Reflections From The Back of the Pack

Day 7, we finished!

2008-07-09T23:51:00.001-07:00

Well day 7 started out really well. We left the squamish adventure resort and aquatic center. We started rather early and woke to pouring rain hitting the 4 person tent with such force that it felt as if the tent was going to cave in, fortunately it was only for a short period of time.

The morning started off cold too, I had to put arm warmers on and a jacket over that. With every layer of clothing, my spirits were beginning to get dampened by the weather and concern that today's race was going to be short but in bad weather. Cold weather and rain makes short, fun days really long and unenjoyable. I know better, so the first thing I did was pack my rain shoe covers and my waterproof, warm gloves.
We went inside to eat while it was raining, and as I looked around at the other racers I noticed something peculiar. The others seemingly weren't phased by the rain at all. They simply went about their day like it was just another day of racing. I suppose I should learn a little from that as there is really nothing we can do about it anyways and in the end, rain or shine, we were riding Whistler mountain on the last day of this race.

The night before just like every previous night, there is a guy with a microphone who is comentating on the route that we are supposed to take and explain everything he can about the route. It has always proved to lack something, either the truth about mileage, difficulty, so on. This night was no different. I remember very specifically after the route explanation he said "it will only take you, oh about 3 1/2 hours if your a hack like me." A hack? Did he just say a hack it would take 3 1/2 hours. I couldn't believe it, I wanted to believe it, I just couldn't believe it.
In Canada it seems everything is different. It seems 5 minutes, Canadian, is more like 20 minutes, American. It seems 2 kilometers, Canadian is more like 7 miles, American. You get the picture. Everything we set expectations to were not realized in this race. I suppose as someone who is racing in these events sets all of their food and energy consumption based on trusted time and distances. This did not happen in this race. I say "well, Mr. Hack, try like 6 1/2 hours or more.". The middle section between aid station 1 and 2 was like 3 1/2 hours. What a weinie.
What I really failed to do in this particular race was set my expectations. Here's what I expected: I expected something a lot easier than the previous 6 days. Less climbing and more hauling butt down famous single track along rivers, in and out of trees and somewhat of a warm up before any monster climbs. Wishful thinking.

The starting gun went off and we immediately climbed up the very face of the mountain directly below the gondolas. Its the same face skiers or snow boarders go down in the winter, so its steep and if you ate pork the night before, you would be tasting it all again on these hills. Paul chose to slowdown and ride with us again, and as always he was in good shape and had no issues climbing straight up the face of this mountain. I did... I was tired, a little under nourished, and I was climbing right out of the start gate. Looking at my altimeter, I saw 500, then 1000, then 1500 feet gain within very shorts periods of time. I thought "could this actually be happening on the last day of the race?" Could they possibly make this more brutal than the very first day in the heat. I suppose they really wanted to make an impression on you and force you into remembering this race for the rest of your life. Yikes.

Finally, flat ground and slight recovery for my ailing heart and lungs. We then started along whistler's famous windy trails that flow along glacial flowing rivers. It was breathtaking and I was still tired. Maybe I was getting my breath taken away because I was so tired...anyways, still very beautiful. The water that was flowing next to these epic trails was an off color from the usual flowing river and I was told that it was simply due to the run off from the glaciers. I quickly thought if I lost it and fell in that water I may have about 30 seconds to get out before I freeze in my tiny little spandex shorts. What an imagination I have!!

Needless to say we hit checkpoint 1 with little issue. We refueled and we were off again through some of Whistlers most prominent free riding trails. It was fast, furious and just like the fastest roller coaster only you weren't on rails, you were on ladders where one screw up sent you flying off the ladder and either in the drink or worst yet, into one of many trees that covered the landscape. Similarly, on stage 4 there was a single track called "cut your bars.". This ride was very similar, but if you went into the forest with wide "riser bars" you were seriously re-considering. There was a very legitimate reason it was called this and I found out real quick by passing a tree that almost seemed to reach out and grab the end of my handlebars. I immediately knew I either needed to slow down, or stop and walk. Now, if you know me, walking something like this is absolutely out of the question. I decided to make my way and every time I came up to a grabby tree, I stood up and ever so gently moved my entire body to one side. I had to do this quickly as yet another tree approached from the other side. You can probably tell there was little room for error here.

We continued on and oddly enough found something that we were willing to bet no one found... A chair in the middle of the forest. Strangely, it was love seat like. We look at our watches than looked at each other and had to snap photos. We snapped a couple of photos and time was tick, tick, ticking away so we decided to leave and head on to the 2nd checkpoint. As we rode through single track and did our usual shuck and jive up and over stumps, through fallen logs and rocks, we arrived at checkpoint 1 an hour before the cutoff. We had plenty of time and no stress as we knew that 5pm was the cutoff for check point 2. We rode on happily and stopping ever so often to eat and shoot photos.

Carefree and happy we rode this beautiful single track which was still difficult but we were making our way. We saw a volunteer standing on the side of the trail. That sounds great... I would be down with that, however my rear hub blew 10 minutes before the finish of the BC bike race. I can still ride it and would absolutely love to get back on the bike. I think I am even off tomorrow. As we passed, I asked how far to the second checkpoint, he looked at his watch and said "its about 7 kilometers to the checkpoint, but there is a mandatory cutoff at 3pm.". It was 3:15 pm. I responded "what?". "Your kidding me right?". He nodded as we passed and said "sorry." Paul, in a panic, immediately left our company and I was sure that he regretted hanging out with us and even taking photos as we did, funny or not. Paul, without much to explain and knowing that he didn't need to explain, left us and fast.

