juliemelan

National champs

2010-08-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

As athletes, there are so many reasons that can prevent us from racing, such as illness or injury. When we've done the preparation, the bike is in working order, the body is ready, it's really devastating to hear the words from the officials mouth that tell you you won't be on the start line that day.

As tempted as I was to go and mope, I knew that I should put it aside for the moment and support Simon as he raced in the men's race. Being on the side line allowed me to watch some amazing Canadian riders in action.

For the national championships, the women's start list seemed small to me. With a start line of 16 riders, only the best had shown up.

The women's race started at such a fast pace that a part of me wondered if I could have kept up. Catharine Pendrel took the lead effortlessly as the strong rider she is. Check out Catherine's blog for her story of the race.

The men's race might have been another story, with so many strong men in the field to challenge our world cup racer, Geoff Kabush. The leaders stayed close together until about lap 3 (if I remember right) when Geoff demonstrated what power is. He came through the start/finish area and I watched as he changed his position slightly and just turned the power on, and pulled away from everyone a pedal stroke at a time. It was amazing to watch.

Photo highlights from the BC Bike Race

2009-07-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

Our Ryders Sponsor

2009-07-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

Brent Martin was the real winner of the BC Bike Race. After starting Day 1 sick with the flu - or food poisoning. He completed the course, went home to bed and started Day 2 on his bike.....half way through Brent got the energy liquid that many of us tried to fake heatstroke symptoms in hope of getting hooked up.
Many IV's later he was back on his bike for Day 3.
By Day 4, so Kat and I were pleasantly surprised to see his smiling face on the start line...without a bike, taking photos. He decided to take a rest day.....but was back on the bike for day 6.

Lines from the BC Bike Race

2009-07-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

"You know that tree back there....the one on the left?.................I hugged it.

"I'm on my 10th wind."

"I'm even panting going down hill" (Day 5)

"You know the funny thing..." (Funny was omitted from our allowed words by day 5)

"There's some sweet flowy single track coming up! You'll love it." (never mind the steep uphill beforehand)

Day 7

2009-07-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

We were on a high today! I think adrenaline kicked in and we kept riding strong. The tons of hill climbing that today's stage involved didn't really bother us because it made for some great single track downhill.
The best and last stage of the day the photographer Dave Silver followed me down the trail and commented on how well I was riding and wished that he could shoot while riding behind me. I wished he could have too. Then he would have gotten a shot of the low tree limb before he ran into it with his helmet :)

Just before the last climb there were some stairs we had to climb up. There was a spectator standing at the top making comments at us for not riding up. I commented that I could do it if I was a trials rider before clueing in that it was my friend Ryan who had come to watch.

Day 6

2009-07-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

I started with a smile on my face today and it didn't go away. I knew there would be some great single track DH and because of that I didn't mind the long climb up. I love the techinical single track. Today showed me that even though we are tired we are getting stronger. I now prefer to ride up steep hills that at the beginning of the week I would have got off to have walked up.

Kat has improved 100%. She's riding stuff she wouldn't have on day 1. I rode the trail Powerhouse Plunge clean today. That was a first for me.

Day 5 - Out of Fuel

2009-07-06T12:23:00.001-07:00

I had no fuel in the tank today. I think the long day prior and not having a great sleep didn't help.
I was walking up a hill - think that gave it away to Kat that I was tired. She went ahead and I sat down on the side of the trail and took a moment. I ate my sharkies and decided which colour I like the best. I found my energy again and then Kat had her tired time in the humid hill climb.

At about noon I woke up on my bike ....just in time for the wicked down hill section right into Gibson's ferry.

Day 4 - A Feat

2009-07-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

I think this was the longest day of my life. 4:30am wake up call, two ferry rides and a 7 hour bike run in the hot baking sun!
It took all my energy to get my bike fixed - thanks to Thomas, eat and get myself to bed!

