New Site!

Wallysworld has reached its lifespan.

Check out the new site:

www.corywallace.com

Thank You Jana for all the effort and design. If anyone needs a pro website made up check out www.janavisions.com !

Island Cups, Camping Trip

The past 10 days on the island the weather has earned a "F" grading but the biking has been A+. 2 island cup xc races (Campbell river and Cumberland), 2 victories, 1 random 3 day bike tour/camping trip around Campbell river/ Quadra island and close to 30 hrs on the bike. All this has added up to a very tired biker who is currently Fried. Nothing a couple days of R&R and natural foods can't fix...

The Island Cup race series out here is possibly the funnest race series around. Cheap entry fees, technical 90% singletrack courses, good people and no politics. The series is as grassroots as it comes and does a perfect job at gettting anyone and everyone interested into racing out into a non hostile environment to enjoy some great riding. Add in the laid back island attitude,some typical wet weather and you have the makings for some memorable weekends. Where else are the race organizers lumberjacks who shoot the start pistol off from the top of a cutoff stump in the bush while downing a beer?

Check out the website:

http://www.islandcupseries.com


As for the bike touring on Vancouver Island there is some serious potential for epic trips. There are logging roads all over the area, tons of campsites, small fishing lakes, lots of firewood and small communities all over the place to re-stock. There is a slight problem with the weather though. This past week after touring 5 hrs in a torrential downpour in +3 temps I was forced off the bike and into the woods to warm up by a bonfire for 3 hrs. Day 2 of the tour went more of the same so I ditched the plans of going to Tahsis and headed back to Campbell river to the laundromat as every piece of clothing I had was drenched. After a bit of laundry the bike trailer was re-packed and it was off to Quadra island for the night. Another night of rain, another day of hail and the first bike tour of the yr came to a close. I figure mother nature needs another couple weeks to get here sh*t in line.

Spring Series Round 2

Last week was spent on the mend as I tried to get rid of a bug that has been lingering for sometime. Friday AM I sensed the little bugger was near its end so I loaded up the North Face backpack, hopped on the road bike and headed out in the rain towards Vancouver for another round of the Spring Series road races. The ferry over to the mainland and back can get expensive, really fast, but doing the commute on bike is pretty economical at $15 each way. From Victoria it is a nice 1 hr ride through forests and countryside on the galloping goose bike path to the Victoria ferry terminal. After a 1.5 hr boat ride you unload on the mainland and then theres three options.

A) ride the direct way to Vancouver through the George Massey tunnel. (pros: shortest route at 1-1.5hrs, cons: sketchy/illegal.

B) ride the long way around through Surrey, via the Alex Fraser Brdige. ( pros:good training ride, cons: long at 2-2.5 hrs)

C) catch the 620 bus to bridgeport (pros: direct, cheap, good for rest days as it leaves only .5hrs of biking to vancouver dt, cons: bus takes over 1hr so overall it doesn't save anytime over option A.


Rumour has it Roddi Lega use to choose option A as he believed trying to sprint up the 1.5 minute incline on the otherside of the tunnel was a perfect race pace simulation as there would be a lineup of cars behind him honking/yelling at him providing ample motivation to mash the pedals harder. On this rainy day I chose option C and arrived in Vancouver mid afternoon just in time to pick up a box of goodies from Kona which included 2 fresh Maxxis Courcheval tires for the wknd. The race wknd went well, no flat tires, and 7 hrs of race pace efforts.

On Saturday, fellow mtb'r Neal Kindree was out and the two of us used our fat tire tactics to get away in a 5 man break for most the race before both blowing up with a couple laps to go and finishing 5th and 6th. Apparantly we used our legs more then our brains which some of the Roadies deemed un-roadie like as it messed around with there pre-determined Roadie tactics. Nonetheless we both got what we wanted out of it and we managed to blow both the peloton and our legs into outerorbit. On sunday more of the same occured. After the last race's were over, Lilla and I found an open hillside in the sun and nestled down for a 1 hr siesta. Theres not too many better ways to end a hard weekend of racing! Thanks for the support and feeds over the wknd Lilla.


This past week the flu has opted to resurface and the riding has been kept to a minimum. Between 2 weeks of this, 6 weeks of a broken thumb and weeks of insomnia the last couple months have not been ideal training. Apparantly the body needs a rest at some point and it has figured out that this is only going to happen if it makes it happen. Sorry body I will be more careful in the future and try not to hurt you as much without periods of proper rest. I have probably been unfair to you.


Tommorow is April! April is a good month.