I was imagining this, I was not believing the volunteer was serious. As far as I knew, the last checkpoint cutoff was 5pm, not 3pm. That means that it would take racers and pros, 1 hour from aid station 1 to aid station 2. Both Roy and I thought this was impossible. Its was like a 3 1/2 hour jaunt from aid 1 to aid 2 for us, there was no way the pros can even make it in an hour, there's just no way. Nevertheless, he said the words...we were cutoff and we had 7 kilometers to go. I felt so bad, I could simply stop and puke on my shoes. I was totally wasted physically and now after 7 days of hard work, completely demoralized. I was crushed in every since of the word. I wanted to believe it was a joke. As we rode on discussing how it has to be a mistake, we came upon Gary and Francisco, the "bread" to the "american meat" I wrote about in earlier posts. I asked them if they were as demoralized as we were, they looked back and shook their head yes.

We continued on for a short period only to find the dreaded checkpoint. The checkpoint was right next to the finish line. The volunteer doing his job looked at us, apologized and placed a blue tag on our front race bibs attached to the bike. He than told us to go through to the finishing chute. Despite my need to communicate with someone that has a voice in the midst of the drama, I went through the chute. While everyone smiled and laughed I held back from breaking down. Roy continued his picture taking and was un phased by the decision. We both knew it was a bad decision on the race's part. We continued to press on to talk with Dean, the race director. As more racers showed up to chat with him, tempers started to fly. Arms were crossed and the defenses starting going up. Bob Forster was particularly livid and kept saying "I spent two grand on this and I'm gettin a medal!" He led the angry brigade to the race director. We stood in a circle around him everyone taking their turns in griping to him. All of the reasons were legitimate. The Austin couple asked a very simple question: "how long did it take the pros to go from checkpoint 1 to check point 2?". Dean responded "I don't have that information.". Hook. Line and sinker, I thought. How could you possibly not know how fast the pros are doing this when every checkpoint that you used in this race was based on doubling the pros times? Than Roy, the journalist, finally spoke and softly whispered to Dean, standing next to him, "it's bad PR Dean.". I almost had a smile so big that you could fit a banana in it sideways. He asked for a small break from the ranting, growing crowd that was metastisizing around him. We allowed them to talk. There was really only one rational decision. Low and behold, they came back and said "I'm sorry.". "We were wrong." There was collective sigh of relief. Bob Forster, leaned over and offered me a chocolate chip cookie. Dean and us begin to debate what the best way for us to finish to get our "mojo" back. We all agreed that doing the last 5k together and re-crossing the finish line with the biggest pack of the BPA yet was the best idea. We all agreed and set off for our final ride. 20 minutes later we went through the finish line having done every last inch of the 2008 BC bike race. We shot a giant group photo and received our medals. We crossed the finish line and the volunteers handing out the shirt said the very thing that all BPA'ers are concerned with: were out of medium size shirts. Instead, I took two larges and chose to be happy. In spite of the fact that we were thrilled to receive the medals and finish the race, we complained that there was no date on them or even a description of what they were for. It was just the logo of the BC race, a totem pole icon with huge eyes and fingernails. Francisco, the mexican piece of" bread" smiled and said "I could have bought this at a porno store", we all cracked up.

Not knowing what to do next Roy and I left to head to the banquet. We took showers in the bathroom at the Westin without having a room there. We dressed quickly and we were off to eat. We took the gondola to the top and 20 minutes later we arrived. We grabbed as much prime rib and chicken as possible and started eating. Dean , the race director took the mic from Drew the announcer and to our shock and awe, began suggesting to everyone in the room what happened at the finish line. He began by saying the race made a very grave mistake this afternoon and he wanted to apologize to everyone and asked that anyone that was effected by this come up to the stage. Roy looked at me and said "he isn't talking about us.". I said, "yes he is, let's go to the stage.". As we walked up there, the entire room rose from their seats and began hooting and hollering and clapping. We stood up there with Gary the canadian, Francisco, the mexican to our right and a mixed team, the weapons of ass destruction to our left. The crowd was giving us a standing ovation, we couldn't believe it. Roy leaned over to me and said "we got our mojo back.".

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We finished the BC bike race!

2008-07-04T19:11:00.001-07:00

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Against all odds, we finished the BC bike race. Stay tuned for post race report! Roy and I have to eat now.
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Day 7, the last and final stage

2008-07-04T08:16:00.001-07:00

Wow! I never would have imagined we would be here. Funny thing is, I can't imagine not being here after this degree of hard work and dedication to finishing this race. It is truly a pleasure going with someone experienced like Roy. Roy has a great sense of humor and is really a pleasure to be around when your physically at your limits. There are cutoffs in todays race and the expected times are around 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Not sure what the elevation gain is but whatever it is, it will dwarf in comparison to all the other days (see times posted). I have spent so far approximately 48 hours in the saddle since the beginning of this race. Wow! Today is supposed to be 47 kilometers and a technical ride down Whistler's most famous trails. It should prove to be a great finishing ride. We are now in the home stretch as we complete our mission here at the BC bike race. Stay with us for the last days report and a post race report that is sure to make you laugh! We will be uploading pictures to my blog so stay tuned. Here we go day 7!!

