Dave looks over his shoulder, "You in?".
"Yeah, I'm in."
It's summer, 1999 and we were enjoying a blue bird day at Whistler. It had snowed 4 inches overnight, which meant rain and mud in the village where we had planned on riding our mountain bikes. I happily switched gears that morning when Dave suggested we go skiing instead, especially as back then, riding mountain bikes was not a skill I possessed.
I turned right to follow Dave down a benign looking cat track, the fresh powder spraying up behind us. He turned left towards the pitch of the mountain and I blindly followed at the same speed. I had no idea what I'd agreed to be in on, but the competitive side of me had kicked in full force. Of course I was in.
The next thing I know my skis are no longer in touch with the snow and I'm sailing over a cornice. My first cornice and I'm launching it at a good speed. Then my skis are back on the ground and I'm straight lining a pretty steep pitch. I'm so excited with the rush of adrenaline and accomplishment from flying through the air that I forget to continue skiing. I roll to a stop at the bottom of the pitch in a pile of Tammy, skis and poles. I get up and look back at what I'd skied. Stoked. The explative that comes out of my mouth is for accomplishment.
A good amount of time after this, Dave and my friendship turned to a relationship. I can guarantee that if we were dating at the time of the cornice incidence, the F-word would have been directed quite differently.
As a kayak, ski and now bike instructor I have seen many relationships sour when one tries to teach the other. So, it is with great pleasure that I now teach for Trek's Women Who Ride program. This past Saturday, one of our new members, Kate decided that her fiancee, who is quite a talented rider and instructor was not the one that should be teaching her to ride. It was great to get out with her and others, pushing them to try new things and ride stuff a little faster, without the emotional attachment that can often end in arguments.
And the next day, Jeremy and I rode Buckwallow. I stopped at a rooty and rocky line I couldn't figure out. After trying it for a few minutes, I called to Jeremy who was fairly far down the trail. I was a little pissed, because what if I was hurt? didn't he care? he's such a jerk! He comes back, unhappy because I'm uphill of where he was and he had to climb up to me.
"I can't figure out the line"!
Jeremy waits as I try out the line he suggests, but I still don't get it after a few tries. He goes back and rides it. It turns out the line is completely different from what he told me. I try it one last time, but I'm now too frustrated to be successful. I take a deep breath so as not to get mad and ruin our day out. I decide to take a lesson from Kate and leave the rocky corner for another time when I'm either alone or with someone who I won't direct my frustrations at.
Riding with Charlotte Batty, I was stoked to have ridden Boneshaker from the top for the first time!
aren't we cute with our matching bikes and kit??
