The most magical place on earth

Panorama of the bay when the tide is in. 

I believe Walt Disney had it wrong when he called “The Magic Kingdom" the most magical place on earth.  Yes, that castle is quite beautiful, the images, the fireworks behind it at night when Disney puts on their show, the way the castle can look huge on camera, but yet in real person, it’s quite small.  That’s pretty magical.  It’s quite clear that Walt Disney never visited Vancouver Island, or better yet, The Comox Valley.  The main portion of the valley is comprised of Comox, Courtenay (my town), and Cumberland.  Each place holds an extremely special place in my heart.  My families beach house sits across the beach in the city limits of Comox (only on technicality, because the city is only one road, and not the ones above it), I was named after the town of Courtenay, and Cumberland has some of the most fun mountain biking with the most incredible views of the valley below, the Straight of Georgia, and the mountains of the Sunshine Coast. 

If you look closely, you can see a little place called "tree island".  Growing up we LOVED going to tree island.  

Why is this place so magical?  It might have something to do with the fact that I’ve practically grown up here in the summer time, and it might have something to do with how it truly is magical.  Growing up we were so lucky to have a beautiful place to roam, free of danger, and nothing to do but get sand in our pants.  When I’m at the beach I have a beautiful back drop of the mountainous Sunshine Coast.  I can watch the views of the Bald Eagles flying in the wind, perched on top of the trees looking for lunch.  They’re some of the most majestic and beautiful birds I have ever seen.  When I’m sick of swimming in salt water, and I want a little more of a thrill, I can hop in the car and find a swimming hole at one of the local rivers.  Want to swim in some rushing water and a place that will keep you guessing when walking down the river?  No problem.  Want a big rock to jump off of into a calm pool of water?  The valley has that covered too.  Want to float the river for an all day excursion?  Lets make it happen.  Did I mention the mountain biking?  It never gets old.  The first time I rode in Cumberland, it stole my heart for my most favorite place to ride, from the flowy, bridge filled trails, to the most amazing views of the scenes below.  My most favorite thing to do in the summer post a hot sweaty mountain bike ride, is head to the river to wash the sweat off and cool down.  Once you’ve cooled down from the cold river, we head back to the beach, sit in our floaty with our beverage of choice and let the tide bring us back to shore.  It truly doesn’t get any better than that.  Hawaii is paradise, but the Comox Valley is magical. 

Now pair all of this up with the friendly Canadians and you couldn’t ask for a more magical place on earth. 

Which brings me to this.  Chris and I have travelled to Cumberland to do a couple of races.  It started last year when we went up for the 12 hours of Cumberland, support a small local race, race some new trails, challenge ourselves on a team of two, and stay at the beach.  The friendly faces and personalities of the locals brought us back for more this year.  We came up in April for the Cumberland XC race, and boy did they show us what a XC race should be like, nearly 100% single track and nothing but smiles.  We followed up the XC race with the 2015 edition of 12 Hours of Cumberland this past weekend, and boy it did not disappoint! 

Chris and I once again teamed up for the event.  This year they changed the course up a bit, added a single track climb at the beginning before hitting the logging road to the main single track parts of the course.  Once off the logging road we got the chance to flow on some single track, which included lots and lots of pedaling before hitting the fast and rocky Crafty Butcher descent.  From there, we had more climbing before hitting a wide open descent to a very pedally flat’ish trail that requires ALMOST as much focus as Hush Hush on Chuckanut Mountain.  This trail was called “josh’s trail”.  I don’t know who Josh is, but I was cursing him right around lap 8 or 9.  The trail was super tight with trees all around you, and soft dirt because I think it was freshly cut this spring. 

Done and dusted.  That was hard!

The entire day went off without a hitch, for the most part.  I did happen to make a wrong turn on my first lap, went down the wrong trail, back up it, and then down it again when someone told me that was right way (it wasn’t).  Chris also did flat 3 times, but that’s not surprising to us at all, now is it?  Chris and I ended up finishing 24 laps, 12 each, with a total of 12,000 feet of climbing between the two of us, and nearly 180 kilometers.  We had time for one more, but neither of us had the energy or the legs to go out for one more lap.  Compared to last year, this course was far more physically demanding than it was last year.  The inclusion of more single track, the single track climb, and that darn Josh, adding his trail in, really increased the amount of physical and mental energy needed to get through a lap. 

Friends near and far, I urge you to take a trip to this magical place on Vancouver Island.  Visit the coastal town of Comox, the city of Courtenay, and the Village of Cumberland.  Bring your mountain bike, your road bike, your paddleboard, your swim suit.  Bring your free spirit, your best friend, you will not be disappointed. 

Dusty and exhausted!  

Winners in the Co-Ed 2 person category.  We love those Beardsley Mugs!!!

