Riding With Wade in the BC Bike Race - Days Three and Four by mikekazimer

In April, Carlos Zavarce was chosen as the winner of the Ultimate Wade Video Contest , earning himself an entry in to the BC Bike Race with Wade Simmons as a teammate. Days three and four are finished - here's how the race is progressing:

So how were days 3 and 4 for you guys, Wade?

After 2 great days on the Island, I looked forward to hitting some sweet dry Sunshine Coast singletrack. My legs were settling in and my Element 999 was performing flawlessly. Day 3 was hard on me last year, so I wanted to really put at hurt on. Though not really any big sustained climbs on this course but the singletrack is tight and tricky: perfect for a couple of North Shore riders. Carlos and I picked our way through the group and ended in a respectable 6th place in comparison to 13th on stage 2. We also lit up the 2 enduro portions a little bit, I finished 14th on the first and 5th on the second. I gotta say, it's a little tougher to battle it out mid-pack to get a clear enduro run but super fun none the less!

Sitting in 12th spot cumulative overall, we attacked the big beast of a stage 4. The "Queen Stage" as Dre likes to call it. It's a nasty one at 61km and 1574m of climbing. Kicking off the morning was the highlight Harbour Air float plane ride over from Saltery Bay to Earl's Cove providing sick views of the Coast and the Skookumchuck Narrows as the tide water was ripping through. The ride saw Carlos and I swapping out bonks and shreds but we managed to hold our own on the 47km course until we hit the fun enduro portions of the stage; both being more or less downhill. Both enduros were unbelievably fun and at one point, I had to ease off in fear of cheese-gratering myself through the trees if I were to lose the line. Again, suffering a little more on the pedally sections of the first enduro I finished a poor 16th, but on the second more wide-open ripper I was stoked to see my name a third place and only 4 seconds behind on a 5min 30sec course. It was the most fun for me so far this race! Everyday we have been wearing our Contour cameras to bring some of our experiences to you, I hope you enjoy the ride!

How was it Carlos ?

I feel like I'm starting to come around, Day 2 was better than Day 1 and Day's 3 and 4 have been awesome! Day 3 had some great sections in it and Wade and I were able to come out alright on the enduros. Best of all, no crashes (major ones) and no mechanicals! We've been experimenting with some racer tips like sleeping with our legs elevated, using two blue sleeping pads instead of one and multiple applications of chamois butter, all of which seem to be paying off. The new challenge for the week for me has been the screaming infernos that once were my nipples, don't laugh kids there is nothing funny about nipple chaffing. However, Brooks at the medical tent had me sorted with some second skin and some adhesive so that I my day's weren't spent cursing the heavens, thanks guys.

Our morning of Day 4 started off with a treat, the folks at Harbour Air hooked a group of us up with a float plane ride over to Earls Cove and it was amazing to arrive there in style. However, Day 4 was more of a exercise in survival for me than anything else, I don't think I've ever ridden that far on a mountain bike and certainly not in sweltering heat under exposed power lines. But we got through and we even stopped for a beer at the second aid station, a decision that led to some questionable sounds on the proceeding climb. We're getting excited to make our way back to the Sea-to-Sky to see if we can keep up this hot streak! Thanks so much again to the folks at BCBR for putting on this video competition that has truly been a dream come true not to mention Race Face, Rocky Mountain, Shimano and Contour and more I'm sure I've forgotten in my sleep deprived state.

Author Info:

mikekazimer

Member since Feb 1, 2009
1,732 articles

9 Comments

dubminion (Jul 5, 2013 at 10:58)

Great music choice!

hockeypl89 (Jul 5, 2013 at 15:47)

@carlos- an old moto trick, use medical tape or duct tape and tape an "x" over each nipple.

slamminher (Jul 6, 2013 at 16:21)

I agree, that was awful quality.I'll stick with a go pro.I'm sort of bummed out,I heard that contour made a sick cam.

tobias-323 (Jul 5, 2013 at 17:17)

How sick would it be to take a float plane to your riding location, looks epic!

smokingblues (Jul 5, 2013 at 21:31)

what's going on with the video quality?

zelmer (Jul 6, 2013 at 6:27)

so beautiful out there !!!!!!

jeff444 (Jul 5, 2013 at 10:11)

Looks so fun!

sammytut (Jul 5, 2013 at 10:25)

Vernon Felton spotting!

joesrepsol (Jul 5, 2013 at 11:48)

Shot on a contour... explains the crappy video.