BCBR Day 7 Whistler

Whistler has been a Mountain Biker's dream ride for as long as I have been riding. A local described it as a little Alpine Village without 500 years of history. The facilities are all modern and world class as the Winter Olympics were held here in 2010.

The short stage promised to be quick and hard. Just under 800m ascent in 25 km on tired legs meant climbing from the onset. We climbed up a slalom type track for 5 km and took another 4km slalom down. I approached the doubles and table tops with moderation as I was unfamiliar with the track and a mistake on a 130mm travel bike is not was easily corrected as on a 150 or 160mm bike. We climbed up a gravel  stretch and got to Mid Station with ski lifts passing overhead. Some with bikes on and I was temped to take the ski lift up after the ride for another down run.

We had a mix of singleteack, jeeptrack and typical North Shore woodwork to negotiate, both up and down and finally got to the day's Enduro. It was a lengthy 3 km run with just about everything thrown into it. I ground the steep ups over roots, rock beds and loose gravel and I whipped my bike around the switchbacks down. After the Enduro I was spent, but still had 6 km of short ups and downs to ride. The finish line appeared and suddenly 7 days of pure mountain biking was at an end. 

Suffering, heat, many falls, mistakes and technicals were counter balanced by elation, the thrill of the down runs, adrenalin on the start line and the rush of the Enduros. The one thing that will stay with me is the spirit of mountain biking that was evident where we went. Minimal littering on the trails, everyone asking if you needed a hand with fixing a technical and a willingness to let the faster guys come through on the trails are things that South Africans are not quite accustomed to. I hope to share this spirit back home. 

BCBR Day 6 Squamish

Squamish is the outdoor capital of Canada. Anything outdoor goes here, so 550 mountainbikers fitted in perfectly. 

The day started with a tar road climb for about 4 km. we dropped straight into the single track and immediately we had backed up traffic. It was one of the few hold up in the week, but with so much good single track a bit of walking was never an issue.

We climbed about 800m in the first 24 km and then we hit Half Nelson. Wow! Perfectly bermed corners, fast doubles, inside out turns, it was all there and we were nailing it all the way.

Another climb got us to Pseudo Tsuga. The first Enduro that was fast and flowing with some pretty steep descents inbetween. By now I've mastered the dropper seatpost and hitting these sections with agression and precision. We left the Enduro grinning.

Another climb to Aid 1 with a quick fill and off to tackle another monster climb to get us to Enduro 2. A combination of walkers and a bad fall had me lose my nerve, so I walked the first half until the trail was more manageable. 

We hit another steep climb, fortunately on a good jeep track. The forest, the rivers, the mountains all just took my breath away (along with the climb of course). We dropped into Hoods in the Woods with good fast flowing buffed up singletrack for most of the 6km section. 

At Aid 2 the mood was cheerful with everyone having a good time. Some more climbing and doing Far side (down singletrack) S&M Connector (up singletrack) and 7 stitches (up and down singletrack) to weave together about 10km of the sweet stuff to get us to Squamish. 

A combination of back streets and Urban Assault style riding got us back to the Recreation Centre to finish off probably my best day on a mountain bike... EVER!

Tonight we head to Whistler for tomorrow's short 27km stage and the banquet afterwards. 

BCBR Day 5 Sechelt to Langdale

Another night in a comfortable bed. A short taxi ride to the start. An early start. Off the line we started with a climb through a quarry. The legs were tired, but I soldiered on. About 10km of good, but steep roads was easier on the body and afforded us the opportunity to take it relatively easy. 

Then the grind started. Again lots of singletrack and again it seemed we were riding up most of it. Aid Station 1 was 15 km in and after a quick stop I got moving again. The brown ribbon through the green forest kept snaking over rocks and roots, but by now I was used to it and I am actually learning a lot about riding in these conditions. There wont be much at home to intimidate me, so I guess I'll have to start looking for more advanced riding soon. 

