Expresso Wedding.....

It seems like Nic and I have been together for a long, long time. We've been waking up next to each other for so long now that my memories where she isn't around a fewer and more distant by the day. That doesn't mean that our wedding day was easy though. I spent much of the lead up trying to put it out of my head so my nerves didn't get to me. I can't lie though. A few beer in the parking lot before may have been critical in completing this transaction.

I guess sometimes if you want to keep something good in your life you have to man up and pull the trigger.

Nic and I went through a number of options when coming up with this. Destination wedding in NZ or a hall on Grouse mountain were all nice. But eloping on one of our favorite biking trails on Fromme became the clear choice.  A choice about being true to ourselves and living our lives. This is who we are. A choice that excluded a lot of important people in our lives. This was not lost on us.

We plied Digger with Chocolate Chip cookies and got him to help us get through the gate. He headed up with us with a tent in reserve. It had stormed in Vancouver the day before and rained a fair bit the day after. On the trail it was cold and muddy, but we were out of the rain. We had lucked out. 

If you're reading this and thinking, "This guy found a mountain biking chic who was willing to dress up and walk out onto a muddy trail to get married. Lucky Bastard! " you'd be thinking correctly.

Nic found our wedding commissioner online. An avid outdoors woman who knows Chaz, the choice was obvious. She was excited for our choice of venue and had a great time with us. A fantastic woman I wish I could have gotten to know better.

 Kaz Yamamura from NSMB.com did our photos. Joanie made sure he got this one.

 After the deed was complete, Digger shuttled Joanie back down and the rest of us stuck around for Photos.

 Nic's Sister Lorenza was her Maid of Honor.

 Some shots were basic. Other were quite treacherous. This old decommissioned skinny was mossy and slippery, this is about the only reason Ian would ever get up on this kind of wood work. I would have hated to see my new wife face plant off of this. We hung onto each other for a few photos and all made it off unscathed. Lorenza too. 

 Looking forward.

Nic was a hero in high heels as she maneuvered down the muddy trail, over the wood work to our last photo spot. 

 Ian Fosbrook bravely accepted the role of best man. He was my Jedi Master in the early days of my ride career being as patient with me as possible until, as he put it, I pulled my head out of my ass. Ian has since moved on from riding. This may be the last ever photo of him on a biking trail. He was upbeat the whole time even as his core temperature dropped. He followed us down the trail and was a complete pro and good friend.

We got a point where we wanted to just get one more photo. We sent the Maid of Honor and Ian back up to warm up in the cars.

I figured since I had to walk the plank it was only fair to make Nic to the same.

 The well known Rock Face on Expresso was as far down as we went.

 Worth it though.

 4" platform heals heading back. Thanks to Ian for making the trek back down with her bike shoes. After a quick swap she motored back to the top in no time.

Judge not, but respect these shins, for they could belong to any woman who follows her man down  the shore trails. 

We made it back to the top and started to roll down the fire road. A few quick parting words with Digger and Kaz and the 4 sole members of the wedding party headed to Earls for dinner. Later, Nic and I returned to our apartment for pajama time.  A Honeymoon delayed until something worthy can be formulated. 

 None of our day would have been possible without the help of Todd "Digger" Fiander. Totally helpful he stood watch over the trail head while we said our vows. Already a legend on the north shore for literally 30 years of trail work, Nic and I owe him an entirely new level of thanks for helping us with our day.

Thanks also to Kaz and Joanie. All critical cogs in our small, secretive machine.

I've survived the first 48 hours of married life now. The only thing that is really different now is this uncomfortable hunk of metal on my finger. I see a new pair of earrings Nic's future. 

Job done. We now return you to your regular scheduled program.

The Hurt Unit

Its my own fault for not going to enough B&Bs and open sessions so when I finally get rear in gear and get back to what I'm supposed to be doing it leaves Ted hurtin'. Some slack gets cut for the weird $hit going on in my lungs and tummy this week but yeah I'm taking the rest of the week off. Usually working dispatch is a pain but will be a handy excuse to heal all my inner and outer goings on.