Spring!&@^#

It is Spring!!! The sun is out, the flowers are starting to bloom and there's bunny rabbits hopping around nibling on the plants at an old folks home causing a few of the residents to shed there hair. It isn't shorts weather yet but the next time my sketchy fender setup falls off my road bike they are done for the yr. As for Snow, if it comes back here for another round there will be one less cyclist in Victoria and one more in Mexico.

Last weekend were the first races of the yr in Vancouver, the ill famous "Spring Series" road races. On saturday there was a flat tire and a helmet issue. On sunday there was another flat tire but not before I had a good 2.5 hrs of intensity. Ouch.. the first real fast ride since Costa Rica. The legs felt a little sore but the cardio system seems to be functioning 100%. It is always a treat to get back up to speed after a couple months of slooooowww base kilometers.

Check out these rad Giro shoes I will be sporting this yr. Thank you Steve Gaffney (OGC Rep) and Giro for the goods! It feels like Christmas in March!

Hibernation

Hibernation. That is why this blog is still not functioning. There's good news though as spring is nearly here and that means Mr. Wally is coming out of his winter coma. The last 3 winters this has been avoided in thanks to Central America but this yr Mr.Wally decided to stay in Canada for the brunt of the winter. I now understand why Grizzly bears hibernate through the winter. Pretty Smart animals. The monarch butterflies are also right up there with there migrating patterns to Mexico. I have much respect for these two animals.

Sooo... the last two months have gone something like this. 1 week training camp with national team, 1 week training in sunny victoria, 1 bonehead move which = broken thumb, 3 weeks in a cast, 2 weeks riding/ cross training (aka xc skiing, snowshoeing), 1 week riding in the rain, a little bit of college work, alot of central America dreaming and here we are now, March 9th, with racing season just around the corner.

Being in Canada this winter has been a little different then riding around central american volcanoes and beaches. I respect those bikers that train up here every winter. They are hardcore. My head is having a rough time grasping the concept of riding in rainy and freezing temps day after day but in reality there aren't that many bad riding days, just bad clothing choices. Thanks to one of my new sponsors, The North Face, the rain/cold doesn't have the bite it use to have. I'm not sure how they can make clothes that breath like a siv yet block rain out like a tin roof but somebody, somewhere in The North Face factory is on top of there game!

With spring around the corner my body is starting to get amped up for another wicked race season. New bikes are coming, new team kits, new race dreams and a summer full of epic good times awaits! Now I just need to remember to get my riding clothes dried out before another wet coast ride in the morning.

Where's Wally

Central America

This blog has been functioning like my mind since the Vuelta de Costa Rica. Riding around chasing supercharged 125 lbs latin americans up and down mountain sides for 12 days has a lasting effect on us Canadian hockey players. We should be in good shape for pond hockey when we return to the north....

After the Vuelta everything hurt, thanks to my tico buddy Ronald, the healing process was sparked by 2 days of rest at his cottage in the Costa Rican countryside. There probably isn´t a better place to go after a hard race. Ronald, if we return to the Vuelta next yr can we book into your place for a week afterwards?

On Jan 1st Lilla and I hopped on a a free first class plane ride to Guatemala to visit her Uncle and spend a week staying in an Antigua mansion, a Guatemala city penthouse, cooking steaks on a volcano, tubing down a river, running over a mtn and swimming through caves. So good. Guatemala is the home of gongshows but for some reason this trip was pretty relaxing. Lilla did you have something to do with this?

Two days ago Lilla flew back to Vancouver for school. Being schooless I hopped on my bike and am now on day 2 of training for 2011. Yesterday training consisted of riding 5 hrs to the Mayan city called Tikal. I´m not a huge history guy but seeing giant temples rise out of the jungle is cool. Today the plan was to get up at sunrise and bike to Belize in the cool morning air. After an 11hr sleep it is now mid morning and I have opted to procrastinate a little longer by doing this blog update before heading out to train in a giant sauna for 4 hrs....

Vuelta De Costa Rica

Here are a couple links to follow the rolling gongshow known as the Tour of Costa Rica which I'm currently racing with the Canadian team "Tour de Quebec".

Race Website:

www.ciclismoenvivo.com

Costa Rica Newspapers

www.aldia.cr

www. nacion.com

Video:

www. monumental.co.cr

Hello Canada, Goodbye Canada.

I have been back to Canada for 10 days now and have come up with my Christmas wish list.

1. Fly to Costa Rica

2. Race my road bike for 12 days against Latinos on "special vitamins".

3. Rest on the beach

Don't get me wrong, the past 10 days in Canada have been great. Returning to Canada is always great. There's just something about riding bikes in Canadian weather for 5 months through the winter which my body doesn't like. This has caused a seasonal migration south for the past 3 winters. I may have to get this dealt with at some point but for now I will follow the strange outside force which sends me down to central america each winter. I really can't complain.

