the race.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Race Numbers:</u></b><br />
<br />
Matt - 1148<br />
Caroline - 4135<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Course Maps:</u></b><br />
<br />
Follow the links below:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://auckland.triathlon.org/athlete_info/age_group/course_maps/">Sprint Course Maps</a> (Matt)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://auckland.triathlon.org/athlete_info/age_group/olympic_distance_course_map/">Olympic Course Maps</a> (Caroline)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Live Streaming</u></b>:<br />
<br />
We were directed to <a href="http://auckland.triathlon.org/athlete_info/other_info/coveragestreaming/">this link</a> for live streaming information. It appears that there will be live streaming video of the finish line, as well as commentary and results. Can't guarantee anything, but it's worth a shot.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-38757888582792444072012-09-25T13:15:00.001-07:002012-09-25T13:15:08.967-07:005 Weeks To GoOne of our loyal readers has commented that we have not been putting up the weekly mileage counts anymore. This was because they seemed interesting at first, but then... not so much. The comparison though, might be a little interesting.<br />
<br />
Our first full week back after the new year:<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<b>(T-41 weeks</b> and counting until New Zealand)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th width="100"></th>
<th width="75">Matt</th>
<th width="75">Caroline</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Swim</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sessions</td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (m)</td>
<td><center>1000</center></td>
<td><center>1500</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Bike</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (km)</td>
<td><center>65</center></td>
<td><center>15</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Elevation (m)</td>
<td><center>548</center></td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Run</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sessions</td>
<td><center>2</center></td>
<td><center>2</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (km)</td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
<td><center>7</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Cross Training</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center></center></td>
<td><center></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (km)</td>
<td><center>23</center></td>
<td><center>24</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Elevation (m)</td>
<td><center>1200</center></td>
<td><center>1300</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Descent (m)</td>
<td><center></center></td>
<td><center></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Total Hours</b></td>
<td><center>5</center></td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div><br />
<br />
Last week:<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<b>(T-5 weeks</b> and counting until New Zealand)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th width="100"></th>
<th width="75">Matt</th>
<th width="75">Caroline</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Swim</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sessions</td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (m)</td>
<td><center>5200</center></td>
<td><center>5600</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Bike</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center>6.5</center></td>
<td><center>4.5</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (km)</td>
<td><center>164</center></td>
<td><center>110</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Elevation (m)</td>
<td><center>2240</center></td>
<td><center>1500</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Run</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sessions</td>
<td><center>3</center></td>
<td><center>1</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (km)</td>
<td><center>13.5</center></td>
<td><center>4</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Cross Training</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hours</td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Distance (km)</td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Elevation (m)</td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Descent (m)</td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
<td><center>0</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Total Hours</b></td>
<td><center>12.5</center></td>
<td><center>8</center></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div><br />
<br />
Wow. This is how people get hooked on triathlons. Every year you look back and think about how much more you could have done.<br />
<br />
Things seem to be coming together really well right now. We are both as fast as we were hoping to be on our bikes, and keep getting a little bit faster every time. My knees have not stopped me in any of my workouts for the past month, which is fantastic - yesterday I ran more cumulative distance than I have in two and a half years. And we may have just made a change to both of our swimming styles which could shave big chunks of time off...we will test later this week. All that is left to do is not get injured.<br />
<br />
Speaking of not getting injured, here is last week's Sunday ride track:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="548" src="http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/226247690" width="465"></iframe><br />
And here it is with notes:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8024344495/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="untitled by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="untitled" height="374" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/8024344495_2eabee2e66.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I was out front of the crash, but Caroline narrowly avoided a pileup by riding up into an orchard. 5 people went down. No serious injuries, but we definitely do not need another one of those right now, so we decided that as of that moment, we would not be doing any more group rides this season. Then half an hour later, I rode by a man waving a walking stick at me. That was strange, but stranger was having to stop 50 metres later to let a black bear mosey across the road. <br />
