Another early morning and it is now day 7….FINNALY!!!!A fairly stress free day for myself. No loading, no transport. It took us 7 days but we have this whole routine dialedRobin was up uber early and went out and grabbed a big ass tray of kick ass coffees while I went and made sure again the bikes were ok. Cannot have any mechanicals today so we can hold 2nd place overall. They grab the bikes and do a quick lil warm up around Creekside, get the legs prepped! Buys are ready, bikes are ready. Even the bloody tile guys finally showed up!! I will meet them at the start .Its Just a quick lil pedal down the path to the village and the start of day 7. grab my camera and today in my bag is also a 6er of blue buck for the guys at Trek VW for the solid hook up on the derailleur hanger.Hop on Mary and head on down to thestart chute. Its very nice to not be in a rush. Meet Jamie in the tunnel and he says he lost Robin I while warming up…oi vey!! Hahah, but no worry, he peals around the corner with a big ole grin on his face! Chatting with some of the folks that I’ve met along the way. Karen who is supporting her husband who is racing with Kate who raced it last year with Chad from Fort Mac who is who I used to work and ride with……WHOA!! i went off the end there. Back on track. Asking Harold and Tim form Victoria if the extra weight and durability of the R.I.P. Niner was well worth it vs the weight savings of the J.E.T.but the headache of thinking its gonna snap underneath you and they both said without a doubt worth it!! See Dawn and Lisa who have tore it up all week and finished a wicked 3rd behind 4 full ticket girls so full marks for the OBB gals!
10 min to start so they all filter into the chute like a bunch of cattle in the farm. Find Scotty from Trek to shake his hand and tell him I have a lil present for him in the camelback. He super stoked, I think all the support guys killed it and this a great day for racers and support because it is just a big feeling of “whoosh, I can do whatever I frigging want on Sunday!!” Everyone is smiling and in great spirits not realizing that this stage is going to be hot and hell!! But on the flip side I don’t think anyone really cares either! This is the last day of an unbelievable journey for all them, pro to schmo, everyone has done a hell of job dealing with the day to dayrigors of this awesome race.
The riders storm out of the village through the freight tunnel and out on the highway, such a great setting for a last day. As I roll through the lot I hear a familiar voice chirping at me. Its Eric and Katherine cruising in the parking lot festivities. I chat with them a bit and find out they too are riding so I ask if they mind if I tag along and they say sure. Meet at the Horn in 20. Rip up the hill, grab my gear fill my bottles and head out to the highway. It feels like 30 degrees already. Ugh!
Meet up with Eric and Katherine outside the Longhorn and I think they are the only to people in whistler wearing spandex!! And of course I have to comment on it!! They tell me we have a lil jaunt down the highway but what they leave out is that they are two fit mother flippers!!! They drag my ass down the highway 15 mins or so and we get to the trail head, Katherine asks someone where we go an d then back to the highway…just a bit though. Supper fun train Called Thrill me, Kill me!! Rocky Rooty stunty lovely goodness is how I would describe it!! So good except I lost my bunny banging bottle and it was 30 ish degrees…shitty! Eric was a sport and towed me back home in my sad state. Katherine was a horse, dropping me like 3rd period French I’m afraid to say! STRONG as hell and flying the Norco colors!! Make it back to the village….barely, and tell them to meet me at the Horn for some margarita action before I gotta get back to the boys. Phone Jamie and make sure they aren’t waiting for me and informs me he had a really rough day but thinks they held onto the 2nd place in GC so its pretty rad. Hard to appreciate right now as rough as he feels but will sink in how rad it all was in a few days!! So proud of my guys, I’m a lil younger and don’t think I could have done what they have done over these 7 days! Everyone here for that matter just amazes me!! Enjoy a couple margs. with E-lo and say my goodbyes and thank him again for dragging my ass down the highway like a stray boat anchor!! 