tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90038849232190087142009-08-02T15:10:05.313-07:00I race mountain bikes. People ask why. This blog is my answer.Chrisnoreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-11192582128342473822009-08-02T09:41:00.000-07:002009-08-02T15:10:05.330-07:00

Now that a day has passed and I've caught up on a bunch of sleep, I can reflect upon last week's InterMontane (IM - shouldn't that stand for Incompetent Management?) I can think clearly again and think I have some useful suggestions for next year's race -1. Don't worry about marking the course, just give the leaders flagging tape to mark the course as they go. That way they can't get lost.2.

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-67321464415782034472009-08-01T13:10:00.002-07:002009-08-02T12:09:29.383-07:00

The last stage was a time trial (TT) through the park that we rode through on the 1st day we arrived in Kamloops. Finally something familiar! Unfortunately the published start time of 9:00 was pushed back to 10:00 the evening before the race. Needless to say, we didn't actually get started until 10:40 (ish). The delay, coupled with starting racers from fastest to slowest meant the I was looking

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-89783779215564511902009-07-30T21:25:00.000-07:002009-07-31T07:32:29.939-07:00

Today was to be the longest and hardest day of all. With my time so off after stage 2 and making no ground on stage 3 with it being neutralised I decided to conserve energy and just enjoy the day's ride. Really enjoyable singletrack put a big smile on my face, and the 7am start time made for a really pleasant riding temperature. With numbers dwindling due to racers quiting and the length of the

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-24063963682730837392009-07-29T21:22:00.000-07:002009-07-31T07:54:35.550-07:00

Today was a good day for me personally. I have no idea how I turned myself around, but I had a great night's sleep, ate a good breakfast and woke up ready to race hard at 8:00AM. The race organisation on the other hand hadn't fared so well. Some local psycho had decided the day before that he didn't want the race to go down *his* trail, so had pulled all the course markers. The organisers decided

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-45293946540457295932009-07-28T20:10:00.000-07:002009-07-29T08:17:15.536-07:00

Today I planned to take it a little easier so I wouldn't overheat so much in the blazing sun. Funny thing was that an 'easy' pace would have been fast in comparison to the speed I was able to achieve today. Terry came upon me on one of the endless fireroad climbs and found me swerving around and had to fight off the vultures swarming around me. My brains were boiling and my stomach in knots, but

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-79426544414087712402009-07-27T21:31:00.000-07:002009-07-29T07:36:40.504-07:00

It was a taste of things to come when the police escort during the neutral roll-out at the start of the race missed a turn. We did eventually get back on track, but only after some interesting back streets! Route finding during the race was challenging at times too, with assorted colours of flagging tape and marshals not always being where they needed to be. I got lucky and only had to back track

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-15785842512093771372009-07-26T20:54:00.000-07:002009-07-28T20:24:53.989-07:00

I feel like I've been preping for this race for weeks now. So much planning and packing to make sure everything goes smoothly during the race. It'll be bliss tomorrow to have nothing but racing my bike to think about! Today was all about paperwork for race registration and checking out some of the local trails. We may or may not have been riding on the race course!Signing away any and all

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-9768350698163118742009-07-25T09:27:00.000-07:002009-07-25T09:33:05.553-07:00

The temperature in Kamloops look good for the week ahead - around about 70F. Pleasant really, only trouble is that is the OVERNIGHT temperatures! We'll be lucky if we stay out of the triple digits next week. Yikes! As I don't need to pack the down jacket there may well be room for Anna in the car.

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-79941408654869313042009-07-23T08:47:00.000-07:002009-07-23T18:07:05.557-07:00

So it's been a year since my last post, and it looks like the pain has faded enough for me to do this all over again! This year's week of pain will again take place in beautiful BC, Canada, but this time Kamloops will be the centre of abuse. The Intermontane Challenge is a new 5 day stage race that will cover many hundreds of Kilometers of sweet Kamloops singletrack.A couple of things drew me to

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-76398981389468925092008-07-10T15:02:00.000-07:002008-07-10T15:05:35.407-07:00

On Day Four, racers were transferred from Cumberland to Earl's Cove. This involved two ferry crossings starting at five in the morning. We had crossed the night before to prevent hassle and sleep in, so we were there to see the racers being reunited with their bikes at the terminal.Earl's Cove was a bit crowded that morning...And finally, some actual riding. On Day Seven I had nothing in

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-52428088427024118602008-07-10T14:56:00.000-07:002008-07-10T15:01:57.505-07:00

Again, low on quality but definitely a look at how the race works.Inflating the Bear's Den tent at the finish line. This tent provided shade for supporters and racers in a location where they could watch others crossing the finish line each day.Terry cramps up. After Day One, Terry had some issues with leg cramps. I've never seen quadriceps like this before. We were trying to get some

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-41493625873273624002008-07-10T14:12:00.000-07:002008-07-10T14:39:14.628-07:00

I didn't have time to edit this stuff while we were at the race, and I haven't really had time now so it's rough, but here's a little insight into the race experience.Mel and Terry discuss race strategy on the way up.Pre-riding at Shawnigan Lake. We were amazed that they let us use the school as a registration and starting point.The day of the race - Mel knows that Chamois Butter is essential for

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-43031529932004168392008-07-06T10:38:00.000-07:002008-07-06T10:40:17.683-07:00

