As some of you know I was supposed to be gone all summer but unfortuannaly I had to fly home earlier for medical reasons. My medical stuff, the esophegus and stomach problems, do not affect my training so as soon as I came back from overseas I started looking for a race. I had one major problem, my bike was on the ship and I was not able to bring it back with me. I called Simon and my sponsor Jamis in panic and they hooked me up with no less then the Bike of the Year “awarded by Bicycle Magazine”. I fell in love with the bike on the first look… what a wonderful looking bike. This great looking Jamis Xenith Pro also fit very nicely and I told Jamis that they will have to work very hard to make me switch to a ‘09 for next year.

Now that I had a bike I could register for the Self transcendance race. I went swimming a few times a Thetis Lake and I managed to go around without vomiting so I figured I was ready. I approached the race with a very relaxed attitude, since I was overweight I would aim at finishing and not competing. On race day, once I got to the site I felt really relaxed… probably because it was only 6am and I wasn’t awake yet! When the horn went I jumped in the water and as usual received and gave a few elbows and kicks (it might sound curious but I dont mind that part, might be my hockey background!) and once things settled down I had a nice and relaxing swim. After the swim I ran into the transition to grab my beautiful bike, Jamis xenith pro(did I mention bike of the year, available at Cycles West) and took off.

As some of you know the route was out of Elk Lake into West Sannich Road. That route is not made for overweight people but since my bike is light and repsonsive it went well! The run on the other hand was a different story. My injured hip flexor (from a marathon that I did but wasnt ready for, I completed but paid the price) fell awful and the pain went away at the 7km mark. I had a very strong finish on the run and was happy.

Overall I had a good day, the race is very well organized and the post race food is the best in town! It was also nice to see that few Schwalbe members also raced. I would like to encourage all the members to participate in the Juan de Fuca duathlon. Simon from Cycles West is one of the organisers.

Stef Moreau