Ontario Cup # 1 - First win of the season

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What a perfect day! Although it was on the chilly side, the sun was shining and the trails were awesome. Early Tuesday morning I drove past Mansfield on my way home from the airport in a snowstorm, so it was really impressive how great the conditions were.

On Saturday I helped coach the kids Learn-to-race Clinic and had so much fun getting shown up at cat walks! The enthusiasm of the kids is always so inspiring and infectious. A good reminder that the main thing about mountain biking is FUN!

The race Sunday started out fast. I started in the back (3rd row, which is awesome that there were that many women racing!), so it took me a few surges to get to the front. By the top of the first climb I was sitting in 2nd following Cindy Montambault (CVM 2 VALS)  into the first single track. She was riding really strong and attacking every hill and out of every corner. I had a hard time following her accelerations and she got a gap over the first lap. Starting the 2nd lap I had her in my sights on the long climb after the feed zone and I could see that I was closing in. I worked my way up to her and decided to attack before a steep single track climb. I was able to get a gap there and it held for the remainder of the race. I had so much fun out there riding. It was great to see so many friends that I haven't seen for a few months.

The Scott-3 Rox Team had a great day with Marc-Antoine Nadon taking the win in the Junior Men's category and Tyson Wagler finishing 4th in the Elite Men's field. Also congratulations to my pre-riding partners Michelle Cordy (HBCC/Ellsworth) and Greg Marshall (HBCC) who finished 1st in Master Expert Women and 7th in the Master Expert Men.

Check out related stories here:
http://pedalmag.com/?p=156229
http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=23936

 

A picture from the short track this past weekend at Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. I finished  13th in both the short track and cross country.

Mountain biking is so fun!

We've now had a chance to ride in both Dupont and Pisgah areas. Both so good. I'd say Dupont is more fun and Pisgah is more adventurous.

I'd heard about the Farlow Gap trail in Pisgah Forest and that it is really rocky and technical, so I wanted to check that out. It involved a pretty long climb to the top, which was exciting because I knew that would involve a long downhill. The trail did not disappoint. The first part was a steep downhill with lots of rocks. It was one of those sections that when you get to the end of it you're excited because it was so awesome, but also because you made it through unscathed! From there it was still mostly downhill, but with some steep climbs after stream crossings. It was a beautiful trail. My only regret was not taking my GoPro camera. Maybe I'll just have to do it again before I leave. I honestly can't say enough how much I love my Scott Scale 29er. The bike is truly awesome.

On the farm this week, two baby goats arrived. They are so cute and fuzzy. The lambs are growing quickly and are so cute to see running around after their mom in the pasture. I'm also now obsessed with reading The Hunger Games. It's so good and consuming. I had dreams last night of running through the forest trying to evade death.

We're staying on a small farm outside of Brevard, NC. There are chickens, roosters, goats, sheep, horses, cats, and dogs. Yesterday one of the sheep had babies and I got to hold one of her babies! It was so beautiful and adorable. The mom didn't want anything to do with the 3rd baby, so it needs to be bottle fed and taken care of by the farmers. Right now that one lives in the house. The other two lambs are running around in the pasture with the mom. It's all pretty cool to see. The other sheep are due anytime as well as two of the goats, so I hope we get to see more babies while we're here.

We're right between Dupont State Forest and Pisgah National Forest. Both awesome riding areas.

The trails are really well built, maintained and marked. There's a lot of attention to detail, with little wall rides built with stones, berms, and natural rock drops and step-ups. The trails have a good mix of climbing, descending and great flow. Overall just super awesome fun riding.

The Hunger Games was filmed in Dupont Forest and the neighbouring towns. I need to finish the book so I can go see the movie while I'm here.