Day 3

2009-07-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

We got off course today due to course tampering. Some smart ass kids on ATV's were picking up the signs and ribbons and moving them. We knew as soon as we went up the gravel hill that we were off course. Luckily for us one of our support motor bikes came along, but he wanted us to wait until before sending us off down the right trial in case there was more tampering along the way. We were like a flock of 20 sheep all following the leader. We eventually went on our way, only to find more misplaced markers leading us to a road without a marshal...a sure sign we were not on the BC Bike race route. We eventually found our way...it just made for a longer day in the hot sun. Kat was quite frustrated too, as the screws in her cleats had fallen out so she didn't know whether she could free her foot when needed.

I gave Kat a challenge today, to do 3 things that scared her. She got up to 6 and a half. (That's what you get for calling number 7 before the top of the hill!)

Another rider named Jeff took a video of me while waiting for our teamates.

Day 2

2009-07-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Today I realized that it was not going to be a race, but a ride. I had to take my racer hat off and reset my goals for this adventure. I now understand what years of racing have taught me. There was a lot of congestion on the trail today and I realized that I aim to work my way around people on the trail.
Today we came across a guy who was sick on the side of the trail. His partner was way ahead, so Kat gave me the go to ride on ahead and let his partner know so I raced ahead to the first feed station. That was fun.

We started in Nanaimo this morning. The photos will give you an idea of how many people BC Bike Race had to organize on an off Ferries and to be on the start line and ready in time.

day 1 BC bike race

2009-06-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

all body parts intact. today was a feat for kat after getting stitches on the trail pipeline last week. iI was like a race horse chomping at the bit and she renedrenew me in pacing me for the next 6 days. the racer instinct in me was tempted to pwork my way around the funnel of people. iI loved the technical aspect of it today. Totally my cup of tea.

BC BIKE RACE

2009-06-18T13:27:00.001-07:00

Well, the countdown is on. My race partner Kat is on the plane and we are getting ready for the most epic adventure in our lives so far.

A seven day mountain bike race.

We are racing it as a team. As we are sponsored by Ryders Eyewear, we are calling ourselves the Ryders Riders.

I feel ready for it. I've done the preparation and am feeling good. I may not say this three days into the race, or even two. This event is not so much about being a race to us, but to see how our bodies handle the physical challenge of riding hard on technical trails for 7 days. It will be about keeping the bike and bodies in one piece!

I did 135km ride this past weekend around Okanagan lake, organized by Gary Horsting. My ride was just shy of the planned route, American Century ride (100miles) due to a sore knee from riding a bike loaned to me by the Olympia cycle for the weekend. Last year I came back exhausted from doing it. This year I felt good. It's neat to feel fit.

Kat's been sick, so once she arrives, the week ahead will be about resting and eating. While I was over in New Zealand in April she was doing 100km days back to back, so I have no doubt she has the fitness to pull through this race. Matching my technical skills with my incredibly fit partner, I think we will be a good match for the race.

First Ride of the season

2009-05-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it was the first ride of the season for some, the first for others into the double digits, and of course for one lucky one who had the privilege of riding in NZ this past month, it was the first ride to Salmon Arm this year. One of us girls may have gained a few pounds over the winter, and while we were thrilled she could join us we were even more surprised when she lead the last hill with an extra 20lbs!

It was a good day out with the girls on bikes, and we all managed the loop from Armstrong to Salmon Arm and back with smiles on our faces, especially when we hit the cafe afterwards to eat some goodies!

the start

da girls

water break

the top of the hill!

it seems there were a few bare belly's today - very cute Kira

Ski Patrol

2009-05-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

When I moved back to Canada, I said to myself, "Some really good mountain bikers come from Canada, and they live in Quebec where there is lots of snow, so what do they DO for the winter?"

That is when I decided to learn to cross country ski, to keep training throughout the winter, and still be outdoors. I found it to be hard work.

This year, I took on ski patrol, at Silver Star (downhill) and at Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre. It was the first year offering patrol at SLNC and it was an enjoyable experience, spending a day on the hill, either skiing or chatting with members in the lodge.

