CODY SHIMIZU

A look into my life, a journal to look back on, a blog for others to see.

Sep 8, 2018: Cyclocross Provincials (Canmore, AB)

Another weekend another adventure. This weekend was cyclocross provincials in Canmore. Going to the mountains I couldn’t keep myself from not exploring the mountains. I made a plan to race the provincials on Saturday then go hiking on Sunday. Going along with the theme of being a broke student this weekend J.P. from Canmore graciously let me stay at their house. It was an awesome time there with Abbey, Sidney, Marc, and Quinn just hanging out with friends.

The next morning, we woke up to a chilly morning with a cloudy haze hiding the mountains from us. It was cold but just warm enough to keep the ground a little soft from the small amounts of snow falling over the past few days. The course was surprisingly dry and didn’t have too many muddy spots. The course was the classic Canmore disc golf course with a bunch of tight u-turns and long straights connecting them with one energy sapping hill.

As we lined up on the street surrounded by new homes still surrounded by construction equipment. With riders lining up almost 5 rows deep, since it was provincials the field was much larger than usual with people from other categories racing in open men. I was sitting second row behind the one and only Sean (Juventus) the hole shot king. Wise choice. As the gun goes off I managed to squeeze by as the pack of 50 lycra clad, skinny tire bike racing men going around the first sharp left hand corner I found myself sitting in top 5 in the first few corners. But like all other races I found myself losing the leaders in the first few straights completely underpowered. By the end of lap 1 I found myself sitting where I usually am with Luke (Juventus) the course was wonderful with a few small places where I could get a little sideways and corners to rail. The rest of the race I spend duking it out with Luke. In the end he managed to out sprint me at the line.

I’m not even sure where I placed, but all I know is that I had fun. A lot of it. It’s hard to explain to people who don’t know cyclocross, like steeplechase on a bike but your legs are absolutely searing with lactate, your heartrate going through the roof, an hour of physical pain, you aren’t racing cyclocross until you are tasting blood by the time you reach the finish line. But it’s fun. Trust me.

Sep 9, 2018: Cascade Mountain Attempt (Banff, AB)

The next morning, we woke up to a fresh layer of snow settling in on the ground, with plans to go nowhere. The plan for the day was to attempt reaching the summit of Cascade Mountain in Banff. We drove over to Mt. Norquay Ski Area where the trailhead for Cascade Mountain. On the road up to the ski resort we were already up in the clouds, just driving through the fog was cool. Starting the hike we were already in ankle deep snow. Not the soft fluffy snow but the mushy, slushy, wet snow. We walked past the ski lifts and made our way towards the Cascade trail. The first 1.5 hours of the hike we were in the woods without much exposure. It was just a ridiculously never ending steep trail.

After a while we finally made it to Cascade amphitheatre. The fog was still hovering over us, we couldn’t even see the summit (or the false summit) of the Cascade mountain. It was a mystical place surrounded by the majestic mountains. As we hiked along the ridge of the amphitheatre with a bit more exposure we were above the fog. The valley filled with the river of fog, dancing below us. It was unreal. Unfortunately, after racing yesterday, our tired legs, and lack of time only allowed us to make it just below the false summit. The world’s best lunch spot with 3 amazing friends. What more can you ask for. We made quick work of the trail on the way down. Even a bit of running.

Afterwards we made a quick stop at a nifty little café in Banff to rest our legs.

Less then 24 hours after being above the fog in the valley, looking at possibly the best view in the world I found myself sitting in a lecture hall, no windows, just day dreaming where I could be.