Placing

I forgot to mention our placing in the mens open division. 95 riders, we came 43rd. Not bad considering the company we were pedaling in - some pros, many semi pros and a lot of very fast riders from around the country and world.

Miscellaneous thoughts on the race:

• I've been sick since Friday - managed to keep the symptoms at bay until Friday night after the awards ceremony. This cold/clue really started to kick my ass on Sunday and have felt like crap ever since. No surprise after having the body worn down hard for seven days
  
• I rode Kenda Small Block 8's for the first four stages, then switched up to Kenda Karmas 2.1 for the remainder. The SB8's were fantastic and rolled very fast over everything, but I was thankful for the Karmas breaking power in the later stages as the single track got pretty hairy at times.
• my cramping issues on day one really messed my legs up for the next few stages. It took a couple of hours after the race before I could even get my shoes on without my legs going into full cramping. My muscles hurt for days afterwards. I wonder how I would have done throughout the race if it hadn't happened
• we lost approximately 30 minutes to mechanicals on day three or four, then about 45 minutes on day five going down the wrong trail and bonking . . . . you could play "what if" all day, it's all apart of racing and it's just how the cards played out for us; live and learn
• I think Curvy Butt and I were a perfect balance, though I'd bet money that he led me around the trails for seven days more than I led him. He ripped it up in the single track and just following him around I was able to pick my lines and keep my speed up. He also showed me where not to fall - I've never seen someone crash like Mark - he falls and never gets hurt. We had a blast and laughed our heads off all race. I couldn't have asked for a better partner!
• I've never been around so many people who's body fat was so low - I was probably one of the biggest/heaviest guys there . . . . and probably one of the most handsome, most ripped (even more than Peter) and most modest too
  
• each day, after racing, was a routine: fuel the body, drink, unpack & set up camp, stretch, go eat supper, drink, stretch, get the gear and bike ready for the next day, drink, stretch, go to bed.
• we had only one night of rain & it didn't rain once while we raced - couldn't have been more perfect
• coke, pretzels and cookies after each stage were very welcomed
• be sure to wipe your hands free of bananas after an aid station, holding onto your grips becomes near impossible
• riding a 1x9 is all you need - at times I wished for a granny, but I got by without it. Did walk a few times, but didn't hurt my time any.
  

Some more photos . . . you can see the rest in my Flickr account

Dirty, dirty race clothes. With the warm, dry conditions came dusty, dirty gear.

View from the tent. You can see the start bear - I think that this was day three.

Whistler gondola ride up to the restaurant at the top of the mountain after stage seven for the awards ceremony and banquet. Saw two bear under the gondola on the way up.

Dinner with Team Go Banana & Go Orange on Day Zero at a private school in Shawnigan Lake. This place was unreal! Can't imagine what it must have been like going to a school like this growing up.
*there were approx. 14-15 riders from Ottawa at the BC Bike Race. Represent yo!

Tanya had some issues after day five with her cassette. Her solution was this homemade hammer (a pedal locked into an adjustable wrench) . . . .what are you thinking?!

If you're going to fix a cassette, you need a rock! "Grug (a.k.a. Curvy Butt) fix bike good. Grug smash bike with rock. Rock good."
McGuyver actually did fix the issue Tanya was having.

Another ferry crossing. Note the ferry who jumped into my picture?

Breakfast - eat as much as humanly possible at each sitting before your stomach told you otherwise.

Saturday, day eight, no racing. We were the very last ones to tear down our bikes and box 'em up at the Westin Hotel in Whistler.

I can't believe we are done.