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Asking about the BPA and stage 6

2008-07-04T00:48:00.001-07:00

Paul, a BPA-moonie, explaining how a young tree grows from a stump
This morning we woke up to rain and an eventual thunder and lightning storm. 630am was the food call. I also woke up to a miraculous healed lower left leg. I think it needed to rest and I finally got about 7 hours.

I was nervous about today. Nervous because my bike's rear shock somehow blew out and I had no rear suspension. I hadn't slept more than 4 hours a night since I have been here. I wasn't sure how difficult today was going to be. It has been raining all night. Most of all, I was nervous at the start gate.

I filled up my water bladder and headed out to find Roy. I lined up in the starting chute for the 6th day in a row. I chalked up my nervousness as "pre-race jitters", just as I had done all week. Roy and I met, set a plan and were ready for the start. I go through my usual pre-ride check...coffee, sunglasses, couple swigs of water, and quick squeeze of the brakes. After thinking how technical this day is going to be I squeezed my brakes with force, snapping the rear brake cable. The announcer was counting down and my bike just broke!! I looked at Roy in absolute shock and disbelief. I immediately turned the bike around and headed for the mechanics. They fixed it and I was back in the race in about 5 minutes (thanks goodness for mechanical disc brakes). I raced back to the start to find Roy and we left, except I thought "the racers had left and we had no idea where the went." We asked everyone we saw and they lead us right to them. Roy and I were concerned we weren't going to make the cutoffs again so we had been turning the volume up and were really cranking to catch up.

I could go on and on about the ride and I was anticipating a long brutal ride, it wasn't that bad at all. We made it through legendary routes such as "The Plunge" and part of "Test of Metal" and the famous "Bonk Hill."
The truth is, none of what we did compared to previous days. We got to checkpoints in a leisurely way with an hour to spare. It was technical and fun...we did great and we are still wiped out.

Suunto reports: 62 kilometers. Minimum heart rate 64, max heart rate 193, average heart rate 127, total elevation gain 5530.

Once again the BPA did its job and is really cooking with gas now. Before we left this morning, Paul, a local rider and business man from Seattle approached us and asked "hey guys, can I ride with you two today? I lost my partner.". We said "your probably faster than we are and we will hold you back.". He responded, "well quite frankly I want to go slow." We immediately responded and said "sure.". Paul was automatically in; he NOR'd because his teammate fell out. As soon as we starting riding together we began indoctrinating him into the BPA. He said that he didn't know about the BPA but did notice that we were slow. Information was being shared at the highest levels. After sharing everything from what we eat to our commitment of finishing, he was an immediate convert to the BPA cause. For Paul, a middle aged man who perhaps is not understood by his family and friends because of his love of mountain biking, he seemed to have latched on to the concept as if it was lifesaver being thrown to a man overboard drowning in conventional thought and lifestyle. He had become a BPA moonie-more BPA than the founders themselves. At one point he turned to Roy and said in a non-mocking, serious tone "they (the rest of the world) just don't understand the BPA.". It was clear to us that he was having the time of his life-this millionaire business man who buys and sells businesses for a living, wheeling and dealing with titans of industry was now using the BPA to tap his inner soul. BPA-changing lives.

So far we have completed every race in its alooted time frames. Issues started to come up about us no longer being "back of the packers" because we finished stage 5. We had a minor rebellion on our hands. We got criticism from both sides, BPA'ers and mid-packers. Two slow women with blue tagged number plates indicating they were now NOR rolled up to us at the start and said "since you guys made the time cuts you are no longer real BPA members." Roy shut them down immediately by saying "we didn't make the cut, we actually missed it by three minutes.". "There was no one behind us and they let us slide in.". We are still bonafide BPA. On the other hand, our old roommates Francisco, the mexican, and Gary, the canadian (who also referred to the four of us as a geographical sandwich with them being the two pieces of "bread" and us being the "american meat". They said that because we made it and didn't get cut we are really not BPA members. Roy looked at Gary the Canadian, than at me and back at the Canuck and said "that's not true. We are just at the back of a new pack."

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Day 6 and its pouring rain

2008-07-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Rtain or shine, hell of high water we are going to complete this but I need everything to gather together and make some encouraging comments. This is going to be by fas and away the most difficult day. Will keep you posted. To verify the weather, look it up...Squamish, BC. Thunder and lightning.
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We made the 1pm cutoff!

2008-07-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier I wrote in my blog that there was a cutoff time of 3:00pm to board the ferry during the fifth stage of this race.. I received bad information on the cutoff. It was to aid station 2 by 1pm or face NOR (not officially racing). We would have been completely disqualified from the race. Fortunately we made it yet again by the skin of our teeth. The climbing today was massive and relentless so that 1pm cutoff was very important to me and Roy and to the BPA.
We made it right on time...literally. I was pushing my physical limits to the max I could and wasn't going to give up or give in. We did it! Unfortunately for our friends in the back of the pack and anyone behind us, they did not make it. We are not sure if they will be allowed to race or not tomorrow. At dinner people came up to us asking if we made it. We also received a couple of "I knew you guys could represent us." There was a little disappointment underneath our success.
There were many reasons this was important to us today, a decisive victory.

