Last night after work I really wanted to do my first climb of Mt. Setmour on my road bike...circumstances dictated that only one other man was able to saddle up beside me, and it was none other than Sizzle!
Unbelievable! This guy is on the fritz with a chest cold, didn't sleep more than four hours the previous night and then calls me at 3:00pm telling me that he can't let this one get away and he'll meet me at 4:15 sharp because he can't afford to miss yoga at 7:00pm?! Who is this guy!
We peeled out of Kits exchanging the usual banter and after about an hour, found ourselves ramping up the rpm's heading out towards Deep Cove on the Dollarton Hwy.
Elapsed time:
1 hr 09 min; hit Mt. Seymour Rd. and swing right to begin the climb.
1 hr 11 min; get lighter and water the local flora at the same time. Start the climb.
1 hr 15 min; remember why Seymour is way harder then Cypress as we get slapped in the face by the steep first pitch.
1 hr 52 min; legs are about to fall off but I just pounded through the last switchback...gotta beat 50 minutes!
2 hr 0 min; cross the line at the summit at 49:08...catch my breath and watch Sizzle storm up the final straight to clock in at 53:06. That's really fast for his first time ever climbing this mole hill.
3 hr 30 min; Back in Kits, limp down to the water with my lovely wife and a delicious plate of greek food to watch the sunset.
What a night...I love Vancouver.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Test of Metal preview
This weekend was a little more low key with only one real main event planned. Saturday morning the phones started ringing and by 10am we had five of us (myself, Martin, KC, Tyrone and Ricky Bobby) heading northbound for the Land of Milk and Honey; Awesome!!!
This would be my first trip back to Squamish since hurting my shoulder about six weeks ago now. The plan was to ride the Test of Metal course, or at least as much as possible with the present snow conditions at higher elevations.
This was both KC's and Ty's first expedition through the Test of Metal race course and they both rode really well with KC bearing his teeth on his old and undersized hardtail, and Ty clearly demonstrating exactly why he's known around the GVRD as the "up and comer".
The ride of the day incontestably went to Martin as time and again he was off the front flying through the turns and in particular must have literally been floating down the Powerhouse plunge as the only time we saw him was when he graciously stopped to let us all catch up! Nice work MC!
Anyways, we all finished intact (some more than others) and celebrated our completion of the ride with some barley sandwiches back at the parking lot, thoughtfully supplied by Ty.
Sunday was a rest day with the intent being to freshen up the legs for a mad assault on Mt. Seymour today after work under sunny skies and 17C! Hope everyone had a great weekend and I'll let you know how tonight's ride goes. I'll be setting my benchmark time for this season and am hoping that it is under 50 min...hopefully I can wrangle Markezzy and Martin into it since my main man KC is feeling a bit under the weather today. Feel better Sizzle!
This would be my first trip back to Squamish since hurting my shoulder about six weeks ago now. The plan was to ride the Test of Metal course, or at least as much as possible with the present snow conditions at higher elevations.
This was both KC's and Ty's first expedition through the Test of Metal race course and they both rode really well with KC bearing his teeth on his old and undersized hardtail, and Ty clearly demonstrating exactly why he's known around the GVRD as the "up and comer".
The ride of the day incontestably went to Martin as time and again he was off the front flying through the turns and in particular must have literally been floating down the Powerhouse plunge as the only time we saw him was when he graciously stopped to let us all catch up! Nice work MC!
Anyways, we all finished intact (some more than others) and celebrated our completion of the ride with some barley sandwiches back at the parking lot, thoughtfully supplied by Ty.
Sunday was a rest day with the intent being to freshen up the legs for a mad assault on Mt. Seymour today after work under sunny skies and 17C! Hope everyone had a great weekend and I'll let you know how tonight's ride goes. I'll be setting my benchmark time for this season and am hoping that it is under 50 min...hopefully I can wrangle Markezzy and Martin into it since my main man KC is feeling a bit under the weather today. Feel better Sizzle!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Brothers: Can't Live Without 'em
I was just looking through some old photos of past trips to Squamish with my brothers and it made me really miss them. I think that the relationship you have with brothers is something extremely special and to be vastly appreciated. Some people never even get the chance to have a brother so if you do have one consider yourself lucky.
