Anyone seen our luggage?

We're here in Victoria; apparently Turbo and his Stu are in the same hotel, possibly bikeless. After delays which included a bout in 1st class to TO, 2 x 1000m sprints between terminals, then sandwiched in a middle seat for a long flight with my stomach snarling; Stew and I have arrived! Bike and luggage are probably doing circles on the conveyor in St. Johns. Would be nice to sort that out before the race...

_____________________
sent by Blackberry

Day -1, 2:30 pm ET

So we're sitting in the airport awaiting the delayed flight due to a mechanical, after a hurried and stressful gear packing session. Funny how we've had 8 months to prepare but it still comes down to the last frantic minute.
Mentally going over what we packed, what we forgot, what's needed.
Had to remove some gear to fit it all in a single duffle bag to last the week. Slightly fewer conveniences than my comfort level. Almost all clothing is light weight, wicking, quick dry, hydrophobic, teflon, bulletproof or some other high tech athletic related material. Other than Merino wool, no traditional materials to be found. (I've heard that cougars don't like the taste of lycra). I have a freezer bag vacumn packed with bike shorts, gloves, socks and a jersey for each day. The last thing you need to worry about before heading to the start is finding that stray sock. Jeans and sandals will await with my bike box on Day 7.

Just got word that the flight will be delayed approx 2 hours, making it tight for the connecting flight - growl.

More later,

UM and Little Stew
_____________________
sent by Blackberry

Let the vacation begin!

Hi All
 
We've been training hard all year, and now on Thursday we head to Victoria, BC to get ready to enjoy the reward for all of our work - racing our mountain bikes for a solid week on the west coast!
650 km's of trail and over 11kms of vertical gain should provide 7 epic days of some of the best mountain biking on the planet with some of the top racers in the world.
 
My partner Stewart (also of Chelsea) and I are ready to roll!
 
Race Date: June 28 - July 4, 2008

Location: Victoria to Whistler, BC, Canada
# of Teams: 150 teams of 2, 20 teams of 4
 
After posting daily blog updates from the Transrockies in 2006, I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback.
So much in fact, that nearly a dozen people have asked me to do it again.
 
So... following each stage, I'll try to write up a report which will be posted on:
 

www.bcbikerace.blogspot.com <http://www.bcbikerace.blogspot.com/>
 
I'll try to keep it descriptive and interesting, so I invite you to make it part of your morning routine and join us in our adventure!
 
For more info on this event, check out www.bcbikerace.com <http://www.bcbikerace.com/>
 
Also check out our spin-off team's (just kidding) blog:   <http://teamwinded.blogspot.com/> http://teamwinded.blogspot.com

 
Keep in mind that it will all be done on a Blackberry after 4-8 hours of riding, 5000-7500 calories burned and 20,000-40,000 revolutions per leg/day.  It may contain typo's...
 
Sign up on the site and post your feedback, questions, etc.
 
Let the vacation begin!!!!!
 
"Uncle" Mike
 
Team Inflatables

_____________________
sent by Blackberry

BC Bike Race Ready

It's been a good Spring with lots of training.

Stew had a bad crash a couple of weeks ago, leaving his participation in question.  Then yesterday we did over 160 kms at 24kph, climbing Mont Saint Marie.

 

24 Hour team race this weekend, then four days later, off to Victoria.

 

Let the adventure begin!

 

Mike

Inflatables BCBR Team confirmed

I'm pleased to have Stuart McIntosh join me for this event.

A team with like-minded goals, though different ages and physiques, we're committed to undertaking this challenging event.

 

Though finding a compatible teammate can be a challenge, several people have come forward wanting to do the long training rides with me.  (what the h??? - those aren't supposed to be fun)

 

So while the focused training has yet to begin, I look forward to getting out to do a variety of sports for the next couple of months to build a cardio base and start getting used to the workload.  With lots of snow on the ground, for now it's skate skiing, snowshoeing, some swimming and a little stationary.

 

Later,

 

Mike

Winter Training

Well training has begun, sort of. Now doing the Preparation phase of base training for BCBR. The plan is to snowshoe, skate ski, swim and ride the stationary until back on the bike outdoors, likely in March. Considering a pasturized version of Dre's training plan for later, but for now it's keep active, improve base and lose some weight.

UM
_____________________
sent by Blackberry

The Inflatables to Race BCBR

That's right, after having experienced the '06 Transrockies, then sitting out a year and hearing of the amazing experience had by Team Winded (who are back again), I couldn't stay away from the event any longer.

Uncle Mike has registered to race the 2008 BC Bike Race!

At this point, no partner has been confirmed, though a couple are considering.

Not especially excited about the long training hours that lay in store, but this does give my training a sense of purpose and a large goal to work towards.

Training plan is expected to consist of a variety of sports including lots of MTB (of course), some road riding, swimming, skate skiing, VR stationary, shoeshoeing and trail running. Hopefully a little more health focused for this event (i.e. diet and sleep).

Hoping to once again enlist the guidance of Ray Zahab (yeah, the guy that ran accross the Sahara) to help keep me on track.

Too early to really set an objective, yeah I want to do well, but mostly to experience more of the west coast, amazing singletrack and challenge.

More soon,

Uncle_Mike