Wow, I guess I dropped the ball on getting this one up in a timely manner and missed skimo race season.
In summary:
Skimo
Castle Mountain Skimo: 2nd @ 99%
Whitefish Whiteout: 4th @ 96%
ISMF World Championships, Pelvoux, France
Teams Race: 29th @ 64% (6th @ 75% compared to North Americans)
Sprint Race: 39th @ 76% (6th @ 92% compared to North Americans)
Individual Race: 42nd @ 78% (7th @ 91% compared to North Americans)
Relay Race: ?
Dogtooth Dash North American Championships: 3rd @ 97% (1st Canadian!!)
Lake Louise Ken Jones Classic: 2nd @ 99.9%
And now my mountain bike season:
Royal River Valley Rumble XC, May 19. 8th @ 92%
Summer Solstace XC, June 1
Giver 8'er XCM, June 2
Organ Grinder XC, June 9
Kootenay Krusher XC, June 15
Pedalhead Perogy XC, July 7
Stoked to Get Spanked XC, July 21
Kicking Horse Cup RR, July 27-28
River Raid XC, August 25
Kettle Cross CX, September 8
...and like always, we'll see how far I get into CX season. I'm definitely looking forward to the KK, S2GS and the KHC races!
The story of my life - Peter Knight
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
New bike: Xprezo W-29. How do I like it?
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| My Xprezo W-29. Pretty much stock, except for my seatpost, saddle, and handlebars. |
Let me start out by writing a little bit about myself. My vision of the ideal race bike has changed over the years. I started out on a 26" hardtail with a narrow 580mm handlebar. I noticed that everyone was riding past me on the downhills. I then moved to a 26" wheeled 4" full suspension and got some 710mm handlebars. I still noticed that everyone was riding past me on the downhills, and I started to notice that the bike also wasn't carrying speed well and I getting bucked around on singletrack climbs. ort travel 26" bikes were slowing me down.
When I felt it was time for some change, I did some research and riding. A lot of people figure that the suspension and the larger wheel sizes take the sting out of the descents, which they do. But equally important is taking the sting out of flat or uphill singletrack sections, allowing myself to rest and carry speed through these sections.
I rode a couple of 29er hardtails. I think they are great if you want a low cost race bike or a ridiculously light race bike, but they are still a hardtail. I rode a 5" 26er and I loved it. Take a 4" race frame, add another inch of suspension travel, you can run your suspension softer and you have a faster bike. And of course I tried a 4" 29er full suspension which I loved as well. When riding the 29ers, I didn't really notice any of the complaints that most people have about them: weight, slow steering, not stiff, and I definitely noticed the benefits: smoother ride, increased braking/climbing traction, and momentum. Okay, I did notice how they made riding a little less playful*, but who cares, I was going for speed!
You can probably guess from the title that I ended up going with a 29'er full suspension. Enter the Xprezo W-29. Xprezo is a CANADIAN manufacturer making their bikes in Bromont, CANADA. They have fully jumped on board with all the wheel sizes (26, 27.5, 29) and have a wide range of bikes from steel hardtails all the way up to downhill machines. I even had a choice of paint and some SRAM build kits. While deep down, I am a Shimano/Fox guy, why not try something new.
Build:
-X0 build: brakes, drivetrain. I love the double crank, though the gearing is a little tall considering all of the steep singletrack climbs around here.
-Cockpit: heavy Truvativ stuff. The 20" frame is as large as they come, but the stock seatpost was not long enough, so I grabbed a Bontrager RXL off my old bike. I put an Easton Haven 710mm handlebar on as well.
-Fork: Rockshox Reba fork: still getting used to it. I'm running it at the recommended pressure, but I have the gate cranked all the way "+" to get any sort of suppleness out of it. Remote lockout is a bit of a gimmick. It's annoying that you have to run the lever and cable to keep the fork active. If you crash and digger your remote into the dirt, your rattledness will now have to contend with a locked out fork! I think I'll eventually ditch the remote and use a short cable nub to keep the fork open. 15mm thru axle adds some stiffness up front.