I have two of them, both older and I know that I'm blessed beyond words for a few reasons: they're amazing fellas, we're all each others best friends and we all share passion for outdoor sport which has seen us through some awesome adventures together.
Sure we had our spats when we were kids but I honestly can't remember the last time we disagreed on something. I love Cam and Trev so much and one thing I think everyone should do is never hesitate to tell the people you love in life that you really do. It might be awkward or you might be worried they'll think it's an odd expression of your emotion but it's always worth it.
Last year Cam lost a very close friend who I had become good friends with also and it was my first experience of having to deal with the loss of someone close enough that it really affected me. It also made me realize that nothing's ever for sure in life. You never know what's going to happen.
Anyhow, take (or make) your next opportunity to tell your bros or sis's that you love'em...it's fun, they'll be right chuffed and it feels awesome that you know they understand how much you really appreciate them.
I have two of them, both older and I know that I'm blessed beyond words for a few reasons: they're amazing fellas, we're all each others best friends and we all share passion for outdoor sport which has seen us through some awesome adventures together.
The Brothers Charles
Sure we had our spats when we were kids but I honestly can't remember the last time we disagreed on something. I love Cam and Trev so much and one thing I think everyone should do is never hesitate to tell the people you love in life that you really do. It might be awkward or you might be worried they'll think it's an odd expression of your emotion but it's always worth it.Last year Cam lost a very close friend who I had become good friends with also and it was my first experience of having to deal with the loss of someone close enough that it really affected me. It also made me realize that nothing's ever for sure in life. You never know what's going to happen.
Anyhow, take (or make) your next opportunity to tell your bros or sis's that you love'em...it's fun, they'll be right chuffed and it feels awesome that you know they understand how much you really appreciate them.
T-Bone: 2008 Craftsman of the Year, Dad and the next Laird Hamilton
CamShaft: Climbing machine, University Professor and the next Lance Armstrong
Free and Clear
Okey doke, sorry I missed a few days there but I've got some good updates! My ultrasound report was sent to my doctor's office on wednesday but apparently she wasn't going to have it reviewed until Friday, and on top of that they wanted me to book an appointment so she could read one paragraph to me; ummm, no. Carla to the rescue...using the pull that my wife has as a doctor, Car's receptionist filed a request for the report to be faxed to her office and voila, Fraso has his report!
Prognosis: All tendons and muscles are free of tears, no swelling of the bursa, no signs of impingement and no indications of damage to posterior labrum! BaBOOM!!! Couldn't be better news however; it still leaves me wondering what the heck happened in there to evoke such discomfort for almost 6 weeks now? I think we're sticking to the story that it was simply quite a serious strain. There has been definite improvement and I'm hoping against hope that I can back climbing again with the gang by early May. I'm going to have a lot of catching up to do also because it sounds like the fellas (Tim and Matt) are crushing the granite up in Squamish lately!
Ok, so the other update was about the riding I've been doing. On Wednesday after work Stu, Kyle and I piled into Stu's truck and headed for the Northshore for some xc mountain biking over on Seymour. Enter the forces of nature...as we got to Denman St. and were approaching the Lion's Gate bridge a cyclist pedalled by and mentioned that the bridge was in fact closed. Upon further investigation (read: listening to the radio - har har har) we discovered that a tree had fallen across the causeway through Stanley Park and all lanes in both directions were closed. After waiting for about 40 minutes we pulled the plug and headed back to Kits where we went for a rip through the University Endowment Lands and Pacific Spirit Park. Stu knows his way around the trails up there quite well from having trained for his Ironman Triathlon in those trails so it was fun having a good trail guide!
Now onto Thursday evening...the cursory email went out to round up all available troops at midday but due to circumstance it ended up that only KC and I made it to the frontlines. Objective: Cypress! Long story short, it was a 94 km ride punctuated with a 12 km climb and was amazing even though neither of us ate or drank enough and felt pretty gassed by the end.
I've been keeping track of the distances I ride and so far this season I've put 1560 km on my road bike...not too bad for a rock climber!
