Hardwood Canada Cup #3 (It's gonna get crazy)

Wow, Hardwood can actually get muddy! Who knew? After almost 2 months of super dry conditions, no one really expected it to be a wet race (at least I didn't). Fortunately the rain held off for most of the weekend and we even had a little sunshine here and there. The Hardwood Canada Cup is the biggest XC race in Ontario, with over 700 racers and many more spectators. This year it was also the last of the Canada Cup races for 2012.

The weekend started off with a youth preride with Trek Canada team and Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek). We had an awesome turnout with almost 40 kids joining in on the fun! After the preride we headed to the Subaru tent to sign "autographs" and give out Subaru cow bells to all our supporters.

Almost 40 kids joined in on the Trek Canada preride!

 Once again Sunday rolled around quickly and just as I started my warmup, the rain started coming down. The first few laps were fairly dry, but as the race went on the rain didn't let up and the course started to get interesting. There were a few super slippery spots in the singletrack, but the Bontrager 29.1 tires turned out to be a perfect choice, giving me some much needed traction, but not slowing me down on the hardpack sections. The Superfly 29er was also a great bike for the course, flowing easily over the rock piles and down "boneshaker." I had a strong race to finish 6th in elite and 2nd U23. Emily Batty took the win (on her Superfly), beating the Canada Cup series winner Sandra Walter by just under 3 minutes.

A huge thank you to Trek and Subaru for the great support over the weekend, and to all the fans who toughed it out in the pouring rain to cheer us on! I knew our home crowd was hardcore!

Baie-Saint-Paul Canada Cup #2 (No Mud?)

We started our Trek (hah) out to Baie-Saint-Paul on Sunday to get in a solid week of riding on the CC course. Last year the race was a mudbath so it was great to get there and find out that the course was super dry (and not much rain in the forecast). We also found out that there isn't a whole lot to do in BSP other than ride, eat and watch movies (which we did a lot). The week went by pretty fast and before I knew it it was Sunday and we were lined up ready to go. I had a strong race last weekend and with a few riders back from the World Cups in Europe I knew it was going to be a tougher race, but I was ready and excited. The race went really well and I finished 6th overall elite and 1st U23, which I was very happy with. Mitch also had a great ride finishing 5th overall elite and 2nd U23. Adam and Peter both had strong rides finishing 7th and 14th respectively. I'm really looking forward to the Canada Cup final this weekend on our home course at Hardwood Ski and Bike!

On the start line

Coming through the feed zone



Trek Canada

Tremblant Canada Cup #1

After Woodnewton, we had a few more days at home before heading out to Quebec for Canada Cups 1 and 2. Our first stop was the Mont Tremblant Canada Cup which is definitely one of my favourite courses. We had a couple days to ride the course, which never changes much from year to year, and get it dialed. Tremblant is fairly rocky and I decided to race my Trek Top Fuel 9.9 full suspension, which turned out to be a great choice, especially for the long downhill. There was no rain before the race which made for a dry, fast course. The sun was shining on race day as well and the temperatures were up in the 30s. The race was shortened from the usual 4 laps to 3 laps to keep the race times a bit shorter this year, which was nice considering the heat. I had a good race, finishing 5th and getting my first Canada Cup podium in Elite. Mitch and Peter had strong races finishing 9th and 11th, and Jon Barnes took the win in Master Ex!


Here are some pictures from the weekend thanks to the Bailey's and Taylor!


Women's Start

Through the village lap 1

Finish

Podium

Trek Canada's Setup

"They're Cheering for both of Us"

After a not-so-hot race at Mansfield, it was great to come back with a win at O-Cup #2. The weather was a beautiful 22 degrees and sunny, (unlike last year when we froze to death). The new course, built and designed by Sean Ruppel, was super fun with some great flowy singletracks, but still challenging with some tough climbs. My Trek Superfly 29er was the perfect bike for the day. I duked it out with local Haley Smith for the first 3 laps, then got a gap on the 4th and final lap to take the win. It was a super fun race and riding together, we weren't sure who everyone was cheering for (Haley and Cayley sound very similar).

In the men's race, Trek teammates Peter Glassford and Mitch Bailey took the top 2 spots on the podium after a great battle. 

And last but not least Trek Canada's Jon Barnes finished a strong 3rd in the stacked Master Expert category. It was a great weekend for Trek Canada!

A huge thank you to everyone who was there to support us over the weekend and make it a success! And thank you to Momma Brooks and Momma + Papa Bailey for the great pictures!

Mansfield Ontario Cup Numero Uno

Mansfield is where my love of mountain biking started, as a camper and then counsellor at the mountain bike summer camp. A lot of my summers were spent riding around the amazing trails there. A couple years ago Mansfield was closed for mountain biking, so now the only time to enjoy the trails are race weekends.
This weekend started off with Chico's Learn to Race clinic on Saturday morning. Amanda Sin and I got the chance to ride with a group of young riders and racers who wanted to work on their skills. I had a lot of fun riding the course with them and it was great to meet some new people.
Sunday was race day and although it was only around 12 degrees, it was sunny and way nicer than most years. I was happy with my race and am feeling strong and confident for the coming Ontario and Canada Cups.

The gurrrrls

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to Mason who stayed from his 9 o'clock race until my 1:30 race to cheer me on! And congratulations to him on his great result in his first race ever!

Spring Cleaning... Of My Phone

My cell phone was getting pretty full with pictures from the last couple of years so here are some of the best ones, enjoy.

Apparently dogs know about putting your legs up?

I laughed

Winter ride

Edmonton was a little muddy

Sean Ruppel caught stealing a little kids bike

Canmore, Alberta

Canmore again

Baby cows at Cole's

Waterfall in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec.

Riding up the Blue Ridge Pkwy in North Carolina

Nice old Bronco

?

Snowshoe

First bath

He loves me lol

Cool tree in Port Dover

Summer is Coming Faaaast

With the second race of the year under my belt (Homage to Ice), it's time to start ramping up again for the first big races of the year. The first O Cup is coming up in just a few weeks and I'm starting to get excited to do some travelling! (some more travelling that is). My schedule for the summer is looking pretty full, with a couple trips out to Quebec, a couple down to the states and possibly one out west. Until then I'll be home enjoying our early spring and taking advantage of the clear trails in Ontario.

Post ride (freezing cold snowy ride) Sushi with Miss Haley

Carbon helping me clean my bike