Gear 2.0 : mountain bike pedals and front fork lock out

Its been a while since I posted a gear 2.0 so I thought I'd talked about pedals and front fork lock out, two things that have given me issues. Front fork lock out system are great, they allow you to lock you fork on the fly, allowing it to be stiffer on climbs and even terrain. I had a cable lock from SRAM and I was having issues, it seemed that under load it didn't want to unlock, which caused me some grief when I needed the full suspension. Jason at Cap's looked after me and I have to admit that SRAM came through, upgrading to a hydraulic lock out, what a difference! Highly recommend it if you want to be able to lock your Front fork. As for my pedals, you may remember my misadventure in the Philippines. I ride Eggbeatter 3 from Crank Brothers. I sent my pedals away for warranty and I was pleasantly surprised when they sent me a brand new pair. Besides that, I really like their product and find that the pedals perform well in muddy terrain with an ease to get in and out. As for racing, you may wonder what's next on my plate? May 19 ITU world championship, I will be proudly wearing Canada's colours and will be racing as an age grouper. Happy trails!

Carpe Diem

Xterra Vegas, do you feel lucky?

I awoke this morning to cold and rain, I thought I was home. Hard to get motivated at times, especially when the water temperature was warmer than the ai, which is not saying much as the water was glacial! The rain stopped and it looked like the sun might even come out. After plunging in the fidgid water (notice a theme here!) The gun went off and I felt sluggish. Getting out of the water I was pleasantly surprise with my swim time. Off to the bike, chain came off and after dealing with it, I got into some what of a rhythm. This course is a power climbers course. After completing my 2 laps I headed in for a quick transition and headed to the run course. I finally could feel my feet by mile three ( they were still frozen from the swim!) With a sting run, I was heading towards the finish and I could hear some foot steps, as a male came by and I could see he was in my age group. With 300 m to go I said" I don't think so" and it was a sprint to the finish, beating him by one second. I was please with my finish, bettering my time by 15 min from last year. The boys did well, Sean beating us all, Roy had a flat tire, and with us coming out of transition on the run, I was just lucky to beat home. Shane wasn't too far off. With four races under my belt, I hope to be in decent shape for the ITU world cross in Alabama in about a month. Unil then, happy trails!

Carpe Diem

Xterra Vegas, less than 24 hours away

After arriving at Las Vegas airport and picked up by Sean and Roy,mtbe adventure began with finding this running store that Sean needed. I'll save you the details but we did a bit of a circle around town before we found it. Once arrived at our dig I build up my bike and went for one lap of the bike course. It is the same bike course as last year, not overly technical but some climbs, loose and jagged rocks and it can be dusty. I took my time, not wanting to push it the day before the race.i I'm a little tired I have to admit, a 9 am start is a welcome change from our very early starts back in the south pacific. The temperature is nice but it could be warmer, I'm not looking forward the glacial swim in Lake Las Vegas. Sean, Roy and Shane will be on the start line tomorrow with me, friends from Vancouver and it will be nice to see familiar faces. We shall see what happen! Stay tuned for a complete race report tomorrow. Until then, happy trails!

Carpe Diem

Xterra Vegas, here I come

It's time for my first test on North American soil at the Xterra Western Championship.  Although the weather doesn't look promising and Lake Las Vegas will be for sure cold!!! I'm looking forward to get back into the saddle and race along some some of my friends.  The boys Sean, Shane and Roy from BC are coming down and it will be nice to have some company on and off the field.  Stay tuned for the scouting report as I will be riding it tomorrow when arrive in Vegas.  Happy Trails!

Carpe Diem

Gear 2.0 : watches

I'm a bit of a data freak when I train, the more data I can look at, the more I feel I can learn. It's also important so I can send it to my coach so he can analyze it. There are a lot of watches on the market, Polar, Timex and Garmin to name a few. I just purchased the new Garmin 910XT, replacing my Polar system. I love the watch, first and foremost it now gives data on my swim, wether I'm indoor or out. Garmin also work with GPS technology so now when I run or ride, I get all the data and accurate mileage, even in the trails. 20 hour battery life will carry you through an Ironman, which is a big improvement. It pairs wireslessly with my MAC, which my my polar wouldn't do and sends it to Garmin connect on the web. This watch comes with an optional heart rate monitor which I took. There is also a multi sport function, with the touch of a button you can swap sports. I have been very impress with, if you are in the market or are dabating to get a multi sport watch, I think you won't be desapointed with this work horse of a watch. Happy Easter, treat yourself! Happy trails!

Carpe Diem

Some Photos from the Asia Triple Crown

Saipan

Philippines