7 Days- 32 hours ride time- 531kilometers/330 miles covered-
I am back home, still tired, but ready to tell all about the BC bike race.
For anyone who wants to look up the race, go to www.bcbikerace.com
Cycling news also covered it each day. You can find that at http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=mtb/2008/jun08/bcbike08/default
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=news/2008/jul08/jul11mtbnews (scroll down)
Wednesday, June 25th:
The adventure starts. Michael and I boarded the plane to Vancouver via Philadelphia (it was a free ticket on miles…though not so direct). Upon landing in Vancouver, we found out that my teammate, Kelli Emmett, missed her connection. She would be arriving on Thursday AM. We met Michael’s teammate Rich at the airport hotel, had some wine (hey, we made it this far!) and went to sleep.
Thursday, June 26th:
Thursday was spent doing some “planes, trains, and automobiles.” I never realized that getting from our hotel in Vancouver to our hotel in Victoria would be so complicated. It ended up taking the better part of a day and went like this….
We woke up, ate some breakfast, and hauled all of our luggage back to the airport to meet Kelli. Once Kelli was found, we bought tickets for our shuttle to Victoria. We boarded the bus that would take us to the ferry . Once on the ferry we crossed the bay from Vancouver to Victoria. When the ferry docked, we boarded our bus again and headed to the bus depot in Victoria. The bus depot was 1+ kilometers from the hotel. We got a map, found out where the hotel was, then “borrowed” a cargo cart from the bus depot. We then managed to and put our 4 bike cases, and numerous luggage bags on the cart. Off we went, down the streets of Victoria looking for our hotel. We sure did get a few odd looks!
Friday, June 27th (Day ZERO):
Today we have to catch a shuttle from the hotel to Shawnigan Lake School. It ends up taking over 2 hours before a bus shows up that has room for us on it. To make matters worse, our bikes are built and we watch as our lovely and expensive machines get crammed into a box truck. ”I guess it is time to give up some control,” I think. Hopefully my rig will be in ok shape by the time I see it again.
We made it to the school and started the registration process. For some reason Kelli had trouble telling the staff what our team name was. “Tain…sllooo….” she would mumble. “What,” they would say. “Taint slo…” we would say with a giggle. This went on for a bit. I can’t really say how our team name came to be, but….by the end of Seven days we were saying it with pride!
Day Zero was moving along slowly but smoothly until we received our “BC Bike Race bag.” This would be the bag that EVERYTHING we would need for Seven Days would have to fit in. This was where meltdown number one occurred. I looked with horror at this bag. “How in the hell am I going to fit my stuff in here?!,” I pleaded. I had a sleeping bag, seven days of biking clothing, casual clothing, race food and drink mix, some tools, a helmet, bike shoes, regular shoes…….I was freaking out. Kelli didn’t seem phased. I began the laborious process of taking things from my large and packed to the gills luggage bag, and placing them into this “Race bag.” I fought back tears, and sweat was beading on my brow. There was no going back. The rest of my stuff would meet me in Whistler, seven long days from now.
By this time my parents had shown up. They had a rental car and were staying in Hotels along the route as were Michael and Rich. Kelli and I had opted for the camping….we were tough after all. My parents took a few choice things in the car, and I gave the rest to the people in charge of reuniting me with my stuff in Whistler.
After dinner and a racers meeting, we were off to bed. Time for some sleep, this would be the last bed I would see for a while!
Saturday, June 28th (Day 1): Shawnigan Lake to Lake Cowichan- 89k
We were up early shoveling food in. After breakfast we packed up the bag, and made our way over to the start line. Kelli and I thought we were early, until we found hundreds of people lined up already. “Oh geez, we are going to be starting in the back!” The gun went off, the helicopter was buzzing over head, and the race began! 3 start loops later we were on our way. The masses started to thin out a bit and as we made our way through bunches of people.