Too make things even sunnier down there I will be accompanied by my girlfriend Lilla this trip. She has been a huge support for me throughout this past racing season and will be helping our team at the Vuelta de Costa Rica which starts up this friday. It is clear that she is only allowed to put in as much time helping as she puts into sun bathing on the beaches.

If you look up the word Vuelta in the dictionary it will say "see gongshow". After racing it last yr it became clear some of the racers in it have "special" forces for the race and ultimately it leaves us clean eating Canadians a little off the back. For this reason I will be looking at this race as a winter training camp in Costa Rica. We do have a strong sprinter in Jean Michael Lachance which we will be trying to get a stage win for before the race hits the mtn slopes.

Tommorow Lilla and I head down to Seattle to catch a flight south. Flying out of the states is alot cheaper and it allows us to hit up some cheap shopping while the US/Canadian dollars are at par. Right now the mind is still spinning from getting back from NZL but I'm sure Costa Rica will help settle it down. Goodbye Canada! Thanks for the past week of good food, hockey games, wet rides in Victoria and long sleeps in fresh Canadian air.

NZL Bike Tour part 2

Part 2 of the NZL bike tour turned out to be more then I bargained for. Lesson learned, sometimes when 12 different people give you the same advice about what can't be done they are right. But then again sometimes they are wrong. Either way I got turned around 80 km into the adventure which changed my plans for the coming days and put me in a much different location then I planned to be. Luckily I'm in NZL where there's usually another paradise around the corner. The days that followed the lost mission ended up being some of the best yet. If any of you ever wander over hear make sure you check out Kinloch lodge and the surrounding wilderness. There is a reason the Lord of the Rings was filmed hear.

Yesterday I returned to Queenstown for another couple sleeps and had the best day yet in NZL with a bike/hike mission. Today was a little different as I road 1.5 hrs into the bottom of a deep valley, ripped a sidewall in my tire and then hiked 3 hrs back to town. You win some you lose some...

Tomorrow its back to Christurich to visit my Kiwi mates, Jeff and Karen for a couple days before another endless summer will come to an end. Thursday the crow flies back to Canada!

Sheep, Glaciers, and Bikes

New Zealand is a small country of just over 4 million people and apparently over 10 million sheep. The sheep are all over the place like a bunch of mating jack rabbits but they are slowly being removed and being replaced by the more lucrative cattle industry. It will be sad if they are removed from the landscape as they fit in perfectly with the peace fullness of this country. It seems like this place is stuck back in the 70's or 80's as the pace of life is pretty minimal. The North Island up by Auckland is probably a little different with 3/4 of the countries population living around the region.

After spending a great first two weeks being toured around the country by my friends Jeff and Karen I was finally given my graduation card to set out on my own. For me this meant a bike tour from the North east tip of the island, Picton, down to Queenstown (NZL's version of Banff).

Stage 1 Picton to Nelson: 100km
Day one of the tour was 100 km from Picton to Nelson. After 60 km on pavement I headed up over a 40 km shortcut through the mountains. Time wise this wasn't a shortcut as it went up a abandoned gravel track over a mtn and then down a sketchy loose decent. The bike and 20 kg of panniers survived and we rolled into Nelson to meet up with Jeff for a couple days of xc riding in one of the single track hot spots on NZL. I was pretty wrecked still from the previous month of travelling and spent a majority of the time laying low while Jeff made the most of the great riding.

Stage 2 Murchison-Punakaiki: 145km
Day two of the tour I hopped a bus 100 km to Murchison to avoid boring highways. I figure life isn't long enough for these. Once in Murchison the 90 km ride down the Buller Gorge to the ocean was pretty amazing. This was followed by 20 km of boring highway and then 30 km of spectacular coastal scenery to the hamlet of Punakaiki. Punakakia is famous for its pancake rocks and blow holes. I met up with James at the hostel, a traveller from Wales and we drove down to the blow holes to check them out at high tide as the sun set. Nice spot to call it a night.

Stage 3 Punakaiki- Ross: 135 km
Another nice ride by the ocean to the West Coast hub of Greymouth. Loaded up on food and then road 40 km of flat highways to Hokitika. Met up with Brandon, a bike tourer from the USA and rode with him to an abandoned Hostal called the Old Church. Place was grand with a pool table, BBQ and 40 acres of country farm to ourselves. Brandon is probably my long lost cousin as he not only shares Wallace as a last name but he also has stories of touring around Central America on a bike. Good times.

Stage 4 Ross-Franze Josef Glacier: 95 km

Rolling ride through the lush NZL West Coast rain forest and through open sheep pasture land. WET rainy day.

