I will preface this very short post with this: I have never raced either of these events before because I thought it would be a drag... and guess what? IT WAS!!!

I have done a few criteriums (riding in circles) before but always as part of a stage race. Under these conditions crits are generally just a waste of time and you just ride around and get a time so I thought the Championships would be harder and therefore better. Wrong.

You can learn a lot from the title of this report... The most challenging part of Intermontane MTB stage race was in fact finding the course!

It was all supposed to be the perfect summer vacation to Canada and some riding in my wife's hometown (Kamloops, BC). In fact there was no vacation for me and the family couldn't come on the trip.

After a week of visiting chiropracters and massage therapists I seem to be feeling--ABOUT THE SAME! This is not cool at all. I have never been in a situation where my body has no real apparent damage yet I am being compromised by different ailments one after another.

First the knee. Then the hip. After than my chest--now my back. Like someone is picking the strings of my being one at a time...

Drove 20 hours or so with about 6 hours of sleep following the final stage of Breck Epic. Got into Oakridge just in time to stand in a giant line for dinner and get dialed in for the even more epic Cascade Cream Puff.

The CCP is probably one of the most well known 100 mile MTB races in the world. That being said, and me living in Oregon, I have never done it before! This year I was able to just squeeze it into my schedule but I regret to say I still haven't DONE it...

Wow, this had to be one of my all time struggles on a bicycle! I must humbly say that I was pretty much at the back today. Simply pedaling at any cadence or wattage was difficult, so I ambled around the track and collected my inaugural Breck Epic finishers belt buckle.

The course today was a nice combo of Gold Dust singletrack and some fireroads. Wouldn't have been hard on another day but my body seems to be imploding at the moment...

They just had to do it... seems like every MTB stage race ends up with some janky stage that leaves many of us scratching our collective heads.

Breck Epic was all over it today with climbing choice single tracks only to descend silly ski area service roads. That wasn't enough, though. BE served up a nice hike-a-bike through some sort of wetlands (evidently a hiker/biker political hot-button). Which leaves my to wonder why?

Why push ones bike through a marsh anyway? If the hikers want their muckhole tire-track free, then they can have it!

OH, YEAH!

Circumnavigation of Mt. Guyot is good. The folks from Breck Epic sure got this one right today! It was an awesome stage even in my previous said condition.

A ridiculous climb over the top of a high alpine saddle, some velo-schuss across a snowfield, face-cramping singletrack and more... All on a nearly cloudless day in the rockies.

Even if you can't make the 'Epic next year, go check out this ride...

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=859...

I slept better last night and felt decent at the start of today's short stage. However, the injury to my back has now manifest itself into my upper chest or maybe it is the other way around. Anyway, seems that along with my hip and knee, there is also a problem with some ribs...

Definitely put the damper on my breathing as well as the downhills today. The Pennsylvaia Stage included parts of the second and third loops of Breck 100 as well as pars of the Firecracker. So much for all new Breck singletrack!

Colder in the moho than outside when I woke up after a restless sleep. Beautiful day in the mountains, though.

Todays stage was basically the second loop of the Breck 100 so nothing new for me. However, the flat tire I suffered on the first descent was. Seems that my ultra tough Double Defense tires can even fall victim to Breckenridge. Nice gash right through the tread.

Uphill TT today. Was supposed to be rather long but the afternoon storms have set into the mountains and the race was shortened.

Probably good for me because I cannot bend my left knee much past 90 degrees and my back is a mess. I still got off to a decent start until about halfway when my front tire went flat. How does that happen in an uphill TT?

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8590120

Well, I am wondering the same thing... but it seems that the core in my presta valve loosened itself up. Lesson learned--check everything, I mean EVERYTHING!