This was the smallest race of the year, so far, for me.

I showed up, kind of uncertain about racing, but being as stubborn as I am I decide to stick in and give it a shot. I had gone for a ride the night before and hammered up the little hills...my mistake. My legs were now sore.

Five women showed up to race in the cat-4 group. Five. That's it.

The five of us, nervously, got grouped to start with the cat 1-2-3 women. The fast women.

The first two, almost three, laps were OK. The five of us managed to hang on. I clung to the back using all my might.

After lap three, and for the rest of the race, we were dropped. Four of us rode together until the prime lap. I had no extra UMPH in my legs to push at the sprint, and try as I might, I got dropped. Two women remained racing together for the cat-4 finish. I completed my laps and the race, after being lapped by a super speedy Morgan. Seeing her go by so quickly inspired me to pick up the pace...which lasted all of a few hundred metres.

I finished in fourth place. All alone. Exhausted.

I guess this is what happens when the racing season is over? No one comes out to play?

There's another race on the 9th, and I plan to show up to that one. Crossing my fingers that there's a few more women there this time.

Ask any of my friends or coworkers and they will likely agree that I have an obsession a love affair with donuts. I talk about them all the time. I dream of eating them. When I travel, I like to find the best donut shop in town. I know all the places to go for good donuts within my city, and in some other cities too.

One of the best days I had was when I got a coupon for a FREE donut from a local gourmet donut shop. I was equally as sad when I thought I lost that coupon...and then overjoyed when I found it!

On the topic of donuts, I was browsing Etsy the last couple days and found some ridiculously perfect things that I should (probably) own.

Some people have been asking me lately, why it is that I wanted to be a part of the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Yes, I've mentioned on my fundraising profile that I'm riding in memory of my grandmother and in dedication to a few people in my life who are fighters and survivors. That's all very true.

Then I mention that I'm riding it for me. That's very true as well.

What I don't go into detail of, is why I'm riding it for me.

I can say all of those inspirational lines, such as "to prove how strong I am" or "to do something good in this world..." and neither would be false. I am doing the ride to prove to myself just how much I can do and to do something good. My karma cup is feeling pretty low these days. But those aren't the real reasons I'm doing this ride.

I'm doing it because I too, have had a close encounter (too close for comfort) with cancer.

My partner is known for going on really, really long bike rides. 200km, 300km, 400km rides...followed by an 'easy' ride recovery day of 100km +. He's a bit nuts. But I like it.

He has done a few bicycle touring trips, and he really enjoys them. I had never done anything like that. Until this weekend.

I agreed to go on a mini bicycle tour to Vancouver Island, to the city where I was born...Victoria.

Day 1 - Vancouver to Tsawwassen, Swartz Bay to Victoria

I booked us a cheap hotel, packed my bag, sent the dog to a pet sitter, and pulled on the lycra.

We hopped on our bikes after work on the Friday, and headed towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Since bikes aren't allowed to ride through some tunnel, we had to take a long way around - riding all the way down River Road, and then over the Alex Fraser Bridge, and all the way back along River Road. Of course, the distance was only worsened by the fact that we had to fight a head wind nearly the entire way on the second half of River Road and all the way to the ferry.

We were also on a deadline. The ferry would leave at 7pm. We didn't leave any space in our timing to get lost or for any mishaps. So what happens? We get lost, of course! We took one wrong turn and ended up having to find our way through the scenic Ladner, rather than the more direct route.

The change in route, and slower pace, meant that we were ultimately late for the ferry. It wasn't as if we didn't try to catch the 7pm. I tried best as I could to sprint as if my life was ending, to keep up with Corey, in a head wind, with a big back pack, and we still missed the ferry. We were a couple minutes too late. 5 minutes after 7. The ticket clerk wouldn't let us on or sell us a ticket...even though the ferry was not finished loading yet.


What a stump in our trip plans!

After finding something to eat at the ferry terminal, we impatiently waited for the 9pm ferry to arrive. Once on the ferry, I tried to get a hold of the hotel we booked, to let them know we would be late. There was no answer and no answering machine...turns out that the hotel closed at 9pm. So not only would we be arriving into Victoria late, but we would have no hotel booked.


We arrived into Victoria, Swatrz Bay after dark, around 10:30pm. It began to rain just as we left the ferry and the rain drops continued for about a half-hour. It was around this time that I realized that my chamois was not comfortable, something was rubbing, and I was starting to get saddle sores. THIS WAS NOT NORMAL! I haven't had too many issues with saddle sores...and here, on day one of our bike-packing trip, I was developing some. SHIT. Wieners.