The 1pm cutoff was very important to Roy and I and the BPA. It was important for us to make this challenge. First off, we have to be the "first of the worst", after all we created the back of the pack association and we have to live up to it. Secondly, we have to show we have earned respect from the front and mid packers and the cycling world. We also need to be taken seriously and show that we finished the event just like they did. Lastly, we don't want to have to do this again and cross it off our own biking bucket list.

We set off this morning with me taking the lead, setting a blistering pace. Roy didn't feel all that well and was falling behind before we hit the trail head. We knew there were massive climbs today and although we didn't know how long they were, we continued pushing at a blistering pace. Bob Forster attempted to ride with us for a short period of time and even shared some snacks, but at one stop, out of breath, he said "you guys are killing it today." Bob stayed with us for a little while until he flatted out, got sent back and ended the day with a NOR (not officially racing) or disqualified. We had about 20 kilometers to go and it was about 1130am. We thought we had alotted enough time because we were hammering this morning. At aid station 2 Roy's stomach was screwed up and riding anything this long day after day with a messed up stomach will easily taint the day. Roy had to use the washroom (the woods) and didn't come back for 20 minutes. We were concerned and scared that his dump was going to cost us the race. I said "what happened?". Roy responded with a head shake and said "it just kept coming.". It was so bad that "Man Mountain" Ted caught up to us at the checkpoint. By the way Ted is 260lbs, not 230lbs as I previously posted. We thought "our goose is cooked.". What the canadians call SPHE (steaming pile of human evacuation) almost destroyed our race.

We climbed about 6500 feet today. The single track here is growing increasingly difficult. Its far more technical riding than I have ever done. Things like braking when your going up hill or even holding the brakes on simultaneously putting pressure on the pedals to slowly hop over a large root and not go too fast on the other side requires all of your body's strength. Things like that were occurring all the time, try ever 20 feet. There were ladder crossings over beautiful waterfalls, some of which I would ride over, others I wouldn't. One mistake there and your in the drink, and probably with a broken body part. I stayed clear of the really technical stuff, I need to finish this and not break myself in the process.

The race itself is growing with the number of people dropping out with major injuries or having to go to the hospital for IV re-hydration. Although it wasn't as hot as the first day, people are still considering dropping out. In the case of an australian who pushed himself too far on day three needed 3 bags of intravenous fluids and he didn't come back to see day four.

Suunto stats: 65 kilometers, max heart rate 198, min 72, total elevation gain 6490 feet. Highest elevation we made it to was 2585.

I am not without pain and swelling. I also have some issue with either the bottom of my calve or my achilles tendon and I can only guess its either from the massive amount of hike-a-bike we have had to do. Make no mistake, traveling across Canada in this manner is taking its toll on my body. I could barely walk after day five and I am very concerned about finishing this race now. Being injured would be the most disappointing thing after all we have done and accomplished. Ice and advil is in order tonight and I hope the pain will subside and I can continue on. One of my good buddies suggested that my glory will last longer than my pain, I just hope I can carry enough of that faith to believe that.
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3:00am update- its pouring rain here now and Roy is still somewhere in Squamish with his bike working at some internet cafe. I just received an email from him which I will upload to the blog soon. Its clear now that even taking the time to update this blog with Roy late at night has also taken its toll on my body. We are proud to have gotten as far as we have without injury or being disqualified yet. Very excited to also know there are only two more days as well.

I can say without a doubt that I am in the best cardio shape I have ever been in. What would you expect, we have been riding 40+ hours in 5 days. If our bodies aren't completely broken by now, they are becoming incredibly strong. Imagine those 40 hours you spent working at your job, now imagine doing it from the comfort of a bike seat. I kicked a$$ yesterday and felt great! The overuse injury is scaring me but I will push through it and wake to our biggest challenge yet...day 6. Massive climbs are expected and from what we can tell, rain or shine, it looks to be the hardest day of all. Most of the people in the BPA that haven't been cut yet will probably be cut on day 6. Wish us luck and we will do everything we can to fight through the rain and the pain.

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Ongoing promotion

2008-07-02T07:36:00.001-07:00

It seemed as if in 24 hours the BPA had metasticized into the talk of the town. Even a mid packer, Grant, from Steamboat Springs, CO was concerned that if something should go wrong in his race, he can still join the group. Roy and I looked at each and joked. This association has a life of its own now. The BPA has struck a chord and is truly the voice of the people. Roy and I actually started this as a joke but soon realized that it really is spreading through this race. People know that hanging out at the back of the pack is a lot more fun. It allows all of us to connect to others with similar interests. Take our word for it, at every rest stop people were joking around about the BPA. Some were chanting B-P-A, B-P-A, B-P-A!
Dave Dirkson, a local canadaian said "people in the front of the pack, were drinking water and a coke out of his cooler. The people in the back half of the race were eating potato chips and asking where is the local liquor store?"
You see, there is a significant attitude diffrence in the back of the pack vs. front of the pack. They may have a picture taken on the podium at the end of the race, but for us that podium shot is just the beginning.

The second subject matter of the day: bear poop. When Roy openly admitted to not seeing and being totally oblivious to the profusion of bear scat on our route people were shocked. So today many people came up us talking about their bear poop sightings. While we made it to checkpoint 2, a guy came up and said "hey Roy, I got a picture of bear poopy for ya and if you give me an email address, I can mail it to ya, eh?" Roy responded and I heard "I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but did you get perspective on the photo?". He look confused and said "what do you mean, eh?" So Roy and I set off to show him how to take a picture with a proper perspective. We left the first aid station and shortly after found a SPBE as they call it in BC. It stands for a "steaming pile of bear evacuation." See uploaded photo for perspective. As word swept, a dozen people cam up to see the photo during dinner.

