BC Bike Race here I come

For the last six months I've spent a lot of time on my bike. In fact, my wife has complained more than once that I've spent more time riding my bike than...uhh, never mind. All that training was for what will be the most grueling and challenging adventure of my life, the BC Bike Race.

The seven day, stage mountain bike race begins in Cumberland and then loops around the Strait of Georgia to Whistler. After a tough day of climbing in Cumberland racers travel to Campbell River, Powell River, Sechelt, Gibson and Squamish before the final stage in Whistler. Like the Tour de France, each day riders pedal off a 30 to 65 kilometre mountain bike race, navigating the best of the local trails, before moving on to the next community. Nights are spent in a tent city quickly erected and collapses by an army of volunteers - two are oceanside.

In total I'll log about 350 kilometres during the week. I feel as ready as I can be. Now I'll just see if all those early morning and muddy rides were enough. 

Paddling drills on my other blog

I write a couple blogs. One for Explore Magazine on gear reviews and my adventures and another for the BC Wilderness Tourism Association on BC's wilderness tourism industry. Today I posted a blog for Explore about a great paddling clinic I took over the weekend.

I'm an avid whitewater and flatwater kayaker. The clinic focused on using a wing blade paddle, designed for optimal efficiency. I use it sea kayaking or on my surf ski, a long, fast, sit on top kayak I paddle when it gets rough near my house. Hopefully improved technique will make it easier for me to surf my ski and do better in races.

I'm in Outside's Buyers Guide

My first major assignment for Outside Magazine is on store shelves now. I reviewed winter packs for Outside's Winter Buyer's Guide. It was a fun assignment that I combined with some other great assignments skiing in B.C.'s interior last winter. I called in 20 or so winter packs and beat them up heli-skiing, heli-assisted touring, ski touring out of a lodge, on day tours, and on the lifts at resorts like Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Lake Louise and Mount Washington Alpine Resort.

I visited Icefall Lodge for Skiing Magazine (pictured, above and to right. That's me in the green jacket), Mica Heliskiing for Backcountry and Selkirk Tangiers for Backcountry, testing packs while skiing at each. It was an awesome winter.

While this was the first large piece of writing I've done for Outside I have penned a few shorter pieces that appeared in the monthly magazine over the last year or so.