20mins up the road and im home. Get changed quick shower and the boys awake from a well deserved slumber and we make our way down to the awards ceremony!! Really cool, talking with everyone now that its all over, big smiles and relief in everyone’s expressions!!Even though I don’t really know anyone I am so proud of everyone here. I feel like an uncle and these are all my nieces and nephews. I really have an itch to do this next year so I better get off my ass and get into shape. BIG TIME!! Make the rounds chatting with the folks I Know and the ones I’ve met. Really having a great time as it’s a relief for me as well. I need to do nothing except drive for the next 24hrs. Hang out with Mical and Jeff for a bit and Jeff says during the Parksville stage I almost scared him off his bike while yelling encouragement from the trees, which made me feel a lil stupid but he seemed ok because he didn’t eat it!! LOL. That’s a good thing cause he is way bigger then me….PHEW!! Awards are about to start so we head outside to watch the ceremony. No real surprises since like day 2 so it’s almost anti-climactic. When it comes time for The Schmengy Bros they do the day results first and my boys were off the podium for stage 7, first time all week they were off podium by the way. But when it comes to GC they fail to adjust the podium because my boys should have been on 2nd spot and been recognized. A major foul occurs and they announce the GC final but my boys don’t get the podium and the trophies were given to the stage 2 winners…..confusing I know but it was pretty lame to sweat and kill yourself for 7 days and not even be recognized in front of the people that you sweated and killed yourself with. I personally was shocked and Mical even thought it was weird! As soon as the ceremony was over I saw Robin walking across the square to the tent and he did not look allllll that happy! I couldn’t see what was going on or hear what was being said but in a short couple of minutes he came back and by this time Jaimie was with Mical and I and he just said lets go back to the house. I wanted to stay to shoot the rest of the ceremony and hang out as who knows when ill see some of these people again so they told me reservations at 6 and high tailed it outta there. Went back in too Dusty’s as it was so hot my toes were sweating. Chatted with Mical a bit then I had to bail out make it back for dinner. Its always good re-connecting with solid people like that. Was good.
As we are leaving for dinner we see a lil white vw van pulling up the road and I say “ Isn’t that Andreas’ Van?” He stops and hops out and you can see in his eyes that he is bothered by what transpired at the awards. I won’t share what was said as that is between the boys and ‘Dre. But I assume all will be ok. Dinner is at a super wicked place in the village., way over my head. We have a great dinner and some yummy drinks and desert and sit and chat a bit about the week. Lynn is with us and seems to really enjoy hearing about the ordeal that is the race. Feel bad as she never got to see her man with his hand raised at the ceremony but as I find out they had their own lil photo op at the house with Seamus and Chris. Which is awesome but its just nt the same. In the end all that really matters is that my boys killed it and finished 2nd in one of the gnarliest races ive ever seen on a mountain bike. If I was wearing a hat it would be off tou you guys!
Lynn has a great idea to walk the village and people watch which if any of you know me I love to do! Find a great spot in a patio and our seating is all stone, so cool. Chatting and enjoying the company I am in I look over and there is Paul from Norco. Small world so I yell at him and go chat with him and his wife and before I become to much to handle I send them on their way…hahah! Robin and Lynn head back to the house so I congratulate Robin again and thank him immensely for allowing me to join them on his journey. Jamie and I walk through the village and I think from all the eating we have been doing we still need a lil food, so earls here we come for some chicken and ribs. Split an order and chat with a couple great martinis in hand. Enough of this place. Walk the village a bit, run into the DCM boys who finished 3rd open mens. All the way from South Africa with loaner bikes the first 4 days and a car accident. Nice work as well!! Enough of the village I wanna head down to see real people so we cab it back to Dusty’s to see if anyone’s still around. Logan and James and a few red shirts are kicking it amongst others. So fun having beers and chilling amongst friends. And it’s not a crazy ass party it’s just chill and fun with beer and conversation!! GREAT!! Hang out for a few hours and I think Jamie has had a week full and is feeling it. Tells me he is gonna walk back and he will see me in the morning. Hang for a bit till the lights flicker and its time to evacuate the premises so I head to the path back to Robins Cool air on the burnt skin is very nice and the alone time leads to a weeks worth of reflection. Get to the house, head filled with things so I decide to pack as much of the hot rod as I can to save me some work if Im mildly hung-over!! That done I try to write out day 7 but I cant really focus, partly beer, partly exhaustion, so I rack out on the couch!! Hahah!
Awake to Robin and Lynn heading out for breakfast. He thanks me again and I really don’t deserve thanks.. This was a great thing to be a part of so I thank him again and they are on their way. Ralph again is up for coffee and the house is all asleep and quiet. No stress of getting up to do bottles or gels our bars or any adjustments or loading. Went by so fast am a lil mopey that its already over….but everything ends. Jamie and I load up the last of the gear and thank Ralph again and we are on our way.