Stage 5 Franze Josef Glacier-Fox Glacier- Lake Paringa: 125 km

Woke up early to beat the other tourists up to the popular tourist glacier. The 3 km trail leading to the head of a glacier looked more like a small road then a path and nobody was around yet so I opted to ride up to the glacier. No biking signs look weird sometimes. This plan failed when I began hiking my bike up onto the glacier to get a good photo opt when a ranger walked out from behind a moraine. Not sure what he was doing up there but I was caught red handed. He liked my effort though and told me he didn't feel like dealing with the paperwork, so he gave me 20 minute's to get out of sight before the tourist droves arrived. Deal. Road down the highway up and down some big hills to Fox Glacier and opted to hike the no biking trail this time to a cool viewpoint of Fox glacier from through the rain forest. The glaciers in Canada are bigger and more impressive but NZL's glaciers come down to 250 m above sea level and meet a rain forest! Really Cool. After the sightseeing it was 90 hard headwind km below the Alps and through countryside to Lake Paringa for a rest.

Stage 6 Lake Paringa- Wanaka: 197 km

This day was a long one. Started with 50 flattish km along the ocean and then the road headed up a valley into the heart of the Southern Alps. Had a nice headwind and the scenery was the best yet with waterfalls and snowy peaks surrounding the valley. After 120 km of riding I started to tire a little and 2 roadies blew by me telling me to "hop on." I probably said something like "f" that". But then decided it might be worth the effort to draft them for a while. After 20 fast km we pulled over to meet up with the camper van that was following the Dad, son combo. Apparently I was now part of a family vacation as Mom and the other son were touring in the camper van and supporting there family members. After a coffee and lunch we hopped back on the bikes, panniers now in the camper van, and the three of us cruised the last 3 hrs through lakeside scenery to the tourist village of Wanaka. Wanaka is a small version of Queenstown, kind of like what Jasper is to Banff. I could have stayed hear a while but wanted to get to Queenstown while the body was still fully revved.

Stage 7 Wanaka-Queenstown 70 km

Great ride up over NZL's highest paved highway at 1070 m. This is pretty low considering Calgary is close to 1200 m! Felt high though and the 750 m drop into Queenstown was a great ending to the first leg of the bike tour.

Yesterday was spent being a lost tourist in Queenstown as I tried to let the body come down from the exertion and today I checked out some of the local xc riding which is great. I highly recommend Queenstown for anyone looking to xc ride, party and sight see. It deserves the claim to being NZL's Adventure Capital!

The time is ticking as a week today I will return to Canada! I am almost looking forward to the rest but first there is part 2 of the bike tour to take care of!

New Zealand!

New Zealand is pretty much coastal BC only on the other side of the globe with two exceptions. The first one is dangerous as every drives on the wrong side of the road. Knowing which way to look is harder then it sounds. The other difference is the language as Kiwis speak 95% english, and 5% kiwi language. Jandals, arvo, bangers, mozzie, rooting... I have been more then lost in a few conversations already but am almost bilingual after 2 weeks cruising around with my mate Jeff.

Still mopped from spending too much energy in Australia so thats it for the read today.

Croco Classic

The idea of riding 1200 km over 10 days in the northern outback of Australia with a bunch of euoro roadies and sketchy aussie animals sounded like a grand adventure. It was. I am now 12 days past the race and the body is finally starting to come around again.

Stage 1 I felt like a sack of burnt mashed potatoes. Staying at a backpackers hostal the night before and getting 1 hr of sleep due to drunk backpacker drama wasn't a nobel prize winning decision. At the start line I slept for 1 hr. We then raced for 1.5 hrs, had a 2 hr intermission due to course problems and then raced for another 3 to the finish. It was alot like La Ruta day one, jungle, mud, hills, but only 75% as tough. I probably would've finished back with the mchappy meal sized belgium roadies but my 1.5 hr nap at intermission got the legs firing just in time for the last climb of the day and a 3rd place finish.

After a 11 hr sleep, stage 2 I woke feeling like a bag of potatoes. We had a hard 45 min climb through the jungle to start the day. Last yrs winner, Urs Hubar (Switzerland) and Bart Brentgens attacked the hill like a couple of rabid dingos. I turned my pain threshold off and tried to think of happy thoughts as I hung on like a piece of dog dung on the back of there wheels. Once over the top we decsended into flatter Aussie outback country and the 3 of us road to the finish. Having 24hr diesel engine legs I had a .1 % chance of winning the stage. I tried attacking 1 km from the finish and made a perfect lead out for the other two. 3rd place.

