Ridin' in the Rain

Week 16: June 16-June 22

Bike: 270 km
Run: 0 km
Swim: 1500 m

It was solstice weekend in the Yukon and time for more than 1000 cyclists to join together in suffering and complete the 240 km ride from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska. This ride an be done in teams of 8, 4, 2 or as a solo. For the first time, I was attempting to finish the entire trip as a solo rider. Thankfully, I had my Dad to ride with, a seasoned veteran on his 4th full Kluane Chilkat bike ride. The plan was to ride together, and then I would sprint away in the final 20 meters (a skill I had learned from my Mother who had honed the maneuver during the Birkie ski race.

As a solo female rider, I knew I was going to be in a pretty small grouping. I was crossing my fingers, hoping that there would be less than 3 of us - guaranteeing myself a podium finish. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed when I got to the Captain's meeting and saw there were 6 girls - my hopes for the podium were gone and I was fairly sure a top 5 would be out of reach. At least I was going to finish in the top 10...

After 5 years my KCIBR planning skills have been perfected. This is after a 2 years of doing the full drive in one day (5 am drive to Haines Junction for the start and a post-race drive back to Whitehorse)and 1 year of 3 people sleeping in a 1 bed hotel room. This year, I booked the hotels one year in advance and took the Friday off work. This approach worked well - especially because I was extra careful and booked 2 rooms in both Haines and Haines Junction, so when Dad tried to check into the Alcan and there was someone already in his room, we were able to all sleep in the same room without too much trouble.

The Haines to Haines relay started with a Bailey's and Coffee early Saturday morning. I have decided that this is not an ideal pre-race beverage, as it didn't take long for my stomach to become displeased with me. My Dad and I started off slow (okay - we were the last ones to get up the Haines Junction hill), but soon took advantage of an uncharacteristic tailwind and starting flying towards Dezadeash Lake. It seemed like the first 3 legs of the course were over with quickly and besides a mini-breakdown at leg 2, where I thought my knee would cause me to pull out of the race, I was feeling good. My Dad and I were riding together and able to rotate pulling (with the Dad rotation being inevitably longer than the daughter ones). Even when we hit leg 4 and the big hill out of Million Dollar Falls, I was feeling strong and had a great ride up the hill with Wendy (thank God her bike was about 5 pounds heavier, 10 years older, and I was able to keep up).

The main job of my KCIBR support is to listen to me whine. I usually catch up with Tony and the Subaru every 20 km, which gives me almost one hour to think about all the things I could whine about. I create a mental list, which I then prioritize, just in case I don't have time to whine about everything. When I met up with Tony after leg 4, I started whining about my stomach, when Tony (correctly) pointed out that I'd only drank 1.5 bottles in 100 km of riding. This was a bit dissappointing because it ruined my perfectly good complaining with a solution. Then I whined about having to pee - Tony pointed out a bush for me to squat behind. I was almost out of ideas when it started to rain harder, and I began to whine about being cold. At this point I realized that my Dad still hadn't arrived, which was part of the reason I was getting cold. This led to some fairly heavy duty complaining that I didn't know what had happened to my Dad. Unfortunately, Dad did not have the complaining gene and had been suffering through some stomach problems and instead of whining had decided to take a quick nap in the ditch. I didn't know this, so I decided to keep moving on my bike, and leave Tony the job of finding my Dad.

Once I got back on the road, I caught up with George and his pack of solo riders who were kind enough to let me join their pack. I couldn't decide if the pack riding was good because it cut out the (now) headwind, or if it was a bad thing because the wet conditions were leading to grit and water being sprayed into my already wet face. Leg 5 of the race was definitely the most brutally slow and miserable, and I was happy when we got to the checkpoint and the last of the summit legs. At this point, I had to disembark from my pack of fellow solo-ites, as they were stopping for food and Tony was still behind me with the dry/warm clothes. I was nice and soaked and figured that stopping would lead to hypothermia and possible death.

Leg 6 started with a big climb, but my favorite "Steep Descent - 18 km" sign was at the top of the hill and I started to cruise down towards Haines. The hill was long, fast, rainy (picture being pelted with little spit balls at 50 km/h), and very cold. The realization that I was going to get to the bottom of this hill, completely soaked, and Tony was nowhere to be found started to sick in and I began to panic...who would be there to hear me complain about the freezing rain or road grit??? More importantly how would I ever warm up. At checkpoint 7 I found salvation in Beth's friend Margo, who was able to provide a warm coat; as I sped by the 50 car line up waiting at the border I realized this would be my last piece of dry clothing until the finish line.