Todays ride is probably what everyone actually tuned in for. We woke up at 4am to take a shuttle to a bus that took us to a ferry to the mainland, back on a bus, and to another ferry where we landed on the Sunshine Coast, Canada's most beautiful stretch of land.
The race started at 11am and I thought to myself, "this cant be that long of a day." Boy, was I wrong.
We started off in a big pace line only we weren't in it, we were in the back as usual. Roy stopped 5 minutes into the race start to snap a photo of the SUNSHINE COAST where we would be riding that day. I bet very little people know why its called the Sunshine Coast? One interesting note is that Vancouver Island mountains hold all the clouds and as a result keeps all the rain on the island... That folks is why it is called the Sunshine Coast. Remember We will be riding the mainland side of the Georgia Strait.

We were told about the single track and the "power line" trail. There was a buzz in the air. It seemed as if everyone was excited for a recover day...it was hardly that. Sunto reports: min 42, max 206, average heart rate 123, total ascent 5500ft, 65 kilometers. All of it was inside a heavily fortified forest with no wind, little air flow, massive dropouts and laddered crossings. Most of these crossings were composed of a falling trees that have had the upside of it shaved flat. There are mile and miles of this twisty, turny, whoopdie-doos. Made only for the proven mountain biker, these trails are like the graduate school of mountain biking and only doable by experienced riders but we are not 4 hour finishers. There is so much work riding these trails that we had to literally stop, get off the bikes, take a breath and walk for five minutes. I had never seen or heard Roy curse. Roy said all of George Carlin's curse words, three times throughout the day. Once when he went over the bars from a hole hidden deep in the tall grass. Another time when his chain snapped. Then, about 200 yards from the finish, one pedal up, one pedal down got caught on a rock and slammed him to the ground jabbing his handlebar into his chest. I immediately picked the camera up, shot a couple of pictures and then asked if everything is ok?
Finishing time 7:58:10

Today was a tiring day. We spent the night in Cumberland at the "riding fool" hostel. Roy and I bunked in with 6 other people in a large room. We woke at 4am to take a bus that will take us to a BC ferry that will help us get to the mainland. The short bus driver really was a simple minded guy as the night before I had been pulling our luggage out of the back of his van when he started the van and took off, I hadn't even closed the doors. I had to give a loud whistle for him to stop. He picked us up and started a mad dash to drop us off in time to catch another bus that will lead us to the ferry. He was driving like a weenis, so I decided to put a seat belt on. We made it to the bus in record time (or say he says), than the bus driver...oh god help us the bus driver. Someone asked him "where do we put the luggage?". He shrugged and said "I have no idea.". Someone made an attempt at placing them in the side where luggage usually goes and he shook his head and said "no, not in there.". We literally picked them up and brought them inside this skinny hallway of a school bus and started placing all the bags sticking them one atop another in the seats. I thought myself, this guy is an idiot.

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Day Four begins

2008-07-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

Today was an early wake up call. We had to get up at 4:15am to catch a bus that will transport our gear, luggage and worn out bodies to the ferry terminals. We are crossing the Georgia straight today and heading to the mainland for our next adventure. We expect another relatively good day for weather, food and fun. I am not sure how fun it will be though. It is expected to be yet another tough, technical single track. I took a pounding yesterday on the last 10K.

We are expected to carry our bike clothes and gear separate from our luggage as these will be taken from us once on the ferry. We will then be taken to the bike staging area and begin riding from there. Apparently breakfast will be served in the hour and a half required to cross the ferry.

I think they are purposely throwing wrenches in this race to separate the hard core from the meager. Aid stations far from where they should be, torchering stairs to reach the food, and now possibly sea sickness while eating breakfast on day four? Needless to say, today will be interesting.

We actually were at the front of the breakfast line today! First time all week!
We really did get the opportunity to mock the other racers and tell them that we made it to the food line before the sausages were burnt and the waffles were soggy!

My legs are hammered and am super sore. I need advil, tylenol, anything really to kill the pain. We will be taking the ferry over to the mainland, than a bus to the next ferry. We should be on the trail at around 8am. Prepare yourselves for more on day four. We are doing our best to prepare ourselves.
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BPA-Back of the Pack Association

2008-06-30T23:06:00.001-07:00

Roy, consuming a can of WBD-Weapon of Bear Distraction
sI have noticed the one good thing about being at the back of the pack. Its that we experience complete silence at the finish line. Most people have gone home by then and the band has already packed it in and left hours ago. The second day Roy and I were shocked to learn there were cheerleaders at the finish line for the pros. They had all since left by the time we finished. The BPA, however, is growing as people after 3 days are starting to fall apart, figuratively and physically. The back of the pack association with its founding members Roy Wallack and Ed Korb are producing a serious buzz in this race as it increases in difficulty. We arrived back at our tent today after yet another 8 hour+ day and to our surprise, people were asking if they could join. Everyone was asking what did "Tinker" do today? We said "Tinker who?" The people that worked the hardest were the ones out there the longest. "If people aren't going to recognize us, we are going to recognize ourselves!", adamantly said Roy, our founding chairman, who stayed around the finish line after our 8 1/2 hour time. Roy greeted and inducted new members with a congratulotory hand shake and a photo in the case of Bob Forster and "mountain man" Ted, the last finishers at 9:10:40 after the race organization tore down the finish line.