Prognosis: All tendons and muscles are free of tears, no swelling of the bursa, no signs of impingement and no indications of damage to posterior labrum! BaBOOM!!! Couldn't be better news however; it still leaves me wondering what the heck happened in there to evoke such discomfort for almost 6 weeks now? I think we're sticking to the story that it was simply quite a serious strain. There has been definite improvement and I'm hoping against hope that I can back climbing again with the gang by early May. I'm going to have a lot of catching up to do also because it sounds like the fellas (Tim and Matt) are crushing the granite up in Squamish lately!
Ok, so the other update was about the riding I've been doing. On Wednesday after work Stu, Kyle and I piled into Stu's truck and headed for the Northshore for some xc mountain biking over on Seymour. Enter the forces of nature...as we got to Denman St. and were approaching the Lion's Gate bridge a cyclist pedalled by and mentioned that the bridge was in fact closed. Upon further investigation (read: listening to the radio - har har har) we discovered that a tree had fallen across the causeway through Stanley Park and all lanes in both directions were closed. After waiting for about 40 minutes we pulled the plug and headed back to Kits where we went for a rip through the University Endowment Lands and Pacific Spirit Park. Stu knows his way around the trails up there quite well from having trained for his Ironman Triathlon in those trails so it was fun having a good trail guide!
Now onto Thursday evening...the cursory email went out to round up all available troops at midday but due to circumstance it ended up that only KC and I made it to the frontlines. Objective: Cypress! Long story short, it was a 94 km ride punctuated with a 12 km climb and was amazing even though neither of us ate or drank enough and felt pretty gassed by the end.
I've been keeping track of the distances I ride and so far this season I've put 1560 km on my road bike...not too bad for a rock climber!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Results! It's all about results (and having fun)
I didn't get a chance to update yesterday but I ended up getting in a short road ride and for the first time tried out some interval training. It was pretty fun and it sure sends your heartrate through the roof in a very short time!
Anyways, I can see interval training getting results pretty quickly for punchier riding.
The other results I'm psyched on getting are those for my ultrasound. I should find out tomorrow exactly what's wrong with my shoulder and why the heck it's taking so long to feel better. I'll post up the findings when I hear from the doc...
Back to cycling: as 3:30 rolled around this afternoon, plans solidified for a fast ride out to Whytecliff. The cast for today's episode included Sizzle (Kyle), MC (Martin) and Stuey. Kyle's been riding really well lately as I've mentioned recently and it also doesn't hurt that he's probably the most talented, natural athlete that I know personally...Martin's perennially fit no matter whether he's running, riding, ski touring or climbing so it's no surprise when he turns it up notch...Stu is just ferociously powerful and pushes a huge gear; probably in part due to his weight lifting and in part due to his dedication to interval training on his indoor trainer when he doesn't have the time to get outside for a longer ride.
So, it shouldn't have come as a surprise today when we hit Marine Dr. out past Ambleside and started drilling it right away. This in itself wasn't a problem as my legs felt good despite the short, hard ride I did yesterday. The problem presented itself after we got back to Ambleside and it was all I could to try and pull Bookbinder back as he casually turned out the megawatts. It presented itself again as Sizzle drove the train up and over the Lion's Gate bridge, with my legs starting to get quite annoyed with me at this point. As we wound through the south end of Stanley Park and Stu dropped the hammer one more time, I dug deep into my suitcase of courage and pulled Stu back to within about 20 feet before my legs completely exploded and I sat up totally spent.
It feels so good to know that you've accepted every ounce of effort that your body had to give that day, and that with more tenacity, you'll be able to eek out a few more ounces the next time on your bike which may be just enough to send you screaming across the line in front of every other person in the race.
Mountain biking tomorrow with the gang...let you know how it goes.
Anyways, I can see interval training getting results pretty quickly for punchier riding.
The other results I'm psyched on getting are those for my ultrasound. I should find out tomorrow exactly what's wrong with my shoulder and why the heck it's taking so long to feel better. I'll post up the findings when I hear from the doc...
Back to cycling: as 3:30 rolled around this afternoon, plans solidified for a fast ride out to Whytecliff. The cast for today's episode included Sizzle (Kyle), MC (Martin) and Stuey. Kyle's been riding really well lately as I've mentioned recently and it also doesn't hurt that he's probably the most talented, natural athlete that I know personally...Martin's perennially fit no matter whether he's running, riding, ski touring or climbing so it's no surprise when he turns it up notch...Stu is just ferociously powerful and pushes a huge gear; probably in part due to his weight lifting and in part due to his dedication to interval training on his indoor trainer when he doesn't have the time to get outside for a longer ride.