Stop one more time for coffee in Squamish and ferry bound . Chatting about the week and just basking in it as the mind floats around to memories of all the people, bikes, tents, red shirts, dodgy food, BOB, motos, smelly gear and fun people! Reminds me that I love bicycles and everything associated with them and reaffirms where I am! Make the boat, short sail home to Jamie’s to see Susan and the boys. Luckily they are out on the stoop playing and are so stoked to see dad. Even a cool ass welcome home dad sign. That kind of love is absolutely catch free!! Its pretty rad to see. Load up the Titan and thank Jamie again as there is no way that I would ever be able to repay him for these last 8 days. Hop in, crank stereo and home bound.
I truly hope that whomever has been following this lil adventure has enjoyed the words and pictures put before you. It was an honor to be able to document this and share it with you. I am very lucky to have met people like Jamie Emery and Robin Willard ( Susan and Lynn as well J ) who allow me to be apart of their lives. For that I am truly blessed. So again I say thank you for all of it. See you next year…..or maybe at Creampuff!!
Oh boy, day 6!! Are you serious? Another early morning but was nice as we are using the Creekside res of Robin Willard as our hub for the next 4 days!! Nice to not have to lug all that crap around everyday. The Hot Rod seems quite cavernous!! Ralph was a star and put coffee on first thing and Robin fired up a big ass bowl of oatmeal for the crew. By now you all know the routine so you fill in the blanks, except that i've been playing mountain bike and surf vids in the am to put there mmind in a good place!! Big Red is loaded up with gear and bikes and we are ready to roll down to Brennan Park in Squamish. Jamie will be riding the Cannondale as you all know that the Trek had a lil mishap! We go grab some coffee rip on down the sea to sky, lotsa bloody construction, but no traffic. Find a nice spot in the shade and get the boys unloaded and prepped up. I run in to check results and the are still in second on G.C. and came third in stage 5 with the debocle and all!! Good effort indeed!! So i head on over to the Obsession Bikes tent and ask James if he has any extra hangers. He says ya so I tell him no big rush, I'll come back after the start when he isnt pounding out bikes. I wander around with the filmcamera so not a lot of pics today. Head back to shoot a bit of the start on a another container and then figure out my bikeless day! ( wasnt thinking to clear this am!) I hear that the aqautic centre has wifi so I grab my gear and head in as I havent updated blog and the rumour is that people are actually enjoying it, and I cant afford a revolt!!
This is where my day gets uber boring. I go into the centre and find the signal, open my pre writen blogs and do some EXTREME PROOF READING!! lol! And also some GNARLY PHOTO UPLOADING!!! lol, regan=dork!!
Welll 2 hrs pass and Im become like Jack Torrence in the centre! Not sure if it that I can see how nice it is outside, the effect of the chlorine on my olfactory senses, or just that im a pretty wound up guy but i need out!! Cancel the flickr upload, unplug my gear and stuff into a bag and get the hell outta dodge.
Run over to Obsession Bikes and Mary is nice enough to offer another beer and you already know how I feel about gift beers. So she says to ask the guys in the Syncros trailer deck if I can get the part I need and I say" no friggen way!!" I do not wanna bug those guys when they are relaxing. They have been absolute rockstars!! So I just enjoy the beer and company waiting for someone to come down, and that happens to be Fraser! Tell him my dilemma and that its not a big rush and he says he will look into it for me! He comes back and tells me to come with him as he takes me to the Trek Vw team car. Talk with Scott who I met in N. Van and he says he has one, pulls it out and asks if it is right, it is so i pull out my wallet and he tells me to not worry about it. Super stoked now, can't thank them enough so I walk back to the tent, finish my beer and say ciao to everyone and hop in my van cause those boys deserve some beer. Rip into town, grab the cho -mo for my boys and 3 6ers. One for Trek boys, One for Fraser as a thanks and appreciation for all they are doing and one just for me.
Pretty lazy day, wandering around with no real purpose and a lil flat. shooting some photos, gabbing, killing time. Shaemus and Chris took the stage today and put like 8 more mins on the Kona boys....hehehe!! Clean lil ride tomorow and they will be all good. Saw the leaders in 100+ so the boys should be pealing through any moment and no sooner do I turn my head then they come peeling around the chicane. 2nd place again. Robin looks like hes not doing too bad. Jamie looks a lil rough, says his guts are sore and he only had one speed....not mechanically, just sometimes you only have one gear physycally and today was that day. shitty beans but still finished where we need to be. recover when your home.
