BC Bike Race: Day 1

Distance: 40.45 miles
Elevation: 4793 ft
Time: 7 hours
Difficulty: Hardest day of the race (per the race directors) - Welcome to BC Bike Race.

This was our first day on Vancouver Island, in the town of Nanaimo.

Key themes of the day:

1. More technical single track in one day than I’ve experienced in my entire mt. biking career!
2. Roots, Rooty Route; Roots were Roothless!
3. Fern Gully
4. Loam - 3 s-words for loam - Stupid, Shifty and Stupid! Other, more commonly known terms are, Sweet and Soft. I didn’t find loam to be either.
5. Steep downhills that were very challenging - they just kept coming!
6. 8K climb on fireroad with 20K to go. - I totally dug it! Made all those trips up Railroad Grade TOTALLY worth it. I passed a dozen people. Most passed me back on the 9K of single track into the finish. But it was a small victory.
7. Riding mad! This is the perfect way to conquer new obstacles. I was sick of walking  and just generally frustrated so I just started powering over trees and roots that I normally would have shyed away from! That was a definite bonus on the day! That and my confidence descending, especially steep descents with twists, turns, steep grades and loose loam, got so so much better!

To be clear, this was a bit of a tough day for me. 7 hours in the saddle of more technical riding than I’ve ever seen. And this is day 1. Fortunately, the distance is a little shorter the next two days, so that should mean a little less time in the saddle. I crossed the finish line with a smile today, with a certain sense of accomplishment. Hopefully tomorrow will go a little smoother given my advancements today.