The last 2 legs were long, flat, windy and largely uneventful. My IPod bit it with about 30 km to go and I suffered through the last hour and a half in silence. Tony managed to catch me with 20 km to go and we planned to meet at the finish line, so I could get some warm clothes. I happily rode through the finish, down the hill and into the waiting car. I stripped out of the cold, wet clothes (much too tired to be modest) and we headed back down the course to support my Dad through the final 20 km. Our hotel room was about 100 meters from the finish, and when Dad crossed the line we went straight for a warm shower.

The 5th riding of the KCIBR was a success. The big question will be whether I solo it again next year (a challenging, but relatively pain-free experience), or try it as a 4-person team and go with a fast, but insanely difficult event. Only time will tell...

Sierra posted this on Jun 30, 2008 from the outside | | permanent link

Triathlon - Year 2

Week 12: May 25-June 1

Bike: 120 km
Run: 40 km
Swim: 2000 m

Week 13: June 2-June 8

Bike: 24 km
Run: 5 km
Swim: 0 m

Week 14: June 9-June 15

Bike: 126 km
Run: 0 km
Swim: 1500 m

In the past 2 days, a half dozen people have asked me about my blog. This has left me with a serious case of blogger's guilt, because I have not been good about updating. In a desperate attempt to catch up, I'm summarizing three weeks into one post. You will also notice that I'm changing my "weeks" so they include both Saturday and Sunday. This approach seems to work more logically because it fits with my training schedule.

The last three weeks have been dominated by one event - the second running of the Whitehorse triathlon. Last year was my first ever triathlon, and it was not a particularly pleasant experience. In fact, it was downright painful. This year, I went with a little more training and a lot more gear - including the lovely Contessa Von Awesome, my new Scott triathlon bike. Although the bike was specifically bought for triathlons I didn't think I'd rider her until the week before the race. I'd been having real problems with her and trying to maintain a triathlon position. The biggest problem was that I was getting blown all over the road and I was too scared to stay on my tri-bars. I was about to give up on Contessa all together and ride Lucy in the race, but the day the Tuesday before the triathlon, Tony dropped my handlebars by an inch and I decided to give her one last try. It turned out that Contessa was worth every penny when it came to battling a headwind, for the first time in my life I prayed for strong winds on race day!

The day of the triathlon, Ben and I went to the pool bright and early to secure prime bike parking for the transition zone. Unfortunately, neither of us really knew what "prime" parking might be, so we just ended up sticking our bikes anywhere. Following our setup, we headed back to Ben's house to pick up Jen and make our last minute clothing adjustments. Ben and I were both in the first heat, so by the time we got back to the pool it was time to get marked up and into the water. There are both advantages and disadvantages to being in the first heat. The advantage is that you get to the bike transition while it is fairly clear. The disadvantage is when you get passed by people who started 45 minutes after you - it's fairly humiliating. Last year, I was passed by many second heat participants - this year I hoped to minimize the humiliation.

The first event - swimming - is my weakest, but also the thing I've been working the hardest on. I was thrilled to get out of the pool in 31 minutes, the fourth one out of the pool in my heat. The bike transition went well, and I took off on the road for the second portion of the event.

The bike ride into the wind went well, and at the turn around I was feeling strong. My event history in the Yukon is such that I am a regular top 20 finisher - this would be more exciting except for the fact I've never been in an event with more than 20 people. Usually I place comfortably in the bottom 5 of the field, a position that I am happy with considering the caliber of athletes in this town. Imagine my surprise when I realized that with 20 km to go on the bike, only 2 girls were still in front of me. I decided to seize the opportunity and race back to the Games Center, knowing that it may cause me to completely breakdown in the run; but it could be the one and only time I ever finish something first. I don't know if it was the surge of competitiveness, or the 1750 gram bike, but with legs a-spinning I managed to zoom past the other girls and into the transition zone - first! It didn't matter that the second heat would surely have faster swim/bike times, I managed to get to the transition line before anyone else. It was thrilling, for about 2 seconds, then I realized I still needed to run 10 km and I was not a strong runner. Ooops!

The final leg of the triathlon was a 5 km run up Hamilton Blvd. and a 5 km run down Hamilton Blvd. My goals was to be passed by as few people as possible. I managed to stay in the front of the pack for about 20 meters before the first team sped passed me, with the burden of leading the group gone, I was free to run at my own speed. I finished the run portion a full 16 minutes faster than the previous year and made it to the end in 2:49, 20 minutes faster than last year and 11 minutes faster than my goal. It was a good day and it felt nice knowing that with a little bit of training, and a lot of wicked gear you can improve.

My favorite part of the triathlon was getting to see everyone I had been training with, especially Mr. Ben. Ben has been my faithful swimming partner and triathlon buddy. Training with Ben is always amusing and racing with him is even better. This year was Ben's first triathlon and I think he learned a couple of key lessons - the most important being don't ride a bike that has a seat affectionately known as the "ass hatchet". By the 30th kilometer, Ben was screaming in ass-related agony and running like a robotic penguin (as described by his lovely wife Jenn). It's things like this that make sports fun!

