We made the 1pm cutoff!

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

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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