Canada Cup #1 Mont Tremblant

I've successfully completed my first Canada Cup here at Mont Tremblant yesterday!  With the goal of 'just finishing' to see how hard I could push it without driving my back into the ground, I was fairly happy with an 8th in Elite.   I am now more excited to continue on with more racing this season knowing I got lots more stored up in the tank.

            Top of the Chairlift- Thank you Taylor for the pictures 

My new Superfly SL was AMAZING! It was so light and handled extremely well over the rocky technical descents.

Jon Barnes was able to win his race, and Peter put in a great race as well finishing 10th in Elite Men.

You can check out a video from Peter of the course here.

We have a day now to enjoy the gorgeous town of Tremblant before we head to Baie-Saint Paul tomorrow to prepare for next weekend Canada Cup #2.

 Check out the Canada Cup 1 Results

-Karlee

OCup #1 and the low down on my back (good news)

I am now just about settled in, in Toronto. I almost have recovered from the long drive home (seemed harder to recover from that drive than a five day road stage race)!

This past weekend we had the OCup #1 at Woodnewton. It was the first chance to have the full team together, and we couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend!

Saturday we had a U23 sprint tt and eliminator race- which was a lot of fun! The sprint tt went really and I was happy with having the fastest U23 Women's time through!  I managed to miss my pedal in the eliminator but I got a good run through trying to chase back up.  Cayley and Mitch both made it to the final round which was exciting to watch.

Sunday was the XC race. I was excited about getting onto Canadian dirt and off the California sand. The course was so much fun, I really enjoyed it.  I got off to a great start, sitting in 3rd and 4th, but then the back locked up once again.

So ... the back...

Everyone has been asking me daily about it and I feel like a broken tape repeating myself over and over again. Its extremely frustrating and emotional explaining to everyone repeatedly (as you could imagine why by reading below), even though I know, and am so thankful for, everyone just wanting to help because they care, as it has gotten in the way of achieving lots of my goals.

SO it's been almost four years of the most painful S.I. joint problems. Its an on-and-off occurrence so some races it acts up and others its a measurable amount of pain I can push aside. Sitting through school, standing at part time jobs and travelling in cars has also almost been impossible. The pain comes on strong in a race, and eventually becomes so much my S.I. Joint "locks" up and I literally can only maximally push 50watts. I have been through the most extensive network of seeing multiple, multiple, physio, chiro, naturopath, orthopedic surgeons, massage therapists, having MRI, X-Ray, kinesiotaping, doing yoga, Pilates  core training, strength training, foam rolling, tennis ball pressure point exercises, I have had about 50 different bike fits, tried about 18 different saddles and nothing really seemed to work. I have had about 10 different diagnostics, and no one ever gave me a solid answer.

UNTIL...this week.  I bought the book "The Core Advantage" by Tom Danielson and Allison Westfahl, and have been giving it a go- only for about a week. Knowing another cyclist put up with very similar back pain- and overcame it is really exciting to me.  The exercises are cycling related and have a lot to do with posture and rehabilitation/injury of the low back and S.I. Joint area.   I have also been fortunate about coming across a physiotherapist at Urban Athlete who sounds like she knows exactly what is going on and how to fix it.

My right side of my pelvis is tilted forwards and rotated around to one side; a form of S.I. Joint Disfunction  Not the easiest fix as my muscles over the last few years have been accustomed to hold it in that position.  However with some frequent pelvic adjustments, posture work and strengthening I will train it to be held in the proper position. With my pelvis in this position it is putting a lot of force on my femoral nerve, which isn't letting my quad fire with the strength it has.   I also have a non-firing glute and pelvic floor muscles due to this- which almost all your power comes from.

Doing simple muscular tests,which I had never taken too much notice in the results, and failing them, I really saw this week how weak I am in the leg with the out-of-wack pelvis. After the S.I. joint is re-aligned and worked on my glutes and opened up the hip flexor so its not compressing the nerve, I have almost 20X the amount of strength.

This is exciting- both in the way of it looks like I am on the right track to getting myself healed and how much more muscular strength I am going to have..I'm going to be so much stronger with a pain free back!! It's crazy!

This injury though has had some benefits- I have grown so much stronger, fitter and healthier trying to deal with it. Taking proper care of nutrition, mobility, strength and flexibility from the injury will definitely carry through to an all round better performance.

As you can see it has been a long time injury that is not fun to talk about anymore- but excited I may be on the right track.

Anyways...

Cayley, Mitch and Jon all had podium finishes from the Woodnewton OCup in the XC race- congrats!  Looks like our team is going to have a great season.