Post-triathlon, I was feeling awesome. So awesome I decided to go for a lunchtime run on Tuesday. This awesome run resulted in horrible swollen, pain filled knees and the end of training for 2 weeks. With the Kluane Chilkat bike relay looming on June 20th, there was no point risking injury. During my hiatus from athletics I managed to zip down to Vancouver to visit Miss Alexis and get to Ottawa and a sweet room at the Chateau Laurier. Details on those may (or may not) follow. But for now, I am caught up and entirely guilt-free.

Sierra posted this on Jun 15, 2008 from the outside | | permanent link

Sex and the City (of Whitehorse)

Like most Sex in the City fans, I couldn't figure out why the movie premiered in London. Everyone knows that Sex in the City should have premiered in Whitehorse. As the center of fashion and food in North America, Whitehorse is where Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda were meant to be. Unfortunately, the Yukon didn't have much success in convincing HBO, or the fabulous four, to premiere here. We couldn't let this minor setback stop us from throwing a good party. so the fabulous Barbara Coppard took the lead in hosting a movie event to be remembered.

Like any good Whitehorse party, the Sex in the City bash started with a Gucci dress and drinks in front of the woodpile.

We moved into the next logical step - a Sex in the City tailgater outside of Qwanlin Theater . To go with our cool and classy theme, the tailgate party featured Cosmopolitans and hors d'oeuvres, not to mention specially baked STC cookies.

Our evening continued with the movie screening, in a decadently decorated (thanks to Barb)theater.

After the show, we headed up to Barb's house for the after party. At this point, I had moved into Triathlon preparation mode and was no longer enjoying Cosmopolitans, but focusing my efforts on good old water and carb loading. Thankfully, Barb had prepared some of her famous cupcakes - guaranteed to get glycogen in the muscles.

In the end, it was a fabulously fun party.

Unfortunately, you can't quite tell from the picture, but that's because I was practicing my America's Next Top Model face. The is a face that I've been training for since hanging out with my sister in Aspen. Not only is my sister way cooler than me, she is also an employee of Dior (and former Gucci Girl), giving her lots of experience with the botox-aful and collagen-ated. I trust her posing pointers and think I look very chic (not to mention slightly airheaded).

Sierra posted this on Jun 04, 2008 from the livingroom | | permanent link

Going Golden

Week 10: May 11-May 17

Bike: 451 km
Run: 6 km
Swim: 1500 m

Week 11: May 18-May 24

Bike: 440 km
Run: 8 km
Swim: 2000 m

Golden Triangle

Whitehorse to Skagway: 180 km
Haines to Haines Junction: 240 km
Haines Junction to Whitehorse: 160 km

The long weekend of May is usually reserved for gardening and hammocking - two of my favorite summer activities. This year, with the Kluane Chilkat looming over my head, Tony and I decided to use the long weekend to do a local bike trip. The Golden Triangle (or Golden Circle depending on how strict of a geometrist you are) is a ride that takes you through the White Pass and Haines Pass, with a fun little ferry ride stuck in the middle.

Right up to Saturday morning, I wasn't sure that this trip was actually going to happen. The wind in Whitehorse has been brutal this summer and the gusts from earlier in the week had me convinced that riding a bike was a very bad idea. To get ready for the bike trip, I had ridden to my work retreat at the Sundog retreat, one day it took me 2 hours to make the 35 km back to Whitehorse thanks to the awful south wind. On Saturday morning it was calm, but rainy, so we headed to Skagway.

By the time we reached Carcross 70 km and more than 2 hours later, I was frozen like a popsicle. The cold rain had managed to soak through my clothes and my feet felt like blocks of ice. I was tempted to head back to Whitehorse and resign myself to a week-end in the sauna. Tony gave me permission to go, but said he would go on the trip without me. Refusing to be out-biked by my husband, I ate two pieces of pie and carried on.

We climbed through the White Pass to Log Cabin and sat down to enjoy a nice lunch. We had a 4:30 pm ferry to catch in Skagway, but we had made fairly good time and we figured we were only 15 km from the summit and our long descent into Skagway, so a cheese and bread stop was in order. The stop was lovely, but 500 meters out of Log Cabin we realized why it was called the White Pass. In what seemed like a split second we went from planet Earth to Dagoba (Yoda's hometown). The fog was as thick, and I couldn't keep my eyes focused on Tony, who was only a couple feet ahead. At this point I decided to embrace the fog and be as miserable as humanely possible.

