Thursday, July 4, 2013

BCBR Day 5 Sechelt to Langdale

The big wheels keep on rollin...

I can't believe tomorrow is already day 6:(  Sad to know the end is coming!

Yesterday was definitely the hardest day so far...many people were looking just as wasted as I was feeling at the end of the day...everyone said it was a brutal day...and a loooong day, with most not getting to dinner until 8:00...then it was back up and on the start line for 8:30 this morning to ride all the way from Sechelt to the Langdale ferry terminal through logging roads, quad trails and single track.

We are over the hump...2 days remain...

Bodies are battered and bruised.   Bags of ice, tensors, bruises, scabs and bodies decorated with strips of rock tape are the norm...

Bikes are reaching their limits too.  Every day they are blowing seals, tires, tubes, shocks and anything else you can think of.  I thought I had a rough day yesterday and then met a girl in the shower line who had 4 yes 4 flat tires on top of it all that day.  Then I saw a bike pushed across the finish line with a carbon frame that was completely severed.

My body is feeling surprisingly great!  Muscles are good and I am actually feeling better each day.  With the exception of the pounding my tissues are taking from riding a flipping hard tail since day 2.  My rear shock is hooped and won't even hold air over night now.  I pump it up to 150psi before bed and then it is down to 50 or less by the morning.  So...I have it locked out.  And I am paying the price for that.  I am sure I will live but omg...:0  Other than that my bike has been awesome (thanks MCC I love my Giant Anthem 29er)!I am sure it is the perfect bike for me for this race and I have full trust in my steed getting me safely across the line each day.

So...today!

Well, I felt hung over when I woke up but I am pretty sure I didn't have anything to drink last night.  I had a nice little walk down to the oceanfront in Sechelt which was the perfect way to clear my mind and greet the day before the insanity began.  Having time to prepare and get a little warm up in was a real treat after a couple of super rushed days.

I underestimated the amount of climbing and the difficulty of the day for sure- it was pretty tuff and up up up for most of the first 2/3s of the course.  It was 'only' 40k and the final 10k were nice flowy downhill trails but it was still surprisingly challenging.  The up's were all pretty much rideable and the downs were super duper fun with lots of wood work and a ride through the 'sprockids' mountain bike park trails to finish.  Crazy to ride right into the ferry terminal where the finish line was set up!  I felt great, and much more relaxed than yesterday which made for a fun day:).  I lucked out and made it across the finish in time to jump on the first ferry over to Horseshoe Bay so I was showered and settled into camp nice and early this afternoon.

I originally planned to stay at a friends place while in Squamish for 2 days, but camp life is pretty good and it is so convenient to be at race central so we are going to tent it instead.  The views from the tent and the weather can't be beat so it was an easy decision:).

They have wi-fi, a charging station for all of our hundreds of gadgets and about 8 Asus laptops (which I am using right now) for us to check in on.  And last night someone was walking around with a tray of delicious chocolate quinoa cupcakes.  Yup, all and all, camp life is pretty rad at BCBR

Right now super trials riding champion and now Yoga instructor, Ryan Leech, is leading Yoga in the park so I'd better go check it out!  Lululemon came on board as a sponsor and we all had sweet yoga mats added to our racer kit to boot:)

3hours 35ish minutes...good night!
SS


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