My Bike Racing Season

2008-09-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had a good season of racing. After surgery in December, this summer I planned to stay in BC and focus on getting stronger on my bike and just enjoy racing. I started out the year in joining my friend Silping in the Salty Dog 6 hr Endruo.

Then it was on to Merritt to Race the Ranch with the added 4km to the loop it made for a long, but fun race, where many participants were cut off after the first lap because they had a time restriction, but hadn't allowed extra time for the extra 4km. I ended up running out of food, not having planned on being out for so long.

I did the Test of Metal for the second time. The first time was in 2004 when I started out bike racing. I remember putting so much preparation into it the first time. I went to the clinic beforehand on how to ride it, and was really nervous about it. This year, I decided on the Thursday night, that, yeah, I'd like to do it again. I had a ride down there.

I beat my 2004 time by an hour! (If only I could take an hour off for next year, I would be flying.) I really enjoyed it. I wasn't too concerned how hard I went out this year. I just wanted focus on eating enough and feeling good throughout the race, which I accomplished fairly well. I even gave some food away to a girl that looked like she needed some glucose fast, if she was to make it to the end of the race. Next year I would focus on getting out ahead, to beat the crowd to the funnel affect that always happens.

Kamloops Nationals was the hottest race I have done (compared to Canmore last year.)
We started out in 40+degrees at 2pm. My motto was the tortoise and the hair. I would just keep going at my pace, and I watched girls falter out and break down in tears as they dropped out of the race, overheated and under-glucosed. I had Cory, my photographer and feeder hand me a bottle every half a lap to drink and pour over my raisined body, between taking photos. There was a sandy uphill section where the sand was too loose to ride. Running in it, I felt like I was competing in the Indian test of walking on coals.

I was happy to have finished 8th at this race. Getting top ten in a Canada Cup is a feat. Now I have enough points to race a world cup.... now I just have to get fast enough.

Salty Dog Win

2008-05-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

Silping and I raced the Salty Dog on Sunday, May 4th. I hadn't been on the course before so learned it on my first lap, which came sooner than expected.
We had a plan. Sil would do two laps, then I would. About halfway through the time I thought it would take her to do the first lap, I decided that perhaps I should get my gear on and be ready....just in case. Maybe I jinxed it. As other riders were coming through, I suspected something was wrong.

Silping had chain problems and had to run most of the first lap. As she came through, she yelled, "Julie, can you go?" So just like that I was off, to learn how much hill climbing there was. It felt like 3/4 of the lap was hill b/c the downhill was technical (my favorite), then fast and fun.

I had great supporters for the day.... the team photographer, Cory, and two kiwi friends, Jo and Ej, who's tree planting experience had been delayed, so they got to come and spectate.

We managed to pull off the win.
our prize.... an apple pie.
we took it to the BBQ to share with the second place winners, our friends Marta and Melissa.

The day of the planned BFH brunch

2008-05-05T16:06:00.001-07:00

Friday

Saturday (Ride and Brunch...maybe not)

Bicycles for Humanity - Bike 'N' Brunch

2008-04-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Myra and Danny have offered their awesome cooking abilities and house to raise money for Bicycles for Humanity. Join us Saturday the 19th, 9am for a ride, then have a yummy breakfast afterwards! Suggested donation $10-12 and for an extra buck or two (and a smile) espresso coffee may be requested Group rides will include a road group heading out towards Armstrong and a mtn bike group heading to the park (for those of you interested in the mtn bike let me know. We may start closer to the park)
2302 - 25th Avenue (corner of 23rd Street) in East Hill.
Lots of parking please RSVP with Julieemail: juliemelan@hotmail.com

http://www.bicycles-for-humanity.org/

spring training

2008-03-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

As Spring is teasingly here, I've been out on the road a few times, but as it snowed today, I'm back to the indoor trainer.

I've had my lactate balance point test through faCT-education last week and am now on a structured training program so am looking forward to the next few months of just focussing on getting stronger and having tests to see my progress.

http://www.fact-education.com/

There are a lot of exciting training opportunities coming up.

