Squamish Gearjammer

This weekend was the sister race to the much respected Test of Metal - Gearjammer.

The race distance was increased to 47km this year with some great technical singletrack and descents. The Squamish trails were in great condition for the race and a little drizzle and cloud cover served to keep the temperature at a perfect race level.

Last years race was a nightmare for me having broken my chain 5 times. This year saw one break and a mysteriously self loosening chainset that decided it wasn't too happy being attatched to my bike and dropping itself off on the trail.

The mechanical problems were one thing, but having only ridden 1 1/2 hours max so far this season, cramp and fatigue set in about an hour from the finish. Crumpet woods, Lost loop and the 3 virgins zapped what energy and fluids I had left and it was all I could do to get to the end.

Needless to say I felt super strong for the first 2 hours and that seemed to set me up for a good race finish. I managed to get 1st in category - somehow!

Mark had a blazing ride on his Epic and finished a clear 15 minutes ahead of me and came in 3rd in his Marathon series catagory.

So, a well organised race on a superb course... just these blasted cramps in my legs to marr the memory!