Suburban Rush Race Report

It was so nice to race in the sun, as the clouds parted and the temperature rose to the mid-teens for this year's version of the Suburban Rush. Jeff, Carey and I caught the ferry over Friday night and enjoyed an amazing sushi dinner with friends Marc Campbell of Helly Hansen and his wife Catherine. Jeff and Catherine teamed up for the ordering and we were treated to a Japanese feast. I'm not sure what I was expecting with the Suburban Rush. I knew it was going to be a relatively short race, and that it was geared to first time adventure racers. I have a fairly good knowledge of Port Moody's local trails after living there for four years, but I wasn't sure which ones the organizers were going to include. The race started frantically as our Helly Hansen mainland counterparts Gary and Todd, arrived at the start lines seconds before the start. Gary and Todd set the pace up a relentless 3km climb to the bike transition. More comfortable on the bikes we caught up to the mainland Helly boys and enjoyed the lead for the first time in the race. The course brought us down the winding singletrack of the Academy trail into Buntzen lake park for a navigation section. To say the least despite a positive attitude and having a great time, we must have been directionally challenged as we emerged from the stage almost 15 minutes behind Gary and Todd with 3 other racers between us. With Jeff setting the pace, we caught the lead solo competitor, but had to settle for 3rd overall on the day. It was a great race, with just under 2hrs and 20 minutes of racing, my legs were fully spent. Lina Augaitis of Steed Cycles and Helly has a strong race and was the first woman to cross the finish line. The day was capped off with a visit to Steed cycles to pick up my new bikes, a Giant XTC Carbon hardtail and a ANTHEM equipped with SRAM/TRUVATIV/ROCKSHOX goodies. I love new toys. Steed Cycles rocks. Congrats to Gary, Todd and Lina for strong performances, and a big thanks to the organizers and volunteers for hosting an amazing event.