Wrap up

Well, there is the finisher belt buckle and the number plate that I stared at and the mandatory wrist band and the meal card. Lots of keeping track of me.

Day 7 - BC Bike Race 2012 - Whistler

Let's wrap this race up. Whew. I am getting weary. Of course my legs are sore and my back is aching (perhaps the thin blue foam for 9 hours at night?) but really, I have a general lack of energy. Wake up at 5:30 in Squamish, breakfast for the final time and a bus ride up to Whistler Day Parking lots. The start/finish is in the Olympic Village Venue. It is meant to be a short day. Last year, they rode comfortably numb which would bring me to tears today. Instead, we go straight up Whistler mountain on the easy does it trail, come down the whoops and table tops of crank it up and over to Lost Lake trails for some twisty-rocky-rooty fun. The climb was of course killer but the carnage on the way down through the bike park was amazing. Hint: if you don't ride jumps, don't ride jumps for the first time on a cross country bike. This is my case. I passed 3 guys with broken bikes and bodies. Final day heli-ambulance to Vancouver and a $5000 bill? No thanks. I ripped in about 1:45 and the pros were like an hour-ten. It was awesome to see friends along the course and Lara and the kids at the finish. What a great experience! Roots, Mud, cold rain, hot sun and the excellent Squamish trails.

Trail summary

On the back of the shirt. Cool.

Day 6 lunch

Check out this badass jumbo dog with pulled pork and coleslaw. Just what the doctor ordered for lunch. Graham is out looking for raw tofu. Maybe that is the reason he is so fast?

Day 6 - BC Bike Race 2012 - Squamish

Home turf! Advantage? Read and see. Graham and I have worked out our perfect partner race strategy. Don't ride together. He races ahead and plays with the big boys while I putter along... Of course, not exactly puttering but let's say hammering at my own intensity level. The start was the gear jammer course, up the road and up mashiter until up robs corners. I am figuring out how to manage my energy and it means conrve at the start. My second half was ripping, I am a safer descender when not at the limit and I finish strong. I was about 20min behind him and I was 3:35 or thereabouts. Definitely my best day in Squamish. Sunny but not too hot. Walked parts of the plunge but ripped hoods in the woods and all through crumpit. No cracking or cramping. I think it is the bananas at the aid station that prevents cramping? Tomorrow is the final day! Up easy does it, 800m, down crank it up then over to lost lake for a tour and back to the lifts to call it a day and reunite with Lara and the kids. Just finishing up a double espresso ice at Starbucks air conditioned, wifi space. Heaven right now.

Day 5 - BC Bike Race 2012- Sechelt to Gibsons

Pics

Finally, a day where we wake up, it is sunny, and the race starts right at the tents! Yesterday was so long that I was unsure of how it would go. Unchartered territory so to speak. I have definitely not trained to ride so fast. The breakfast burrito was delicious but the start was at 8am so the burrito was still on the way through.... We climbed out of Sechelt through the quarry near the provincial campground and climbed and climbed. I think 1400m in total elevation gain and a ripping descent into the finish called highway 102. I was so tired that I could not rip it like the other days but I did not fall off any skinny bridges like graham did. He is a product tested for garmin durability. Trails 1, garmin 0.

Day 4 - Earles Cove - BC Bike Race 2012

This was the long one. 5 hours for me and 4:25 for Graham.

Check out how the race chiropractor has put me back together. Rock tape is amazing. Who thought that some tape on your skin could dramatically ease back pain. Should've done it years ago.

Day 3 - Powell River - BC Bike Race 2012

Wow. I started slow but RIPPED the course. Here are a few pics...

Unknown Territory

Well today should be interesting. Despite our attempt to train properly, this will be the first time we have done a hard mountain bike ride three days in a row. Good thing tomorrow is the really tough day. Yikes!!!

Day 2 BC Bike Race, Campbell River

Well, the karma cops caught up to us for poo-pooing Mac at the test of metal. Mac, you will be happy to know that the amount of slippery mud was phenomenal. Naturally, graham rocked and I popped.
The first two hours were pretty good (after my customary 20min slow warmup). Mud, slippery roots, etc..., but I was riding everything. Blame it on a sore camping back or missing to eat and drink? I don't know? At one point I almost rode off a slippery cliff! That required a change of shorts.
I really envisioned riding a couple of hours, sitting around the finish line in the sun, then having a beer at the nightly campfire singing kumbyah.
Well, 'eff' me.
At no time today did any of those things happen.
Graham waited for 15min shivering within site of the finish line while I suffered in. We hosed the bikes in record time then climbed into the shower fully kitted up. The mud sprayed everywhere. I stood at the door while GG had a 45min strip down shower. Then it was my turn. There was more mud than the worst northshore winter ride.
It has been a few hours, we are lunched and warm and the dirty clothes are drying and I peer outside to windy slashing rain.
Prediction tomorrow: rain with a chance of mud.
Ps. At the dinner tonight, I won the floatplane prize for day 4. Pics of that for sure!
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Location:Campbell river, bc

Day 1 - BC Bike Race 2012 - Cumberland

So the start was not as terrifying as I had in my head. There were waves of 100 or so separated by 2min. We still had a hundred around us and I one point I went off the front out of fear of crashes. The entrance to single track was routine with some standing but not too much. There was a 10k fire road climb that took it out of me.

Across the top of forbidden plateau were great flowing trails and an exceptional timed downhill enduro where I rode the whole thing and GG waited for me after ripping it.

A little cramping after 3hours and we finished in 3:37. No prize money but I get to do it all again tomorrow! Pics are of a little mud, the timing tent (no rain)! And the trail map in case we ever come back. Time for a nap.

Here is a link to a tv spot.

Dinner at Cumberland community center

Mmmmm.... Lasagna.

This is what winning stage one looks like. First in line for dinner.

Camping?

Looks like the foam matress will be perfect. And the tent has WiFi!

Driving to Cumberland

The sun pokes through!

Big Laughs at the Pre-Race Briefing - BC Bike Race 2012

Holy crap. I thought that meeting was going to be boring but NOT!
Videos and speakers keeping the preview of the week and the rules 'real'.
Drey, Narona, and the safety guy. ..

I'll try to find a YouTube of the safety guy pretending he meets a bear, determining if it is black or grizzly, and the drama class on how to use your bike as a defense weapon.

The differentiation of wilderness cougars and Whistler cougars for the single guys under the average age of 39 was another high point.

If Graham has a bout of hyper-thermia, my instructions are to strip him naked and make him wet. Pictures to follow, maybe even video.

Perhaps we need a "quote of the day"?
From the race doctor in preventing disease transfer at camp: "Nobody wants to be puking and crapping liquid. Wash your hands properly. Use soap and froth it up. Then you have frothy poo. Sing happy birthday twice and rinse."

Or maybe: "Saddle sores can be a mess. Prevent them. You all know where these are, right? Between your junk and your anni. If the person beside you is from Europe, fill them in". He then bends over and points.

First meeting

Well, after eating part of the muffin wrapper on the way over (and not even noticing) we have officially checked in. After this prelude we hit buses to the ferry, over to Nanaimo and north to Cumberland.

A steady mist is coming down but it is warm out. Maybe 19c? Blah!

Summer on the West Coast

Just ran into six South American guys at Obsession: Bikes. They were all buying winter riding gear. Advantage: Locals.

Getting nervous?

Well, has the training paid off? Time will tell! For the moment, I gaze over to Vancouver's north shore at a mix of clouds and sun and really wonder about the thickness of the provided foam in the tent....

Hmmm...

Google Calendar of the Week