Supersonic Seattle

This weekend Carla and I made the short road trip down to Seattle to visit my brother Max and his lovely wife Rosie. Shortlisted for the weekend plans were a Saturday morning road race (to be my first ever), a Sunday road ride around Mercer Island and in between pedalling around like maniacs, we wanted to fit in some good quality Italian cuisine.

I'm happy to report that we handily accomplished all we set out to, and it was an awesome weekend. Cam ended up doing really well in the race, ducking into the top ten with a 9th place finish, even after getting held up in a crash with about 5 km to go. Not being as familiar with crash protocol, I ended up losing a bit more time so my race was pretty much over after that. Nonetheless it was a great experience in learning that positioning and timing is everything in a race like that.

After the race we enjoyed a relaxing walk down to Pike's Place market in the beautiful weather.

Sunday morning we got up and decided to do the Mwercer Island circuit on our bikes which was amazing...the ladies joined up for the first loop and hten Sahft and I slotted into a paceline and started driving the Island Locomotive. It was so fun to just bury your head and fly through the twists and turns knowing that your teammate will pull through at just the right time to prevent your legs from exploding...AWESOME!!!

Following the ride we enjoyed a quesadilla lunch before heading home to Vancouver Sunday evening. All in all a superb weekend road trip made even sweeter by hanging out with Shaft and Rosie again! Thanks for having us guys...

RAS Update #2

After over 16 hours of gruelling racing, including riding straight through the night, our man Johnny Markez has been forced to withdraw from the race, being too tired to continue.

I don't even want to know what his body feels like if Markezzy is saying he's too tired to ride.

This man is the epitomy of physical and mental toughness. A month or two ago on a ride we were talking about this race and in John's classic understated style he mentioned with a mischievious grin on his face that he simply wanted to go over there and give the big dogs something to think about...AWESOME! Johnny we salute you and your great ride in the RAS 2009!

This photo says it all:

John Markez crushing snails and chasing down Jure Robic in RAS 2009

RAS Update

A direct quote from website for DOS-RAS Extreme after just over 8 hours of racing:

"John Markez is holding on surprisingly well and is behind Robic. Baloh is behind Slovenian/Canadian Markez."

Nice work Johnny!!!!

John "The Machine" Markez

John Markez is a certified machine...he entered the 2009 RAS (Race Around Slovenia) as a last minute decision after encountering numerous logistical setbacks; and yet after almost 8 hours of racing is currently in 2nd place on the road. The only person in front of him is fellow Slovenian (and family friend) Jure Robic who just happens to have won the RAAM (Race Across America) no less than four times (2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008).

Markezzy is the most humble, generous person I know and can also suffer on a bike better than anyone I know.

John Markez is a certified machine.

Good luck over the next forty-some-odd hours Markezzy...ride safe, ride strong, sleep is overrated and we're rooting for you like crazy dude!

Trail Building, XC MTB Racing and NEW BIKE DAY!!!

Ok, sorry I ahven't posted anything since last Saturday but I've been a bit busy lately...Sunday we did a short ride on Mt. Fromme as my first ride on the Shore of 2009; super fun...a little shaky at first but super fun!

Monday, Sizzle dragged me out to Whytecliff on our road bikes and to our sur surprise we beat the rain and snuck home dry.

Tuesday morning I drove up to Squamish to fulfill my 2 days of trail building obligations in order to gain entrance into the 2009 Test of Metal mountin bike race. Although the trail we were constructing wasn't built exactly as I would have done if I were directing it, it was still an interesting experience and nice to be out in the fresh air all day for both Tuesday and Wednesday. As another plus, I got to hammer out two awesome XC rides up there after work both days. Tuesday after work I rode a trail called Meet yer Maker and then a whole bunch of the Test course, followed by Wednesday when I went and rode this new trail called Word of Mouth, and although my lack of front brakes slightly took away from the experience, it was still mind-numbing! The quality of trails in Squamish is insane...

And this brings us to today...NEW BIKE DAY!!! I am now the (extremely) proud new owner of a 2009 Specialized Tarmac road bike after a shining 8 year career on the Highlighter (Neon yellow, 2000 Giant TCR2) which is now being put into semi-retirement and shall be listed next week on Craigslist Vancouver if you're in the market for a used road bike.

This weekend holds a visit to Seattle to see the big Shaft and his lovely wife Rosie. Also exciting is that my inaugural ride on my new bike is also going to be my debut road racing right alongside my main Max! BaBOOM! Let's get in some breaks Max and string it out...WooooHOO!

The Reason...