There is Robb's Ride May 9-11 http://www.grandforkscyclingclub.com
through the Kootney's (our version of Le Tour) and our Friday night women's Two-X-elle workouts continue in Myra's basement.

The pictures are of a fun wattage competition we had at the bike shop called the crazy 8's. Our wattage was increased every 8 minutes. I had the best hair do of the day while using the tunes to crank out a bit extra wattage.

2007-12-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

I am at home recovering at the moment from surgery repairing my 'handle bar hernia' and the other (congenital) hernia that the surgeon found while operating.

It's been a week so far, and walking up the stairs each day is my exercise, and walking to the end of the road and back. I wonder how long it will take until I become ancy and grumpy. It's been snowing for days... can't wait to try out the new snowshoes! Will have to wait until the 24th to get the ok.

autumn update

2007-11-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

well, I've been off this blog for a long time now, since I had a crash on my nice easy trail at home. A tree jumped out and grabbed my handlebar taking me down with the bike. After being carried out (fortunately Justin was with me) I was off the bike for a month. I managed to get back on my bike in time to teach the bike skills clinic I had organised. It went really well, with eight women feeling much more confident on their bikes after a few technique tips.

I'm now back into a full schedule of training, with swimming and running included as it is getting cold out. I was looking forward to the month of December to get some snowshoeing and xc skiing in, but..... I met with he surgeon yesterday and yes, I do in fact have a small handlebar hernia, which will require an operation. I feel way to young to say that 'h' word. Not handlbar... the other one. So that will happen in December. It's nothing major, more of a nuisance than anything, but it will be good to have it done while I have time to heal.

Canmore

2007-07-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't been on for awhile, but I have still been riding and racing. This past weekend I raced in Canmore in super hot weather. It was a challenge to finish it without heat stroke. Research says that in hot weather the best fluid to take in is tepid with electrolytes in it. My dad handed me my tepid sports drink at the start of each lap, and all I could think about was the cold water on offer about half way through the lap at the second feed zone. It was so refreshing to the dry mouth and cooling on the back.

The course was full of climbing... it felt like there was more climbing than downhill and the decents were fast and fun. The top decents needed to be carefully navigagated, while the bottom decents were fast dusty coal chutes.

It was great to have my parents there watching the race and the satisfaction of finishing a race in such intense heat.

Mont-Saint-Anne World Cup

2007-06-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

I was touching elbows with the World's best mountain bikers this weekend. Trying to support kiwi rider, Justin Price and helping out with the media coverage made for a busy weekend. As mtn bikers, we need all the press we can get. This weekend, there was coverage for the athletes from all over the world.

check out http://www.velirium.com/media/press for my contribution to the weekend.

Many of the riders were unhappy with the UCI this weekend for penalizing late riders by starting them at the back of the pack. There was rumor of a slow start lap in the women's race to protest, but I think when the riders got on the start line there drive to win overtook the will to protest and the race was on.

Collecting really fast riders together can be a recipe for crashes, and there was no shortage of those this weekend. The women's started off with a crash within 10 seconds of the start, involving Kiara Bisaro. Later Marie-Hélene crashed trying to pass a Chinese rider. However some amazing riding came out of the races, with international podium finishes, and our Canadians placing well. Geoff Kabush, 3rd. Marie Hélene 4th, and Catherine Pendrel 12th.

Hardwood race

2007-06-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well... my plan to finish in 2:10 wasn't going to happen considering the heat of the day. I think I started my last lap when I planned to be finished. My first lap felt slower than my pre-ride the day before. It was one of those days when I felt like I could have had a minime version of myself running the course faster than I could ride it. I drank a bottle on the start line and am pretty sure I had sweat it out before the bell went off.

There were a few racers that were sent off to hospital with heat stroke, but none of them were on the Chinese women's team that showed up to the race. On the third lap I hear a quiet voice behind me say 'hello'then 'thank-you' as she rode by. The three of them managed to lap me.

