#58 - Westward to Whistler

Dear Dubrovnik,

What an interesting few weeks I've had...! As I write I'm in the company of a little sweetie pie named Liea who has made sure to let me know personal space is not a thing in her house! 

Anyhow, there's a backstory that gives some context as to how I ended up in Whistler. Back in June, my good friend Nate who I traveled to Thailand with extended an invite to join him and his girlfriend and a few other buddies for a mountain biking trip up in the Kingdom in Vermont. He helped me rent a bike and wow, it was a beautiful blue carbon-framed bike that felt gigantic and incredibly cumbersome despite being the tiniest size they offered. 

To give some perspective on my baseline bike knowledge--I didn't even know bikes had suspension or dropper posts and what in the heck is a shammy?... needless to say, bikes have become a continual source of new factoids and moving parts I didn't know were out there.

All the folks I was with were much deeper into their biking seasons than they let on before we got to the parking lot. One was prepping to cross the US on her bike with a friend (they're currently busting buns and you can find their blog: 

ChaseTheChaffe.blogspot.com and Instagram account:@chasethechaffe.) 

Ashley and Kels hitting Iowa!

Two of the guys were zipping around the parking lot on one wheel popping onto any obstacles they could locate. One even races competitively and hits jumps I wouldn't want to walk down. The other ladies and gents had a month or more of saddle time on their sides with a few years of biking to boot. 

Regardless, there wasn't really a better way to be introduced to the sport because I imagine it's a kick-in-the-butt no matter what age or athleticism you have starting out. You can't be strong at biking, without simply getting out there and biking more. Probably the only thing I had to my advantage was years of racing nordic as the same concept of 'looking off to what lay ahead' transfers over quite well.

After getting our tickets and cruising down the road, we started a climb (which no one had mentioned we'd be doing) and the reality of my bike fitness (on complete lack of) set in rather quickly. A mile or so later, I rejoined the group that was happily petting cows as I tried to regroup. As I touched my feet down they were off again and we were zipping through fields and quickly looping down a single-track twisting through the woods. The trail felt super steep and the reality of the next few hours began to sink in as I clanged around my bike, only slipping off my pedals once that day (surprisingly!) 

Trail names and ratings have never meant much to me as I find a lot of that has felt to contain a component of preference from the rater, but all the trails I slogged along behind that gang felt super rugged. After a bit, I peeled off with one friend and we found a lemonade stand in the middle of the woods, and then found a trail where I felt totally in my element, called Kitchel. It had rollers and jumps and berms and little did I know, this was downhill, and I loved it. Also, I learned much later our first few trails were all black diamond for the switchbacks, drops and technical aspects which made me feel so much better as I struggled to sit my butt down on a normal chair for days after our trip. 

Fun fact, the girl in the center of this photo Gina, was at Whistler when I was there! I found her water bottle and texted some friends and they made the connection! Smalllll world after all! :)

A lot of my friends felt like buying a bike would be super impulsive, but I'd challenge that I live most aspects of my life in this manner, and I would prefer to call said choices 'calculated.' ;) From studying abroad to living abroad, to running a marathon, to learning to climb, and most things in between there takes a certain amount of 'leap-of-faith-ness' required to get enough momentum to keep at it. And to the people who always caution "what if you don't get good at it?" I always defer to Bob Ross who described, "Talent is pursued interest. Anything you're willing to practice, you can do." And on that note, if you're going to try and be good at something, why not be DAMN good at it?!

This leads to where the impulses intensify.

Chatting with my new found friend Chris from our initial bike trip over some cheese puffs one afternoon at work, (who knew it but he started working in the same office as me the week after our bike trip!) he was in full support of my idea to not only get a bike, but also perhaps find a bike camp where I could hone my base skills before learning bad habits from friends. He suggested his favorite ski destination, Whistler as a place that's also known for incredible biking. And after talking over some of the bike trails I liked, he thought Whistler would be a place I'd really enjoy.

So we're now to the end of June and I have a beautiful deep purple bike names Raisin, all of my own shipping over from BC, and I have a ticket for myself to fly over to BC mere weeks down the road. I found my ideal camp, the Trek Dirt Series which just so happened to have a women's only weekend camp the second week of July, and before I knew it I had it all booked! As I filled out the pre-camp surveys I began to get nervous as I skimmed by checkboxes for various features and skills I didn't yet have. No matter, they were ready to take me on as I was, so I was ready to give it my all. As I once read about matters of choices, "If you made the choice to do it, you'd enjoy all of it." 

Drumroll! Meet the new lady!

Simultaneous to all this bike excitement, I found my work-life feeling ever more tumultuous. For a strong independent woman who had always felt so confident, and supported in my efforts and dedication to my team and myself over four years, I was feeling targeted for my efforts helping others and as though I was constantly being set up for failure with the tasks asked of me. After a meeting where I was reduced to insults and short-comings, I decided to do some thinking about the aspects of my life that were important to me, and being happy was far more prominent.

