BC RACE Stage one

Stage-1, 89 kilometers
Nerves were frayed as all 450 racers lined up to start was to turn into an epic adventure. As a former professional cyclist I was well aware that the start would be one of the most dangerous times of this 7 day race. Even though the organizers warned us at the previous nights pre-race meeting as soon as the gun went off so did the race. Within 500 meters I had lost my partner , who seemed to be riding way faster than I could, a big field full of cut grass slowed everyone down as racers, myself included, had to dismount and clear their drivetrain of grass before continuing. Yoshi was pulled over waiting for me and we got going along with the rest of the field. Todays race was an 89 kilometer ride from Shawnigan Lake to Lake Cowichan, it included a variety of the terrain that we would ride over the next 7 days, gravel logging roads, double track jeep roads and of course what all mountain bikers crave , single track trails. The heat, mid 30`s was a factor many riders including Yoshi didn`t consider as they rode past the first water station thinking it was more important to hold their position in the technical trails. The heat and Yoshi`s choice of clothing " I`m not a racer anymore, I am a freerider" started to effect his riding and for the last 20 kilometers we had to back off on the pace and cruise into the finish. We felt okay about our day and realized we could do a bit better if we worked together more smoothly, little did we know what day 2 had in store for us.
Stage winners- Team Canondale U.S.A. - 4:14
45 place- Team Brownfish Jumpers - 5:43

BC Race- report- Intro-Day Zero

BC RACE
Back in the early summer of 2007 I had the opportunity to work with a Canadian film crew here in Japan to film a 30 minute TV show for Rideguide TV. The idea was to combine a lot of riding with some sightseeing. The show would feature Andreas Hestler, 5 time Canadian Champion and 2 time Olympian and myself . We had a great time and you can see the end result at www.rideguide.ca episode 138. During filming Andreas kept telling me about a race he is the course director for, a 7 day epic stage race linking up a lot of the now famous single track trails that abound in B.C. I didn`t hesitate when he asked me if I was interested in doing this race and reporting on it here in Japan.
The BC RACE is a 2 man team race so my first task was to find a willing partner. I made a few calls and soon had a few very good prospects, in the end I teamed up with Yoshito Tsuji who is a Japanese transplant living in BC. Yoshi T is an excellent rider/racer. I consider myself very lucky to have had him as my partner as he had ridden many of the trails we rode on over the last 3 days and his local knownledge was very helpful on some of the techical trails we rode.
Day O
The race starts in Victoria on Vancouver Island, a beautiful ferry ride and a short drive to the town of Shanigan and we were at race registration. Here we signed the race waivers and recieved a Dekine travel bag in which we were told to place all our belongings for the weeks race. Upon opening the bag we found alsorts of goodies from the races sponsers . We were told to put all our belongings for the race in the bag and every morning after getting geared up we took the bag to a waiting truck and then at the end of the days stage we would pick it up and take it to our tent. After a welcome dinner party we went back to our hotel and prepared ourselves for adventure.
Before I get into the actual racing I feel a bit of my background should be shared with you, I did my first MTB race in 1983 , raced profesionally until 2000. During this time I raced many different races, some good , some bad, I have done some big stage races on the road such as the Tour of Hokkaido here in Japan, the Casper Classic in the US and I even did the Tour of the Rockies Mountain Bike race back in 1986. I tell you this because after all the racing I have done I would never have expected to be saying that a race I did in 2008 was the best race I have ever had the privilage of racing. The organizers have a winning combination with the BC RACE, it is a race for all mountainbikers, pros are saying it is the best test for a true MTB rider. Age group riders love the challenge of riding over the same course as the pros and old washed up racers like myself only dream about being a bit younger and really having a go at this race. Stage One will be posted next week.
Paul

XTERRA JAPAN

If you are looking for a good way to cool down this summer, head up to Marunuma Lake on Saturday the 30th and either participate or watch the XTERRA JAPAN Championship.Marunuma is in Gunma Prefecture on the road that leads over into Nikko from Numata City, a very beautiful part of Japan not to far from Tokyo. Turn off your air conditioners and breath the fresh air in this beautiful mountain setting. Paul is the course director for this event, one of these days he will actually race this event, but for now he makes do with the draft beer and live music at the Awards party on Saturday night. For more info check here: http://www.xterrajapan.net/ or contact paul@freerideadventuresjpn.com

BC Race, Awesome

I just finished the BC race in British Columbia, Canada. 7 days of hard mountain bike riding/racing. I did my first race in 1983 and have no idea how many races I have done since then but this last race was by far the Best Race I have ever done. Great organization took care of all our needs, tents were always built before we arrived at the finsh everyday, good food was plentiful and even the emergency crew was very profesional during the entire week. More than anything though was the riding, everyday was epic, lots of hard work but if you like single track riding like I do then the 5-6 hours a day were a joy not a burden. Look for my race report in outdoorjapan coming soon.

Paul goes to the BC Race

I have been invited to the BC Race, a seven day mtb race through British Columbia`s west coast. Lots of long hard days on some of the best single track in the world convinced me to put my race face on once again! I am starting to lose my beer belly a very big thanks to all who came for to ride over the last month, we did lots of good climbing and downhilling. Having both beginners and experts come mtb riding, a week on the road in the mountains of Kumano and another weeks road riding on the Noto Penisula has me thinking that I will be able to make it to the finish. My partner in the race is Yoshi T a former xc racer turned freerider who now lives in BC, recently he has been spending more time dropping of of big jumps than racing so I think we will make a good match. The race bible tells us we should spend many hours training together but in truth we have raced against each other a few times about 10 years ago and stage one will probably be our first ride together. Look for our race reports in some publications here in Japan and also on this blog.