During the night a hoard of Wallabies came into camp and made like a bunch of kindergarten kids causing havoc all over camp knocking over stoves, chewing on tents and one nibbled on my tire. I thought nothing of it as there was no damage but 80 km into the 157 km stage 3 I flatted on a open road while riding with the 3 other leaders. Gongshow commence. The stage was flat for the next 50 km into a head wind making it important to be with a pack so I took the wheel off, shook it hoping the tubeless tire sealant would seel the hole and then started chasing back to the leaders. psstttt. super slow leak. on top of the next hill I took the wheel off again to put a tube in only to look up to see a savage farm dog charging at me from 400 m away. *#&$. I popped the 10 psi wheel back on the bike and sprinted down the hill to a safer zone to repair the flat. by the time there was air in the tire again I was in 8th and road the last 60 km to the finish alone into a headwind. Lost about 30 minutes. At night in the 70 person outback village the local HillyBilly Goats band came out to entertain. Prefect way to end a gonger of day.

Stage 4. The road racing begins as the stages get flat. First 90 km our lead pack of 11 guys ride easy. With only 1 km until a 50 km finish on a highway begins we ride over a rocky patch and both my tires implode. psstt. psttt. two flats. Tabernack. Another 50 km ride alone into a wind until the mchappy meal roadies catch up and we ride in for 15th or so position.

Stage 5-8. Roadie stages on flat, corrugated outback roads in 32-40 degree heat. Scenery is pretty cool for a Canadian and watching the roadies crash in the small creek gullys kept me entertained. Stage 8 ended with a big climb in Cooktown to a viewpoint over the ocean and cool breezes. Highlight of the race. After spending the last 3 stages leading out the other riders to the finish line for the sprint I got some payback on the climb and finished 2nd.

Stage 9. Flat roadie stage. The race organizers had been giving away Boomerangs to the stage winners each night and this was my last chance to get one. I used up some energy from next season to try and get the W but came up 4 ft short in the sprint to a rider who had been sitting in the pack for the last 7 days. Danm roadie tactics.

Stage 10. 37 km TT in the jungle along the coast. Alot like Costa Rica only no monkeys. Finished 4th on day and 5th overall.

The next 4 days were spent cruising around being a tourist. 30 of us from the race went out to the Great Barrier Reef 2 days after the race. We looked like a bunch of hungover college students with at least 15 of us sleeping at any given moment. The other asian tourists on the boat gave us disgusted looks all day as they updated there twitter acounts and made chronological diaries of the Reef tour.

Riding the Croc Trophy was like riding over mexican speed bumps in a sauna with someone blowing dust into your face for 10 days. It was pretty neat. I would come back to try it again as its nothing like we have over here in Canada. Overall the biking was ok, but the 10 day camping trip that went with the race and the days after in Cairns make it trip worth returning for. After all if I was back in Canada in October I probably wouldn't be riding my bike around this much!

After a week trying to get over my croc trophy hangover in Australia I made my way over to NZL to visit my Kiwi buddies Jeff and Karen who I met in Canada last yr. Jeff, also my pit manager from 24 hr Worlds, and I tried hitting up a 80 km race in the NZL mtns last weekend. That story is currently in the press and is not too be missed!

Crocodile Trophy

Australia is a country of just 22 million people but it has 11 of the worlds 15 most venomous snakes, oceans full of jellyfish and sharks making them unswimmable for certain months as well as countless number of spiders and other creepy crawlers. Yesterday I made the 3 hr flight to Northern Australia to the tourist town of Cairns where the 10 day Crocodile Trophy SR will start tomorrow. I have been sweating bucket's since I got here as the 30 degree temps and max humidity are rivaling that of coastal Costa Rica. This place is creepy crawler central. Apparently all the bodies of water in the area are off limits to swimming due to crocs and jellyfish. I assumed all the croc warnings were like the bear warnings in Canada and more of a joke than anything. Nope, Croc warnings are for real as they apparently munch on tourists all the time! The next days few days of acclimatization could be rough without access to water.

24hrs was a tough race which drained the tank. After 8 days of recovery in Sydney the system warning lights have gone off. Thanks Jon Odam for taking me into your home for the week!

Racing in The Croc Trophy is going to be full tilt as it is 90% european with the likes of Bart Brentgens (Olympic Gold medalist), Urs Huber (Croc winner last yr) , Jaan Kirsippu (4 tour de France stage wins) and the European Marathon champion Allan Oras making the trip from euro land. I'm planning on holding back a bit and letting the crocs get the first few racers and then hopefully taking over from there.