**During this time, I opted to spend it doing what I always preach to my friends, which is spending my time with people who matter, doing things we love. Which was mostly massive hiking days, rock climbing, cooking, volunteering, and of course, once Raisin arrived, lots of slow biking!

Where be the summit?

Not sure how high up we were, but it was an 11-mile day!

Me contemplating the life choices that led me to rock climbing and a heel hook being required to send this sport route. XD

When you can only cook for 20 people 

Ron giving Rex and myself our first tour of Saxon!

Knotweed champions!

Puff, Kelsey and Blue!

After giving myself a few mental rest and recoup days, I chose to give my notice at work and then packed up my bag for bike camp and boarded an early flight (many thanks to Peter for saving me an Uber ride) and set off for a new adventure! I slept the first flight and sat next to a couple on the second flight that dozed off for the beginning until we began to chat when doing the seat dance of getting up to use the restroom. They were both from Bosnia, not far from where I'd lived in Croatia and we got to share a couple hours of stories about the sights and the war and travels since, and of course the food. When the flight attendants came around we joked we were all one family and only needed one claims form (which Candice the flight attendant did not laugh at the same way we all did.) 

As I had everything in one bag with my helmet dangling along, people kept asking where I was going and they were impressed and seemed to think I was someone worth noticing (which felt great because I didn't have to clarify that I had only been on a bike five times...!)

To summarize the next half-day, Vancouver is a magical place where commuting is as easy as following the lines and everyone is constantly saying "Sorry! Oh, so sorry!". (Literally.) Everyone I met was smiley and even a fella with neck tattoos gave up his train seat immediately for a woman with a mess of bags urging her to take the spot. My hostel was located in a great place and I ended up meeting another girl there named Alice who I hung out with that night and the following day. We played trivia with Gianni (our families exchange student from Mexico years back,) as he's studying in Vancouver currently, how cool! :) 

Literally, Canadian NASCAR is carriage racing, and the best part is, the pit crews are more horses!

Gian and I catching up over poutine!

The next day I shared a bagel breakfast with a beautiful outdoorsy couple from Norway taking a tour around the PNW for a month! How lucky! :) After breakfast, Alice and I rented bikes and toured the city and Stanley Park in its entirety. (US of A, take notice, they have bike commuting figured out over there!) We had a great beach-side lunch and cooled off with some milkshakes before she headed back to the UK, and I, off to Whistler!

So much sun and happiness in Canada!

The Sea to Sky Highway (Rt 99,) was created for the Winter Olympics in 2010 and it is quite spectacular! You ride along the ocean bays for about half the trip, then the road starts ascending and before you know it, you too are in the mountains, the snow-capped peaks, closer than ever.

Before we knew it we arrived and there was a feeling of nostalgia in the village itself, though I'd never been there before. Maybe it was the sense of finally arriving to start something new? I checked into my new place Pangea Pod, which was incredible in all aspects. super clean, safe, great food, literally a minute from the lift, and at the center of town too. I got the sense that folks cared, not just about the people and abundant bears, but even the clerk in the grocery store tried to talk a french couple out of buying bottled water unless they planned to reuse, and then recycle the bottle. It was a small first pump for nature for sure. I also learned people from other counties with $$ are known to buy a bike or skis, use it for their vacation and leave it in the hotel rooms, where most of the equipment is then sold, with the proceeds going to local camps and wellness/ housing programs. A pretty neat concept for such a crazy occurrence! 

Found this during dinner that night and it was Gina's from my first mtb trip a few weeks prior! Small world! 

The next day I started camp bright and early and got to demo gear head-to-toe from knee pads to shoes, my bike and more. I rode a 19' Trek Session that was just short of the cost of my car, and was lighter than the backpack I'd brought from Vermont...! Needless to say, our first day of skills was amazing on such a light bike, and with two coaches per group, we dove into wheelies, hops, mini-endos, 2 foot box drops, and 5 foot teeter-totters all before lunch! 

This skill was immediately transferable to the afternoon session!

After lunch, we broke off into trail ride groups based on our ability in our skills groups (my friend Danielle and I moved up a level woo!) and set off for the woods amid some heavy rain and rugged trails. We all had a heavy afternoon because of the slick roots and rocks, but also because the afternoon was dedicated to our weaknesses and we were all feeling quite weak. Before heading back, we went to a giant rock roller which was somewhere around 10 to 15 feet in length. The only major catch is that it was pouring, and we were being asked to bike down it! We all stood silent as our instructor asked again if anyone was up for it, and Danielle and I both said we'd give it a go. After walking it and talking through body positioning, we each climbed up the backside, and without falter rolled down the other side as though we knew what we were doing all along!

Of course, you can't see the whole, rock, but there's more!

Our day ended on a high note with that accomplishment and we were delighted to find seemingly endless pizza and truffle fries, beer, and other treats waiting for us back at the sports shop.