Today we confirmed yet another reason why the real estate costs what it does in Vancouver...it's proximity to the Sunshine Coast and the amazing single track there!

This morning came fast and I was up at 5:00am in order the catch the Bookbinder Bullet Train that was headed to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal and then onto the Sunshine Coast for a day of gorging on some legendary "swoopy" trails. Churchy is now an expert on the definition of swoop so if you're not familiar with it, check with him next time you run into him on the trails.

The train left on time, we made the ferry and by 8:30 we were directed by our sleepy celebrity guide into the parking pullout at the trailhead. Our group was eight strong and chocked full of talent including Stu, Churchy, Sean "the snowman", Mart, Erik, Chuck and Megan.

After Stuey outsmarted Erik's attempt to sideline several members of the team (including himself) by locking the bikes (including his) to his rack and throwing away the key, we were sorted and ready to sink our teeth into the platter.

We began by climbing up an amazing trail that we would later descend like heat seaking missiles...amazing! On our way up the logging roads we had a chance to inspect some of the woodwork that was featured in Ben Boyko's section from the film Kranked 6...unbelievable.

After The Snowman took us on a great adventure through the Athabasca Icefields and we made it back to more a temperate environment, we decided that it would be best to launch into some of the local DH trails (much to Churchy's delight, who was by now showing the intial signs of depression from not having taken his prescribed dose of gap jumps for the day yet).

The train took off and over the rattling of chains and wheels, you could hear about 8 different voices hooting and hollering with delight as we pinned it through the bermed corners and floated over the soft, loamy dips and rises.

After hitting a few more amazing trails, and Stu conceding that he was too badass for his own bike after he snapped the rear suspension pivot by hitting a _____ ft. gap jump (Stuey, you get to fill in that blank :0 ) we finally ended up at a section of stunts that kept you off the ground and up on woodwork for well over a couple hundred feet! There were skinnies, log rides, teeter totters, triple teeter totters and ramps, all for your entertainment. A few crashes and lots of laughs later, we were through with special note going out to great performances on the stunts by Mart, Erik, Churchy and Megan...nice work dudes!

Another few fast sections of trail led us back down to the car where Stu had graciously waited for us and kept the Bullet Train boiler topped up with coal, ready to jump back into town for some post-ride grub before catching the ferry back to Vancouver.

A huge thanks goes out to Sean again for guiding us through the labyrinth of trails in the
Roberts Creek area...he was up 'til the wee hours of the morning sampling and resampling tequila and still managed to pull through as a superb tour guide. Big up!

Also deserving special mention is Sizzle, who was unable to join us today but not wanting to be outdone, tackled and completed the incredible double crown of Vancouver: the twin peaks of Seymour and Cypress! Nice work ma' main man...I think the rest of us have our work cut out for us this week.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Don't ask me what a hot tub time machine is 'cause I don't know. Apparently John Cusack does though, because he's filming one on the top of Mt. Seymour right now.

Thursday after work Stu and I pedalled out of Kits, across the Lion's Gate into North Van and also into the worst traffic I've ever ridden through. I almost got doored, I got cut off by some idiot that thought it was a good idea to start driving in the bicycle lane, Stu got cut off at least once, and then I took a face full of windshield washer fluid.

Finally we made it to MEC where we were to meet Martin and Simon who unfortunately sustained a flat tire, so after a brief telecon we decided we'd rendevous at the base of Seymour.

After checking out Deep Cove, Stu and I headed back over to Seymour and began turning the gears up the initial steep slopes. We soon saw Mart and Simon the Bruce up ahead and pedalled up to them. After the formalities were dispensed with, the pace started whipping up...the goal: make it to the top in less than 49 min. The switchbacks fell away and as I drained my tank across the line I checked the clock and was PSYCHED! 44:30 was the final time, with Stu firing up moments later in 46:25...! Stu's time was pretty crazy considering a few things: 1) It was only 25 sec. slower than my fastest climb at the end of last year which I thought I may never even repeat, and 2) He had to fully stop and fasten his helmet to his bars before continuing to drill it and reel me back in. Nice work Bookie!

Martin and Simon arrived shortly thereafter, both putting in handsome early season efforts on the big climb.

We all froze on the way down, but if it hadn't been for Martin and Stu's ingenuity in finding garbage bags to shove downt the fronts of our jerseys, it would have been a lot worse...thanks fellas!

Anyways, we parted ways with Mart and Simon at the Second Narrows Bridge and 88 km later with two pairs of spent legs, we hobbled back into Kits to watch the Friday night lights at the beach as the sun set on another beautiful week in Vancouver.