The ride into downtown Victoria was pleasant, especially after the rain stopped. The bicycle route was well-marked and spacious - we were able to ride side by side nearly the entire way. Some of the route was a gravel pathway through trees and farms, and very quiet and eerie. I nearly got hit in the face by a bat, who decided it didn't like the way I looked. Holy f'n scary! I've never seen a bat that close before, and it nearly made me fall off of my bike.


We arrived into downtown Victoria near midnight, found a hotel along the bike path and got a room for the night. It was a bit more expensive than the hotel we had booked, but it was a place to sleep and clean up. Showering felt amazing!

The hotel bar downstairs was still open, so we treated ourselves to a beer. We just rode about 100km...it was a very well deserved beer. A Facebook friend of mine came to join us, and took us on a cruise to a local pizza joint --- delicious!

The night ended late and we zonked out quite quickly.

Day 2 - Victoria to Sooke, to the Meadery, and Return

On the second day, we checked out of the hotel, cycled across a bumpy pedestrian bridge to Esquimalt, found coffee and breakfast, then headed on a tour towards Sooke.

The cafe we found in Esquimalt was super neat! It was a bike shop, combined with a bakery, combined with a coffee bar - they all shared one space, but had separate service counters. We shared a meaty, bready sandwich; I had a tasty Americano.

After our tummies were satisfied, we found our way to the (again, well marked) bicycle path, and started the trek to Sooke.

The roads were peaceful and quiet for the most part, and the bicycle lanes were well-marked. In many parts, the bicycle paths were off of the road and hidden in the bushes, they were wide, but shared with pedestrians. They felt like bicycle highways. We had no problem navigating our way to Sooke and only ended up minorly lost once. The highway out to Sooke was clear of debris and quick. Though, the saddle sores I had accumulated the day before were really being a pain in the ass. Literally. No amount of chamois butter was helping.

When we got into Sooke we were hangry. Almost to the point of fighting. So we made rest at a restaurant and devoured lunch. I attempted to eat a gigantic bowl of poutine...to no avail. Corey had the most amazing soup and sandwich. Once full, fat and happy, I decided I wanted to cycle the extra 10km further and visit Tugwell Creek Meadery. I had heard about the place when I worked at the fruit winery, but I had never been. Now was the time.

It was actually kind of a romantic sort of ride.

Tuesday nights. I always look forward to getting out and playing at the crits on Tuesday nights. After the previous week's challenging race at UBC, I was looking forward to racing the fast and flat course at Glenlyon this week.

I felt nervous, because I would be racing on the Argon. It's not technically my bike, and it's fancy (to me). I was scared of dropping it, but not scared enough not to race. I used the Argon at the UBC race the other week too, and I think that along kept me from riding crazy. Last thing I want to do is destroy a beautiful bicycle.

The women's cat 4 field was decently large, though not as big as some races - it seems that a lot of the girls are starting to move up into the cat 1, 2, 3.

The race pace was quick, but the pack held together well. There were a couple coaches riding with their girls on this race - and one coach in particular seemed to get in people's way. It was quite annoying, and I lost my line a couple times to this coach, to the point where I was pushed up against the curb. Not cool.

I certainly feel more comfortable taking the corners now, but I keep seeming to get stuck behind or next to girls who don't. I had to brake a few times to avoid being hit or hitting someone's rear end because they were braking a lot in the corners. I really hope they get the hang of this soon! Last thing I want to do is cause a crash.

There's also still a few girls that are a bit sketchy to ride near, braking, not taking turns pulling, moving in random directions without any warning. I have a good idea who to look out for.

My plan for this race was again, to disrupt team formations. Didn't happen a whole heck of a lot, because I kept getting boxed in and had difficulty advancing and positions.

Prime lap was taken by some adorable tiny gal -- good job on that sprint!

Unlike the last race, the pack stuck together pretty well after the prime lap.

On the last lap, I tried to keep a front position, to be in the top ten. I pushed from the last corner to the finish line, passing a number of other riders. I was happy with my placement, but I know I had a lot more in me in terms of energy and improvement. I didn't give this race my all.

Next race, I need to work on exhausting all my energy and concentration on the race.

Sunday was an eventful day; my cycling team hosted a race up Mount Seymour.

I know, sounds fun, right?!