-A nice Fox Float CTD boost valve in the back. As I've implied earlier, suspension needs to be active on the descents AND on the climbs, so I've been running this in the softest "trail" setting, or heaven forbid, in the "descend" mode.
-Wheels: Nice to see some race ready hoops right out of the box. Stans Crest wheelset is light and it is ready to go for tubeless. The LUST Crossmark tires are anything but lightweight at 835grams claimed, I could easily drop a pound by relegating those to some beater wheels and Stans-ing up some normal tires!
Frame: My Acid yellow/green frame is beautiful. Steel/aluminum single pivot rear end paired to an aluminum front end. Tapered head tube, some internal routing, direct mount front derailleur, 142x12mm rear thru-axle. Feels stiffer than my old bike.
Weight: 26.6lbs, I think I could get it down to 25.5lbs easily with some lighter tires.
So in summary, stiff, flashy, and fast. I have already been setting some STRAVA personal bests on climbs and bombing down some rock slabs with ease.
*there are definitely lots of riders just out there to have fun but I don't see how anyone who normally rides a 6-7" bike on a cross country trail could complain about a 4" 29er being less "playful".
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Some thoughts on working and athlete funding
Well it seems spring has finally rolled over the hump with some warm temperatures and clear days and I have been able to get out biking, skiing, and climbing.
Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is getting a career going with the goal of being self sufficient. I am extremely fortunate that my parents are very supportive for letting me live in Canmore with negligible expenses, but there is a part of me that wants to take on the challenge of independence.
The biggest challenge that I am finding is the fight to keep my dream alive and continue to improve as a ski mountaineering and mountain bike racer. That challenge rests in finding the right balance of work versus consistent, high quality training time.
Consistent: Let's consider a rotation job up north where I worked really hard for 2 weeks, then had 2 weeks off. During the 2 weeks off, I would be able to play around to my heart's content, but might waste the first couple of days recovering after 2 weeks of hard work and not much activity. Consistent training is key in my opinion for high performance in endurance sports.
High Quality: I have had some previous stints working full time in Edmonton, which is not too bad in the summer. The city's marvelous river valley is home to some amazing mountain biking and cross country skiing. However, the 4hr drive to (and from!) the mountains on the weekends can make it challenging to get out there or to nail awesome conditions. Calgary is a lot closer to the mountains but the mountain biking in the city is limited with most people opting to drive out to Bragg Creek, cutting into their leisure time. Both cities are also subject to some extreme weather: thunderstorms, heavy rains, and snowfall that can shut down your fun time after you have slaved away in the office while it is nice outside. The thought of spending a significant portion of my day commuting is also daunting. Tonnes of great athletes still make it happen in the cities (and they beat me in races every weekend).
Hence, most of my job searching has been directed towards smaller communities in BC and Alberta with easy access to the mountains for both biking and skiing. With a mechanical engineering degree but not much useful experience, this is proving challenging. Graduate studies is something that I am considering as although it would take place in the city, I think it would give me a little more time and flexibility.
One question that has crossed my mind: Do we (as a society) really need to work as much as we do? Of course there are people who have families to support and a desired standard of living (not quality of life, which takes into account wellbeing) to achieve, but what if we decided to spend less on our houses, cars, possessions and instead took more time off to invest in ourselves?
Right now, I believe we have a large untapped, more importantly educated, workforce. Folks come from out east after graduating from university (like me) to get away from it all. They end up working seasonally or work some low paying service industry jobs (like me). We have government funded Olympic hopefuls complaining about lack of funding, but spending half the day with their feet up. We have the technology to make telecommuting possible. What if we could offer these people meaningful, remote jobs with hours somewhere between part and full time?
Anyways, I'm enjoying my time in Canmore, whether it be easy access to nearby skiing and mountain biking, mild weather, or my short bike ride or run to my "work". I think I would lead a very healthy and long life if I continued to live like this.
Maybe I just have to try harder, suck it up, and dig a little deeper.
Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is getting a career going with the goal of being self sufficient. I am extremely fortunate that my parents are very supportive for letting me live in Canmore with negligible expenses, but there is a part of me that wants to take on the challenge of independence.
