BCBR 2010 - Stage #1
June 27, 2010

Route: Nanaimo
Distance: approx. 70km

Day 1 of BCBR 2010 started out in the harbor Town of Nanaimo with the start line being the BC Ferries Terminal. This day had a wicked set up with nearly 500 riders taking over the boat yard. A neutral start began with a police escort though the downtown of Nanaimo and up through some of the old town. On the climb up Harewood Mines Road towards the abyss you could see the pack slowly start to split up as the police got ready to peel out. As soon as they did diesel engine, Corey Wallace, blew up the pack with a solo attack - like gone!! You could quickly see how the pack was seeded by rider ability - this spaced it out nicely for the single track ahead.

We took a turn into the start of the abyss which is a fun, flowy single track section filled with rocky climbs, and rooty descents. I used to ride this trail a lot ten years ago and had forgot how much fun it is. Sadly this is where I had the first mechanical of the day - my chain snapped and I had no idea where it went! Looking all over hell's half acre finally Katy Curtis ripped by me and yelled "Its up here". I ran back up to my bike, waited for a spot to reach in and grab it, and then reattached it in a hurry. The whole time I was thinking that I'd just spent lots of time passing people and there they go. Oh well, I'll have to catch then again. I finally got everything reattached and all was good again.

The next fire road section lead to my next mechanical - a broken chain! I said a bad word and re-attached so I could get on with my day. The rest of my ride was spent passing people that I'd passed twice. I felt strong so kept it pinned. Then a fire road! I'm not sure what it is but fire roads numb my soul. I feel like I am riding as hard as I can through old jello that has the skin on top. Four guys that I'd whipped by, pass me. All I could do was tell myself that it would not be much longer and to keep trucking. Finally we hit some single track. I ran into a German fellow and followed him for a bit and then BANG. He fell right on a tree stump with his ribs, so I stayed with him for a while to make sure he was ok. He said he was fine and with a mild look of confusion on his face said that these trails "are very technical". He was ok so I bolted.

We hit more road trails up and over the mountain and then it was all singletrack goodness down from here on in. I'm used to my rigid bike but after 4hrs the hot spots creep in and the arms get very weary. I was happy on the road until my legs began to cease up. So I figured it would be a great idea to grab the big ring and hammer it out as I knew where I was. It worked - down past Malaspina and on to the track for a lap and I was at the finish with a time of 4hrs 19mins. I'm happy with that after two chain breaks.

BCBR does a great job of feeding us and tonight was no different. We shared a great supper followed by some pre-Cumberland video and a presentation by Jeremy Gradsby. All in all a wicked day at the BCBR. Now it is time to enjoy some stretching and ready myself for Cumberland - until tomorrow. The day paned out like this for results:

Open Mixed Team
1. Pendrel/Kabush
2. Dyck/Neilsen
3. Simms/Thibault

Open Men's Team
1. Sneddon/Wicks
2. Stewart/Khon
3. Widmer/Lazarski

Solo Men
1. Sheppard
2. Sager
3. Kerr

Solo Women
1. Mcquaid
2. Curtis
3. Rolles