It’s hard to turn a blind eye to the “Fondo Phenomenon.” You must agree, these massive group cycling events have taken off like wildfire over the past year since the launch of the first Canadian gran fondo last September– the inaugural 2010 RBC GranFondo Whistler. Missing out on that race, I was darn determined that in 2011, I would finally experience the thrill to ride with over a thousand people.
Last weekend I was one of the excited riders to toe the line at the inaugural 2011 RBC GranFondo Kelowna in the sunny Okanagan. Because summer had decided to do a no-show here in Squamish this July, I knew that I was not the only person who was making their way into the interior of BC in search of dry roads and warm riding. The Kelowna ride fell perfectly onto the calendar as I was just returning from a 148km running race in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.
I invited one of my other endurance specialists, JF Plouffe, from Challenge by Choice Performance Coaching, to “fondo it up” with me. It would be a great way for us co-workers to get out for a day of play together and as an added training benefit, we both had major races coming up. JF was going to hit the Gear Jammer mountain bike race the following weekend in Squamish and I had registered for Ultraman Canada in just two weeks time. Continue reading
Women In Cycling 