Check out race updates at www.crocodile-trophy.com

24 Hr Worlds

The days leading up to the 24 hr Worlds were pretty gongshowish as my buddy Jeff Collins (Kiwi) and I ran around Canberra picking up food etc for the race and setting up our Pit area out at race site. Prepping for a 24 hr race is a challenge in Canada, and that's when we are able to load my truck with everything including a kitchen sink and drive 3 hrs to Canmore for the race. Making this happen half way around the World is another story. We had some help from the other Canadians down here, our home stay (Darro Stinson), and big help from the Kona boys who showed up with tents and mechanics.

Race day:

11:45 am- lemans start! I go from front row to a mid pack position over a 300 m run.
11:47am- On the bike, the legs feel unreal and I ride up to the lead group, look at the boys and then hammer away up the hill.

I was pretty nervous heading into the race as I had never been in a field of 400 riders and most of the Aussies seemed pretty serious. I figured the best way to deal with the emotions was to go on the offensive. This worked for the first 5 laps as the chase pack of 7 riders began to blow up one by one. The British national champ and a few of the top Australian's bit on my attack and blew them selves up and essentially out of the race. The only problem was the defending champion, Jason English was one step ahead of me and hung back, not pitting at all, eventually catching me on the 6th lap still with good legs. Over the next few laps he would take 3 mins out of me a lap and soon had a 20 min lead.

I was riding hard but at the same time a little pre-occupied with all the crazy animals hopping around the course. One lap I came barrelling around a corner into a posse of 7 kangaroos, I almost wet my pants as I skidded out of control towards them. A little later I apparently just missed running over a black snake which slid out of the way just in time and then lunged at the British rider behind me. I was in zombie mode at the time and didn't know anything had happened until talking to the Brit after the race. In the night a baby kangaroo (or wallaby?) lept onto the course just ft ahead of me and then back into the woods. He was a lucky little bastard as by that time in the night I was RUI (riding under the influence) of copius amounts of caffeine, adrenaline and over exerction and wouldn't have the reflex's to avoid him.

Going into the night things were rolling smoothly with Jeff keeping things together in the pit and the legs still pushing over. On lap 13 the gongshows began as I double flatted, had co2's blow up, ran out of tubes etc... 20 minutes later I got air back in my tires and made it back to pit row where I was now sitting in 4 th position.

For the next 10 hrs I had an epic battle going between 2 Aussies (Andy and Scott) for 2nd position. Jason kept his lead and managed to pull off a successful defense of his 2009 title. The guy is a true champ and deserved the win as he out witted us all with his yrs of 24hr experience. I'm not sure if he was the fittest guy in the race but he was the most focused and best prepared rider there.

The 3 of us battling for 3rd couldn't gap each other and by the last couple laps we were working our way back up to a xc race pace. This was retarded to be riding this hard after 22 hrs on the bikes but we were all stubborn like a bunch of mexican mules. With 3 laps to go Andy made a move and gained 5 minutes on us. I was suffering like a guy who had been on his bike for 22hrs but I figured Andy would have to slow down at some point and that maybe just maybe there was a little bit of adrenaline left in the tank to fuel another quick lap.

Lucky for me there was a few drops of adrenaline left which surged me through the last lap, passing Andy mid way, and into a 2nd place finish! At the finish line the adrenaline switched off and I went from feeling invincible to a 85 yr old man with arthritis in about 15 minutes.

The post race party/ awards ceremony down at the university was about as exciting as a layover at an aiprort. By 10pm the place was cleared out with just the crazy single speeder dudes hanging around. Those guys are a different breed.

The day after the race was a right off. I fell down a set of stairs and then decided to sit still for the rest of the day to prevent any further mishaps. The day after that Jeff and I forced ourselves to get organized and head over to Sydney as he had to catch a flight back to New Zealand. Huge Thank You Jeff for taking the time and effort to come over and support me for 24!

A 24hr race is a team event as it is the Pit crews which keep us riders going through the night and I had some of the best help there. Big thanks to my Dads friend Darro Stinson for giving Jeff and I a place to stay for the week and loaning us a car, Ben (kona rep), Team Canada (Erin and Kelly you guys were great, Kate Scallion, Leighton for the calming influence and everybody else that kept things rolling for me!

I was to follow Jeff over to NZL today for a tour of the North Island but after the 24 race was over I received an invite to race in the 10 day Crocodile Trophy through Australians Northern Outback. Probably not the best idea but how do you pass up on 10 days of ripping around with some of the fastest euros on the planet through crocodile and kangaroo infested landscapes. Not to mention a trip to the Great Barrier reef afterwards? Some days I wish I knew how to say no. Sorry body, I promise you a proper rest either when you quit working during the Croc Trophy or once the last day is over. Sorry bike but you will be ignored for a long time after this one is over.

Off to be a City slicker and check out some Opera house.

