BC Bike Race Day 2

Well I’m no mathmatizer or rocket surgeon but 2/7ths of the way done means there is still a lot of riding left.

Today’s stage was amazing with the start leading us out, through Campbell River and about 10k of road rollout. After some sketchy moments in the middle of the pack involving knobby tires skidding on the road and people making weird little shrieks, the singletrack started. The trails today were a little bit of everything and a lot of roots and rocks. Some of the sections were fairly flat and technical, lots of it was steep and rolling terrain with intense technical sections interspersed with long, fast sections of smooth trail. The main feature today that seemed to be causing people problems was slick roots going in basically every direction.

Immediately upon starting the singletrack it became apparent that I rode my bike for a while yesterday and the legs were feeling it. I guess not really preparing or doing a bunch of training is becoming somewhat apparent. In the flatter sections with roots I was struggling, but the steeper areas were well suited for me and the smooth sections were fun. If there weren’t a bunch of roots, the traction can only be described as heroic. Braking in the smooth corners is largely unneeded since the traction is endless and the trails are laid out really well. By the end of 33k of non-stop singletrack I was pretty happy to be on the pavement cruising into town.



The trails are clearly the work of a passionate group of talented, dedicated trail builders. The race is really well organized and planned. The town of Campbell River is beautiful and the people seem genuinely happy to have us. The RCMP, townspeople, bums, and little kids were cheering us on as we were coming back into town after a long day on the trails. Life in camp every afternoon mainly consists of socializing, showering, eating and drinking. Couldn’t be happier to be here.

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