As we walked, yes walked to the community center of Cumberland to eat dinner and enjoy the awards ceremony, we once again celebrated our victory as the first back of the packers. We walked there with a hiccup in our get up, my legs are sore, and walking up and down curbs hurt. When we arrived at the community center, we asked "where is the food?". One of the volunteers responded "two flights of stairs down that way" and pointed to a series of staircases outside that led to the food. I started to feel the room spin and thought to myself this must be a bad joke they are playing on us now. First they run out of water on the hardest and hottest day, making us ride another 22 kilometers to fetch water, than these stairs??

Suunto reports: max heart rate 210, minimum 73, average heart rate 130, total elevation gain 5290 feet. The rate of elevation gain was sturdy throughout the day. Fortunately the day was mostly in the forest. The forest is interesting, especially coming from Southern California. Its very muggy, and it really dehydrates you quickly if you aren't aware of it. At one point we took a picture of the sweat running off my balding head. It looked as if someone poured water over me.. We continued in and out of forests and at one point climbed to about a high point of 1572 feet where we could see snowy topped mountains.

The ride started out with a loop at Alberni stadium and than with the help of a police escort (which we didn't see) we moved through the town and out onto fire road. At first, the climbing seemed a bit innocent, but than the grades started to get steeper and steeper. We found ourselves at the base of a wild, untouched forest, single file with about 100 other racers. As we ascended through the forest, the cyclists bottled necked the landscape and recruitment started for the back of the pack association. Jokes ensued and finally at the top, already sweating profusely, everyone refrained from talking as we made our way down technical single track. We meandered through the forest and headed out to more logging road.

As we rode, we noticed bear droppings all over the place. We knew there were bears and they smelled close. I turned to Roy and told him we are safe because we carry in our packs at all times a WBD (weapon of bear distraction): a can of sardines soaked in olive oil. It is now revealed to the public for the first time for surviving any lengthy endurance challenge. Its also great because we don't have to share this vital protein source because the aromatic pungency is overwhelming for the uneducated. It also packs really well. In the case of a bear attack, we would crack open a can of this priceless delicacy, only to sacrifice it for our survival by throwing it away from us leading the bear to his natural and favorite food.

Today was approximately 62 kilometers and the last 10k really was the beast. The large trees that riddled the windy single track make for difficult and very technical riding. As we made our way through, we quickly realized that we were in for a complete and full body workout. We began hopping in and out of the saddle to make it over and through large roots and every so often leaving the comfort of the saddle to miserably walk the bikes up a 10 foot hill only to look on and realize we need to do that again in another 20 feet. I felt as if I was juking my bike to get over these obstacles and at times I had to forcibly stop pedaling and quickly start with jarring force. We really had to be tenacious. At one point, we approached a volunteer and I asked him "about 10k to go, right?". Sadly he responded with "well, 10k of forest.". We knew we were in for it. The last four volunteers we saw continued offering up distances to us but really these were meaningless. 10k of forest is much different than 10k. When the terrain requires you to stand, sit, hop off and walk, get back on, move to the sides, juke your bike upwards and try not hitting the trees with your bar ends, it is hardly worth identifying any distance at all. Please, in the future just suggest how long a back of the packer will take to complete it. Our finishing time was 8:32:11.

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Day three begins

2008-06-30T07:32:00.001-07:00

Apparently there is much single track to ride today. The bad news is my knee is still swollen from going over the bars and slamming it against that rock. ; ( it seems like after 125 kilometers yesterday its slightly more swollen than the day before. Yikes, if yesterday was a peak and a rest day for many, I don't feel rested. I feel like a pitiful piece of meat that has just been tenderized.

One cool thing though was late last night we were interviewed by a reporter on what we eat for a continued contention, scratch that-relentless dominance in the back of the pack. She was fascinated by our diet and how real we were. We are bringing a sense of reality to a world that carrys very little water and streamlines their food consumption to be faster and stronger. We are the #1 team in the back of the pack and make no mistake, we are proud. Real oranges need real peeling and we are the ones to do it. Stay tuned for day three completion.
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Peaks and Valleys

2008-06-29T20:34:00.001-07:00

360LB "Man Mountain" Ted, with Bob Forster, came in after the finish line was torn down
Roy's fruit & peanut pants, with Ed
Well, todays stats for those of you keeping track... Suunto reports; 125 kilometers, 3650 feet of elevation gain, average heart rate 127, max 202, minimum 73.

Today was what I would call the desert of Canada, not much to see or take pictures of, with the exception of the Port Alberni inlet. An interesting statistic while we were standing there shootings pictures. The water was almost completely sucked out of the inlet when the recent Tsunami hit. When you see it, its amazing to think that fish were flopping around the bottom when that Tsunami hit. Just kidding about the flopping fish but the water really did drop dramatically.