24 Ready to Go!

There is a wombat digging holes in the course, divebombing magpies and rumours of a skitzofrantic kangaroo around the pit area. The Aussies have guranteed themselves a 1-2-3 placing on the podium and are doing there share of trashtalking. Not sure what is going to play out down here but us Canadians are ready to get this thing rolling!

The toughest part of 24hr events are the days leading up to them. Nerviousness, preps, etc... Once the bike wheels are rolling its all cool. For the first 6 hrs its a bike race and then its survival for the next 18. I figure the 6 hr bike race should go pretty good and after that I have my fingers crossed.

Rumour has it live updates will be on the race website at http://www.corc24hour.com.au/

www.24wsc/ may also work.

Off to work.

The Other Side of the Road

September was spent overtraining myself to the point of resembling a hungover drug addict on East Hastings st in Vancouver, recovering for a couple days and then repeating. It seems alot easier to overtrain oneself after an already long race season then it is at the start. After I wrecked myself really good the last time I opted to go to the backcountry with my Dad, brother (Dustin), 7 horses and a dog for 5 days to get away from the bike.

Day 1 one we left the highway and hit snow 7 km into the ride. Soon after we spent 4 hrs cutting deadfall off the trail. We eventually rode into camp under a full moon through 6 inches of snow. 5 days later through wintery conditions, cutting out 20 yr old trails and wading through rivers we reached the highway again. Dustin and Dad went home, I hopped in the truck and drove across the countryside, hopped on a 34 hr flight to Australia and am now hanging around with Kangaroos. Thank you Lilla and all the boys at Freewheel Cycle for helping me get organized for the trip!

Being in Australia is like being in Canada. The only difference is that everyone drives around on the wrong side of the road. That is sketchy. So are the Kangaroos. And divebombing magpies. Everything else is great. Sunny days. Hospitable people. And the accents are cool. The customs officers are pretty rad as well. I heard they were pretty stingent with checking through luggage for foreign food etc. The officer checking my luggage must of been a biker himself as he rolled me through the line. Pretty stoked as I wasn't sure how my unlabled bags of seeds, buckwheat, random pills and green powders was going to go over.

With the 24 hr Worlds coming up Saturday I am trying to keep the biking under control to prevent any further burnouts before the race. There will be ample opportunities for that over the weekend.

I will update my blog once I figure out where live updates of the race will be available. Last yr it was at http://www.24wsc.com/.

Leading up the the race 24 hr Twitter updates are at. www.24wsc.com/twenty4-tweets.

I rode out to the course for a couple laps yesterday. There is going to be carnage. Gap jumps on a 24 hr course won't mix well with lethargic bikers in the middle of the night. Other then that the course is pretty tame. 2 big climbs, 2 fast rocky decents and roo's all over the place.

The race starts 12 pm Saturday over here, when translated in Australian, that is equivalent to 6 pm Friday evening Pacific time in Canada. Not sure how that works but as it sits now I got ripped out of a day of my life which I will only ever reclaim once I return to Canadian soil.

Right now there is a small problem with Jet lag. Off to deal with that. aka 10 hr + sleep.

August Goodness

You can tell how good a race buggered you up by how long it takes to post something on your blog afterwards.

The Transrockies was a good one.

Stage 1 : 31 km Mudfest time trial

- started 5th behind Adam Craig (Giant), Max Plaxton (Sho-Air), Matt Hadley (Canada), Carl Decker (Giant) (based on UCI pts)

- thinking top 5 would be solid

- left the shoot at full steam trying to catch Decker who started 1 min ahead.

- catch Decker, leave him in rear view mirror

- close in on Hadley

-finish 3rd behind Craig and Plaxton

-ride of the week!!! I thought....

Stage 2 : 72 km Climbing Roady stage

- Decker sets pace, drops eveybody but Plaxton, Craig and myself

- Craig ups the tempo, Decker drops off

- ride with Plaxton and Craig towards finish

- both guys seem to be suffering so I up the tempo and open a gap

- 3 km to go and i'm beating Plaxton and Adam Craig!

- Come across the line 1st, 25 secs ahead of the other duo

- Biggest win ever.

Stage 3: 70 km of true TransRockies Goodness

- 40 km muddy fireroad

-15 km hike/bike/crazy willows/ giant rocky climb up the continental Divide

-8 km decent down boulder field

- 1 flat, Hadley and Kona boys pass me, Plaxton is ahead for the the win

- fix flat, catch Kona boys who also flatted, real in Hadley.

- roll in 2nd on stage.

- Adam Craig had a rough day and loses 10 min. I move into 2nd in GC.

2nd overall TR3!

Stages 4-7

-Team up with John Firth from Canmore for last 4 stages.