The biggest challenge that I am finding is the fight to keep my dream alive and continue to improve as a ski mountaineering and mountain bike racer. That challenge rests in finding the right balance of work versus consistent, high quality training time.
Consistent: Let's consider a rotation job up north where I worked really hard for 2 weeks, then had 2 weeks off. During the 2 weeks off, I would be able to play around to my heart's content, but might waste the first couple of days recovering after 2 weeks of hard work and not much activity. Consistent training is key in my opinion for high performance in endurance sports.
High Quality: I have had some previous stints working full time in Edmonton, which is not too bad in the summer. The city's marvelous river valley is home to some amazing mountain biking and cross country skiing. However, the 4hr drive to (and from!) the mountains on the weekends can make it challenging to get out there or to nail awesome conditions. Calgary is a lot closer to the mountains but the mountain biking in the city is limited with most people opting to drive out to Bragg Creek, cutting into their leisure time. Both cities are also subject to some extreme weather: thunderstorms, heavy rains, and snowfall that can shut down your fun time after you have slaved away in the office while it is nice outside. The thought of spending a significant portion of my day commuting is also daunting. Tonnes of great athletes still make it happen in the cities (and they beat me in races every weekend).
Hence, most of my job searching has been directed towards smaller communities in BC and Alberta with easy access to the mountains for both biking and skiing. With a mechanical engineering degree but not much useful experience, this is proving challenging. Graduate studies is something that I am considering as although it would take place in the city, I think it would give me a little more time and flexibility.
One question that has crossed my mind: Do we (as a society) really need to work as much as we do? Of course there are people who have families to support and a desired standard of living (not quality of life, which takes into account wellbeing) to achieve, but what if we decided to spend less on our houses, cars, possessions and instead took more time off to invest in ourselves?
Right now, I believe we have a large untapped, more importantly educated, workforce. Folks come from out east after graduating from university (like me) to get away from it all. They end up working seasonally or work some low paying service industry jobs (like me). We have government funded Olympic hopefuls complaining about lack of funding, but spending half the day with their feet up. We have the technology to make telecommuting possible. What if we could offer these people meaningful, remote jobs with hours somewhere between part and full time?
Anyways, I'm enjoying my time in Canmore, whether it be easy access to nearby skiing and mountain biking, mild weather, or my short bike ride or run to my "work". I think I would lead a very healthy and long life if I continued to live like this.
Maybe I just have to try harder, suck it up, and dig a little deeper.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Wapta day trip
This one has been on the list especially after being inspired by Ian's fascination and eventual success with a 7.5hr speed traverse last year. Jerimy was keen while on a trip to Lake Louise and we were able to get Stano along as well. Jerimy had been up to Peyto hut, and I was up at Bow hut last year, but other than that, we were doing the traverse and skiing together for the first time. Weather was looking great. Not a cloud in the sky!
I warmed up with a quick Dolomite Circuit the day before
Because Jerimy had been up to Peyto before, we decided to start from there and do the full traverse rather than start at Bow lake for a shorter and easier approach.
Starting from Bow summit parking (a little higher and a little closer than the normal parking lot), we struggled a bit descending through the trees down to the lake, but at least the snow was frozen solid. Once up on the Peyto moraines, we were a little too high and had to descent a short ways down to the toe of the Peyto Glacier
We roped up and scooted along an old track, and broke some trail instead of going to the hut. The Peyto zone is fascinating with what looks like some great ski descents.
Some more climbing, flat skinning, slight downhill, following tracks, breaking trail brought us towards the St. Nic/Olive col.
Fortunately Jerimy and Stano had studied the route well, as I would have thought that the ascent route would go up the gentle bowl looker's left (aka what is actually the final part of the approach from Hector Lake) and not up underneath Mt. Balfour which looked heavily crevassed and threatened by serac fall.
Well what I thought was a crazy route up to Mt. Balfour was actually the way to go! Fortunately once we were on it, it didn't seem as crazy as it looked from afar. It was a really cool section of the traverse to break up the monotony of flat glacier slogging.
