Twice on the podium in one week

I spend a lot of time on my bike. Last week saw me hit 15 road bike races in 2013 but until Thursday, no podium places.

But at last - a third place in the Thursday night criterion!

I was sitting about fifth wheel coming into the finishing straight and then sprinted as hard as I could. It paid off with me less than a bikes length off first place.  

Here's a shot of me leading the pack in the week before (I didn't make the podium that week because I spent too long on the front pulling the group).

In case you don't know what a criterion is, it involves about 30-45 minutes of riding around in circles at maximum intensity. In this case it's around an industrial estate on Thursday evenings.

To top it off Thursday's success was followed by a third place in the Aldergrove Road Race on Sunday. 

This was an 80km Road Race with a fairly long hill. It was an 8km course that we rode around 10 times. On the final lap a couple of guys crashed on the hill next to me, causing chaos in the pack. I had to sprint to get back with the guys up the road and then held on for the next couple of kilometres. As we came to the final short steep rise before the finish I saw my chance and wove through the middle of the pack to get onto a friend's wheel. We both sprinted as hard as we could, with him taking second place and me third. I was absolutely elated, I couldn't even keep up with the pack in the road races at the start of the season.

Watch this space as next time I'm going for the win!

David

Friday night picnic

What better way to spend a Friday evening than with a picnic on the beach?

The sun is shining in Vancouver so it's a great excuse for us to put our new picnic blanket and case (wedding presents - thank you) to good use.

Yes we cycled to the beach (what other mode of transport would we consider?)

We scoffed delicious cheese, ham, french bread and raspberries. Delicious. Happy days.

CS/G

Cypress hike - ridge walk

Sunday afternoon...and time for our next Vancouver hike.

This time we did five hours along the Cypress ridge route, towards Lions Bay.

It was a good hike - varied and challenging terrain. Here are some pictures:

CS/G

Whiterock race

David, and his cycling buddy, Cameron had signed up to a Cat 3/4 (technical cycling talk) race as part of a series of races in Whiterock.

Having not been to Whiterock before, I agreed to be the dedicated supporter and cheer them on.

It was a fun race - and while neither David nor Cameron won, it was fun to watch and see the pro race later on.

We also did a mini walking tour of Whiterock. It's a pretty seaside area - and it was clearly a hit with the tourists.

Here are some photos from the race:

CS/G

Stateside to Portlandia

This weekend 'Canada Day' was celebrated all around British Columbia...which means a long-weekend for all Canadians (hurrah!).

 

We celebrated Canada Day by heading to the States (there is some irony in that). We went to Portland, or Portlandia as it has been re-branded following the popular TV show (love that program).

 

Our adventure started on Friday evening when we boldly drove over the border having not booked a campsite. We've done this before, and undoubtedly we'll do it again: the campsite was closed when we arrived (it was almost midnight) so we found a quiet spot with a pretty view & slept in the back of our car. 

 

On Saturday morning, we had a sleepy ride down to Portland, and we stopped off at a wildlife sanctuary on route. We saw a snake, which was cool: we got eaten alive by mosquitoes & attacked by stinging nettles, not so cool. 

 

Portland was awesome & lived up to its reputation. Very hippy-ish & relaxed. The sun was shining & the cyclists that Portland is known for were out in droves. We joined them, jumped on our bikes & toured the city.

 

It was an excellent ride, other than me flying over my handle bars & landing on my face. It has been a while since I rode. I'd forgotten the strength of my front breaks.

 

We took the time to visit Powells, Portland's famous & huge bookshop. It was an awesome place, and somewhat overwhelming even for a bookworm like me. We also enjoyed coffee & watching the world go by.

We later spotted a cycling museum. It would have been rude not to visit. David was in his element:

 

The second half of our trip was spent in Cannon Beach, a stunning area with many surf spots. We stayed at two camp sites, one called Wrights for Camping, which was awesome (yes, that's the correct spelling).

 

The beaches were also stunning. My favourite was Short Sands beach, set in a cove surrounded by forest, that's a ten minute walk from the main road. I'd go as far as to say it's competing for my best beach spot ever. Here are some photos:

We also tried out Indian Beach in Ecola State Park. It was another great place, but for me, Short Sands won the day.

 

There are few places we'd go back for a second time. However Portland & Cannon Beach both make the list as destinations requiring a repeat visit.

 

An excellent start to our summer adventures. We even made it back to Vancouver in time to see the Canada Day fireworks in town, which was a treat.

 

CS/G