August 03, 2018 (Quebec) – The second annual Quebec Singletrack Experience will soon be underway. I’ll be lining up at the Stage 1 start in Valcartier for Pedal Magazine, and joining several hundred other riders, ready to begin the wild and singular process of becoming a Que-biker.
But right now, my living room floor is a mess. A pile of bike gear and clothing has been growing there all week and while it was once very tidy, as my time has dwindled before departure, so have my organizational skills. Plus I think the dog has tried – several times – to find his place among it all. He still thinks he’s coming with me. I haven’t had the heart yet to tell him it’s a human-only ride.
For anyone who’s never been to Québec City, mountain biking may not be the first thing that comes to mind. It never was for me, until a few years ago, when I began to hear reports of some incredible new trail networks. Oh, there’s always been Mont-Sainte-Anne, which in itself is worth a trip and has been on my hit list ever since I moved to Ottawa nearly a decade ago. I may be looking forward to that stage more than any in the week to come – see all stages here.
But those weren’t the trails I was hearing about. Instead, the whispers were about a trail called “the Neilson” which was described to me as mind-blowing, and places called Vallée Bras du Nord (or VBN) and Sentiers du Moulin.
Such talk got me in the car last summer and, instead of turning south at Montreal to head towards the many networks in Vermont I typically visit each year, I turned north. I won’t give any spoilers here, suffice to say it more than lived up to the hype and I am drooling over the chance to ride some of those trails again as part of QSE2018.
I don’t normally ride seven hard days in a row (because, you know, work). I say hard because I tend to be competitive (just ask my brothers about D&D; I’m banned from ever playing with them again) and perhaps my biggest fear around this event is that I’ll get caught up in racing and either burn out or crash out as a result — I’ve watched some of the preview videos and am sure there will be more than a few lines that will launch my stomach into my throat.
Both would be bad, especially since I’m writing a recap on each stage every day. So, I’m going to line up with my trusty steed – a 4-year old Ghost ASX with a few upgrades that has served me well but will be retired this fall – and aim to ride smart and solid, even if it means I’m in the bottom half of the leaderboard.
We’ll see how that plan works out. I can already hear my brothers’ laughing. But first I have to organize and pack my mess. And talk to the dog.
Lisa Willemse is a writer and communicator strategist who’s never far from the outdoors. She spent more than a dozen years living in Alberta’s Bow Valley where she first began mountain biking, although it was only as a rest-day activity from various climbing pursuits. In 2008, she moved to the Ottawa area with her husband and two kids, hung up the chalk bag and began riding the singletrack networks the city’s big back yard. She hasn’t looked back. @willemsela
More Quebec Singletrack Experience info and cool video here.