They go shower so I get all the gear loaded and prepped to BOLT! Chat with Logan a lil bit and I think he can already taste the beer at Dustys!! So can I for that matter! The boys are all clean and ready for a nap. So we stop for a nip on in Function Junction and go home. The boys rack out for a bit as I do my duty and make sure that a mechanical will not foil their day tomorow!! All we need now is some grub and some rest.
After dinner I get the bright idea, this is post half jug of sangria, that i wanna try and ride some of the course tonight. So we get home, I Whip into my gear and blast down the road to where it is taped. Spun up and down and into the village and all over for about an hour but thetaping stopped so they may do moto taping in the am!! PHOOEY!! And that takes you al to now. 1130 and Im writing and my beer is done, skin is bbq'ed and I'm riding somewhere tomorow so its time for me to hit the bunk. Good night all.
I woke up EARLY this morning, not a good sleep. The guys had good night sleep and seem pretty rested and stoked on the day ahead. The usual routine, the boys eat way to much and prep all the bottles and gel and today a treat, dates and pineapple!! Make everyone jealous at the aid station!! Good call, psychological warfare never fails. Get the boys all prepped and set up, which involves unloading bikes and wishing them a great day. I am praying for a great day as I know how rank yesterday was. Talk with Mical a bit, telling her I’m stoked to ride and wish her and Jeff a great day as well and send them on their way. I go around site with cam for a bit, find a great spot on a cargo bin out back and I hope that my camera has smartened up, but I doubt that it has! (its probably operator error)Cool start as they have to wrap around the corner of a school in the gravel and it kicks up a gnarly dust storm. They all rip by and I maneuver off this container and back to the hot rod. On my way to Gibsons now, hopefully can get a ride in. Or what is classified a ride these days. Stop and grab a doubleshortlong and hit the road. Many thoughts in mind as I roll down the highway, seeing great photos all over but feeling uninspired. Make it ok to the terminal, Find a spot and unload some crap to get at my bike to see if robs rotor will be ok and squeak free on my wheel. Fingers crossed I reassemble and yes, its all good. No power but no squeak. I can live with that. Talk with the fellas from DCM Chrome and they are blue plates so they are just spinning around. They go on ahead as I get ready and eat a lil. Gonna be hooooot today. A lil farting around as I look for the start, wasting time but legs spinning so not really wasting. Finally climb a pisser of a hill which is what I needed to find the end of the single track. Creek bed climb on Mary doesn’t usually turn me on but right now I don’t really care!! Climb for about an hour with the DCM boys, chatting about how awesome they think it is here. I have a hard time disagreeing with them. Thinking Mcgrath and Sheppard should be by soon I haul off and chat with a family that’s hanging out on course. Sure enough in about 20 mins you can hear them filling down the mountain with the Kona boys in a nice lil pack. AND FAST!! Wicked portion of the course, scarcely treed, super buff trails, wicked fast!! I really want to be racing but alas…
I pick my way through the spaces between riders to get back to base, stopping to shoot photos that wont turn out.LOL!! Stopping and warning riders of what’s ahead, doing a small part. Mical and Jeff smoke past and give a hoot again, so funny! Mash my way down so as not to be in the way and rip down the road big and small!! Love it!! Waving off the marshals to make sure they don’t stop traffic for me. Hit the van, no Susan, not literally, and have a pop while I wait for my boys.
