Last weekend was the Peach Classic Triathlon in Penticton. I think it might be the oldest Tri in the Okanagan.

The race started at 7am by the Peach, which meant a wake up time of 4:15am to arrive at the race site by 6am to get organized and warm up. Pretty darn early! 

The lake had a bit of chop, but not too bad. The swim start was pretty civilized without a lot of kicking and punching. I got away pretty smoothly and came out of the water in 5th place.

A quick transition and onto a hilly bike course. The bike goes up Vancouver hill and out towards Naramata and back. The Speed Concept was brilliant today!  It carries speed so well!  I passed a few people going through transition and a couple people passed me on the bike leg, so came into T2 in fourth place with 2 others nipping at my heels.

The run also goes up Vancouver hill and out along the KVR trail to the 5km mark and then back down to lake level.  It's a tough run.  I managed to pass Jen Annett, a local pro woman, to claim 3rd overall behind the always-strong Gary Wade and Jeff Symonds, another local pro, who was in a class of his own.

So, I finished 3rd overall and first in the 40-44 category. The top three in this category were all in the top 6 overall and two and a half minutes apart.
This is probably one of the harder courses, but also one of the most rewarding. 

I find this time of year confusing.  
Maybe it is because there are too many options.  The snow base at Big White is over 300cms for the first time in several years, the roads are being swept, the mountain bike trails are nice and tacky.  What's a girl to do?
I have always had a hard time letting go of ski season and getting into bike season.  The skiing is usually very good with the occasional surprising powder day.  The long days are perfect for spring ski tours.  The ski specific skills, strength and confidence are high whereas on a bike, I feel like Bambi on ice.
The cross country ski race season has just finished, and I am not entirely ready to embrace the next season.  I see Strava and Facebook reports of people ramping up and doing crazy rides and mileage when I am feeling like a little downtime/funtime.
On the other hand, this is the time of year when the Okanagan really shines for outdoor pursuits!  The pictures above were taken on consecutive days.  The day after a 30cm-odd dump of snow, I was hiking and skiing the Cliff Chutes and skiing some lines that have not been ski-able (by me, anyway) for a few years due to low snowpacks.  The next day was a stellar ride on Knox in shorts and jersey and checking out the new trails.  The golf courses are open, boats and paddle boards are out on the lake.  The options are seemingly endless.
Like I said, it's a confusing time of year.

 I have had a couple rides on the new Trek Emonda SL6 now and I am digging my new stealth fighter!  It looks badass with the black on black paint scheme.

The first thing I noticed riding it is how quiet it is.  Trek’s internal cable management system really works well.  There are no pinging cables when you hit potholes or bumps, just a subdued thump like closing the door on a quality car.  I was standing, climbing a hill on lakeshore, and could even hear my water bottle sloshing back and forth with the rocking of the bike.  That’s pretty quiet!

The H2 geometry fits really well.  I wasn’t sure if it was going to feel upright and sluggish, but the geometry feels spot on.  A perfect balance between twitchiness and too slow.  The best way to describe the handling is that the bike feels really solid and planted.  Carving fast corners is done with full confidence.

Many thanks to Steve at Trek and Jim, Marty and the crew at Fresh Air for the support.

Ian