Our new bikes, the Trek Superfly Elite SL, are all built up/getting built up- HUGE thank you to Trek, Sram, Trek Toronto, Trek Canada and Taylor for that!  I can't wait to race her (Wanda)..she's under 20lbs!  We will be showcasing them this weekend at the Trek Demo Day at Hardwood Hills!

Next up is the first Canada Cup of the year at Mont Tremblant May 18th and then Baie St. Paul to follow May 25th.

Thats all for now,

Karlee

Sea Otter and a 40 hour drive home

Two weeks ago we packed up our home in Oxnard and headed up to Monterey for Sea Otter Classic.  It took almost three hours to pack all of our belongings into the truck, and it was like a giant jig-saw puzzle. We were shocked everything actually fit- and were excited to take off- but then of course the car battery completely died. 

We had so many bags and boxes to go inside- plus 6 bikes and 16 wheels!

I was really happy to arrive in Monterey. It is a gorgeous area and everything seems so relaxing.   We are fortunate enough to stay with an amazing host housing family right across from Laguna Seca Raceway where our races are held.   We stay on a large farm equipped with cows, horses and a donkey, in a gorgeous guest house.  We had many great days before the race pre-riding the course, barbecuing awesome meals and relaxing in the sun. 

A huge thank you to Trek Canada and everyone who helped me prepare for this event.  Thanks to ESI for the wonderful new white grips, and to Quarq for providing us with brand new Quarq cranksets for the races!

Wanda is looking nice!

The races at Sea Otter were tough- and didnt go quite as I wanted but I still took away a lot of experience and learning from both the short track and the xc. 

Sunday after our last stop at In N Out and Taylors race (he placed 2nd in Cat 3!), Taylor and I headed our journey home. We stalked up on some snacks, and didn't really stop until we were back in Toronto...4427.5km later. (We were so used to driving we drove right past the exit to his house!)

The drive was gorgeous for the first day and a half- driving through Nevada, Utah- Salt Lake City and Wyoming was really pretty. We got hit with a major blizzard in Wyoming, passing through a white out with multiple cars in the ditch- but got through with no problems. It rained for the next 15 hours and then all day Wednesday which forced me onto the trainer (super sad). 

Passing through Nevada

The Great Salt Lake

The start of the snow storm- packaging up the dirt bike

Good thing we covered it!

 Hopefully the last time on the trainer for the year!

I am really excited for the first O Cup this coming Sunday at Woodnewton.  We have a U23 sprint eliminator race tomorrow and then the XC race Sunday!

Karlee

Last block in Cali

I can`t believe that I already head up to Monterey for Sea Otter Classic this coming Sunday, and then back to Canada the following Sunday. It will be a long drive back to Toronto- hopefully we get a good book on tape! Time has flown by, where did the winter go! I will definitely miss California.

With the last week here upon us, we have tried to cram in all our favorite rides and things to do.

Taylor and I hit up my favorite place to eat in Santa Barbara- Backyard bowl- which was super delicious! We also finally stopped in at Handle Bar Cafe.

We explored the Mexican grocery store yesterday- and I got 6 of the best grapefruits I have ever ate for $1!!!  They had over 100 different types of peppers and squash too- it was so cool!

On Saturday I got in an epic Mountain bike ride, which was awesome! I was totally crushed at the end of the ride and couldnt even stand up.  The hardest rides are always the best though!   I also fell into a bush of poison oak and have been itching like crazy.

Today Taylor and I rode one of my favorite routes from last year.  We started on a long climb in Malibu, descended over the back side along Muholland Hwy, climbed another really hard rode- Stunt- and then descended possibly the craziest route I have ever done- Tuna Canyon.  It is a one-way steep descent from the top of the ridge to the ocean- some corners drop more than two story buildings!

Taylor was really excited to eat his Stroop Waffles on the ride- he ordered 80 off amazon..

 Taylor climbing up Latigo 

 Top of Latigo

 First peak of Latigo

 Top of Stunt Climb- amamzing views on either side;

More views on Stunt

Tuna Canyon one-way downhill

 Hard to tell but its really steep- I thought my brakes were going to fail me multiple times!

 It was a gorgeous hot day! Taylor got some nice sun burns

And he was super excited he peeled his navel orange in one section...

Off to eat a massive,delicious breakfast at Mrs. Olens tomorrow morning on Hollywood beach- and then head south to the Oakley Factory in Irvine!

I am getting excited for Sea Otter- get to see my friend Beer Can- the donkey on the farm we stay at- and I get to put more hard training to the test in a short track event on Friday, and XC event Saturday!

More updates soon!

Karlee 

Fontana XCT

Well, I now have my second mountain bike race under my belt.

This past weekend we headed down to Fontana for another US Cup race.