Logan and James come through, Lee Blaise, a couple other riders that the boys are usually around so I make my rounds to chat with some of the folks I have come to know and Logan informs me Robin had a chain jump spoke side and they past him long ago…..F*@K!! So now I know in relation to the leaders a ball park time they should be finishing and they are around that time now. I am starting to get a lil rattled as the leaders came through 25mins ago. Then I can see them slamming down the road to the finish and I see Jamie pumping like a downhiller/ he crosses the line and I look at his bike, well Robin wasn’t the only mechanical. Jamie, not satisfied with the hell of pulling Robins chain outta the spokes, proceeded to sheer off the hanger and derailleur en mass! Now anyone who knows the Trek Top Fuel knows that a)- it’s a burly complicated hanger. And b)- It’s a pain in the hoohoo find and replace, especially in Gibsons. No worry, the day coulda been a dnf day but they made it out still in second place for the day and race. Good on ya, hell of an effort without snapping!! No time to fook around here, trying to get off the rock and out to whistler…..but no, missed the 105 and the next one is at 325! That sux!! Hurry up and wait. Its all good, whistler for 3 days so no worries. Do the see to sky and get to Robs place in Creekside and just chill, wash the bike, set up the Cannondale for Jamie and try and get these blogs down so when I do get wifi…..biggidybam!! lol. Well its 11, I have 300 pics to go through and a 6am wake up, so I sign off for this evening, hoping you all get to read some if I can get out of the bush long enough!!! Lol
After a wicked eve in PowellRiver the boys are off to Sechelt. Thanks again the Westview Centre Motel for all their help and the laundry service. Try to get that in Van!! The big worry for us was that they would get the early boat and I would have to wait 2.5 hrs as the NTSB has a 1 person, 1 lifejacket rule. Get to the ferry and think it’s a lil dodgy and we talked to Karen, one of the volunteers and she said no worries its all good. One more horseshoe from Jamie’s ass used.A quick 55 min peel to Sechelt and another great stage. 60km and 1800 m ascent!! Tryingto get Robins brake form squealing so it’s a mad dash on he boat, pro mobile mechanics as I rip parts off Mary to assist in the repair of the race machine. My rotor and pads and all is well…and just in time as the racers are changed and ready for the other side! Big huge racer photo op in the bow of the ferry, 350 plus riders all huddled up cozy like!! Pretty cool. They unload and get ready for the chute and with nowhere to park I make it up to the Egmont turnoff with a whole whack of others, unload and walk down with the came, as usual, shooting the riders warming up. About half hour to start so I chat with some folks…BLAHBLAHBLAH! Hear the police escort come through and see the pack coming and look who it is 50ft out in front….J.S.B!!! WTF is he doing up there? And where is Simone? And how quick is the pack going swallow him up and shit him out the back? From what I heard…it wasn’t long! Good for him though, he led a stage….LOL.
After they all pass I grab the hot rod and head into town. Thank god for nav, or I'd be in Sooke!!!Go do a few errands, chocolate milk and run over town looking for juicy pads and speed beans….ya right!! In Sechelt? Didn’t think so. Oh well. Get to the hotel and its right on the drag and the drag is right on the ocean…SWEET! Go check in and the ladies there were uber helpful as well. Hooked me up with the hose for après race which was awesome. You got to love small towns. She had an answer for every question I had and if she didn’t the answer wasn’t no, itwas lemme find out and ill let you know. GREAT SERVICE RULES!!All checked in, cooler has cho-mo in it so I unload the cam and go walking. Had a beer with Mary from Obsession Bikes. Those guys are studs. They’ve been working ball to wall since day one, even doing an all nighters after day 3…and probably everyday since. Thanks for the beer Mary cause it was 28 and I was dying!! Head into the woods sans bike as its pretty tight and I have no front brakes…which normally wouldn’t bug me!! Talk to a lady about her choice of beers at the time, BUD LIGHT? Steve would appreciate thatas I still raz him about Demo Days!!But as I told her you cant turn down gift beers and she agreed.
Walk thought this super buff single-track rainforest trail that I would love to just hammer through on Mary……my Mary! But all I have is my camera. Which is giving me fits as my aperture speed wont adjust…..so all 150 pics I took today are fooked!! That makes me pretty grumpy?!?! Oh well, im not here for me, im here for The Schmengys! I pack it in and start walking back, looks of suffering on a lot of the riders faces. Then Mical and Jeff rip past and give me a big woo hoo!! A lil while later my boys tear ass past me so I book it out running my ass off in flip flops….not the best footwear to run in but I had too make sure the guys got their cho mo....and they did.