The beauty was in the last 2km. The last 2km was absolutely phenomenal. Overgrown forrests, log chutes, stump launches and giant ferns. I slowed down at one point while Roy came fast on my tail, I asked for complete silence while we listened to the forrest...birds we have never heard before, snakes slithering on the ground, bears moaning in the distance or we thought...truly amazing. We let out a couple of yelps just to here the ricochet of our voices. The tight, rolling single track wound up and around huge trees and dropped like a fast roller coaster right into the coast of a fast flowing river. The forrest was really like a sauna, and we couldn't escape the smell of musk and plant matter being recycled in nature like mulch. We made a u-turn there and began heading back into the thick of the forrest. We had a little more than a half a kilometer to go. We ended the day cruising into the field of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. We did almost one full lap on their quarter mile track before we crossed the finish line with a time of 8:12:10.

The really interesting thing was that I suppose in these events you really never know when your going to need a mommy or play mommy. I happened to play mommy for Roy today. He started out tired and groggy this morning, and continued not feeling well. I had to encourage him to eat at some of the water stations and checkpoints. Roy can endure some serious pain even while not feeling all that well. He hung with me most of the day except when we hit 65 kilometers. Something got into him and he took off relentlessly. He either wanted to take a shower badly or he just ate one of his favorite foods, an orange.

He told me that eating an orange for him is like, well, its like, use your imagination. In the morning while packing our packs and other things Roy decided to put that huge basket of oranges for breakfast to good use. He took four oranges and stashed them in his bike shorts. He looked like he had some sort of strange growth on the sides of his legs. He also had a handful of peanuts on the other side of his shorts. He really looked like the elephant man. Everyone had been asking Roy about the bulge in his shorts and after the laughter subsided, they were like "no really, what is that.". Roy answered "I am just happy to see you..". After telling the truth, they were stunned and at that point we began asking ourselves what do these people eat? Gels and other stuff...please. We have real food but it doesn't make us faster, after all, who wants to take the time to peel an orange or open a can of sardines when your in contention! We were in contention alright, with three back of the packers representing Forster Physical Therapy, including Bob Forster himself and Michael Dubin. Both these guys having done the Transalp challenge and their partner Ted, a man mountain who at an estimated 230lbs, we decided, is easily the finest athlete here pound for pound. After all, he was almost keeping up with us. Their time 8:18:27

Oh ya, last but not least, logging road are extremely dangerous to mountain bike on. Occasional cars are doing 60mph and the road is hardly paved. Loose gravel through vast swaths of clearcut forrest ruled the day.

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Day two begins

2008-06-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

125 kilometer leg through logging roads riddled with heat. While the traverse was 106 and I finished, it is much dryer here and when the sun starts in on you, it is literally cooking you. I am not looking forward to this. I don't want to make any assumptions but if I can get through today, the climbing for the rest of the week will be tough but I will probably have a bit more confidence. Right now my confidence is shot and I am hungry!

Ok so the word on the street today is that this will be a 125 road ride on the mountain...its still provides me with very little confidence. Will keep you posted, literally.
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Ok, now I am scared

2008-06-28T21:58:00.001-07:00

Today was absolutely brutal. Here are the stats as Suunto X6 sees it, max heartrate 203, min 79, average heart rate 141, 5720 feet of climbing and believe me, I felt like every bit of it. 90 kilometers of absolute pain and agony. I seemingly bonked early this time as about half way through the race, my downhill skills were falling apart and I went over the bars on a steep non-technical downhill. I face planted and slammed my knee on a rock and sliced it right open.

I was going through all kinds of pain, frustration, gear problems, and most of all depression when I got back as most of the field was already here. ; (

When we sat down to eat, the route was explained to us...125 kilometers. I am without a doubt frightened for what tomorrow will bring. The saving grace: there is no saving grace.
Fortunately Roy is still calm, cool and collected.

I did see a part of Roy I haven't seen before. While we made the cutoff by the skin of our teeth, I was in bad shape and he was in front. I heard a disembodied voice saying "Ed, its 15 to 3, Ed its 10 to 3, Ed we only have 5 minutes!". Roy was asking that I throw the hammer down.. I couldn't. I was hammered. Finally at 3pm, we arrive. I am out of water, I am feeling horrible and they are out of water. Out of nowhere came this Canadian accent suggesting another water station 22 kilometers away. I thought to myself, 'you have got to be kidding me.' I started eating what was there. We ate what we could and left. I am growing emotional as we continue uphill...and finally some reprieve the downhill. We started heading down only to experience more pain, and specifically in my hands! I thought, I just can't get a break, can I?'. 22 kilometers a nice man with about 6 5 gallon sparkletts says 'you want water, eh?'. I said '. I was about to drink my own urine!' We had about 25 kilometers to go, all flat and straight...thankfully...but unfortunately I was still in the woods literally and figuratively...I was still showing signs of weakness and fatigue. I had to stop at least 3 times to eat and drink. Still didn't help, I was just simply tired and broken and nothing was helping. I continued on, crossed the finish line with a time of 8:50:13 and 182 place out of 187. Things like this makes me just want to stay home play legos.