Racers gather in their respective categories, then race as fast as they can, lungs burning, muscles screaming, to the top of the mountain. Whoever gets there first, is the winner. Of course, anyone who finishes the race, is awesome too.

It's a 12 km ride up the mountain with nearly 900m of elevation gain. Whatever you do, don't forget to start your Garmin before you begin the climb --- don't forget, like I did!

So, where was I? Back to Sunday!

My morning started early (5 am) so that I could get myself, my dog, and my bike organized in time to pick up my lovely friend who volunteered her time to help at the event (big thank you!!). We were at the bottom of the mountain just after 7 am to help with the race set up. Winston was pretty excited to be out and exploring, taking in all the aromas of North Vancouver.

We had the registration table open at 8 am and cyclists were already started to trickle in.

At 9:30, the first wave of cyclists departed from the start line and began their race up Seymour. My partner was in that race, with the cat-4 men. He achieved a personal record on his climb, and placed in second in his category! So proud of him!

At 10:10, we - the women - took our start. There were 8 or 9 of us in total, which is large in comparison to some races. I hadn't had a chance to even really warm up, having just tossed the wheels back on the bike and managed to change right before the start time. My legs were slightly sore from the Gibson's Grind the day before, but I knew they would warm up in time. I had no intention of sprinting from the start line anyways!

I did the climb in 1:00 hour and a few seconds. This shaved 10 minutes off of my personal best!...which I only achieved about a month ago! I placed second in my category as well (women's cat-4), so I'm pretty happy with the results and my performance. I had a goal of keeping my speed above 10km/hr all the way up, and I manged to do just about that. Seeing everyone's speed and pace on the results after the race made me realize just how much harder that I can and need to, push myself. I was just barely suffering, if at all, on my climb. I would like to shave another 10 minutes off of my time before the end of 2016., and have a comfortable climbing time just under 50 minutes by next summer.

I was really impressed with all of the riders who came out to race up Mt Seymour. We had riders of various ability levels and experience, all taking a chance. It's great to see more women getting out and riding and racing too!

As I do with any race, I realize how much further I have to go. I have so much more room for improvement, it's crazy! The other women who rode up the mountain have given me a bit of inspiration to push harder and climb faster on my next ride.

Have you ever done the Mt Seymour hill climb? What was your time? What was your favourite part of the ride?

Some pictures of me getting to the top of the road - finished the climb!

Another night, another race.

The weather held out, yet again, and the rain didn't come pouring down.

The women's cat-4 field wasn't overly large this time, and a number of women have moved up into the cat 1-2-3 group.

The roll out at the start of the race was friendly enough, though I got stuck behind a girl who just couldn't figure out how to turn a corner without cutting it...and I had to brake in the corner to avoid being smushed into the sidewalk. Not fun.

I was still feeling pretty tired from my venture to Victoria (write up still to come) and the 300km I had rode over the weekend. I could feel the soreness in my legs and I knew I wouldn't have the most power to sprint at the finish. As much as I tried to stay near the front of the group I kept getting stuck behind or beside some unsure riders, who left me feeling as if they would cause a crash. People cutting corners and not holding their lines made the already tricky corners on this UBC course a pain.

The bell lap for the prime (preme?) sounded, and the pace quickened as per the norm. There's one woman that always snakes her way from the back to the front and sprints to get that lap and point - usually, the group will manage to re-form after that lap. This time, that didn't happen, and the sprinters kept going and got a good lead on the rest of the group.

Just after that, the women's cat-4 was being overtaken and passed by the men's group, and we were to neutralize. The two women that I was next to DID NOT neutralize (yet again, recurring issue) and took advantage of the situation. The women from behind me did not signal that they were racing again, and took advantage of passing a number of us. CHEAP. Taking advantage of situations is not a nice thing to do. Play nice!

I honestly started to just feel frustrated with the whole race, the poor neutralization and the break up of the pack. I let the frustration get to me. I let it eat at me and affect my performance. It wasn't until the last two laps that I snapped out of it, refocused on racing, and started to try and actually get around the riders who were 'blocking' me in, and try to get closer to the front of our now very small group.

Last lap I did my best to move up some more and hold a better position for the sprint to the finish. I finished in 9th place. I didn't have much of a pain face. I didn't suffer as much as I could have. I didn't push myself hard enough.

Next week I will return, with better rested legs and a better attitude. I will remind myself that I cannot change some things, so I must learn to accept and adapt.