The boys look punched and you can see the suffering they endured in their faces. Fuelling up at the finish I hook up with them, tell them where the hot rod is and listen to how gnarly the track was. They passed a lot of rough people. Tell me they went passed Logan who said something along the lines “ there is no joy iin my life right now”. He was sitting on a log at the time. At the end of it all I heard that the stage was maybe +9km from originally taped? OUCH! Chris Shepard even informed me he needed an IV. Now that’s a stomper of a track. The guys didn’t even change, just straight to the hotel for ice bath hot shower combo!! Got them all loaded in teh room and washed the bikes to get it over with. Talking with one of the support wives from Hardcore Bikes and she has this sweet Nissan Mini Motorhome that is so rad!! Then get to wiping down Jamie’s bike and as I dry the fork I notice a crack in the arch…..F*@k!! Tell him and we decide that whatever, ride it like you stole it. If it breaks no one dies anyway so no biggy. Anyway, no falls or major incidents’ on trail and only roughly 10 mins behind leaders. A great day of suffering for my boys! *pats back*
Do the awards and wander around tent city for a bit shooting as the guys hung out with the other riders……..which didn’t last long. Superstore for some food, hotel to prep all the gear and get to bed!! As you know, long day tomorrow!
Day 3 starts out with The Boys having to pack up from a nice spot just to go out and sweat and get filthy like boys playing in the sandbox. Leaving Parksville for Cumberland nice and early on 3hrs of sleep....well me anyway, The Boys slept great!! All loaded and ready for a stop to see Ole Nat Bailey at white spot for more fuel. On a side note I've never had this much fuel in years so The Boys are great for this young pup!! A small accident with one of the teams made Jamie nervous about the start but no worries, t'was all good. Cumberland is such a great place for an event like this. They handed over the whole park and surrounding parking areas and nobody really cared. Great set up by the volunteers again. I really can't say enough about how hard a job they have and they are doing great.
Today takes the guys up to Forbidden Plateau and all over hells half acre!! 60 km of mm mm good singletrack. And the weather was oh so perfect. Clean start right up Dunsmuir and off into the woods to play. I sat around taking a few more shots and as they are looping today I get to go for a freaking ride!!! Rip back to " Red Hot" to unload my gear....yes, my gear. Get changed, grab camera, some gear and mangey water from the cooler and im gonzo! Following the race course backwards with a smile so big its hitting my earlobes and im so jealous that im not racing ....mind you I would probably die so not all that jealous. Climbed up some rooty, gnarly track for about an hour and ran into Katie who was one of the marshalls who was just being deposited at her spot. We discussed Cumberland vs Victoria pros and cons and how good Matt Phillips beer is and that she really wants some more of the pumpkin ale. That was enough chitchat as I hadn't donned my helmet for 3 days!! UGH. So i peel off and get the rpms up, riding bridges and hopping roots....so good out here. Looking at my watch reveals a stopwatch time of 2:30 so I know Seamus and Chris must be ripping past me soon. I high tail it outta there and start a foul fire road up. Hearing one of the motos I know they are close....and none other then Steve Mitchell tears past me letting me know they are on there way. I pulled off to the ditch and got some shots of the open men class, which is not many as they are f'n fast. Now that the racers are starting to filter in around me I make my way down, stopping to shoot, making sure i am not on the way. After Tea Cup I meet up with the last med check and chat with them for a while as well. I said i don't wanna get in the way so they tell me to follow the logging road down and it will take you back to dunsmuir. What they didnt tell me is that it takes you to the highway about 15k from "the turn off" to dunsmuir. Time was getting tight as The Boys would be landing soon and they still needed their cho-mo. Big and small the whole way as hard as could to ensure that I got there...even though I had no real idea were there was!! EEK, panic. But, it all ended well. Got the goods, made it to the van, peeled off my gear got as pretty as i can get and moved the van by the shower for a rapid evac to the boat apres stage!
They finished with Logan and James, who I think should get a time bonus for the use of a Lucky Jersey!! As of 10:15 theres no results. we are hoping to crawl back some time from the "Easters"! No shower, need the boat or we wait an extra 4 hrs.......*screech*. halfway down the road teh strap on the rac k readjust to compensate for the weight of Mary as she needed some air. Strap fixed and motoring. Huge traffic but not to fret. The seas parted and all was good. We get to the booth at the terminal and ask " are we solid for the 3:15? " and her respnose was " I hope so?" LOL. Gotta love Bc Ferries!! ( insert bad word here ) We did and landed in Powell river safely.
