Whistler Day 9

July 21
Bear Sitings = 2
Replacement parts = 1 (Tom's hardtail cranks)
Kms= 12
Work hours completed= 10
Riding hrs = 1.75

No pics today 'cos - Today I worked! Well it wasn't so hard to do as it means I'm saving my real riding days for when my ankle is better.

I took a quick ride round Lost Lake singletrack this evening and it was a great hot evening, sunny but a bit of breeze at the tops. My Cove G-spot is a little heavy (almost 40lbs)for cross- country style single track but I managed to climb most of the short rock infested climbs and it was a good workout for legs and lungs. The downs were of course a dream and with all this suspension my ankle felt just as good as usual except I made sure I did not plant it on anything less than level when I had to dab or get off.

On my way back a cyclist from the gravel paths nearby shouted for me to stop as there was a bear on my trail walking towards me. I froze still and watched it and it watched me back considering whether to walk towards me or away. It seemed like ages it was looking at me then eventually it sprinted and then wandered off away. Unfortunately that was the way the trail went so I followed it in trepidation but it was gone.

I was a little more bear aware after that but stuck to the singletrack and 2 mins later I disturbed another bear at the left of my trail and he got up and sprinted away so noisily that it startled me but I kept riding and he never looked like heading my way. Boy they do move fast and if they wanted to could have sprinted my way very swiftly- fortunately I'm not tasty to them so I'm glad they took off. My heart was raised and I sprinted on down the rocky downhill and fun woodwork and it was quite surreal to 10mins later be cycling the valley trail past people in the bike skills area and skate park and dirt jumps oblivious of the bears I had seen. We live side by side and blissfully unaware of each other's presence so much of the time.

Keith cooked a great pasta bake tonight and educated me on how he designs bikes, I was fascinated. Hopefully I'll get to demo one or some of them to understand how the science transfers to the ride feel. For a work day what a great day! Working again tomorrow.