2010 TR Stage Two, Fernie to Elkford

BEAUTY—we woke up this morning to sunshine and a partly cloudy sky! With comfortable temperatures and the “new” TransRockies start time of nine o’clock things were downright pleasant after the last 24 hours of miserable weather. We rolled out of downtown Fernie on time and began a mellow climb that would last for 30km and ultimately gain 1000 vertical meters. While there were some steep sections, there was plenty of opportunity to get things sorted out.

Apparently the third place team in our category wanted to prove that they were here to win and made the top ahead of everyone else! We were a considerable distance back and came through the second checkpoint in second place just ahead of the leaders. After the aid station, we entered a rolling jeep road that was filled with HUGE puddles. Some of them were possible to ride around, but for the most part we were all getting thoroughly soaked and the rhythm Jon and I had enjoyed early in the climb seemed to vanish as we entered the single track near the top.

It was still slickened from the rain, and we lost contact with the group we had been riding with and soon were passed by some others before started the descent called Porky Blue. This is a freshly completed trail that plummets all the way back to the valley in a relatively continuous drop. There were some steep switchbacks and short ups, and for the most part is was a real gas!

Once we bottomed out, we spent the second half of the day on paved and gravel roads that rolled up and down about 150 vertical meters all the way to the finish in Sparwood, British Columbia, home of the “Worlds Largest Truck”—or so they say! Jon and I were able to make up some time on the big downhill and continued to ride well the rest of the stage, but were never able to re-connect with the category leaders and ended up third on the day. It was nice to stand on the podium again at TransRockies this evening and hopefully we will make it back again later in the week.

After the finish, we shuttled a short trip north to Elkford where we will start tomorrow’s stage. The venue here is awesome with a pool, library and shopping right on site. Tonight will also be my first in TR tent city so it will be interesting to see how effective the rest quotient is. The meals have been awesome and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting some old friends from past races as well as new ones from all over the world. While the competition can be intense, it dissipates quickly as we collectively catch up on time gone by and the day’s ups and downs.

Cheers from Elkford!