Training Log Archive: 'Bent

Raid the Rib with Tarno and MsGally.
Fairly complex format with 4 maps. There was an unmapped start loop, then mandatory numbered controls. Off of the mian spine there were some sections that needed to be done together, some that you could get any time, some dog-bones, some white-out sections of the map, some with no veg mapped etc.

We got a little messed up on the crowded white-out section at the start, and decided to do the S section with long challenging nav. We only saw 1 other team and Tarno nailed it, then we spiked the controls we had left earlier. By the time we finished the first 2 maps it looked like we could maybe clean the course as we were working well together. The next 2 maps were simpler, but one CP involved a long and numbingly-cold wade to an island.

There was a fair bit of climbing up and down the escarpment, and some slippery scrambling down near-cliffs, of course. We got to the final dog-bone hill climbs, and were about to head for the last remote CP when we made the call to drop it as it might have been tight.

We finished up with a campus sprint section, with about 17 min to spare, so it would have been very tight. Only 1 all male team had cleared the course in the 5 hour limit. We were 2nd overall.

Great to race with MsGally again, who kept up no problem. Tarno was a beast and very solid on the compass, and we work well together. This was a really fun race, and I was sorry I had to split before the awards etc.

C • well done! 2

Run with the boys.

AR paddle training session. DD-on-11 organized coaching with Adam Van Kayak!

Cold and very windy, but I was toasty in a paddling dry suit, other than chilly fingers and toes. Good to be out, and I got a few good tips. Nobody fell in.

Rehab and a little lumberjack work- hauled 1 load.

Quick dash to work with AD after an appointment, then a dash back before a meeting.

So much driving the last few days.

Commute + singletrack with the big boy. Singletrack is drier than the main doubletrack right now.

Doubletrack home, with a zone 5 sprint to keep up with the big guy when 2 deer crossed our path.

Wow, mostly dry trails and warm sunny weather! Commute with AD, who got to wrestle with Crash’s dogs too.

Rehab

Another soggy one with the boys.

Couple of hours splitting wood. Hauled 1 load of birch up from the driveway, but the rest of the yard is too soft for hauling.

Took the boys out for a soggy but much-needed run.

Part of workout 1 and rehab.

2-dog run in to work. Quick dash home for a rapid transition before dropping the boys off at STORM HQ while I made an overnight trip to Brantford.

Commute with the big guy in snow in the morning, mud in the afternoon.

Run with the dogs before it gets too nasty out.

Workout 1, rehab and kb.

Another load of wood hauled out of the bush and split.

Forks of the Credit with Goose and AD.
Lovely sunny day out, and mostly dry trails except for some melting ice and mud in the shade. Heard spring peepers, saw a Garter snake.
AD got to visit Pops after, then a nice dinner at the Goosenest / Chez LD.

Sedona MTB- The Movie.
Best viewed in full screen on Vimeo.



https://vimeo.com/330764702/512abbe7d3

C • Video 2

We we went to the Bell Rock area and rode Slim Shady and other trails around Cathedral Rock. Once again, amazing scenery and great riding, but Bash got bad family medical news from home, so we knew we’d have to cancel the rest of our trip, so our hearts weren’t really in it.

The bike worked well on this trip, and I never took any falls.
My only bike issue was a leaky rear shock, which had been recently rebuilt. Back to the shop with it.

C • Pics added 4

Mescal Trail and Chuckwagon- pics on Bash’s log.

We’d heard good things about this trail and it didn’t disappoint. Generally very rideable other than a few spots, and spectacular scenery.



Epic clouds and cool temps, with some pellets of Graupel pinging us here and there.

In taper mode, so we stopped to chat a bit with the inevitable ‘bent-curious riders and other tourists, and I got some good GoPro footage from a few different POVs. The scenery was amazing around every turn.

Off to Creekside for coffee and live music with a view after. We saw folks walking around town wearing a vest, down jacket, toque and a buff.

Nice drive up to Flagstaff through the amazing Oak Creek canyon. We’d hoped to get used to the elevation a bit, at 2300m or so.
Blasting winds dusted us throughly as we set up, but riding around the Campbell mesa was nice and flowy.

C • great pics! 2

Hike/jog around Chimney Rock.
We’d planned to hike a mountain near Flagstaff, but howling winds cancelled that.

Spectacular views and good light were a chance to test the new GoPro’s still photo mode.

Nice ride in a different area today. Pics on Bash’s log. We went up to the Soldier’s Pass area, and rode the Adobe Jack trails. A bit of slickrock riding, lots of nice flow, and also more trails rated Advanced than yesterday. Lots of dropping in and out of dry river washes, with lumpy exits or hairpins had me off the bike a bit more.
Jaw-dropping scenery and tons of good trails once again.

Afternoon hike on the trails near the airport area, with spectacular sunset views of Bell, Courthouse and Cathedral Buttes. Would have been rough riding.

Excellent Sedona ride with Bash. See her log for pics. The plan is not to break ourselves before the Whisky Basin Ultra next weekend.
We ended up riding from our door out to the Aerie/Cockscomb loop.
Very rideable trails with fantastic scenery. So happy to be on my ‘bent here rather than pounding my neck and white-knuckling descents on a rental.
We did mostly cruisy intermediate trails today, but finished up with 2-fence which was harder, and I ended up hiking the bike up out of steep sandy riverbeds a fair bit, (which almost everyone does on this trail, according to the guide)

I guess nobody’s ever seen an MTBent here before, so lots of stops.
Unfortunately my gopro case broke, so no video for a few days until Amazon delivers.

We arrived in Sedona, about 12 hours door to door.
I was worried about my ‘bent-in-a-box as I had to open and unpack it at security with only a pair of scissors, then retape it, but it arrived Ok.
My box looked very old-school compared with all the fancy travel bike cases.


Here’s the disassembled bike without the wheels:


We had time for a hike up Sugarloaf peak, right from our door.








Mexican dinner, 1 surprisingly strong Margarita, and asleep before 9.

Spent a few more hours heaving, hauling, splitting and stacking a whack of wood.

Also did some rehab after.

Nice run in on hard frozen ice and ground with the big boy on his free-range setup. He was excellent both ways.

Gusty winds out there, so I spent time putting the 'bent in a box for Arizona. Very tight fit for the newer bike- ugh.

I hauled and split another big load of wood, nice dry Beech for 2020.

Slushy run with the big boy.

Looked ski-able out there, but the big gu and I had to skirt Lake Palgrave West where the trail is massively flooded, and open areas are actually sparse nearer to town.

Took a longer way home.