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Day one begins

2008-06-28T08:13:00.001-07:00

This day is finally here and I woke up not as nervous as I was the night before which in some ways was good and in some bad. I am also still not as hydrated as I liked to be.
I am nervous still about the first couple of days as I believe today specifically consists of something around 90 kilometers. I am concerned about the hydration so I am taking endurolytes and pounding water. The weather looks a little warmer than I had prepped for which is a good thing. My experience with the traverse at 106 should put me into a good situation today. I think I am not that nervous today because Roy is not nervous at all. Everyone knows that Roy is always calm, cool and hardly collected at these events but he is calm. Maybe I have false sense of security at the start line. I think Roy really does draw some confidence from people that are more overweight than he is and maybe I am using them as a floor as well. We were sitting with Dubin, Forrester
And his seemingly large teamate which I don't know his name. He seems to be our gauge on how many pictures we will be able to take and how much food we will be able to eat before he catches up to us. Hmm, I wonder if that's why I am not nervous.
I would be would willing to bet others in this breakfast room think the same way of Roy and I. They are probably saying to themselves 'we can easily beat those guys.'
Wish us luck. Oh ya, Roy is still eating.
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Uhhghhghh

2008-06-27T12:29:00.001-07:00

We just boarded the ferry to cross in 50 minutes and I feel ill... Havnt gotten sick yet but I can feel my recent mediterranean breakfast. Roy continues to eat unphased by the rolling waves....
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Making our way to Canada!

2008-06-27T12:22:00.001-07:00

Well we are in day two of travel from the OC to victoria island. Today we will be waking up and travelling from Vancouver, Wa to Port Angeles and over to Victoria Island. We were scheduled to leave our hotel at 430am to make a 1030 ferry to Victoria...that didn't happen as apparently that 12 hour drive and midnight workout at a Portland gym with Roy took its toll on me. I slept until about 630 and we left shortly after a shower. We arrived at Port Angeles at around 11am and are scheduled to walk on the ferry after some breakfast.

On another note; when I picked Roy up in Santa Cruz, he was at a specialized conference. I ended up meeting and speaking with a couple of famous people in the cycling industry. Mike Sinyard from Specialized is standing on my left and his lead product designer on my right. For all my fans back home... I will be signing autographs with the very hand that touched a biking genius! More from BC later. Oh ya and I will upload the pic soon.

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Today is the day!

2008-06-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

Friends and family,

As you all know by now, I am embarking on one of the biggest races of my life. I intend to race and complete the BC bike race. This race is 7 days long and is starting at Victoria, BC, traveling through the island and heading North to Whistler, BC. This event will cover fun and roller coaster like single track up and through back country and forrests. For this adventure and for safety I will be with my partner and friend, Roy Wallack. This is sure to be one of the biggest mountain biking events on the planet and I would like to invite everyone to follow me on this epic journey.

We will be embarking on this adventure today. We will begin by driving North up to Portland Oregon stopping only for coffee and of course, Seattle's very own REI! Once in BC the race will start at Shawnigan Lake on Victoria Island. You can check out the actual race and route here: http://www.bcbikerace.com. The website will detail the route and all that we will experience on our way. Along the route, we will wind through 9 awesome west coast communities that will showcase the elements that make BC what is is today, a phenomenal experience or athletes and adventurers alike.

I have estimated that the race itself will be about 329 miles and approximately 33000 ft of vertical elevation gain over the 7 day race. Certainly not a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. I will be riding through almost the entire island of Victoria and heading Northeast to the mainland where will finish by climbing to an approximate elevation of 8800ft to Whistler. The race will finish by heading down some of the most famous and fun trails on the Earth. With alot of training, hard work, food, food, and more food, I hope to finish. Yes, I did say food three times.

I will also be documenting Roy and my travels via my own personal blog which I hope to update daily, probably in the evenings. You can visit the blog here: http://www.bloodmudandbeer.blogspot.com. I will be describing my adventures every day and I will do my very best to also upload pictures. This should be alot of fun for all of us, and if your watching from home, there will be a variety of sites that will have current race results, I am not sure which ones specifically though so you may have to do a quick search. A few important links are also on the blog, please visit them! Take the time to bookmark these pages and find out whether or not I make it through the whole 7 days!!

This will be the one of the most difficult things and I am intimidated by what I have agreed to do. I probably should have just considered staying on the couch...NOT! We are committed, and we will finish. Watch the blog for updates and pictures and follow me as I journey through some of the most epic scenery in North America. Thanks for your support!

Follow me here and bookmark this: http://www.bloodmudandbeer.blogspot.com

Visit the race site http://www.bcbikerace.com
Visit my grant contributor: http://www.rei.com
Visit my partner's book and take a look at his pictures here: http://www.bikeforlifebook.com

P.S. I would also like to acknowledge a couple of people that helped make this happen:

Dad-Although my Dad doesn't quite understand why I do things like this, and maybe I don't either, he has always made me a better person for trying and continuing to help me persevere. Without perseverance, there would be not cycling or any kind of these endurance events. Thanks Pop!
Norma- Without the help of Norma, her invitations to come over and enjoy a meal, I would not have this little pouch of a belly that will sustain me through my most epic adventure yet. Thanks for the food and the great conversation!
Shawn-without my bro, I would have still been laying at Peters canyon with a broken clavicle. Thanks for your help, and taking me to the hospital, seriously!
Johnnie- I love trading and talking stocks! You kept me swinging to the fences to come up with some good ideas!! Thanks for hooking me up with these cycling dudes, in the end, your responsible.

Of Course, very little of this would not have been done if it wasn't for the unparalleled support of REI, thanks guys! You make me want to share this experience with everyone I work with and everyone I talk to!

I look forward to sharing the stories with you when I get back. Thanks again!

Best regards,

Ed Korb