A big thank-you to Kevin from Norco who fed me and fixed my rear derailer on the first feed as I came into it with no rear gears! I was thinking it was going to be a long race with only my front derailer.

I'll attach some photos... one of a guy about to bite it on what they call the 'Bone shaker' and of myself at the bottom of the section in my new Sugoi outfit.

Hardwood tomorrow

2007-06-16T18:04:00.001-07:00

Hardwood Canada cup is tomorrow.
My goal is to take 15 min off my last race time. I know it's a totally different course but the aniticipated lap times will be about the same. 4 laps to do.

This is a power course. not technical like the last three, so I'm hoping that it may be my strength. I've done some good training in the last few weeks to lead up to this, so I'm feeling strong and I'm feeling really positive about this race.

we'll see what tomorrow brings....

Vermont

2007-06-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

I have a new idea for our medical system…. We should have emergency outlets in the US for places that are heavily populated with Canadian visitors. I headed to Burke, Vermont on Sunday with a group of mtn bikers from the club at Bromont. It seems to be a popular weekend destination for Quebequois. It seemed the others on the trails were more likely to open their mouths and have French pop out than English. I can imagine that many of these people did not have insurance for the day. I know I didn’t. What would happen if someone in the group was to break a leg? It would have been a painful drive back across the border…. I wonder if they let you across the border if you are displaying signs of shock.

Anyhow, had a good day of biking. There were two options for the area. A big hill climb with 45 min of downhill or a flatter area with lots of twists, turns and roots. We took the later having a few young kids with us. It was raining when we first arrived so the roots were slippery. At one point I got mud in my eye then slipped on a root and landed on my derrier! I’m sure it wouldn’t have hurt as much if I hadn’t done hill reps the day before.

There was a trail called Widow’s peak. Annie in our group turned and asked me what the word in English would be for her husband if she wrote herself off on the trail. I told her I couldn’t think of an English word for male widow… is there? So therefore she needed to ride it well, and not slip down the off camber part full of clay.

Anyhow, it was a good day out and ended up being sunny at the end of the day, so a dip in the cold river was very rewarding for the bruised bottom.

Club race Bromont

2007-06-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

I remember years ago, showing up to a Toonie race in Vancouver to race. There was one other girl racing. At the end I asked the organiser, how far ahead of me was she? Her response, "20 minutes," totally disheartened me... until she said, "but she is pro-elite." "Oh."

Now many years later the tables have turned and I've had my chance to be the fast girl. I participated in a club race at Bromont last night. It was fun to do. The club is really strong in the area. It's so good to see, especially with the number of kids they have participating, trying out for the Quebec team. I've really noted how much support Quebec offers it's riders. It's awesome.

Ottawa

2007-06-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Who needs a Swedish Sauna, when you can just visit Ottawa. It was so humid while I was there last week that there were awesome thunder and lightening storms each night as the humidity built up during the day.

I was visiting a couple of friends in Ottawa, one that I met on the plane to NZ last year. Really makes it a small world.

While I was there, I crossed the bridge, back to Quebec to ride in a big park in Gatineau.

http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16297-16299-9970&lang=1

As I didn't know where I was going, I was quite relieved to have car pass me with a mtn bike on the roof. So I followed him into the park and ended up joining Bryan and his mates for a two hour hill climb.

I find there's a common misconception out there, that if you race elite, you are always fast. Sure, in general, someone who rides all the time is faster, but I think the real time that elite riders are fast are when they are fresh, and that is not often. My ride in Ottawa was day 7 of a hard training week with a race in the middle of it, so needless to say I was a bit fatigued, not to mention aclimatising to the swimming pool lurking in the air. phew. yeah, yeah, I'll stop mentioning the humidity in this part of the country by the time I return to my dry Okanagan :)

Mt. Tremblant

2007-05-27T18:24:00.001-07:00

Mt. Tremblant is a neat place to visit. The village is set up quite uniquely with cobbelstone through the village and a gondola from the bottom to the top of the village, because it is built on such a steep incline. The best coffee is at the top of the village, and it's a good thing that I won't stay long here. $4.50 for a very small mocha. That's the Tremblant tax for you.

