Well here I am on the eve of my main target for bike racing in 2015, the BC Bike Race. Dubbed as the “Ultimate Singletrack Experience”, BCBR races over 7 days from Cumberland, to Power River, to the Sunshine Coast, North Vancouver, Squamish, & finishes in Whistler. It is an adventure and an experience; a tour of British Columbia’s West Coast – the trails, the towns, the lifestyle.
My build up to BCBR has been solid and insightful. I trained mostly to and from work, and sprinkled in some Alberta Cup XC races to get some speed and intensity. The first race for me was the Hardcore hosted Royal River Valley Rumble. It was a great way to debut my Provincial Champion jersey by taking the win over a hard charging field. Feels good big time.
Cool and Collected. 📷: Robert Photography
The following weekend, hump day of the triple-header of MTB racing in May, was the Devon River Raid XC. With self-inflicted high expectations after my win in the previous weekend, I crateored hard with some bad luck combined with poor judgement. I pushed the boundary on PSI and paid the price with a couple of unfortunate crashes. The body can only take some many shots of adrenalin (post crash) and I bonked my way to an 8th place finish. Far from what i wanted, but that is racing – take the good with the bad and learn from it.
Hit the Dirt – A couple of times!
There is always next weekend, and the trifecta of races took place in Alberta’s mecca of MTB, Canmore. A double header weekend with the Iron Maiden XC Saturday and the 5hr Organ Grinder on Sunday. Good friends Josh & Stef surprised us with a place to stay in Canmore, so instead of commuting from their house in Calgary for each day, we were sitting pretty in Canmore (literally, look at the view!).
I dialled in the Organ Donor drop (slaying one MTB demon of mine) and was ready to go for race day.
Riding the Organ Donor. 📷: Masa Higuchi
But life is a funny thing. I’m a family man now, and super pumped about that. 3 weekends of racing was just too much for this family man, and I really lacked the killer instinct at both days. I lost the sprint for 3rd in the XC to fellow Dad Jamie Lamb, and Sunday I decided to end my race at the 3 of 5 hr mark since it was too nice of a Canmore day to not be hanging out with my girls.
Charging Soft Yogurt in Canmore. 📷: Ken Anderson
So a much needed mental break for competition leaves me here – well prepared, well tapered, and mentally sharp for BCBR. I’d really be happy to finish in the top 10, and that’s my goal. But more importantly, I really want to enjoy the adventure, live the experience, and enjoy life!
I’m going to try my best to always be my little girl’s Champion.
310kms, 10,000 meters of climbing, 600 racers, 24 different countries represented. BC Bike Race is going to be a fun adventure!
Thanks for Reading,
Mike