The UglyThat’s me! Bruised, scratched, bitten and baggy! I only remember one real fall, and that was on day 1 – a wipe out on a rock slab descent that resulted in one scabby knee I had to carry with me the rest of the week. The rest of the bruises and scratches I don’t really remember where I got them, but I look like a victim of domestic violence, only most of the damage is on my legs. I have so

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-75593433782455959842008-07-06T09:28:00.000-07:002008-07-06T10:38:07.811-07:00

Ah sleep, there’s nothing better than a good lie in after being chronically deprived of sleep for a week! I’m back in the land of the living again and can just about manage a blog posting of my own again! Nothing much to do besides pack/unpack and SLEEP whilst Chris drove us home. The only blip in this day was being ‘randomly selected’ by computer at the US border crossing for a more thorough

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-30945353002668557032008-07-04T21:14:00.000-07:002008-07-04T21:49:04.797-07:00

Day seven took racers on a tour of some of the nicest cross country trails in Whistler - Riverside, River Runs Through It, Cut Yer Bars and Lost Lake. I think that for some riders it was a bit of a shock, because the Whistler trails are technical and twisty with rocks and drops. However, for people who enjoy real cross country mountain biking, this is about as good as it gets in a race.Mel,

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-11651713602273814552008-07-03T21:37:00.001-07:002008-07-03T21:55:26.185-07:00

After Christie's derailleur issues yesterday, she decided to sit out the day and save herself for the wonderful Whistler trails tomorrow. As a result, only Mel and Eric started this morning. Food is getting harder to stomach as the days go on. Mel didn't go across for the catered evening meal last night, so I brought some food back. I wasn't sure what she's want to eat so I brought her a lot of

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-32735073297968547182008-07-03T21:07:00.000-07:002008-07-03T21:36:52.411-07:00

I already mentioned derailleur hangers when I talked about Chris Eatough's issues on day one. Carrying a spare one is always a good idea. However, when a manufacturer makes two different hangers which are almost but not quite the same size, and when you trust the shop you buy it from to tell you it's the right one, it's a bit of a surprise when you are out on the trail and your shiny new

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-32431409013706838212008-07-02T09:36:00.000-07:002008-07-02T09:47:03.544-07:00

Mel, Eric and Christie were excited to set off today even if it didn't show too much in their faces. At this point in the race, body parts stop responding as fast as you'd like, and stomachs start rejecting food. However, once you get on the bike things start to move the way you expect. After a short road section today, the riders will be heading off into some wonderful singletrack areas. Mel and

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-79944659249823756972008-07-01T16:28:00.000-07:002008-07-01T16:46:37.853-07:00

So far, the BC Bike Race - billed as "The Ultimate Singletrack Experience" - has had little more than 15km of singletrack per day. For the uninitiated, singletrack trails are the narrow, twisty trails that mountain bikers live for. I asked Terry how he'd explain them to someone who'd never ridden, and his is a good description - tough hiking trails. Some singletrack is smooth, buff and covered in

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-24782854275945961612008-07-01T15:55:00.000-07:002008-07-01T16:53:48.276-07:00

Mel rode with Eric and Christie today, and Terry rode with me. I think that if he ever gives up his racing career, there is hope for him as a soigneur. Last night he took care of all the washing and drying. This morning, our day started with Terry preparing breakfast for the racers while I cleaned up Mel’s bike and changed out the saddle to give her slightly different pressure points so that her

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-23340518968810975612008-06-30T17:47:00.000-07:002008-06-30T17:57:38.102-07:00

Mel, Eric and Christie came in at 6:24 (or thereabouts) after another hot day in the saddle. Mel was really hoping for singletrack trails today after the long boring fire road yesterday, but although there were about 15km of trail, lots of it was newly cut. This meant it wasn't well bedded in, and it seemed to have been done relatively fast rather than paying real attention to the flow. As this

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-16817659798598027272008-06-29T22:40:00.000-07:002008-06-29T22:58:54.385-07:00

It's not often that you would purposefully choose to spend 7 hours in 95 degree heat. Especially not when that's 95 in the shade and you are in the full sun. It gives another meaning to the term "Fire Road".Day two was a relatively flat stage (that's flat in comparison to the other stages, not flat like a pancake). It was also a long stage, at 125km. During the course briefing the night before,

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-14579695167431345272008-06-28T21:35:00.000-07:002008-06-28T21:48:47.531-07:00

A warm sunny start at 9 AM can only mean one thing - hot, exposed fire road climbs at noon.Although they planned a 5 hour race today, Mel and Terry were out for 7 hours 43 minutes. 45 of those were spent waiting for water to be delivered to an aid station that ran out half way through the race. Sensibly, they waited at the aid station for more water to turn up. Others didn't, and I saw the state

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-39258508596207830102008-06-28T21:28:00.001-07:002008-06-28T21:58:03.819-07:00

This morning, Mel and Terry went off without any apparent issues, but some other riders didn’t have such an auspicious start. Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk, last year’s winners on the Trek VW team, apparently tried to overtake on a narrow piece of the course that crossed a newly mown hay field. We tried pre-riding the loop that they were on at the time and gave up because we couldn’t see the

Chrisnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9003884923219008714.post-51497398858407488322008-06-27T21:45:00.000-07:002008-06-27T22:15:43.395-07:00

Chris here, posting because Mel's already in bed getting some rest. Today was registration day. We got to the registration area early because we wanted to do a little pre-ride. We drove straight past the entrance first time round, because it looked much too pleasant to be a bike race venue. Shawnigan Lake School is an up-market private school in its own grounds. Driving through the stone

Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804060173646148149noreply@blogger.com1