- finish 2nd overall on stage 4 and 3rd on stage 6.

- learn John is one crazy ass hardcore Diesel engine hockey player who can tear it up on a xc bike.

- freeze our asses on stage 6. Deja vu Bow 80....

Stage 8- Party

- 1 yukon jack, 3 fireballs, 1 wine, 1 ???

- crash hard

Stage 9- Road Provincials

- get worked over by 8 man H&R block

- Jamie Sparling and I spend 1 hr chasing back break

-catch break with 8km to finish

- try to ride in on diesel fumes for the victory

- finish 7th behind riders who emerged from the pack for the first time all day at the finish...

Stage 10- Ice Cream DT Cochrane then Camp on the Icefields.

Monday-Wednesday: Write off

Thursday-Saturday- Hike up in the Rockies

I'm still pretty worked over, hence this messed up blog report.

Next up is Hinton XC and MX Provincials this weekend. Come out to the Rockies for some good times!!!

Grizzlied

The rest week after 24 hrs was pretty perfect. Fishing, camping, hiking and hanging in hammocks up in the mtns. That was until friday night when Lilla and I were returning to camp around dusk only to find a Grizzly in our way.

After some yipping from our golden retriever dog, and some yelling by us we managed to really piss the old grizz off and he charged at us through the willows only to stop 15 ft from us to growl and let out his outrage in hair rasing noises. Slightly intimidated we opted to backtrack down the trail to give the beast his space. The only problem was he started to follow, charging through the bush, stopping just short of us to let out his outrage again. After a few minutes of this it got to the point that we were either going to have to keep this up for another 60 km back to civilization or else try to get past the cranky thing to my truck which was only 500 m away.

I opted fro Plan B, Lilla probably disagreed, but she followed as we road back at the Grizz who was just out of sight in the willows beside the road. Once we got past him, old grizz started running beside us in the bush then onto the road behind us and over onto the other side of the road. I gave Lilla my best thought out advice. "Don't Fall!" "NO SHit" I think was her response. With the truck in sight and the dog already under neath it, Lilla and I hopped in and watched as the bushes and trees were trampled away only 30 ft in front of the truck. The Grizz would never come out and show himself, but we had a standoff with him in the woods growling for 15-20 min as we sat belittled in our truck. Eventually our friend got tired and wandered off up the mtn, letting off one last angry freakish noise as he faded into the night.

Our problem now was to either return home with a 2 hr drive, or to risk the 7 minute hike through the dense bush to get to the hut. We made the hike in 4 minutes. Dog in tow.

The next day the Sun was up, Grizz was no where to be seen and life was pretty good again...

Tonight we are down in Fernie gettting ready for the TransRockies to kickoff tommorow. I will try to defend my TR3 Solo title I won last yr. This is probably a pipe dream with top World Cup racers Adam Craig (Giant), Max Plaxton (Specialized), and Carl Decker (Giant), on the start list but I will I empty the tank trying.

After the TR3 finishes off I will be sticking around to cover the final 4 days of the TransRockie Team event as it finishes off in Canmore next Saturday.

Starting tommorow, reports will be up at http://www.sleepmonsters.com/

24hrs of Adrenalin

24 in Camnore last weekend was ridiculously rad. Not going to lie, I am pretty f'd up at the moment. The opening lap was dangerous with a 4 minute le mans run to start out the event. I lost over 1 minute in this to some dude in baggy shorts and was probably 30th. I was embarrassed so I ripped it up on the first couple laps putting in a solid gap on the other soloists.

24 dominator Leighton Poidevon from Canmore kept it close for the first 8hrs before falling ill in the night. This left a decent gap to the next rider, Luke Way, and allowed for some solid cruising throughout the night. Luke Way, who also grew up in Jasper and is the owner of TriWay bike fitting had an amazing ride to come in 2nd. Way to go buddy!

The closest call in upsetting the ride was when I came upon 6 other riders stopped on the trail claiming there was a bear and 3 cubs up ahead. I figured I was faster then a couple of the riders so I convinced them that if we all rolled togethar we could probably make it. We went through, Momma bear looked pissed, we all pinned it and apparantly all lived happily ever after....

23 hrs and 54 minutes after starting I rolled around to finish my 20th lap and claim the National 24hr Solo Championships and a trip to Australia for Worlds in October!

Here we come Aussies!

Huge thanks to my pit crew who kept things togethar for me throughout the night. Lilla Roy, Reiner Thoni, Travis Hauck and Dad, you guys are amazing!

I am pretty impressed I got this blog out. Off to the mtns to feed on fresh trout and wild blueberries.

ZZZZZZZZZZZ.................