Half way between Aid 1 and 2 I lost the front end on an off camber corner and put the bike down hard. I ended up bending my hanger (not a problem as I had a spare) as well as shearing off the limiter screw on the derreulier ( a big problem) I was stuck in either 32x 24 or 22 x 24 for the uphill singletrack grind  for the next 10 km. I was surprisingly content with my fate and took the porting sections as an opportunity to look at the beautiful surroundings.  

Aid station 2 finally came into view and fortunately the shimano tech guys managed to get 4 gears out of my busted SRAM derreulier. I didn't have my lighest 3 or the heaviest 3 gears, but I was still riding. 

Enduro 1 dropped us straight into HWY 102 with some tight, twisty corners and short steep climbs which I was grinding with my limited gears. We swept through over the bridges and skinnies at breakneck speed trying to keep as much momentum as possible for the short climbs. We left the Enduro timing mats and immediately dropped into Sidewinder. 

Enduro 2 almost started immediately after Enduro 1 and it was just simply out of this world Steep sweeping berms, fast flowing sections, wider bridges and fun wall rides and table tops had me forget all about my hurting legs. I was pumping it over the jumps and ripping through the corners all the way down the mountain with some very precarious drop offs on my right. We left the timong mats and I moderated the rest of the descent to the finish line in the Langdale Ferry Terminal

A wet wipe bath, a roll with pork shavings and cole slaw and clean clothes had me feeling semi decent again. We boarded the Horse Shoe Bay ferry at 3:10 and it seems like I may actually get an early night tonight. 

BCBR Day 4 Saltery Bay to Sechelt

Yet another big travel day. We woke from a wonderful night sleep thanks to a R1500 hotel and took a taxi to the race village to drop our bags and go for breakfast. After breakfast Werner and I were of the lucky ones to take a sea taxi. It is a little commuter boat that seats 12 people and takes you across at double the speed of the ferry. The rest of the race had to make use of the ferry.

The ferry was late (it seems like they have inherited some Metrorail management) and the race start was moved back from 11am to 12 pm. Day 4 was always going to be the queen stage of the race. Our first point to point stage is also the longest stage with the most climbing. 
The start was a mass start from the ferry terminal. I took it relatively easy for as long as I was able and tried to conserve my legs. We went up and up along the power lines for about 10 km combining single track with gravel road. On one of the singletrack sections I was riding up a skinny (thin planked bridge) and lost my balance as I reached the top. I took a tumble and landed on my back. I was winded and stunned for a moment. Lucky to be alive and even luckier that I had my Camelbak on. My back was in pain, but nothing was broken, so I made my way to Aid Station1.

The next section was mostly single track and mostly up. By now my legs were shot and like the rest of the riders around me we walk a lot of the singletrack. Rocks, roots and risers all just became too much effort. When the track would smooth out a bit or level slightly we would mount our bikes and ride for no longer than a few 100 meters before dismounting again.

The second aid station was a welcome sight. I was in that zone where you become as efficient as possible, say little and just do what must be done. I did take a moment to pose with our pet gorilla at the aid station.

The first Enduro was tough and technical and I managed to stay on top of my bike throughout, all be it with little grace or style.

Another zigzag slog up singletrack got us to Enduro 2 about 6 km later. It started in true BC style with some steep descents over rocky drop offs with near impossible turns. Half way at a road crossing I caught up with the team that dropped into the Enduro 2 minutes ahead of me. They slickly moved off for me to continue my run, but by now I felt like I was riding a wild buffalo. I had little or no control over the bike, my fore arms were aching from braking and my legs were cramping from the prolonged standing position I adopted with my seatpost dropped. The Enduro ended after what felt like an eternity and we were on a combination of gravel and jeeptrack for the ride home. 

7h20 minutes in the saddle and it rates as one of my hardest days on a bike ever. Another night in a guest house instead of camping (its a survival decision) 

Lets see what tomorrow brings. 

BCBR Day 3 Powell River

Another big travel day. 60 minutes by bus, 2 hours by ferry and a 20 minute walk to the start. All the logistics meant a 1:40pm start. 

