BC Bike Race Day 2

BC Bike Race Day 2
Originally uploaded by Steed Cycles

BC Bike Race 2008
June 29, 2008
Day 2
Lake Cowichan to Port Alberni

Oh, what a sorry day! Off the start in a controlled neutral pack for 12 km before the hammer comes down. Then it is 110km of gravel road, road, road, so much that it almost makes me think that I am back in South Africa. Unfortunately, just before the pack release, some sketchiness ensues and boom, down goes Tim. Apparently, someone was riding up the shoulder and pulled into the pack just as a number of people braked ahead. Unprepared, our illustrious fiend slammed on the brakes and careened into Tim, hooking handle bars. All I heard was the big crash, and then everyone telling me that my buddy was down. Once out of the pack, I headed back hoping that a) he was OK, and b) the bike was not broken. Well one out of two isn’t bad.

Tim was up and walking but complaining of a sore back. Examination revealed that he had landed on his CO2 canister and it had exploded in his back pocket. Hey, nothing like a little freezer burn to go along with the bruises and abrasions. The bike was in worse shape. Tim’s front wheel was tacoed and it looked like the race might be over. Medical arrived and I borrowed a phone to call Tom and get him to bring out the spare wheelset. The phone rang but he didn’t pick up. Why didn’t he pick up? Well why else… he had decided to follow the field out on his bike and when I looked up there he was. We grabbed his wheel, but had to do some quick work on Tim’s brakes as he runs 175mm rotors and Tom runs 165’s. We think that it took about 15 minutes to get going but with the pack running at 30 kph, we must have been 3 to 4 km back. Worst of all we would have no help over this day as the field would undoubtedly pull farther out as the day progressed.

No whining please, just get about the work. We started off working well together and eventually started to reel in riders. The heat was relentless and there was very little shade to be found. Once again, I bonked about 3 hrs in and the day deteriorated into survival mode. For the first time in ages both legs started cramping and it seemed like they just wouldn’t go away. I felt so stupid at one point as we ripped into the only single track of the day and as I tried to finesse the bike, I cramped up and promptly ran into an uprooted stump. The marshals came running down the trail and Tim pulled up, I am sure with some exasperation.

Eventually it ended, and we appear to have lost about an hour to our competition. Hopefully over the next few days we can claw some of it back.