BC RACE Stage two

Stage-2
135 kilometers of gravel roads was the answer for the snowed in trails that separated Lake Cowichan to Port Alberni. I used to ride allot of road races but hadn't ridden in a pack at 35kmh for longer than I cared to remember, Yoshi as well has spent many hours riding but mainly on the trails that abound in British Columbia. The hard thing about riding in a pack is that at first it is not that hard in fact if you get right in the middle of it you get a good draft and get pulled along. Problems started to occur after about 90 kilometers of hammering along trying to stay in the slipstream. 1st I had to chase back to the pack after a slow stop at a feed zone , next Yoshi got left behind on a short climb and when I dropped back to him we made a huge mistake, For the next 5 kilometers we chased back to the pack one more time. As soon as we made contact the road turned up, the climb was only 3 kilometers long but after all the high-speed riding Yoshi`s legs stopped going around. This Combined with his overheating the previous day and the pace of road racing today he experienced what is commonly know as the bonk. It is almost impossible to recover if you have let your body get into this state, Yoshi tried to eat and drink as much as he could but in the 35 degree heat and with 30 kilometers still to go we were in big trouble. I should have realized what we were getting into well before we got to this point but both of us were elite racers not to many years back and it felt great to ride with the pros again. Yoshi completely drained himself getting to the finish then had to spend 3 hours in the medical tent rehydrating and cooling his body down. That night I said to Yoshi that on the 3rd day we should start very easy, forget about riding with Sheamus Magrath(Canadian Olympic Team Member) and finish the day riding strong not dead.
Stage Winners- Team Flight Center- Aus.- 4:21
32nd- Brownfish Jumpers - 5:18

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.