My race went well. I felt good for the first few laps and by the end of it I was smashed (i.e. tired) That's the way a race should go. I enjoyed the race and was happy that I did it. I still need to slash 17 min off my time, but I think that can be achievable in the next three weeks. My improvements are still in big incriments, whereas the top riders I'm sure struggle to take 5 min off their time.

Tonight is the first night that is has rained on me in the evening. Fortunately I have a shelter under the chairlift that I could make my dinner and an area inside to type away on my computer, so no complaints about living out of the van yet.

Pre Mont tremblant Race

2007-05-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve decided that there is no medium whether in Quebec… only extremes. It’s either freezing cold, or super hot. In the last two days it has warmed up to be 32 humid degrees. I break out into a sweat just lifting my leg over the bar to get on my bike. At night under the light it looks like there is smoke in the air from the moisture that is lurking around. I think it wants to rain on the nice dry course.

The course is the same as last year. It’s a very technical course. One that you almost want a jockey strap to race in, girl or guy. There are many steep sections over big rocks that you get right over the back wheel for. Then there’s the wooden down ramp with hay bails beside it for those who fall off. It’s actually easier to ride it than walk down it. I’ve tried. The bars on the ramp are enough to numb your arms by the bottom of it, so you are very relaxed for the rocky section that follows. I love that it is so technical, and that there are sections that I don’t think I rode last year that I can this year. That’s the great thing about having repetitive courses, you get to know them, and you see the improvement.

I’ve been humming and hawing as to whether to race this weekend. I know that I am stronger than last year, so I’ve decided to race against myself, as I will have my last years time to beat.

Bromont

2007-05-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

The Mtn Bike racing season in Canada seems to play out the same every year. Bromont is always cold and muddy. It rained in the week leading up to the race and fortunately it stayed dry race day to let some of the mud disapate.

The momentum for the season is building and the numbers on the start line increased for this race.

They say that you only get faster by riding with the fast riders. At this point in time I believe that I may have jumped too quickly into the deep end.

I love the sport. I'm just not fast enough.

One thing that I really appreciate about this sport.... when I've lost my confidence in my ability to race, the fact that one of the podium riders can approach me, ask my how my race went and offer support. I could never see this happening in road racing.

Baie St Paul Race

2007-05-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

It felt like summer when I left the Okanagan and drove across the country to winter in Quebec. 69 hours of driving to get to Baie St. Paul. Thank goodness I had help with the driving, otherwise I may not have made it here in 5 days.

The course at Baie St. Paul had changed from last years technical course (which I had my big crash on last season.) The reason: because there was still snow on the higher trails. The course organisers were busy doing snow removal so that we could have the race on the weekend.

It wasn't a very technical course, but a fun one to start the season on. The numbers on the start line were few, but the names spoke for themselves as some of the world's best were there. For me, after 5 days of sitting in the van, I felt like I had forgotten my legs back in BC. It was a good race to start with.

On a side note, I recomend anyone interested in Art to visit Baie St. Paul. There are as many galleries in the small little town as there are Starbucks in Vancouver. In BC if you were to tell someone that you were an artist they would ask, "but what do you do?" In the Quebec city area, I believe the common response would be, "Oh you're an artist too."

My mtn bike profile

2007-05-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

Getting the van ready

2007-04-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to start my trip across Canada. It's amazing how easy it is to transform a plain old van into a living space for myself for the next few months. People hold a lot of nostaligia with the idea of living out of a van, travelling across the country. I've had many comments filled with envy at what I am doing.

Getting up in the middle of the cold night to go pee isn't part of this nostagia I don't think.

My parents have been my biggest help with getting ready to go. Dad with the carpentry and repairs (and Mom with the meal breaks.)

A few things took a few tries to bulid. When using a 'level' to make a table top, it helps to first start with the van on a level surface.