Like all of the other climbs, the last one was longer than it looked. At the top, we pulled the skins one last time and traversed, free heeled and sidestepped our way over to the descent slopes (Schiesser-Lomas exit). The top was enjoyable with some light powder snow which turned into some corn on top of crust and then some wet snow in the trees. We got caught a little too far skier's left in the trees where it was really steep. Fortunately, we found the creek and skied down to the lake. Crossing the lake and getting to where the Sherbrooke Lake trail really starts descending was the last effort of the day, we then enjoyed a fast luge run down to the parking lot.
I warmed up with a quick Dolomite Circuit the day before
Because Jerimy had been up to Peyto before, we decided to start from there and do the full traverse rather than start at Bow lake for a shorter and easier approach.
Starting from Bow summit parking (a little higher and a little closer than the normal parking lot), we struggled a bit descending through the trees down to the lake, but at least the snow was frozen solid. Once up on the Peyto moraines, we were a little too high and had to descent a short ways down to the toe of the Peyto Glacier
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| skiing towards the glacier with Mt Habel and Rhondda taking the morning sun. |
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| Mt. Baker SE face. Looking delicious. |
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| Approaching the col. |
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| Olive. Another tasty ski descent |
After cresting the col, we enjoyed a long "glide" down to the Balfour hut
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| Skiing down with Mt. Balfour and the next objective, the high col in view. |
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| Roping up for the long climb up to the Balfour high col. |
Once at the top of the col, we sat in the sun for a while and then we descended down the other side. I straightlined the whole thing.
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| The rope came back on and we headed for the final pass |
Like all of the other climbs, the last one was longer than it looked. At the top, we pulled the skins one last time and traversed, free heeled and sidestepped our way over to the descent slopes (Schiesser-Lomas exit). The top was enjoyable with some light powder snow which turned into some corn on top of crust and then some wet snow in the trees. We got caught a little too far skier's left in the trees where it was really steep. Fortunately, we found the creek and skied down to the lake. Crossing the lake and getting to where the Sherbrooke Lake trail really starts descending was the last effort of the day, we then enjoyed a fast luge run down to the parking lot.
So we finished in just under 11hrs. We were on light gear and conditions were not really that bad other than a bit of trail breaking. Ian and Mel's 7.5hr effort last year (and of course Will Gadd and Co's 8hrs on misery sticks) really blows my mind. I found the treed sections quite frustrating and time consuming. We were definitely not hammering at race pace, but definitely tired at the end.
I actually think the coolest thing about taking 11hrs is it actually puts it close to the same duration as other trips that I have done like "most of Joffre" (12.5hrs) and Lyautey (12hrs). Hmm...what about Fay/Quadra, Columbia, North Twin. The possibilities!
The speed traverse style is cool. We waited for a day with perfect weather. Imagine being "stuck" on a multiday traverse and getting socked in the day you were planning on going over the high col?
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
2013 Ken Jones Classic
The Ken Jones Classic was the final race of the 2013 Ski Mountaineering Competition Canada Season. After a really hard weekend at Kicking Horse (racing on Saturday and Sunday, banging off a lot of gondola laps on Friday and Sunday), I gave the body a rest with only a couple of days of XC skiing, and a couple of days at Lake Louise checking out the course.
Course: The course involves some of Lake Louise's best descents when considering both steepness and ski quality. As well, I find the length and order of the climbs to be very conductive to racing. The longer first climb separates things, then there are a couple of shorter climbs to jostle around in, and then the long final climb where you need something left in the tank. The descents were all memorable. In Whitehorn II F gully, Eric, Brad, and I were all skiing close together at the same time and sluff balls were pouring down the chute from wall to wall. In Brownshirt main, we were ripping and putting on a descending clinic for those on their second descent. Elevator shaft was skiing great and the slalom through the rock garden was fast, with the final placings on the line!
The treed section at the beginning of the last climb was interesting with some thick forest and lots of traversing outtracks and a meandering skintrack. Our train made a wrong turn, but fortunately we realized our mistake early (no green flags = off course!). A couple of misses on some high speed corners on the descents (they were marked better in previous years), fortunately that didn't change the outcome too much, for us at least!