Cool ass old school hotel with the external doors up the gnarliest driveway ever. I was stoked because their was a hose so i could give the steeds a proper bath. After all its what they deserve. The boys rest up as I do some cleaning and fixing. Jamie busted his rear shock remote off so open rear the rest of the way...lol! This place was so awesome, hose, view and the manager even offered to wash the riding gear. Don't think she knew what she was getting into!! Kudos Madamme, Kudos! Then jsut some food and r+r and here I sit. My boys in bed and just relfecting on the day.
Well day 3 saw another early day to catch another early boat to come back home......kinda!! This stage takes The Schmengy's from Departure Bay to Parksville in a 70 km SICK set of single track. The boys had to get ready on the boat and walk off with their bikes to the start chute, which was such a great sight to see 400 cyclist in full riding gear disembark form the ferrie. Odd especially when your used to seeing super commuters on haggard bikes filling off instead.
As the boys raced their asses off I went down to Acme burger and enjoyed an Odouls and a bad ass Acme burger and try to sort through all these pics!! UGH!! Taking off with lil sucess heading up very familiar roads into Parksville to The Pacific Shores Resort to check us in and get sonme stuff done so We can just leave the finish and get back to the hotel...which i must say is magnificent.Over looking Craig Bay. I'm a lucky boy right now!
Rode up the road to where the race finishes just past AMC with the cam to see if I could get something. Layed in a ditch shooting people as they went by. Great couple shots of Lisa and Dawn from Oak Bay. Then my boys came tearing up the road, so I snapped some shots and hopped on Mary and tried to keep up with them. At this point I remembered i was in flip flops and Dickies with a camera around my neck and no helmet.....so I got DROPPED!! which in of itself is good cause they were cooking!!
I met them back at the finish line and you could tell it was a harsh stage. they finished in roughly 4.5 hrs. Bikes look liked they had been through a sand storm and the boys looked like they had a tag team death match vs Ali and Tyson in the same sand storm!! Jamie relaxed at the truck as I hunted down Robin and for the second straight day he was wolfing down a burger at the finish!! lol. Load up the gear and the boys changed and got as comfy as they could. HOME TIME!!
As the boys cleaned up and fueled up i gave the bikes a good hour and a half of love, mostly cleaning and minor tweaks!! Then off to dinner and to veg out. Brought the gang at Obsession Cycles some beer as when we got there they had about 100 bikes to fix up...good luck folks, hope you got in some ball hockey!!
Not Much after that, some groceries, the boys got to enjoy some DQ and I got to enjoy a few Mickey's ( thanks Robin ). And now here I am, watching the news and stil struggling to find a connection!!! GRRR. I hope this goes through.....its a lot of typing. lol. Ill just leave you with the view from here.
After the repetitive madness that was Day 0 it was nice to be in The Shore and getting geared for race day!! Early morning coffee hunt seemed a lil futile so after a few shakes prepared by Mr. Willard we were loading the gear and going bean hunting.......no coffee shop in the hotel? BULLSHOT!?!?! I'm over it. The clouds had me a Lil worried as rain was invented in the Shore and the trails are infamously greasy and hellish when wet. We drove to Bean Around the World and quickly got fueled up and relaxed a lil before heading down to the Canlan Arena, start point for Day 1. Nice and early so easy parking and set up as teh sun reared its sexy face and told the clouds to piss off!!! The mayhem that is the volunteers unloading almost 400 bikes is a sight to see in itself. The logistics of this race are still very hard for me to get my head around. And in the 2 days we've been here the volunteers are super wicked. Always smiling and always helpful. Hats off to them.
Jamie and Robin got all prepped and "buttered" in prep or the stage as I unload the bikes and give them a quicky. After they were all set I drank yet more free coffee and took the camera around absorb this amazing event as they went for a 30min warm up loop.
Walking around all these people that are so in love with cycling is very refreshing and affirming for me. I don't think i saw a single frown, even when requesting scowls, there were none. Shit even the mechanics were happy....!
Jaimie and Robin returned all stoked cause they practiced a lil flyer line that the xc guys probably wouldnt hit with any pace and they might be able to hop past some guys. Jaimie got his bike and jersey a lil dirty so of course we give him a hard time, then its on to the start chute. I've been in a chute with 150 people and that made me feel anxious. Now if you can picture a chute with 370ish people you will probably visualize the smell of clif shots, sunscreen, coffee breath and an assload of lycra....and you would be correct. Out of teh gate there is an instant 180 degree corner which i had thought would claim 20 riders minimm, so i grabbed a great vantage point for carnage..........and nothing?!? Everyoone made it through safe and sound up berkly towards the trails. So I load up and hit the road to get up to Base Camp hwhich is in Lynn Valley.