After what seemed like forever (but could have been 200 meters for all I know), we reached the summit and were ready to head down. This was supposed to be the "fun" part of the day. Unfortunately, the fog had not lifted, ice rain was following, and the lovely Holland America bus fleet was heading back to town. Not only did my speedometer not climb over 30 km/h, by the time we reached US Customs I was so cold that I was shaking violently on my bike. I dumped my bike against the side of Customs, ran inside and started stripping off my wet clothes in front of the 8X10 framed photos of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. I replaced all my wet clothes with the only slightly less wet clothes from my panniers and sat in the building chattering and shaking. In the end, I finally understood why the body shakes to warm up, I was convulsing in an almost epileptic state, but I was definitely warming up.

I finally decided that if I didn't get back on my bike, we weren't going to make it to the ferry, and I crawled back on the icycle and quickly moved from winter into Skagway summer where the leaves were fully out and the flowers were in bloom. Tony had to stop at the bike store to find a spoke and I hurried to the coffee shop for a hot drink and 2 cheesecake brownies. Then it was onto the ferry and off to Haines, Alaska.

We got to Haines at around 5:00 pm and went straight for fish and chips. The food was barely in our stomachs before we headed back to the bed and breakfast, and more specifically in the bed. Our Haines to Haines Junction trip started bright and early at 6:00 am Alaska time. The early start was so that we could make our dinner reservation at the Raven's restaurant where the last sitting was at 8:00 pm. Thanks to the time change, this would give us 13 hours to complete the 240 km into Haines Junction.

To say that I was not happy at the start of our trip is an understatement. After riding the Kluane Chilkat for 3 years with a brutal headwind into Haines, Alaska, I had high aspirations of a wicked tailwind blowing me right up to the summit. When this didn't happen I threatened to turn around and hitch back to Whitehorse. Tony called my bluff and got me to Mile 33 for a deliciously satisfying breakfast and several cups of coffee. The intake of food was enough to lift me from my depression just in time to start the 1010 meter climb to the top of the Haines Summit. This is a climb that I knew well because I had flown down it several times on legs 6 and 7 of the Kluane Chilkat road relay. It's funny how hills don't seem nearly as long or steep when you are going down instead of up.

Once we hit the top of the Summit it was smooth riding through the hilly path and towards Haines Junction. The biggest problem we encountered was the lack of available water. Looking for fresh water on the Haines Road is a challenged, especially when the creeks are named things like: Goat Creek, Chuck Creek and Buffalo Creek. I kept my eyes peeled for Evian Creek, or Purity Creek, but eventually settled for whatever slow flowing water was closest to the road. For the next hundred kilometers I just imagined I was drinking lemon-lime-grass-mud flavored gatorade. by the time we hit Dezadeash Lake (80 km from Haines Junction) we had run out of water. You would think we would have ridden to the lake to refill, but the long hours had affected our brain cells and we were well on our way to Kathleen before we got desperate for some water. With only 20 or so kilometers left, we came to the Kathleen Lake Lodge, a newly opened lodge between Kathleen Lake campground and Kathleen River. Thankfully the lovely owners had water...and pie. Two pieces of pie, a Pepsi and a big bottle of water later, we were ready to tackle the final kilometers back into Haines Junction.

We arrived in Haines Junction with enough time to enjoy a hot shower before our Raven's reservation. After warming up and cleaning up, we had a fabulous meal at the Raven capped off with Tiramisu and Creme Brulee for dessert. If you are in Haines Junction and eager for an amazing meal, I strongly recommend the Raven's gourmet menu. Post-dinner we crashed in our lovely Raven's Room and enjoyed a well-deserved sleep.

The last day of riding was nice because our only time goal was to get to Whitehorse before Gossip Girl. This meant we had enough time to sleep in and enjoy a very big breakfast before hitting the road. Being a Monday of the long weekend, we decided to try to get as many kilometers in as possible before all of Whitehorse decided to drive home. We managed well and got to Kusawa before the RVs really started to zoom by. When the traffic got heavy, we decided to pull in for some calories. By day 3 I realized that I couldn't physically eat the amount of calories that I wanted to consume and was wanting to eat something every 15 minutes. At the pull out we met a lovely woman from Anchorage that should have never been allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle. We tried desperately to get her on the road in front of us, but unfortunately she insisted on hanging out at the rest stop and we spent the next 30 minutes fearing for our lives. Thankfully she managed to pass us without inadvertently running as over.

We pulled into Whitehorse and came home to find a very happy Starbuck. My calorie deficit was significant and I ended up eating a box of Kraft Dinner, a cheeseburger, 2 tins of tuna and a mini tub of ice cream as my post-bike dinner. I would have had onion rings, but somehow the Whitehorse A&W can't seem to keep them in stock. The next day I realized a couple important lessons about long bike trips: hotels/bed and breakfasts are the way to go, riding with your husband/wife is always a good idea because you have to forgive them even when they are a fatigue-induced jerk, and saddle sore is a noun as well as a verb...ouch!

Sierra posted this on Jun 03, 2008 from the outside | | permanent link