BCBR update 2 from Day -1

I have been on the go a lot over the past couple of days - another couple of rides in, connecting with my parents who are now here in Vancouver, with Gerhard following tonight, and meeting all kinds of awesome members of the BCBR Family, including racers, course designers, bike patrollers and more. 

This year on top of riding (cause that's not hard enough), I'll also be sharing some "tales from the bike wash" for Bike Mag so stay tuned for coverage starting on Sunday. Let's see if I can pull this off, eh? If you're reading this and part of the race, let me know if you have a great BCBR story to share and I'll come find you :) 

Anyway, to keep it quick, here are a few pics I snapped on my phone over the past couple days with some rambling to go with them. Energy is building, excitement is palpable and everyone is ready to get rolling! 

I am SO thrilled to be working with my sponsors at Eliel all the time, but for this particular week, I'm on cloud nine. Just LOOK at what they have put together for me for this special occasion! I will be rolling in style. Gerhard has the new kits which on Monday were just a couple of jpegs, and by Thursday afternoon were fully printed and sewn, high-end, high tech examples of kit-doping. Look for these on the trail! Stoked. 

Spotted this 2016 Thunderbolt on the Cumberland Women's Ride (UROC) on Wednesday night. It was the best night. Thanks to the six women in my group for an epic tour and awesome vibes. Got a nice preview of the BCBR course over Blockhead and the newly routed Bear Buns, plus we did a bonus round on Climax with some time on Broadway, and some other new-to-me trails I can't name this second but that were all amazing. We rode until 9pm and it was still totally light out. Cumberland is heaven. 

This is the whole ladies' group meeting outside the Riding Fool Hostel in Cumberland - the place to stay if you're visiting the area, which you definitely should. Our group had THREE Thunderbolts out of six riders in it ... it was a THUNDERSTORM.

There are so many awesome trails in Cumberland, even the locals gotta double check the map. 

The Wednesday Night Bike Gang. 

The next morning, my Thunderbolt and I made our way over to the mainland from Nanaimo. Thanks to Gerhard and Christine for the lift -- I was the last one on the boat but just made it! It was funny to learn that your bike is treated like a vehicle so I got to ride on with the cars and then roll on up to the front. This is the view -- a first for me -- of us docking in Horseshoe Bay. I met lots of cool cyclists on the ferry and one day it would be neat to do it with a proper touring bike like they were.

Next, Thunderbolt and I hit up the bus! It was a long beautiful trip into Vancouver and I can't get over how many senior citizens use the public transit! And even more next-level, they ALL seemed to know each other! For $4, it was a nice alternative to riding with my giant hiking pack. 

After posting up at a Starbucks to do some work, I got a quick tour of Rocky Mountain HQ and then hit up some North Van trails with my tour guide, Bryan. Perfect "gnarly north shore" shake down ride and I was feeling great, albeit hot. It's going to be a tough week for hydration! After the ride, I connected with the athlete I've been working with, Bjorn, down at BCBR central for racers, the Holiday Inn. From there, we headed to Granville Island for dinner at The Sandbar with my folks. And check out these silos we spotted! 

When we got back to the hotel after a nice little tour of Stanley Park and the Lionsgate Bridge, we saw this sign and had to wonder.

And that brings us to this morning when I was caught having a threesome. o_0

Registration is today, and later I'll be moving into our home on wheels, the RV so stay tuned on Instagram for more shares a little later on. 

Tomorrow: Safety Meeting and transfer to Cumberland! 

What Happened?

Since the day I signed up a year ago, i have done something every day to get ready for the BC Bike Race. i was already starting to feel sad for this goal's exit from my life since it has all been so rewarding and i've met so many great people along the way. especially the ninjas!

so on the bright side, the goal has not exited from my life. we are leaning towards making a return campaign for 2015 and though i'm very sad 2014 did not turn out at all as planned, i'm already excited to use the lessons i've learned and another year of training to make 2015 even better.

it's hard for me to type so i'll keep this short but here's my version of events.

