And the birthday boy also got some much-needed coffee replenishment from Tanya’s family up north… thanks guys!
There wasn’t much time to sit around sipping a cup of the new joe and watching new dvd’s. It was RACE TIME! We headed out to Hartland for one of the first mountain bike races of the season. The skies were foreboding with their cloak of clouds, but the rain held off for the entire race. (birthday luck, I surmise)
As we drove up the winding road towards Hartland, it was rather intimidating seeing cars lining the sides well before the parking lot… apparently other people intended to race. But Cam wasn’t afraid. This was going to be a good race – or so he hoped.
There were some familiar faces testing out the trail before the Expert race…
Craig Richey
No big deal. Cam wasn’t nervous (ha).
I entrenched myself deep in the woods alongside the course and Cam headed off to the start line. I waited… and waited… but no one came.
The Trail
An hour and a half later, the Expert men appeared! Or rather, a stampede of wildebeest stormed over the rocky outcrop where I was posted. Every rider that whipped past was splattered with a thick paste of mud… although it wasn’t raining, the forest never really dries out around here. (MUCH different from the dry sandy trails in the Yukon!)
There's Cameron in the red!
Bleeeeccchhhkkk
Cam looked great on the first lap – he was in about tenth or eleventh position, with a huge pack of twenty-five riders hot on his heels. By the second lap, things were more spread out, but he was still in the top fifteen.
Our race leader, second lap, a good three or four minutes out front:
I waited crouched on rocks, leaning against tree stumps, and flat on my belly in the moss for the riders to reappear each lap. The clatter of a bike hurtling through the trees, coupled with huffing, grunting and snorting always signalled the approach of a rider, well before I could see them.
Do I hear something?
Oh, it's just the leader, well out in front...
People were beat by this point...
But some people were still having fun!!
Cam on the third and final lap; but sadly, he flatted not long after this picture and was forced to throw in the towel:
Ah, but it was a good race. At one point, Catharine Pendrel flew past him on an uphill, as if he were standing still. If anything, this race was inspiration to train harder.
We capped things off with a three-dimensional movie experience – Alice in Wonderland. I give it 3.5/5 stars.
Good on ya for waiting it out along the path in really great locations. These shots look amazing. Kudos on the last one of Cam!
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Birthday to you Cam!