Engine: I kept my pace steady even though there were times when it felt like I was about to get dropped by Brad and Eric. Although Brad got away near the end, I had enough left in the tank to shed Eric near the top of the last climb, but not enough time or gusto to catch Brad.
Gear: My gear was dialed this year. No skin failures in the cold weather. I used goggles for the first time in a long race because of the cold, and they worked well. My only gear issue would be one that probably plagued many others: my water froze. This could have been combated with a different hydration strategy. Platypus bottle in suit pocket or Camelbak system inside of suit?
Technique: My transitions were good and that kept me in the race, closing the gap before climbs and descents. Very FEW botched kickturns but I would prefer that there be zero botched kickturns. I was able to stay in there on the descents as well.
TSN Turning Point: After racing together for the entire race, Brad snuck away and put in a sizeable gap on Eric (who got caught in a tree) and I (who was fiddling with water to fuel up before the last climb). When we finally emerged from the trees and Brad was back in sight, I was impressed with the damage he had done! I then turned up the pace to shed Eric, but could not close the gap to Brad. We all made mistakes, Brad was strong.
Behind us, Nick and Stano were duking it out, and I'm sure we'll hear more about that on Skintrack.com. results
I enjoyed a great afternoon filled with lots of Paradise laps. It was a great season. Thanks to my parents, the race organizers and sponsors. I am looking forward to 2014.
With a summer mountain bike season on the horizon, it is time to rest. I am looking forward to the spring skiing season and hopefully I can make some turns in some cool places around here. Ta Ta For Now
Course: The course involves some of Lake Louise's best descents when considering both steepness and ski quality. As well, I find the length and order of the climbs to be very conductive to racing. The longer first climb separates things, then there are a couple of shorter climbs to jostle around in, and then the long final climb where you need something left in the tank. The descents were all memorable. In Whitehorn II F gully, Eric, Brad, and I were all skiing close together at the same time and sluff balls were pouring down the chute from wall to wall. In Brownshirt main, we were ripping and putting on a descending clinic for those on their second descent. Elevator shaft was skiing great and the slalom through the rock garden was fast, with the final placings on the line!
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| Off we go! |
Engine: I kept my pace steady even though there were times when it felt like I was about to get dropped by Brad and Eric. Although Brad got away near the end, I had enough left in the tank to shed Eric near the top of the last climb, but not enough time or gusto to catch Brad.
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| Ooops, wrong 'Eric Carter' |
Technique: My transitions were good and that kept me in the race, closing the gap before climbs and descents. Very FEW botched kickturns but I would prefer that there be zero botched kickturns. I was able to stay in there on the descents as well.
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| Okay, so I (R) survived the fast first climb, now time to prepare for another 1.5hrs of battling! photo: Chris Mosely. |
Behind us, Nick and Stano were duking it out, and I'm sure we'll hear more about that on Skintrack.com. results
I enjoyed a great afternoon filled with lots of Paradise laps. It was a great season. Thanks to my parents, the race organizers and sponsors. I am looking forward to 2014.
With a summer mountain bike season on the horizon, it is time to rest. I am looking forward to the spring skiing season and hopefully I can make some turns in some cool places around here. Ta Ta For Now
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
More Dogtooth and buildup pictures
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| Small is the new big. Mini golf lines are great for getting the full couloir experience with less risk. |
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| This mountain goat was setting a pretty bold uptrack. It had scrambled on top of some cliffs and was seen charging up an avalanche path above a cliff. Bold. |
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| "There is no ice or rock in the guidebook picture" |
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| "The col is often windswept" |
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| A fast ascent in some tricky snow conditions. |
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| Sizing up the competition |
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| The start. Brad had a pretty impressive gap by the end of the short run. |
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| The Chinese downhill after the start. |
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| Suffering hard, being heckled by the organizer, Ian Gale. |
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| Finishing. About to remove the mask of pain that has covered my face for the previous 2hrs. |
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