 It's always good to see Sensei Sharp. Even better when we get to watch him demonstrate on Clint. Kata is supposed to be the more artistic side of karate, but to me, this is where we learn to get in and out of street fights quickly and effectively.

 

 Not too many shots from the class but there was a grading at the end of class. North Vans Mom and daughter duo(our 3rd now that I count them) pushed for their green belts and succeeded. Yoko and Kiana.

I'm not going to call them cute. When Kiana gets a little bigger I'm pretty sure she can Keage me in the head.

Kiana Grades with Heian Nidan


 Yoko's turn

Leaving it all on the hill

I'd been hankering for a trip up to Squamish for a while so when Bob suggested it, I got all over it like a fat kid on smarty. Awesome riding and a pretty sweet brew pub for after. What was not to like about the idea. Too bad Bob decided not follow up on his own great idea. We dialed up our friends, Chris and Rich, our Squamish outpost hosts, and set up our Saturday for riding.

Our bikes waited patiently for some decisions to be made

We arrived around 9:30 and took some time to discuss our options. There are a shwack of trails in this small town so one must plan wisely. We ended up breaking our day up into 2 chunks. A morning riding in the Highlands area, then over to the other side for Crouching Squirrel, Hidden Monkey.

In the Highlands area we drove to the best start and stop location. We pedaled up to Angry Midget. A fun swoopy trail with some awesome techy roots and A-frames to keep you honest. It was a good start to the day. Sorry, no pics. We were all too busy ripping this super fun trail. For 45 minutes climbing, Midget offered up big returns.

We got back to the car, drove back to Chris and Riches to make decisions for the second part of the day. With Riches help, I dropped off my car at the bottom so we could avoid some nasty climbing back up. We'd then start up the Mashiter and head down Roller Coaster and LumberJacks.

Chris rolls some tech on Jacks

Nic had one of those days where it seems roll nicely.

Upon finishing Jacks it was decision time. Did we have enough or was there more in the tank? I expressed my opinion first, that even if we had to push at the end then at least we could all say we had left it all on the hill. Rich seconded and girls chimed in with their support. Sometimes I try to kill my future wife. Sometimes she surprises me. Maybe she was having the best day of all.

Less than 30 minutes later we arrived at Alice lake, as we had many times before. Instead of carrying on our way, we stopped for a swim. The water was murky but felt so good. We dragged our refreshed carcasses out of the water, put out clothes back onto our soggy bodies and started pedaling up to the next trail head.

I wouldn't say Crouching Squirrel offers as much as entrails, but its still a fun rip for anyone who doesn't mind techy roots and lots of line choosing.

Most of my pics from the day are from this last trail we rode. 

The top of our last trail, Crouching Squirrel

 

The girl is smiling

Steeper than it looks

Some lines.....

roll easy

Others require negotiation

Some couples

choose the smoother path

Nice light broth

Chunky Soup

After 11 years in the biz, its nice to have days that remind you of how huge this sport is. No one can ride all the trails in BC in one lifetime. Squamish offers up so many trail options for relatively few riders. (On the shore, it's the opposite). It was nice to have a day to remind me that I haven't seen it all, that there are trails that I haven't ridden enough and friends that I haven't ridden with enough.

No ordinary day.

At the end of Crouching Squirrel, we motored back to my strategically placed Rogue. Back at our friends house,  I was done. The legs were wobbly, the head felt sun baked, and I was still breathing as if to replace oxygen to my body.  4 very quick quick showers then off to the Howe Sound Brew Pub for much needed eats and Beers. I was so tired, I started to get hangry. It took a few minutes for our nurse to arrive, but when she did the day was wrapped up nicely.

Otsukare Sama Deshta! We'll be back soon.

Good Lord, where have I been?

Around I guess. The usual with work, ride,  sleep, eat. Not much terribly new other than Im into drinking lagers right now more than dark beers,

Nic and I were on the Island for a short but intense visit. We did some riding on Tzouhalem then over to Cumberland for a night at the Riding Fool .

The view on a fantastic day mid island.