I passed out at 8:30pm (the time change still had me tired earlier than normal) and the next day I awoke to give downhill riding a try. I rode a Rocky Mountain Slayer this day (which was the cost of my car,) and was amazed how similar it was to my bike Raisin, and yet how smoothly it could squash crazy terrain, drops and more. Suspension was more clearly making a difference here...!

We spent the morning going over a couple long trails like B Line slowly, and then would pick a skill, cornering, dropping, etc, and then run it again after applying our new skill. Night and day differences were made! When we settled into drops and started working off platforms I took my first good fall, which everyone remarked looked so graceful. It left me with a carpet burn-like mess which has finally healed up a few weeks later. 

Top of the last lap for the day!

It was most of my thigh XD

We ran a few black diamond trails before lunch where the decline was so steep you had to sit way over the back wheel, which felt spooky, but also very legit! After lunch, we set out to train on jumps and I learned I have a knack for getting air! One of my coaches was in shock to learn I'd only ridden for half a month which definitely felt affirming for going all that way! :) 

Legend has it there are more photos from our jumps, but this was the literal only one we found so far from an iPhone, and it happens to be of me landing! :)

After our jump sessions, we headed off to Crank It Up which was a trail I had hoped and planned to ride. (celebratory yes!) It was beautiful with giant berms, jumps and even a treehouse you ride through. We broke up the ride into a few sections as it was more continuous downhill than any of us had done at once, and 100% more jumps as well. I did my first ever little whip after twenty or so jumps which felt so satisfying after watching endless ten-year-olds rocket off jumps with all fear and caution thrown to the wind. 

I'd never encountered brake bumps before, but they were real, and BIG, and acted as a wakeup call on every big turn, HEY LOOK AHEAD! 

That afternoon we said our goodbyes to coaches (and I forgot my kick-ass coffee somewhere in the bike shop...) and to my surprise and delight my new found friend Danielle invited me back to her apartment ten minutes down the hill to have a light dinner and hot-tubbing with her boyfriend and friends at a nearby restaurant. I enthusiastically ran to my place and tried to find suitable clothes before we hopped on the (free) bus to Creekside. 

It's always a surreal feeling to meet people and feel like you can get along right away, and maybe it was the crazy adrenaline from all the speed and jumps, but it was a *yeti moment* for me. *A Yeti moment is a moment is when everything feels right in the world. Where you wish you could hit pause, take a mental image and have it to revisit whenever you need a little light. As Laurie Apgar Chandler said in her book 

Upwards

 on traveling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, "The world is full of friends we're just about to meet." It's even hard to write about now as they were all so kind and authentic and were wishing I could stay longer to ride with them and enjoy the up and coming Crank Works Festival. We even had bike chain bracelets made which worked great until I remembered I'd have to cross the border in an airport... needless to say, it felt nice to be seen just as I was, and accept and liked for simply being uniquely me.

I spent one more night in town and after a great breakfast and a tearful coffee realizing all the changes that lay ahead for me, I hopped on the bus and hung around Vancouver until my 11:50pm flight to head back home. This flight was in no way uneventful. We made it safely yes, but I spent the 4 or so hours between two scruffy faced fellas around my age who were each over six feet, folded awkwardly into their seats. They were both mostly asleep when I snuck into my spot, but we would soon find companionship in our situation due to continual turbulence that prevented food and drink services for the whole flight. They'd put all the armrests in our row up to make some extra room and I ended up curled up next to the guy on the window side, while the other guy did the same as we were all clinging together trying to find sleep as the plane jostled around. It was the first time I've ever felt the speed of the plane where the turbulence sent us side-to-side. It was a blessed feeling to be off that plane for sure!

Since Whistler, I've been staying plenty busy with friends and family, volunteering, biking, boating, swimming, and helping with house projects which have all been incredibly wonderful forced relaxation for me. 

My first ever real concert! (That I wasn't also preforming in.)

Projects with the family!

<3

Julie and I sweating our faces off

Post Cady Hill foods with Julie, awe yis!

Meeting some adorable little nuggets who were rescued from the roadside!

Gaining some respect for what it takes to make a trail with Wings.

As for where I've landed now -- I still feel airborne in a sense. 

So many of my friends shipped off to new places, it's hard not to get envious for change and a new view to appreciate. With a few work opportunities forming, a runout lease, no loans, pets or partner, part of me feels a strong pull to cut my possessions in half and pack up Whisper to give a new place a try. I've loved Vermont for these 9 or so years, but I'd love even more to find a job that makes a difference in the lives of others, and if it makes me smile all the while, even better. 

Beyond that, during my travels, I met so many amazing worldly couples I felt deflated knowing I'd be going home to call my parents and friends (sorry guys) but not have a special fella to share that post-trip recall all the stories until you're breathless excitement with. As my friends and family assure me, he's out there, and I can't wait to meet and share some new adventures with him, and who knows maybe he'll be funny and cook good food too! Until then, I'll be safe and always wear my helmet and tell somewhere where I'll be biking! Thanks Schuke for always receiving my biking alerts! 

Keep your eye out for those yeti moments, they're out there! 

Until next time, so sorry! ;)