A decade of remembrance

Believe me, I know I've been slacking.  And I have about 4 different blog posts that mention it, and I haven't even finished them, and by now, it's past the point of it being good anymore.  So instead of writing about the sub-par end to my amazing season, let me Q you in on a little bit about me.  

I turned 30 on Monday March 23rd.  In my opinion, that's a milestone birthday.  All through my twenties I still felt like a kid, just an overgrown kid.  Some may argue with me and tell me that 30 is still "just a kid", but I think for the first time in my life I might (sometimes) refer to myself as an adult.  Leading up to 30 I was in a lot of denial, there was NO way I was going to be 30, I haven't done ANYTHING with my life!  I'm not where 10 year-old Courtenay thought she would be at 30, and quite frankly, I'm REALLY happy to not be there.  As I look back at my Twenties, there is absolutely nothing I would take back.  I lived my life to the fullest and I am so incredibly happy to be where I am right now.

My four years of undergrad at WWU were some of my favorite times, where I made some amazing memories and met some amazing people.  In my four years of college, I partied harder than I ever will again in my life (ever, and I wonder how I made it out unscathed), I met my (now) husband, I made some of the most amazing life long friends, experienced Spring Break in Mexico, I started on my future career path at the age of 19, I was introduced to riding bikes, I ran 3 marathons, and more halves than I can remember.  

It wasn't until after my undergrad and into my Masters at WWU that I discovered the world of racing bikes, I realized I was in love with Chris, I grew to love Bellingham more and more, moved in with Chris, and discovered that I would LOVE cyclocross more than I ever thought possible.  

It wasn't until after I graduated with my Masters that I discovered how much I loved racing my bike, and it wasn't until the year Chris and I married that I discovered I could potentially race at the top level.  It wasn't until my last year in my twenties that I found a family in the entire CX racing community across the country, that I felt like I belonged somewhere.  It was in my 20's that I discovered the reality of life, where I learned to deal with living pay check to pay check.  It was in my twenties that I learned about the world of addiction, I learned I can pave my path, but I can't change others.  

I'm so grateful to be where I am today to have learned the lessons I have.  I'm so lucky to live my life, to know the people I do, to have the friends I have.  I've heard from multiple people how their 30's where their best times of their life.  If my 30's are going to be better than my 20's, then holy cow, I can't wait for the next 10 years of my life.  

A look back at my last 10 years:

20: On the morning of my 20th birthday I learned the valuable lesson, that a car is not a house on wheels.  Do not leave any prized possessions in your Honda Civic, it will get broken into, and your belongings will be stollen.  This was just the beginning of my poor little civiy getting broken into.  

21: I spent my 21st birthday visiting my life long friend in California.  I spent my first night as a 21 year old in a bar in LA, and learned to never go to DisneyLand with a hangover while vomiting up stomach acid.  

22: I spent my 22nd birthday experiencing Spring Break in CABO!  Tequila, jello shots, and chips and salsa will always bring back memories.  At 22 is when I first met Chris and graduated from College.

23:  At 23, Chris and I shared our first "I love you's" and I decided it would be best to go back to school and get my Masters.  It didn't take long for me realize I didn't want to be in school anymore, but I suffered my way through, and I'm glad I did.  This year Chris and I also took our first road trip together (and I believe we haven't done one since….) down the coast to Disneyland.  I had a blast, but that's the last time I let Chris "plan" a vacation.

24:  It wasn't I was 24 that I decided it was time to try Cyclocross.  I saved my pennies and bought an entry level bike, big green.  Big green and I fell in love with CX after the first race, and unfortunately it wasn't until the end of the season that I bought big green, so we had a little taste of what CX was about, and we had to wait nearly a year to race again!  

25:  I graduated with my Masters in Human Movement.  Not much else happened here.  Perhaps, this is when I moved in with Chris.

26:  Dec. 19. 2011 Chris asked me to marry him.  Apparently, I said yes.

27:  Chris and I wed, and I raced in my first UCI CX race in Vegas 4 days after our wedding.  With a last row call up, I finished 13th. That was pretty awesome.  At 27, the entire NW CX community got together and helped pitch my way to UCI CX races.  You guys are the best.

28:  At 28, I ho'ed and hummed over the thought of giving bike racing another shot at the top level.  I just wasn't sure.  I'm certainly glad I stuck with it.  :-) 

29:  You better believe that I spent my last day in twenties, on my bike, smiling the whole time, with people who support me and my endeavors.  The last year of 20's, my oh my.  When Chris asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, all I said was "ride my mountain bike and eat cake on the mountain with my friends".  Yes, this is what I did.  We went for a nice long 5 hour ride through Chuckanut, Blanchard, and Galbraith and I smiled the entire way.  Thank You friends for joining me.  

Here's to the  next ten years of my life.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!