We woke up in Cumberland bright and early, headed up to the local gymnasium for some breakfast, and then loaded up busses for a short drive to Campbell River. We arrived, it was pouring, and we got changed to race.
This day started with the usual moto lead neutral start to the edge of town where we would enter a long section of double track. Not long after this photo was taken I realized I was not warmed up and the neutral ness of the leadout wasnt feeling so easy. This would be common all week, I need more warmup than time allows at the BCBR. When we turned onto the double track I started fading back. Much farther back than I would have liked. At one point Wendy Simms passed me, she is fast, but I should be ahead of her. By the end of the double track my legs were coming around and my group caught the group ahead and I snuck by them heading into the singletrack. It was crazy slippery and it was still pouring down rain. On the first descent I crossed over to the next group, but it was a big group and I was on the back. I was struggling to keep up anyways, so I was happy to be there. Suddenly we were at feed zone One and I couldnt believe it had already been an hour of racing. The trails are so much fun, time just flies, even in a down pour. At the feedzone I went by the group and myself and one other guy headed up the climb together. We would cross paths every day from here out, he climbed faster than me, but I descended faster so one of us was usually in the way. When we got to the Enduro Section he let me pass and I let it rip to the bottom. I caught a few guys in the mean time and shortly after caught up to Andreas Hestler and snuck by. I knew I was in a pretty good position at this point and the trail was pretty flat from here to the finish (flat by BC standards). For the next hour I just kept my head down and was realing in riders at a regular pace. At this race, there are so many fast guys, that if you let up at anytime, someone is there to pass you.
When I made the turn onto the pavement I was feeling great and could see the next guy up ahead. I chased as hard as I could, but the finish came too fast. 14th on the day, and I jumped from 27th to 19th in the overall. Much better.
The best thing about finishing fast is you get easy access to the bike wash, and no line at the showers. After a nap, it was time for a nice massage and then to dinner. BC Bike Race has a crew of traveling gals that rub out all the soreness all evening every evening. Every evening after dinner there was a video (below) and a slide show along with tons of free swag and awards.
So after two days, I realized my bike was set up for midwest racing (stiff) and needed some serious adjustment. I let air out of the lefty and the rear shock. I also adjusted to propedal down for the first time ever. This is real mountain biking. The damage to my wrists was already done though, by the end of the week my right wrist was basically stuck in a handlebar holding position. Yes, I was wearing a sweatshirt and stocking cap in July, it was great.
Camp was right on the water and it continued the downpour all evening. Perfect for sleeping.
Results from Day 2 are Here.
More pics can be found Here.
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