We were pretty excited thinking about the riding and adventure that he next 7 days would bring. We spent the day pedaling up wicked climbs and down crazy logging roads where we easily hit about 40 mph on the bike. There were some great views, but we were going a bit too fast to really enjoy them. We crossed the line in first place for the women for the day. After a quick interview, and some coke and cookies, we found a tent and took a shower. My parents were called in to bring some chicken sandwiches….I was starving! I ended up eating 3 plus dinner. 
Sunday, June 29th (Day 2): 
It must have been 90+ degrees out. Kelli and I decided to head down to the hotel with Michael and my parents for some sweet air conditioning and food. Big burgers have never tasted so good. My parents came back to dinner and the awards ceremony with us that evening. They could not believe the massive amounts of food everyone was eating. They got some pics of Kelli and I on the podium. It was time to get some rest for day 3. Monday , June 30th (Day 3) - Port Alberni to Cumberland-80k Legs were a bit more sore this morning, though I didn’t think that was possible. I was wondering if I could actually make it through seven days. It was getting tougher to plow through breakfast, but I knew I had to eat in order to make it through the stage and the days to come. Like magic though, once back on the bike, the legs knew what to do; Pedal, pedal, and keep pedaling. 
I didn’t know how it was possible to get used to seeing snow capped mountains and such beautiful forest. I was feeling pretty good today and after a tough first climb, Kelli and I were moving and grooving with a group of people. It is funny how we ended up riding with many of the same people each day. It just kind of settles out like that. The guys never seemed to mind riding with Kelli and I…LOL.
Stage 3 was going splendidly until we came to a raging river.
I was looking skeptically across at the other side as there was a super steep embankment that we had to get up and over with our bikes. I was not thrilled about hoisting my bike way over head and trying to get it up that cliff. There were people on the other side helping the racers which gave me hope. Kelli plunged into the icy water first with me following. The cold river sure did feel good as temperatures were soaring into the 90s (unseasonably warm for the area). We both struggled a bit, but made it through the strong current with the bikes to the other side. As I was fumbling to get out of the water, I looked up to see Kelli dangling by a root ½ way up the embankment. “Hell no,” I thought, “not with my shoulders!” Luckily there was a camera man at the bottom. “Hey, can you help me with my bike,” I pleaded. “Sure, just hold this,” he said as he plopped his 30 thousand dollar camera into my hands, just above the raging river. Luckily I didn’t drop his equipment, and he was able to hoist my bike up and over. 
After frantically making sure the bikes were ready, we were off. The legs felt pretty bad after hanging out on the ferries all morning and then jumping on the bikes. There was no time to get them moving as we started climbing right away. We climbed a bit then hit some super fast downhill trails. I was leading the pack, flying down the trail…..until…..before I knew it I was lying on the ground in a heap. I guess, from what Kelli said, I must have hit something with my front wheel. As I did this, my bike stopped dead, and I pile drove myself over the bars. I immediately jumped up (adrenaline) as Kelli yelled, “Oh my God, don’t move”. I got my whits about me, sort of, and got back on the bike only to notice that I had totally bent my saddle. We stopped again, as I tried to fix it. In the mean time, my ribs started hurting pretty bad and we were passed by a few of the women’s teams. Realizing, the saddle was not going to straighten out, I got back on the bike, as Kelli plowed forward passing all of the other women’s teams within a minute or two. The rest of the day was great riding, though I was getting a bit sore. At the four hour mark, as we closed in on the finish, I saw my parents out there cheering us on. Day 4 was in the books, and we were still flashing that orange jersey! 
To make matters worse, the coffee was not at breakfast, and I could just go on and on, but it was a BAD morning.
My parents picked us up from the ferry terminal and drove us up to Squamish. It was a beautiful 45 min ride up the coast. I was able to get a massage, and due to the ribs, I broke down and slept in the hotel with Michael as Kelli bunked in with my parents. The two of us definitely woke up in a better mood. Finally, some sleep!!!
Thursday, July 3rd (Day 6): Squamish- 65k Sleep does wonders, especially having a bed for the cranky ribbies. I definitely woke up a bit more chipper, though no less sore this morning. It was hard to believe it was day six already. It almost felt bitter sweet. 
