C.P.R.

Two years ago a good friend came to me and said, "I have a great idea! We get a bunch of guys together, no woman, and ride Comfortably Numb, Party at my condo in Whistler and wake up the next day to run Rubble Creek". And thus, C-P-R was born. It sounded easy enough and it sounded fun. The first year we accomplished the ride and the run, but fell asleep long before any sort of party broke out. This past weekend was the second annual CPR and we changed things up by running Rubble Creek Saturday and then riding the Gear Jammer course on Sunday. It was a perfectly gorgeous weekend with some of the best guys in the world.

Saturday morning the Lazy Trail Runner and I met Rob, Bob "the lung", and Dr. Darin, at Bean Around the World on Westview. In two cars, we caravaned to Whistler Creekside, where we would drop our bikes and begin running from Cheakamus Lake. The ascent through loamy pine forest was gorgeous and pictures were a must, until I realized of course, I was way behind. A few pics and the boys had dropped me. Bob "the lung" was setting a break -neck pace and the others followed suit. This wasn't what I had expected, but I put the pedal to the metal and caught up... to Duncan and the Doc that is. Bob and Rob were gone and I didn't see them again until Helm Meadows, where the alpine really begins. I had conceded to taking pictures and ran alone a fair bit. The Lazy Trail Runner slowed up too and we cruised the run through Taylor Meadows and down Rubble Creek switchbacks to the parking lot. The alpine part of this run is second to none. With Black Tusk in the backdrop and blue sky above you can't ask for a lot more. If you run the switchbacks fast your quads pay the next day and I knew how long our ride was meant to be on Sunday. My left ankle was acting up a bit again anyway, so slow was fine with me. When we arrived at the lot we were greeted by Mike Tunnah, who brought cold beers, and had cleaned all the baby stuff out of his van to shuttle us back to our start point.

That night we returned to Rob's condo for some beers, chips and salsa, and great conversation. In the village , we later ate pasta and calamari. What a crew? With sleepy eyes, we downed our food and made our way home to watch a romantic comedy (The Breakup) and fall asleep. Sounds like a date doesn't it? It wasn't. Nobody spooned and everyone went to their own beds...even The Lazy Trail Runner.

The next morning, after a huge omelette at the Wildwood, in Function Junction, we drove to Squamish and hit the trails. Parking at the top of Perth is the best spot ever because you drop into Lumberjack's and everything feels flowy and perfect. There's no other way to start a ride. From there we rolled up Jack's, through Alice Lake, we did Ed's Bypass, flew down Rock n' Roll, Rob's and Cliff's, over to Skookum and Powersmart, and then flanked across to Recycler (Mike coming out of Recycler on right) and Pseudotsuga , and over George's crossing. The gang that hammered the day before were starting to get tired and decided to skip The Plunge, but the best part of the day was yet to come. Mike, who has spent heaps of time riding in Squamish, told us about another trail that none of us had been on..."Word of Mouth". He knew the way for once and we followed like puppies. This trail was incredible. It was super soft, rolly, steep in parts, and slightly technical. After going over the handle bars twice it spit us out above Quest University and we rode back to our cars to head home. All I could think about was a cold Coke. Since China, I'm totally into cold Coke after exercise. Weird, huh?
Anyway, it was an amazing weekend of exercise and friends even though we failed to "party" again. I suppose I'd rather party on the trails than at night over beers. Thanks again to the CPR gang. I can't wait until next year. Maybe Manning or the Sunshine Coast?