My batch rolled off by 2pm. It was hot and humid again, so I again took it easy over the first 15 km of gravel, logging and fire roads. Some signature BC singletrack got us to Aid Station 1 and from there on it was hard work riding up rooty and rocky singletrack. It felt like hours to get through the next 5 km. the first Enduro was off the charts. The sound of cow bells and people yelping and whistling combined with a dropped seatpost and some clear track made me do things I would usually only dream about. About 2/3rds in I caught traffic. I gave them a 2 minute lead before the start of the enduro, so I must have been flying. My legs were hurting, heart pounding and arms felt like breaking off at the shoulders,so I was grateful for the little respite and drop in speed. 

The next 10 km was more hard work. With roots and tight turns followed immediately by short steep risers breaking my momentum I ended up dismounting for quite a few of the ridable sections. My butt was being eaten alive by the roots and rocks. Each bump in the trail took a nibble at my sensitive bits. I've decided to name my bibshort of today after my Boerboel at home, Joey, as Joey likes to nibble at my butt when we play catch at home. 

Aid station 2 was like an oasis in a dessert of lush green rooted, rocky trails. I was just too thankful for a break and after a handful of pretzels and a few pieces of banana I was riding again. 

I decided that I had enough and simply put the hammer down for the next 10km. The Enduro was fun, but my body was tired,so I couldn't go FullGas even if I wanted to.  The last 5 km went by in a blur with a close call on the exit of the last singletrack. The rider ahead of me hit a cut off tree stump at handle bar height and went tumbling down a 3 meter drop. The marshall panicked and  ran straight up the trail right onto my line. I had to avoid marshall and tree stump and clipped the tree with my left hand. Somehow I managed to stay on top and after a few choice Afrikaans 'complements' And checking on the fallen rider ( he landed in some shrubs, so all was good)  I put the hammer down to the finish. 

We finished on the beach where we started earlier and tonight Rochelle and I was sleeping in a hotel. After dinner we took a taxi to our little Paradise for the night. A hot bath, a shave, repacking and finally sleep in an air conditioned room and a comfortable matress. Bliss, but at a price of about $150. Worth every penny though. 

BCBR Day 2 - Campbell River

We woke up at Cumberland, packed our bags, had breakfast and took the 60 minute bus ride to the start of the second stage just outside Campbell river. With day one very much on my mind and in my body I approached the day as a survival stage. 

The long steady gravel downhill was kind on the legs and the gradual climb on the gravel did wonders to get the mind focussed for the day. After about 9km we were in the forrest and soon we hit some very technical single-track. While technically within my scope, I opted to port the more physically demanding sections to preserve my upper body for the flowing peddally sections that were to follow. The rain of the previous week was only visible in a few places and the going was good. With so e short steep single-track climbs we were again in the red zone. I resolved to do much more riding up good single-track back home as this could be where you can really shuttle up the field in a race like this.  

I took my time at the water point to refill, lube my chain and get some food in. The next section of single track is the stuff you see on promotional footage of heaven(I hope heaven look like this one day!). It is buffed up, fast, flowing, super exciting and with not too much traffic the switchbacks and stream crossings were simply just awesome. The climbing was more moderate and allowed recovery to get you good and ready for the next section. The first Enduro was a fast pedal pedal section and I absolutely nailed it. All the while we were riding BC's best with the second water point approaching fast. I again took my time and hit the next section with fresh resolve. The second Enduro was even better than the first. The narrow cut trail with many twists didn't give you the opportunity to scout ahead too far and it was a challenge to see how short your reaction time could be for the roots or rocks after a quick turn.

At 40 km we were out of the forrest and riding through Campbell River town to the last fast section of single track for the day. 5 hours felt like only a few minutes and by some miracle my body was feeling better than it was 5 hours ago. 

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up, getting our tents ready, eating, hydrating, massages, eating, hydrating and a nice long walk (with Rochelle who has been working tirelessly with the timing manager all day) to the beach for a ice cream just before sunset, which was at about 9:50pm. There was the most amazing driftwood carvings on the beach that was carved as part of the Canada day celebrations. I'll post some pics in due course. Back at the race village we had a quick shower and fell asleep with the Canada Day fireworks popping in the background.