BC Bike Race Day 8

BC Bike Race Day 8
Originally uploaded by Steed Cycles

Day 8
July 5, 2008
Last thoughts

I would like to congratulate the BC Bike Race crew for putting on one of the best multi day races that I have ever competed in. It was obvious that they took the comments and criticisms from last years race and acted on them in a positive manner. This is a mark of a well run race organization.

Particularly I would like to congratulate on them on the three things that I think are most important in bringing people to races like these and then having them come back for more or encourage other to come and try them.

1. Food: The menu this year was awesome and the quality and quantity of food was excellent. If there is one item that can make or break an event this is it. After a hard day on a bike, and knowing that you have another hard day coming, recovery and fueling the machine is key. The only improvement that might be made would be to have some sort of kiosk selling wraps, burgers or some such immediately at the finish line. This might actually decrease the amount of food needed at the evening meal.
2. Course: The course was just amazing. It was hard to believe that you could ride so much single track in just one week. A number of people complained about the second day of mostly road work that was our nemesis, but I think that this day actually adds to the overall experience. I think in these race that you should try to cater at least a little to everyone’s strength and weaknesses, and having a road day allows some teams that might not be stellar single track riders to shine. Further to this point, I think that in the future it would be great if you added in “the epic climb”. The potential is there to add a single 1000m amazing climb up Whistler Mountain and then get an wickedly long technical descent back to the valley. As they say in the TransAlp, “See ski lift, climb to top”. This would also add to the overall experience and again potentially let other riders shine.
3. Community: The BC Bike Race crew was spot on this year in creating a great atmosphere. I think congratulations are due to Dean Payne, Keven Thompson, and Kathy Lilyholm and the team building exercises that they went through over the year to set the tone. Everyone was incredibly helpful, and they always had a smile on their face. My vote for volunteer of the year goes to Joanne Bragg who seemed to be everywhere helping out. Keep up the good work.

This race has now firmly established itself as one of the premiere multi day races in the world. It currently accepts 200 teams and I have heard that they will likely cap it at 250 for the foreseeable future. I think this is a good thing as it maintains the community feel.

As a last comment my support person who is a Canadian road cycling legend was blown away by the organization and particularly by the camaraderie shown by the organizers, the competitors and their crews. He kept telling me that if I was a roadie I should have immediately bolted the finish to lie in my hotel room and rest my legs. He was surprised that almost nobody does this as it would mean that you would miss the best part of the day as you get to rub shoulders with other smoking good riders and talk about the highlights of the day.

Once again hat off to the BC Bike Race crew!