I woke up day 3 feeling a bit flat and decided to give myself permission to just do as the body wanted as the juices started flowing (or not flowing, depending). i did an abbreviated version of my daily warm up then got into the gates. i managed to sneak up a bit to grab a better position off the line since on the opening climbs, i was making good time. and wouldn't you know it, fitness kicked in and not even five minutes off the gun, i was ready to rock. had an awesome climb to the singletrack and then found a great group of kiwis to ride with.

til this day, singletrack was making me a bit trepidatious. so steep and gnarly, i was wondering if i was a mtb-er afterall. but powell river was my course. i passed a lot of people in the start wave ahead of me and i wasn't losing any time in the trails either. my bike was perfect for the terrain, and i was in that shit-eating grin state of mind. i was gleefully licking my lips at the results sheet i was confident would see me move up the standings.

our group began swallowing some riders off the back of the group ahead and it was my turn to find a chance to pass. the rider up asked if i'd like by and so i looked up to assess my answer. i was in the middle of saying not yet, i'll let you know when my front wheel found a wet root hiding in the loam. it happened so fast i had no choice but to accept a tumble. but on the way down, i saw my crash zone was already occupied by a large, hard tree stump. i knew my head was in danger and my hand came out reflexively to protect my face. it got stuck on some part of the stump or a branch ... not sure, but ......warning: cringe worthy ....... i felt all of my fingers fold back on my hand and get stuck there while my head continued its -- now slower -- trajectory to the stump. i head butted it ever so softly, but i knew it was at the expense of broken bones.

fortunately, i had the good sense to crash in front of a doctor. thank you so much Ian for your optimism, and initial exam. once rider patrol caught up, we let Ian go to carry on his race. and i tried to ride out. strike one: i couldn't get my index finger to brake. who needs your rear brake anyway? i thought. strike two was shifting. i like this gear anyway, i told myself. but strike three? i could no longer climb, so i tearfully had to let my bcbr go for this year. when i made it close to the road, i was met by the med team who are amazing, paramedics, trauma docs and mtb lovers. they were willing to let me continue, to their credit, fully understanding that its hard for any racer to give up the ghost. with a steep enduro to come, and strong broken bones suspicions, i figured i would just get something else broken. you can't imagine how hard it is to get in the waiting pick up. true empathizers, they had a cup of scotch waiting for me too.

then it was off to the hospital. xrays. fractures to metacarpal (across the joint, sadly) and scaphoid. cast applied to keep it immobilized until they can xray again in ten days. full damage will/should be visible then. probably off the bike for awhile, which is a bummer because i also just got my usac pro upgrade.

the support team has been amazing and at first i was really sad i'd let them down, but when i needed them more than ever they were/are here and now we get to spend more time together anyway. would love to share more ... especially thank yous to the race, the crew, Team Kris and everyone who has sent messages but i'm still getting used to being a lefty so that's all for now.

thanks for following ...

breakfast on my last day with the cheerleaders

the best campsite so far - willingdon beach

pre race yoga

my view from the gates

my injured paw and some amazing artwork by bcbr volunteer Jen who drove me to the horse pistol

getting my fibreglass fitted

goodnight bcbr. see you next year. 

Day 0: Ready.... Set ...

Ground zero on day zero. The hour is upon us! Started the day with a trip to Argyle school for the hub bub of registration. So exciting to see all the racers streaming in and the stacks of red racer bags and yoga mats ready for us to pack up. 

Inside our race packets were lots of great goodies, but these are by far the awesomest features: top tube stickers of each stage profile. So valuable. 

Down in the staging area the kids' races got started. So cute and exciting to see little rippers. Reminded me of the Pink Helmet Posse. 

Little girls on bikes!! Yes!!

Here are the little dudes getting it done. My favourite was the kid in the dragon costume. 

Dad couldn't walk by the podium without giving it a try. 

The contents of my racer package. My number, 218 is of extra special significance because 02.18 is Gerhard's birthday! Thanks universe! 

Ran through some openers today before I got rained on again. It's been raining a lot and we're expecting to race Stage One in the mud. 

Making my fav rice cakes, of course! 

Our racer safety meeting featuring the most hilarious discussion about piss, shit and bear attacks I have ever encountered. Thanks Brooks!

Home sweet home! Final prep now underway and here's our amazing palace on wheels. Plus my trusty steed. 

And check out this crew!! Gerhard arrived tonight so our team is complete. And my brother-in-law Reinholt is here for good cheer and good vibes, too. Super excited to get rolling! Bed time :) 

Let's Ride!!