The course was much different than Bonelli, as the laps were over 30 minutes long each.  There was a lot more sustained climbing, and a lot more rocks and drops.  Friday was super hot during the pre-ride, but even Taylor joined us riding since he finally bought gears for his bike, which was nice!

pre race

Saturday was really hot as well- my garmin says it got up to +36, and average +32 for the XC race.  I was able to get a great start in the XC, but the first hill and heat were tough. I eventually worked my way up a bit, and by the last lap I was finally feeling in a good rhythm.. too bad it wasn't just a bit longer. I ended up 11th- so-so, but still gained lots of experience  and I am taking away a lot of information to apply my training to in the next few weeks before Sea Otter Classic.

Sunday was the short track race.  Once again like last weekend, I didn't really sleep before the race, but I was super excited. The course was awesome and really fast.  I got off to another great start and settled in behind the leader soaking up some draft.  On the 3rd or 4th lap I hit someones wheel before the uphill, crashed and had to unfortunately run up the hill.  I lost quite a bit of time, and Chloe and Lea ended up getting a gap.  Dissapointed I missed that, I chased as hard as I could for a couple laps, and right as I planned to bridge up they rang the 1 lap to go bell- 3 minutes too early!   I settled back in and attacked for third.

         Taylor Near photo credit

 A bit dissapointed I crashed to my mistake, but really happy with the outcome regardless and a 3rd place!

Peter had a bit of misfortune this weekend with two flats, but raced super hard in the short track!

Weekend results;
Pro XC Women
Pro XC Men
Pro XCST Women
Pro XCST Men

Now for a good block of training before Sea Otter April 19-21st.

Stay tuned for some more photos of Fontana soon, I will post them in the next couple days.

Karlee

First Mountain Bike Race (of the season and ever) Bonelli US Cup

I now officially have completed my first mountain bike race!   This past weekend we headed down to San Dimas for Bonelli Park US Cup UCI race.  We arrived on Thursday, and it was +30 and sunny, gorgeous weather to ride a bike. 

Everything this weekend was new to me, and I learnt so much. Pre-riding the course on Friday brought many nerves to the surface as I didn't know what to expect, and all the loose off-camber sandy downhill turns with huge ruts made me slightly apprehensive at racing them full speed.  

Taylor was able to take some great photos of Peter and I pre-riding the course;  (There are more on the Trek Canada Facebook Page and blog to look at)

Saturday morning was our cross country race.  I just wanted to gain familiarization with how xc events are run, and to give it my best. I was called up almost last, but I knew I just had to be aggressive off the start. I didn't have a great start, but I slowly picked off people the entire race.   The course felt awesome racing it, it was a lot of fun!  

 That evening we had the Super D race. It was finally my chance to bomb down a single track hill and power over a couple steep climbs- I was so excited.   The race was over before I knew- just 7 minutes and 15 seconds- but it was great!  I ended up 3rd in that event, my first ever mtb podium!

After eating Thai food, red curry for the third night in a row, I was off to sleep- for a bit. I was up half the night so excited for the short track race Sunday afternoon.  It was like a crit, but on a mountain bike and on different terrain- and I was mapping out my race plan in my head. 

                                             

I was able to start in the front row for short track, and I had a great start.  

                                            

                                            

The race started off really fast, but I jumped on a wheel and stayed in the draft most of the race!

The race was tough but it was only 20 minutes. It was the most fun on the bike in a race i'd ever had! (I'm definitely hooked to mountain bike!!) Near the end of the race there was a solid group of us 5 women just ahead of the others. I ended up getting stuck behind Lea Davidson crashing on the sandy turn right on the last lap, but managed to still get 4th overall.  

My Superfly- Wanda- was amazing to race this weekend. She was always in perfect shape and condition- Thank you Taylor!

I am super excited now for the rest of the season, and for the next race in a week and a half in Fontana.  I have to find a way to transfer my power to the XC race, but I am sure I will be able to with a bit more experience.  

Peter had some great results as well this weekend, with 14th in Pro Men XC and Super D and 20th in Pro Men Short Track.

Check out all the results here;

Pro Women XC Results

Pro Men XC Results

Super D Results

Pro Women Short Track Results

Pro Men Short Track Results

Now for a good week block of training!

-Karlee 

Beached seal

 Before heading out for a great mountain bike ride yesterday at Sycamore Canyon, we saw a sad little beached seal.  Taylor saw it sucking on the propane tank hose to a barbecue, probably not a good thing.

When I finished my ride he had hiked even further up on the beach. After I gave him a lengthy pep talk and drew arrows back to the water for him in case he was disoriented, (see photo below)..he started to sprint towards the ocean. It was so great!

He made it so close before needing a break, the water was coming up to his nose.

Karlee