<br />
Two and a half more weeks in Kelowna. One week in Auckland. Then we are done. Let's hope the bears hold off.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-73890363823774972212012-09-21T22:13:00.000-07:002012-09-21T22:13:20.045-07:00Bowron LakesAfter the Apple Triathlon, I took a week off. There were a few options for the trip - riding my bike up the Icefields Parkway, a mountaineering trip in the Purcells with Tom, mountain biking all the must-do trails in the Interior... but when I actually thought about all of those, none of them were actually a week "off", considering the training load we have been under. Spending a week canoeing the Bowron lakes circuit, on the other hand, sounded like exactly the opposite of triathlons. I could even get a tan.<br />
<div>
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<div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/sets/72157631592083677/">Clicking here will take you to the full album.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8010585283/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.08.22 - Bowron (36) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.08.22 - Bowron (36)" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/8010585283_446ac77b47.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Or maybe not so much of a tan. Day One started out as on and off drizzle all day. Day Two it rained harder, and got can't-hold-this-enormous-canoe-straight-stormy to boot by lunchtime. </div>
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But then it started to clear. And it was all worth it.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8010590284/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.08.22 - Bowron (29) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.08.22 - Bowron (29)" height="421" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/8010590284_1c76616c78.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Other definite highlights of the trip: being able to pack whatever I wanted for food and not worry about weight, being able to use wheels on the portages, and one of my better encounters with a moose cow and calf.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8010589662/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.08.22 - Bowron (25) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.08.22 - Bowron (25)" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/8010589662_5e4b257783.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8010588457/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.08.22 - Bowron (65) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.08.22 - Bowron (65)" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8010588457_2f2f1bc7fa.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8010588145/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.08.22 - Bowron (63) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.08.22 - Bowron (63)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/8010588145_301c9df483.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the end, it was 105 km of paddling, 11 km of portages (with wheels, mind you) in 15 minutes shy of 4 days (3 full days and two half days). If it had been warmer and I hadn't been alone, I think a week would be very comfortable. </div>
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There was also a short section of Class 1 river, which reminded me just how much fun river trips are. Scheming for next year has already started.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/8010583821/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012.08.22 - Bowron (22) by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="2012.08.22 - Bowron (22)" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8010583821_01c92d8684.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-35108162308865114942012-09-17T14:08:00.000-07:002012-09-17T14:08:15.287-07:00CRASH! (again) Have you heard of Strava? It is the Facebook for bike riding, essentially. A lot of people ride with a GPS enabled computer (or at least carry a smartphone), which means you after your ride you can upload your history to Strava. You can then see how you did compared to other people on the same sections ("segments") of the ride. This allows you to compete even when you are alone. And if you pay an entry fee, they will let you filter the results down by age, weight, skill level, whether the sun was out, what you had for breakfast, etc - so everyone can be a winner.<br />
<br />
In any case, Strava is just catching on in the Okanagan. Caroline is also quite quick on her bike, and the combination has resulted in about 150 QOM results (Queen of Mountain, or the fastest girl on a segment). Unfortunately, a slightly faster girl recently took away a few of Caroline's QOM's. This could not be allowed to stand, so on this weeks Sunday Ride, we tried to get them back. The game plan was for me to pace Caroline up the sections of steady incline. This we also expected to get the group as a whole moving faster as they chased me down, which would create a nice big draft to help Caroline along. <br />
<br />
This is not cheating, by the way. Everyone does it.<br />
<br />
The game plan was NOT for Caroline to rub wheels with me, which would likely send her off the side of the road and into a manicured rock garden. This would be a bad plan because her front wheel would likely dig in, and if that happened, she would probably go over the bars and take most of the impact with her shoulder on a big rock.<br />
<br />
Evidently, we need to review game plans in more detail.<br />
<br />
(it is unfortunate we are not in America. I hear that people down there are currently suing Strava for essentially "making them go too fast" when they are pursuing KOM's, which has resulted in injuries when they then fall off of their bikes. It seems logical to blame Strava to me, too)<br />
<br />
It took a few minutes of recovery, but she is fine. She ended up riding another 20km before heading home, so it can't be that bad.<br />
<br />
The upside to riding with a computer to chase QOM's is being able to watch your heart rate as you crash your bike:<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/7997442767/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="heartrate by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="heartrate" height="409" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/7997442767_5b3b06d254_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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One guess as to where the crash happened. Kind of scary, huh?<br />
