SINGLETRACK 6 2015 - Okanagan, BC

STAGE 6 - Penticton, BC - 40.4km/25miles and 1300m/4,265ft of elevation gain

That's a wrap.  Another year of Singletrack 6 in the books.  Stage 6 was an early one with a 7a.m. start due to the extreme heat of Penticton.  Stage 6 had the longest road lead out to get us to the start of the trails.  The highlight of the start was the Belgian who did a wheelie at the front of the lead pack up the first road climb (which was riding at a blistering pace that I couldn't even keep up with) and then had time to bow for his performance - pretty impressive.  We also caught sight of a fire in the area we had ridden yesterday which was cause for concern, but did not effect the section of trails we were riding today.  Fortunately Kevin Houda (one of the race directors) got in the lead-out car because the driver was about the lead the pack in the wrong direction.  The best part of this stage was the non-timed roll back into town on the KVR trail that meandered through wineries and gave stunning views of the surrounding hills and lake Okanagen.  

Punkin and I featured the "Leah" top from Cogma Bikewear which will be coming out in a couple weeks. And the final unicorn kiss goodbye. 

The RESULTS of stage 6: Nate and Dax came in 3rd due to not one, but two flats that Nate got during the race.  This was their race, they would have crushed this stage and were ahead prior to the flats each time.  Regardless of the 3 flats the boys had during the week they were psyched at the end of it all and had super strong finishes every day!

We finished first on the final stage although I definitely felt like the tank was empty as we began our climb.  Fortunately the day was shorter than Punkin and I had anticipated and we had no technicalities like last year so we maintained our position and were so happy to have had such a successful race together again this year!  Karen won a Tinhorn bottle of wine and Dax won a Thule backpack…we were all winners in the prize drawing department!

We finished early and had time for the lake, another Bike Barn visit, some lunch at the Bad Tattoo Brewery and Punkin even slipped in a nap! Nate and Dax logged some serious hours at the Bike Barn which (if you remember from the 5th stage recap) conveniently had a free keg.  The boys met up with some of their competitors there and had a blast recapping the week over beers with friendly and strong competition.  

My dear Sane - she is one of the medics that helped me last year when I partially tore my achilles tendon…thankfully I didn't need her this year, but I LOVE her.  Singletrack 6 has done a great job finding dedicated and wonderful people to help put on a demanding and rewarding event!

After a celebratory afternoon we prepared for the banquet….which means we all showered and put on some clean, "nicer" clothes.  The banquet is a blast, almost all racers attend this final dinner so the room is full and a lot of exciting drawings and events are happening.  First of all, they did a freezie chugging contest.  Both Dax and I won the male and female round respectively.  Although I only had to chug one freeze pop and he had to chug four;  so I won Smith sunglasses and he won a Smith helmet, sunglasses and a t-shirt. 

It was pretty hilarious to watch the mens round and the guys chugging the four freeze pops.  The quality of the banquet pictures is low due to poor lighting and cameras on our phones, but Dax's smile is ear to ear and he is psyched about this win.  

And the RESULTS of the GC (general classification) for the entire 6 days: The Cogma "Not so single" girls came in first overall.  Yes, there is a unicorn on stage with me.  They ended up doing a real drawing for the Santa Cruz bike (which I did not get pulled for), but due to my rainbow efforts I was awarded the unicorn! It was funny, but I am not going to lie that I was really hoping for a bike and not a blow up unicorn…I eventually had to deflate the unicorn because it was a constant reminder that I did not win the bike..ha!

And the Planet Foods boys came in 2nd overall! They fought hard every day against intense and tough competition.  Their 2nd place position was well earned and I was incredibly impressed by their relaxed and positive attitudes every day after the race knowing they couldn't miss a beat the next day.  Well done Nate and Dax, you two make an unassuming and incredibly talented team!

The 7th stage…the party stage!! Well, this part didn't quite happen as we all hoped for.  It was tough to find a place that was a good fit for a bunch of mountain bikers to gather for drinks and dancing.  There was one high-end club with a cover charge and lots of unwelcoming bar bouncers that ended up being a flop.  Nate decided it was time to call it and the rest of us went out for one more drink and some apps.  I fell asleep on Dax's shoulder and we all ended up heading home on the earlier side compared to last year.  This is how we found Coach in the hotel…still focusing on recovery, passed out in his elevated legs.  

Saturday, August 1st, was departure day.  We toured the local farmers market to soak up our last few hours of Canadian culture.  

And of course had to make the two mandatory stops prior to leaving Canada…our favorite Tim Hortons and a run to the gas station so I could spend my final Canadian money on 12 crunchie bars..the best Canadian candy bar. 

I think it is fair to say we all had an incredible trip and felt fortunate to have such a kick-ass group of 4 to travel with, share expenses with, and ride some rad new bike trails with! Thanks again to everyone involved in Singletrack 6 for providing another incredibly memorable experience!

Stay tuned as I will be posting during the Breck Epic…Dax and I will be racing the 6 day stage race together next week, our first time racing in this format together!!