Cumberland Enduro
This was year number two of the Cumberland Enduro for me. It is always a week before MOMAR, which works well for a final training run. Enduro races are fantastic for riding with friends. You can ride together and still race your own race on the timed sections. This go around I rode with a nursing pal named Dave that recently moved to Cumberland and had never done a bike race before. It was a great time all around. This year the race had four stages. They included: Stage 1: Rhizome Stage 2: Truffle Shuffle Down, Teapot, Dam Trail Stage 3: Bear Buns, Off Broadway Stage 4: Missing Link, 2na Juice, Mama Bear |
I had a blast on the course and there were some really great trails to ride. I was a bit sad that old Thirsty Beaver was not in the mix, but it was recently logged. Adding Rhizome in was a great was to start the race and a super fun trail. Stages 2, 3, and 4 were all classic Cumberland trails. In total I think it took Dave and I over 4 hours to complete the entire race. We took our time and there were many waits at the timed sections, which put a slight damper on things. This did improve slightly as the race went on and people spread out a bit. In the end I finished with a time of 32mins 24secs and 2/6 in my division of intermediate female. Not too shabby I must say. I can't wait for next year. |
First Ever Maple Mountain Enduro
I was very excited to race in the first ever Maple Mountain Enduro. I have ridden in this area a couple of times, but not since the ascent trail was created or since work was finished on the lower section of Maple Syrup. It is obvious to see how much hard work and love has gone into the building of the trails here and I imagine that it must have been rewarding for the builders to see such a great event full off satisfied racers take place. I was extra stoked that the weather was nice and dry the day off the race since I have only ridden this area when it has been wet and had some pretty good bails because of it. There are some definite gnarly sections that get quite greasy. The race included the following stages: Stage #1 - Upper Maple Syrup Stage #2 - Middle Maple Syrup (Descent Section) Stage #3 - Tony's Arbutus Ridge (Start at the small Inukshuk finish at the early road exit) |
The start of the race sent us straight up the mountain on the new ascent trail, which I thought was fantastic. It was a long grunt up right off the hop, but the trail was swoopy and minimally technical, which beat riding the road. The next two timed sections were a blast, but I found them quite long. Plenty of time to mess up, which I did. I fell off my bike at least once in each stage. After the first two stages we headed up to stage three on arbutus ridge, which most people had never |
All in all I had a fantastic time. I came in 1/3 in my division of intermediate female with a time off 26mins 2 secs. Another race I will be adding to the yearly agenda.