<br />
Normally, my first priority would have been to take a picture of the accident scene. Unfortunately, the whole group stopped to make sure she was OK, which made me feel that taking out a phone would have been a little crass. The best we can do is a picture of the most affected arm on the day after:<br />
<br />
<center>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/62215116@N06/7997063749/"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/7997063749_864a4d2fb0_o.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="298" /></a></center>
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(if that isn't a beautifully composed picture, I don't know what is)</div>
<br />
All in all, it turned out to be a fairly eventful and busy weekend. Meanwhile, people on the internet were also having busy weekends (and creating interesting juxtapositions at the same time):<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/7997195344/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="7997063899_b058a1b2e2_b by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="7997063899_b058a1b2e2_b" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7997195344_03d1de9a10_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-65180460198331155462012-09-09T21:52:00.001-07:002012-09-09T21:52:42.324-07:00Commuting by Bicycle in Vancouver: By The Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/7968597032/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0682 by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0682" height="425" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/7968597032_ec611d0d29_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We have too many bikes.<br />
<br />
I think everyone who has ever come into our apartments or house has said something to this effect. I confess that the thought has also crossed my mind from time to time, like when I had to move two bikes out of the bathtub before I could turn the water on.<br />
<br />
As a defense against these errant sacrilegious thoughts, I started a spreadsheet to record all of the mileage that we have put on each bike, as well as how much we paid for them. Using a rough average speed for each bike, I came up with a $/hour amount - the idea being that most entertainment is about $10 / hour (a movie will cost about $20 and entertains you for 2 hours, bowling is about $10 per hour, hanging out in a bar is probably at least $10 per hour over the course of the night, etc). So, if we rode each bike enough that it cost less than $10 per hour of riding, they were justified.<br />
<br />
But I digress. This data also can be applied to come up with a cost of commuting by bicycle. I spent close to 2 years living in downtown Vancouver, commuting by bike most days to Burnaby. I believe this is long enough to be a dependable average, so here are the numbers:<br />
<br />
<b>Bike: Redline 925</b><br />
<br />
<b>Total Mileage: 4,628 km</b><br />
<br />
Purchase Price: $650<br />
Maintenance: new rear tire, new tube, chain lube, new bike computer, brake pad sets x2<br />
Maintenance Cost: ~$100<br />
Accessories: Panniers (bought on Craigslist)<br />
Accessories cost: sold on Craigslist for same as purchase price<br />
Bike Re-sold for: $200<br />
Total Cost: $550<br />
<br />
<b>$/km: 0.12</b><br />
<br />
The commute is 9km each way, and took between 25-30 mins by bike. Total "cost" for the day would therefore be ~$2.16.<br />
<br />
Public transit meant walking to the skytrain, and then travelling through 2 zones. The average time by skytrain was 35 minutes. This would cost $3.75 x 2 = $7.50, or with a <a href="http://www.translink.ca/en/Fares-and-Passes/Monthly-Pass.aspx">monthly pass</a> (assuming 21 working days a month), would be $5.23.<br />
<br />
So a quick summary (per day of work):<br />
<br />
<i><b>Public Transit:</b></i><br />
$5.23<br />
1 hour 10 minutes commute time<br />
Time to read the paper / sharing the train with hobos<br />
<br />
<i><b>Bicycle:</b></i><br />
$2.16<br />
50 minutes commute time<br />
Daily exercise / sometimes you get wet<br />
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Don't even get me started on cars.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-2420108033985269492012-08-12T07:43:00.001-07:002012-08-12T07:43:17.598-07:00Bike Build 1.0We've been slowly clawing back some order into our lives this past month. I think it has been a combination of finishing all the must-do jobs to the house, settling in to and finding some efficiency in the training schedule, and a few weekends off. But in any case, yesterday I was finally able to spend some time on some old projects.<br />
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Enjoy.<br />
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Thanks to Tom for finding the music.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wHVHNywyJHs" width="640"></iframe>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034344871816323956.post-66087776077066832102012-08-01T20:24:00.000-07:002012-08-03T07:42:44.430-07:00More Media ExposureI would like to suggest that all 2 of the readers of this blog go and check out the website for a certain bike store in Squamish/Brackendale, BC - Republic Bicycles. The front page, in particular:<br />
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<a href="http://riderepublic.wordpress.com/">Republic Bicycles</a>
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Recognize the guy on the bike? That's right.<br />
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If you are reading this long enough after the fact, hopefully <a href="http://riderepublic.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/awesomeness-2/">this link to the article</a> still works.<br />
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The photo is from our trip to Moab last fall, by the way. Hopefully some day we will finally finish the album and post it here.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leftcoastaction/7688700328/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC_0307a by Left Coast ACTion, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0307a" height="344" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7688700328_46a226a9c2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05386793062277293365noreply@blogger.com0