BC Bike Race 2008

BC Bike Race 2008
Originally uploaded by Steed Cycles

July 1, 2008
Canada Day
Happy Birthday to the best country in the world. (in my opinion)
Day 4 (Hump day)
Earls Cove to Sechelt

Early morning wake up calls get very difficult as these events progress. Jeez, it was hard to drag my ass out of bed this morning to make the ferry. Another stunning day greeted us and the ferry ride rewarded our visitors from other countries with some spectacular scenery on Canada Day as we crossed the Straight of Georgia back to the mainland and then a second ferry ride to the Sunshine coast.

For Tim and I, the day started well as we both buried it on the climb out of the ferry terminal and were well in the top 25 teams at the top. Here’s to the hole shot! This set us up well for the rest of the day. As my history has shown in these races, I seem to improve as the week progresses, or maybe I do not deteriorate as much as the rest of the field. Whatever it is, I felt great. Good power, good pace, pretty much everything I could ask for. The route followed a hydro cut for a good portion of the route with lots of really fast sections and some sneaky tight turns. Several teams went smoking past and merrily sailed off into the distance. Believe me, the course was marked quite well but when you are in an anoxic haze sometime you just focus on the wrong things. On occasion Tim and I noted some rather “blue” air and the occasional disparaging comment thrown out at the offending individual, but in the final analysis most people were really impressed with the quality of riding to be had. Having done this race two years running, I am really impressed with the trails to be had on the Sunshine coast.

The last half of the race saw lots of tight twisty single track, and it seemed much more manageable as there appeared to be less roots. OK, maybe there were as many roots but we all are just getting better at riding them. Who knows? There were a lot of smiles at the finish and for the longest time we thought that we had hit the podium in third for the day but through some computer glitch, a Masters team ahead of us was missed. Rats, I guess we will have to try harder tomorrow. The leading team in the Masters division from Different Bikes in Vancouver is showing some signs of wear. One of the riders is feeling ill and having a hard time keeping down sustenance. I have to say that this year this is one hard core race; the level of competition is really up there. It sure is fun riding with the rock stars!

Once again hats off to the BC Bike race crew, the food is great and they are now getting into the swing of the daily routines and everything seems to be running real smooth. A quick watch of the sunset over the Straits sent us off to bed. The course tomorrow is my all time favorite. When I did this race last year, day 5 became the number 1 best day of mountain biking that I have ever had. The course is so cool; it finishes with a 13 km downhill rip to the ferry terminal in Langdale. You start down the trail and it just seems to switch back and forth forever. You can smell the ferry exhaust, but it seems like it never arrives. You never get out of your middle ring and rarely do you see an inner cog. It is just one incredible rip. See you tomorrow. I cannot wait.