Park the car, grab my camera and my bike and I'm gone to see if i can shhoot the boys. Climb all teh way up Mountain Highway, loving blood in my legs again...funny looks form the freeriders as i zip up the hill on my rigid niner....HAHAHAH!! find a couple spots and shoot a lotta riders and look who shows up in my lens! Do I have em dialed or what? The blast up themountain past a free Kuwahara..which im surprised none of teh racers switch off too! Few more shots tehn down to the corner to see them rip to the finish!
Waiting....waiting....waiting....not here yet. Camera dies i run to store and I missed them as they tore in. Good showing by the boys finishingh 2nd and a good turnout form OBB folks as well. Good job kids. There were a few medicals on trail but noone hurt and all safe and sound. There was a team of brothers, one form BC, the other from south africa that were there and as the start shot off one of their derailuers blew up, so 15 mins later they were still with the guys form Obsession. Cool thing is i saw them cross the line at the end of the day.....last place but still grinning ear to ear. Good on ya boys Awards and dinner followed that, after a nap for the boys and a stronbow for moi. Then later that night as they snore i organize photos and create this so all of you who arent in contact can stay in contact. Early boat to nanimo then racing to parksville so we will see you tomorow.
Being my first time at anything like this i wasn't sure what to expect. Day 0 is registration, rider meeting, pass pickups....on and on and on!! Basically a hurry up and wait day!! As the guys grabbed their gear and crossed the T's and dotted the I's I rambled around with my camera, chatted with some folks, basically drank coffee and hung out at the beach as support can''t get their stuff till 2.....and its 10!! Watching a homeless guy at the seawall strung out and preaching the gospel of "whatever" while throwing down more "TABERNAC COCKSUCKERS" then is humanly possible passed the time for a while. Loving Vancouverites non reaction to him was almost more enjoyable then him!
Fueled by coffee and not quite ripe pears I made my way back to the hotel, stopping for "art attack moments" to grab my creds and teh boys to make sure all was taken care of, and if you know Jaimie it was!! ;) As we were leaving we a girl noticed my Big John Bates and The Voodoo Gurlz T and informed me that she went to school with him, which is surprising cause if you meet him you wonder " school?? really??" (iokes, love his shows) After that it wasn't much more then some lunch, a short drive, hotel check in and gear unload.
Once unloaded we were able to go shake the Ferry off our legs with a lil burn around looking to poach chunks of the course, which we did till we found the Marshall flagging it!! Not sure how he felt about us following him so we bailed and headed back to the hotel. Ran into J.S. and Simon on our way down and as we chatted a deer and her fawns were almost lit up on the highway...close call, but all is well..i think.
A quick lil pedal back to The Inn to grab some grub and do a lil bike prep for the boys and that was the day...in a nut shell. Hope everyone had fun in Vic at The Big Leboutski and Start with the Cobra.
start .Its Just a quick lil pedal down the path to the village and the start of day 7. grab my camera and today in my bag is also a 6er of blue buck for the guys at Trek VW for the solid hook up on the derailleur hanger. Hop on Mary and head on down to the start chute. Its very nice to not be in a rush. Meet Jamie in the tunnel and he says he lost Robin I while warming up…oi vey!! Hahah, but no worry, he peals around the corner with a big ole grin on his face! Chatting with some of the folks that I’ve met along the way. Karen who is supporting her husband who is racing with Kate who raced it last year with Chad from Fort Mac who is who I used to work and ride with……WHOA!! i went off the end there. Back on track. Asking Harold and Tim form 
a who have tore it up all week and finished a wicked 3rd behind 4 full ticket girls so full marks for the OBB gals! 
t guys killed it and this a great day for racers and support because it is just a big feeling of “whoosh, I can do whatever I frigging want on Sunday!!” Everyone is smiling and in great spirits not realizing that this stage is going to be hot and hell!! But on the flip side I don’t think anyone really cares either! This is the last day of an unbelievable journey for all them, pro to schmo, everyone has done a hell of job dealing with the day to day rigors of this awesome race. 
super wicked place in the village., way over my head. We have a great dinner and some yummy drinks and desert and sit and chat a bit about the week. 
