First I would like to thank all the people and companies who helped out the chain gang and myself in preparation for this race. James Nishida and Matt Furman at Fox clothing, you guys are rad! Hopefully I wont need that water proof jacket, but it did keep me totally dry today! Ian Gross for the rad and super comfortable DAKINE hydration pack and the sweet DH gear I been using on the way up and back! Not to mention hooking me up with the super cool guys at Kona! Epic Ride Research for the super handy mtn. feed bag. I think lastly and one of the most important, Bonk Breaker! You guys rock and the bars taste great! I’m gonna share them with as many people as I can and hopefully some bears if need be to keep them from eating me!

Here’s an overview of a couple of the stages…

Hello all, so Vince and I just completed day 3 and we are both beat!  The legs are feeling decent but the big thing I’ve been noticing is my back and shoulders feel like I’ve been helping build the pyramids for a week! We are not used to carrying such weight and combined with the extremely challenging root riddled trails, we are constantly pulling and pushing and maneuvering the bikes around like we’re on dancing with the stars. The trails overall have been nothing less than life changing! Severed dick, reefer ridge, and bear bait to name a few may give an insight to our lives on the trail for 5-7 hours a day.  The race and organizers have been incredible and everything is running smoothly.  Today, same as the previous days there have been some bad crashes.  Unfortunately today it happened to one of our new friends who lost a riding partner yesterday to injury and now himself has been taken out with a concussion and 15 stitches to the side of his jaw.  unfortunately time and energy are short at the moment but for now I will post some photos which are no doubt more entertaining then my rambling, although they do no justice to the true beauty and depth of the remote forest and ranges we have crossed. Enjoy and more to come soon…

and thats all I’ve got energy for tonight. 4:30 wake up tomorrow to be on the ferry at 5 and back to the mainland. Hopefully the tent wont blow away again tonight.

FTW

So, another day has passed up in BC. The day started off great, and despite being woken up every couple of hours due to uncontrollable shivering from the icy temperatures in my tent, the group made its way to the buses for our first ride to the dock. Two ferry rides later we were on the start line and ready to ride what was sure to be our hardest stage yet. The hype was right.  Today was another 7 hour plus day in the saddle.  Bad news comes today as one member of the Chain Gang has fallen victim to heat and dehydration.  After 2 bags on the I.V. drip Vince is still not feeling 100% and will likely be out tomorrow.

Today’s stage claimed more than just Vince.  When he arrived at MASH tent 6 others were being attended to as well.  Also 3 more people cracked frames today and unfortunately some more serious injuries claimed several unlucky riders.

Mentally and physically today was one of the toughest stages yet.  The relentless trails never cease to challenge every muscle and bit of determination each rider has.  Although I was out on my bike and doing what I love most, I’m sure I wasn’t the only rider who was dreading each turn of the crank.  Coming out of dense tree covered singletrack only to see the next logging road point skyward over and over again is mental anguish experienced 10 times a day.  Thoughts of quitting and finding a road back to civilization often pass through my mind as I spin my legs in solitude, grinding up the next hill hoping its the last, or weaving through trees with roots up to my shins.  This is a race, however I did not come with intentions of racing competitively, only to have fun and ride.  Riding I am doing, the fun is here and there, but at the end of each day, I dread the next but still feel complete and content that I completed what I set out to do.  The lack of sleep hours on the trail are taking a toll, even as i write this, my brain seems to not function as it should.  So in order of saving space, and so that I may try to enjoy the celebration of Canada day with wild fireworks and crazy red and white canadians yelling eh! I will share a few more pictures from today…

Keep On Truckin

To cap off another perfect day in the saddle I will briefly summarize the day since the last entry I spent the last half hour on deleted itself somehow in my computer illiterate sleep deprived state.  Today I rode solo due to Vince’s dehydration problem.  The riding today was epic to say the least and riding solo gave me lots of time to myself.  This was both good and bad.  On the positive side I met lots of new people from Ireland, Israel, Germany and beyond.  The riding took us from our campsite and has us navigate remote back country logging roads to tree covered single track the meandered all the way to the sunshine coast where we caught our last ferry back to the mainland.  That my friends is about all I’ve got in me tonight.  The massage wiped out what little I had left and exhaustion is calling me back to my tent. Enjoy the photos

Livin The Dream

Final Days,

Well, the race is over and the recovery has begun.  I lagged a bit on getting the last of the pictures and info up so please forgive me.  The last stages of the race were amazing and some of the best rides yet.  Squamish has been a town I’ve driven through many times on my way to and from Whistler.  I’ve always wanted to stop and ride, and this was my chance.  The crew lined up an amazing course for the day.  We experienced everything from super steep climbs to fast swoopy singletrack and some all out chunder.  The next day was in Whistler and put us on some killer trails as well. The climbing on day 7 was no easier then our previous days.  I was talking to some other racers at the after party and they informed me that we had some sustained 23% climbs!  On the flip side, we did get to enjoy all those torturous feet of climbing with some technical steep decents.  Danimal and Tunnel Vision were two of my favorites of the day, however some of the other riders didn’t share the same appreciation for the steep rocky downhills.  After all was said and done something like 15 frames were claimed during the week long race.  3 riders broke or dislocated their hips, lots of broken hands and wrists, few collarbones and half a bus full of busted up faces.  By the end of the race, walking through the campsite was similar to stepping through a set for a war movie.  Everywhere I looked riders were scraped up or bruised. The medic and massage tents were busy until most riders were falling asleep.  Even though the mental and physical toll of the week has worn on myself and about 400 other riders, spirits are high and the smiles on everyone’s faces show that the race hasn’t taken everything out of us.  So, the after party begins and I will enjoy the next days in Whistler relaxing by Alta lake and cruisin the bike park.  The trip home will begin shortly and I will be back on the road. Here’s the last of the pictures from the race.  Be back soon.