m-dot bike tour

Over the past two weekends (oh jeezz has it really been that long, I really should update more often), some friends and I rode the IMC bike course to get a feel for what some of us signed up for. In short, the course was do-able-ish (yeah right, minus the drafting we did!). And man oh man I'm not too sure about this idea of running a little marathon afterwards...I guess I still have a little bit over a month to figure it out. I definitely should consider consulting more you-tube IM videos for motivation, since they have more deepful meaning after doing this trip.

I still haven't been swimming and taking it easy with rides and runs. This was the perfect getaway from the city - we also enjoyed a wine festival afterwards in Kelowna. A wine and cheeze adventure for shures.

I was quite fortunate to have only the handle bar tape torn a little bit (and minor scratch to the pendal) from the crash in the Vancouver Tri. It goes to show, my bike has a pretty mean streak as well (no pun intended). ;) 

Maybe my bike's mean streak had scared poor Ogopogo the sea monster in Okanogan Lake away...that's pretty bad-ass you know?

You never want to anticipate for a flat, but in the back of my mind, I knew I could use a break to get a slushie. Next thing you know it, the cycling and slurpee gods answered!! They must had formed a joint 2-member panel to hit us right near the town of Osoyoos, where there was a 7-11 nearby and right before Richter Pass! Can you say perfect timing? Awesome.

While biking around the town of Keremeos, we saw this very familiar minivan. Scott and I was riding along, stopped to the side to take a closer look (of course our legs weren't desperately craving for a break by this point ;)).



WHOA no way, it's really Mr. Wight!! This is quite fitting, since originally it was Scott, Andrew and I that formed the original 3-man pack to do IMC 2012, 30 year anniversary of the race.

That was before Kim and Kory threw in a monkey wrench to the original 3-man pack plans and seems like 10 of us are doing IMC 2011 this year. Hopefully the 2012 3-man pack still stands. I know I'll be keeping my end of the promise.
Less than 37 more days to go... and counting. =)

Race Report: Vancouver Half – Impeccable Aiming

Date/Time: July 3, 2011, 6:30 am
Weather: 15ish, clear Distance: Half IM
Gun time: 5:11:11
Swim: 41:51 (2:13 per 100m pace)
T1: 2:45
Bike: 2:52:37 (31.3 km/hr)
T2: 1:03
Run: 1:32:57 (4:38 per km)
Age Group: 14/27
Overall: 82/227

You’ve probably heard by now that I had a pretty unsightly crash during Vancouver Half-IM.

Yes, I have had better races. Yes, I could have just called it quits. Yes, I was lucky to escape with only flesh wounds.

And yes, it was partly my fault for flirting with the line a bit too much, when all of a sudden then a cone had hit-on me.

Before I knew it, my front tire took flight and I had lost control of my bike and instantly met the kind asphalt arriving at 33 km/hr. I’ll spare you the visuals, since the wounds look a lot worst than they actually are ;).

I only have my impeccable aiming to blame. Had I hit the cone half-assed I might had had a fighting chance to keep my balance.

But that little warrior inside me just told me to just keep going - and keep going I did. Wasted no more than 2 seconds to hop back onto my bike. My mission was to not just finish, but finish strong. I just wanted to say I’m alright and smiling, despite the bloody mess. In fact, smiling really helped keep the sting away.

But honestly, it felt like the cones on the bike course were so poorly positioned and excessive; some had lie even within a foot inside of the biking lane. The cone that really caught me by surprised was when the two-lane road merged into a single-lane with a bike lane. Traffic was still divided from cars and hence the cone that I hit was placed in the middle of the single lane. No lines to keep me on route during the merge. =(

Unfortunately this had occurred on the first of four laps and I still had to brute the next three laps on the bike. Second lap I just hammered up Jericho hill on my big gear, something I would never do during a race. Just in shock for this lap. I managed to settle in on the last two laps.

On the run, I didn’t try to push the pace too much and just focused on good technique. Overall I was pleased to finish. =)



Once again, big thanks goes to my dad for these awesome action shots.