So, it shouldn't have come as a surprise today when we hit Marine Dr. out past Ambleside and started drilling it right away. This in itself wasn't a problem as my legs felt good despite the short, hard ride I did yesterday. The problem presented itself after we got back to Ambleside and it was all I could to try and pull Bookbinder back as he casually turned out the megawatts. It presented itself again as Sizzle drove the train up and over the Lion's Gate bridge, with my legs starting to get quite annoyed with me at this point. As we wound through the south end of Stanley Park and Stu dropped the hammer one more time, I dug deep into my suitcase of courage and pulled Stu back to within about 20 feet before my legs completely exploded and I sat up totally spent.
It feels so good to know that you've accepted every ounce of effort that your body had to give that day, and that with more tenacity, you'll be able to eek out a few more ounces the next time on your bike which may be just enough to send you screaming across the line in front of every other person in the race.
Mountain biking tomorrow with the gang...let you know how it goes.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Easter Weekend part 3
It's Saturday morning, raining in The Couv and perfect weather for an awesome mtn. bike ride!
I woke up this morning and felt like I'd been run over by a truck from our road ride yesterday. Lying in bed I realized I hadn't felt that way since going on climbing trips and putting in long, back-to-back days of sport climbing. Realization: I'm getting soft and need to step it up. Luckily for me the UBC Tuesday night criterium series commences in less than a month so that should be good for a solid drubbing once a week.
I'm feeling pretty good now though after having some breaky, letting my body wake up slowly and doing some bike maintenance. So the plan has materialized to head over to Lower Seymour trails shortly with KC to do some exploring for a few hours of fun.
Fact: I love watching the man that's called Sam Hill race his bike. So what better way to get psyched to go ride my mtn. bike than to watch an absolute genius of Australian lineage rip apart a World Cup course on his? I'm having touble embedding videos off Freecaster.tv but in the mean time check out Sam Hill's run at the UCI World Cup race at Schladming.
I woke up this morning and felt like I'd been run over by a truck from our road ride yesterday. Lying in bed I realized I hadn't felt that way since going on climbing trips and putting in long, back-to-back days of sport climbing. Realization: I'm getting soft and need to step it up. Luckily for me the UBC Tuesday night criterium series commences in less than a month so that should be good for a solid drubbing once a week.
I'm feeling pretty good now though after having some breaky, letting my body wake up slowly and doing some bike maintenance. So the plan has materialized to head over to Lower Seymour trails shortly with KC to do some exploring for a few hours of fun.
Fact: I love watching the man that's called Sam Hill race his bike. So what better way to get psyched to go ride my mtn. bike than to watch an absolute genius of Australian lineage rip apart a World Cup course on his? I'm having touble embedding videos off Freecaster.tv but in the mean time check out Sam Hill's run at the UCI World Cup race at Schladming.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Easter Weekend part 2
So KC and I did the ride and it was awesome!! Kyle rode amazing considering he hasn't been riding a huge amount...this was his also his first 100+ km ride. We ended up doing my brother Trev's North Van Hills route and then into the Whytecliff ride for a total of 106 km and 4 hrs in the saddle. The weather was perfect although it doesn't really look so for tomorrow...
I think tomorrow maybe if I have the legs I'll ride my hardtail mtn. bike over to Seymour to explore some of the lower trails that I haven't ridden yet...should be awesome. Also as a point of interest MEC recycles bicycle tires when you're finished with them as well as tubes that can't be patched anymore...cool.
Ok, so on my way back from MEC dropping off my worn out bike tires and busted tube, I stopped pedalling for a moment to take some snaps to showcase how awesome the trees look right now. I guess this is more for people who don't live here...enjoy!
I think tomorrow maybe if I have the legs I'll ride my hardtail mtn. bike over to Seymour to explore some of the lower trails that I haven't ridden yet...should be awesome. Also as a point of interest MEC recycles bicycle tires when you're finished with them as well as tubes that can't be patched anymore...cool.
Ok, so on my way back from MEC dropping off my worn out bike tires and busted tube, I stopped pedalling for a moment to take some snaps to showcase how awesome the trees look right now. I guess this is more for people who don't live here...enjoy!
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