SINGLETRACK 6 2015 - Okanagan, BC

STAGE 5 - Penticiton, BC: 35.3km/21.9miles and 1200m/3937ft. of elevation gain.

We have arrived in wine country.  Penticton BC is just as charming as we were warned it would be! The temps have officially risen and the trails have buffed out.  The race course was totally different terrain than the typical Canadian wet and root filled trails.  It was dry, dusty, and a bit of a break from the technical sections we have seen on this trip.  The course was roller coaster like with three short climbs and three fairly fun downhills.  I personally enjoyed the lightheartedness of today and the short length - it was such a fast race that the boys finished in just under two hours!

Punkin and I featured different outfits today, we have never done this but she was testing a new skirt from Cogma Bikewear that I do not have so I went for a second round on the Bridgette dress that I love!

Due to the lack of a need to be hyper focused on the terrain because of smooth and flowy trails I spent much of my morning contemplating how to stage the unicorn picture for the day and what caption I wanted to post.  I had gone to Staples the night before to color a rainbow and packed that in my pocket for the race.  Here is the final result: 

 #whathappenstoaunicornwhenitridesasantacruz? #itfartsrainbows! 

And the RESULTS for today….boys in second and girls in first.  Nate and Dax had a great race but the results are not that exciting and there is no podium shot because the race was neutralized.  Many people got confused on course due to a misunderstanding in the order of the checkpoints so they did not count today as a race.  No hurt and no harm to any of the teams,  just a fun quick day on the bike which allowed for some much needed catch up and relax time after the race.  AND at the finish Drew announced that I had won Smith sunglasses!! Thank you Andrew and Matt with SMITH for my sick Serpico sunglasses.  Nate has won a backpack, Karen and Dax are crossing their fingers.  

The lake provides us with leg soak recovery time and some great entertainment.  While the four of us were soaking up some rays Dax and I decided to head back to the water for a cool down and a pic, we were intrigued by the British flag speedo and ended up with some good ole fashion comedy from our conversation with this guy…It started off with his bandage on his leg, which was covering his wound that he personally stitched yesterday (he's a surgeon).  He proceeded to introduce me to his friend that he is riding with, (he is an anesthesiologist) who conveniently medicated him and the third amigo who introduced himself as the dentist followed by a Colgate smile.  They were from England and Australia and provided us with some quality comedy.  

At first he was not so sure about me….

but I think they warmed up to us!  We even shared a dinner table with them that night.  

Penticton has been a stage racers heaven with food trucks conveniently placed where we parked, lake access a stones throw from the finish line and our hotel within a short boardwalk/lakeside ride of the staging area.  The four of us met all our needs with some gluten free Indian food truck, a sub truck and of course Tim Hortons truck!

After lunch Dax noticed this.  A nail in my tire.  A large nail in my tire.  Thankfully it held for the finish of the race.  

Which led us to this…the BIKE BARN.  The Bike Barn is a local shop that sponsored the race and happen to have a free keg of beer for the racers.  We met Paul and decided we should probably just buy a new tire here to replace my tire which was on its way out anyway.  They had shade tents, bike stands, rim tape and an endless supply of beer - this situation seemed much more positive than trying to deal with my tire in the Days Inn parking lot.  This option also included an additional buzz and great conversation with the locals.  

What do we do to prepare for the next day of racing?….canonballs!! Not only is Coach Miller a handy mechanic but he also happens to be an excellent photographer and caught this photo on our first shot at simultaneous cannonballs!   

Our friend Nick Gould was so impressed by the shot he wanted a go at it himself and convinced his girlfriend Natalie to give it a shot…I don't think this is his first rodeo.

The boardwalk we rode to dinner was a romantic ride for four - truly a quaint town. 

Seek, Slip, Slap, Slop.  Sun safety is not taken lightly as we are expecting the temps to reach the 90's tomorrow.  It is so sad that tomorrow is the final stage.  I want to do it all over again.  But not only is tomorrow the final race stage - it brings the 7th stage which is the party stage, one of my favorites.  We can't wait to have some drinks and dance together to celebrate an experience of a lifetime! And yes, the worm might come out tomorrow night.