Good news bad news good news...

The Good News...

The weather has been stellar in Vancouver recently which has been welcome change from the crap weather we've been having nearly the whole spring so far. Last year I had been out climbing in Squamish more times by the end of the first weekend in March than I have in total so far this year...AHHH!!?! But, not to worry since this trend is rapidly changing for the better. Last week I was climbing for 4 of the 5 weeknights...ahhhhh, that's better!

So on Wednesday the 14th I made my first midweek trip up to Squamish with my good friend Scott Tasaka who has recently moved back to the Promised Land, where he grew up. We went up with a penchant for an evening of bouldering and since Scott's itinerary was wide open void of any active projects, he graciously let me drive the program. After a speedy and efficient warm-up, we hit my current project Defender of the Faith with the hopes that we would find a few extra pads under the Gibb's Cave boulder. Unfortunately the trusty Squamish locals that seem to store their pads there in teh spring weren't so trustworthy that day as there were no pads in sight. Bummer! I wasn't comfortable really going for it with only 2 pads so we quickly went with the back-up plan of going to try Velcro, V10 since it was another problem I was interested in trying some more as I had spent a few tries on it previously and thought it both looked awesome, and would climb awesome if I could ever unlock the moves.

Long story short, we posted up and the holds felt considerably worse than the previous time I had tried it; prognosis, bad. However, we both kept trying and we warmed up and eventually the holds felt a bit better and we were coming close to pulling onto the problem (har har, I know that sounds funny but it's probably the 2nd most difficult part). After another while of resting and revising foot beta, I completely surprised myself by actually touching the 2nd hold?! I yelped with delight and told Scott who got super excited and promptly announced the I was going to send it tonight and we weren't leaving until I did. Well apparently Scott can tell the future because after a short rest, I yarded on the starting holds and connected with the crimp in a fashion that said "what's the big deal?". It felt soooo good I couldn't believe it! After sketching a little on the topout, I managed to pull over the top with Scott's encouragement ringing loud in my head. Awesome!!! First project of 2010 down and by grade supposedly the hardest one on my list, however I know that Defender is (at least feels) much harder for me.

The Bad News...

Friday April 16th sometime between 7pm and 9:45pm my SX Trail got stolen off of our 3rd floor balcony. I think the most disconcerting thing about it for me is that it was definitely premeditated and the wanker had watched to see that my bike was out there, and then watched for us to leave for dinner. I really really wish we had come home and caught him stealing it...he would have been back on the ground floor very quickly, minus my bike.

The Good News...

The next day I went for an XC ride in Squamish with Martin and afterward we stopped by Corsa Cycles where my friend Adam works. I know Adam from back in Ontario where he distinguished himself as one the stronger climbers in Ontario at the time by putting up and repeating some of the hardest problems at the Niagara Glen. Anyways, I recited my tale to Adam and he was apologetic as any good bike enthusiast would be; however, he shared an interesting bit of information with me. Apparently about an hour before I had walked into the shop, another fellow had traded in his '08 SX TRail 2 for a road bike and Corsa was going to sell the SX as a used bike at a reasonable price. After checking with our insurance company, I called Adam tonight to tell him I'll bring up a deposit to hold the bike until the insurance money comes in. Nothing's set in stone but as of now it looks hopeful that I'll have my beloved SX Trail back very soon! Not the one that I rode with so much excitement as it introduced me to the legendary trails on the Northshore and the Whistler Bike Park, but an SX Trail nonetheless and with good fortune it will take me on many more adventures. The SX Trail saga continues!

So that makes twice as much good news as bad news...I can handle that. This was also a good test for me to not sweat the small stuff in life and I think I passed with flying colours.

Ciao amicos!

Fromme Fever!!

I got out last Thursday and Friday on Mt. Fromme for some good DH riding and it was awesome! I've only been out a handful of times but I already feel as good as when I left off last year I think. I rode Ladies Only which has seen a ton of work done on it (thanks to Digger I heard) and then posted some laps on Bobsled, Floppy Bunny and Natural High as well as a new trail I found which is awesome! It's quite simple but in stark contrast to the more worn in trails it's all dirt and very flowy. It was pretty wet but when things dry out a bit it's going be a sweet-ass speed run to rip down and practice keeping speed through corners...FUN!!! It also has a rad looking drop on it that I'm trying to work up the courage to hit...it's about 6 ft down and you need to clear at least 6 ft of flat to make the tranny; not huge by any means but big enough for this youngster to think twice...ha ha.

Last Saturday I did an epic 5 hr XC ride up in Squamish that ranks among the best I've ever done with Martin. It was so amazing...we rode all new trails (for us) and our cheshire cat grins were still showing clear by the time we hit the car again in the late afternoon. Amazing day!

Sunday I wanted more so I arranged with my friend Scott Tasaka to hook up and do some climbing together since we haven't gotten together since he's moved back to Vancouver after a hiatus from living out here and being in Ontario where we originally met. It was amazing. The conditions, the problems and the atmosphere at the Hatchery were second to none and we thoroughly enjoyed a great day of climbing. I ended up doing a few classics which included Tai-Fighter V4, Phantom Menace V6 and G-Force Accelerator V8...all incredible problems that I would highly recommend!

Last night I got out to so some sport climbing in Lynn Valley wiht Markezzy and it was super fun...we only managed to get 3 routes in each before we had to beat the closing gate that would lock us in but still a great evening pulling on fun routes.

Tomorrow night is SQUAMISH with Scott again and I'm hoping to put in another effort on Defender of the Faith...not too sure what to expect but if everything lines up...I think you know what I'm thinking!

Will post an update Thursday about tomorrow's sesh.

Ciao for now!