After the brutally muddy stage yesterday, followed by the downpour and hideous mire that was the camp, we could only hope for some reprieve today. With my partner playing tour guide for a guest rider, I was free to roam, but uncomfortable teaming up with another duo. It seemed like it would either be a case of helping a team or hindering them and frankly, I had no idea how I would be riding anyway.

I checked in to the back of the first start block and rolled up the initial climb well back of any of the leaders. My objective was to simply ride as much as possible and make it to the finish quickly and in one piece before the afternoon weather started. Within five minutes we were in a downpour on cow trails that deteriorated into significant hike-a-bike. These steep slogs were immediately followed even steeper chutes where all of the elevation was lost in one frantic, downhill slide.

After a couple of these, we descended into another seemingly endless series of bogs and mud holes through streams and aspen clones. I was able to motor through the bulk of it overhauling rider after rider in what seemed like and even longer and harder plow than yesterday’s epic cow trail. Finally, we reached the checkpoint at 25km after what was like poop purgatory. Not even half way through the stage, but luckily the majority of the muck was behind us and we began to climb away from the wet meadows.

Two climbs and two fun descents were followed by a thigh deep wade through the Elbow River. We rode for a few more kilometers on roads both gravel and paved before entering the campground and the finish. I had passed all but three teams and felt pretty good about finishing so quickly without ever digging deep. It is nice to feel a little more effective on the bike after my April stack-up and resulting injury downtime.

I hammered some food and headed for the car to grab my stuff and shower. Not so fast—the keys were locked inside as were all my clothes and gear. Luckily I was able to borrow a towel and clothing and get a shower and bike wash before the afternoon deluge set in. Deluge it was, too, with torrential rain and hail for a couple hours. The temps plummeted and those still out on course must have been ruined by it all. Riders continued to trickle in even after the official nine hour cut-off, easily making this the longest stage of the race far in time despite being the second shortest in distance!

Tomorrow is the queen stage through the highest alpine trails of this year’s event—72km and 2250m of climbing. As we look up at the freshly snow-capped mountains we can only wonder what lies in store for us. Five down, two to go, and Canmore is becoming more than a light at the end of the proverbial stage race tunnel, so we can only rest up before tomorrow is upon us.

We left most of the TR3 competitors behind with a chilly, overcast start from the campground. After a frenetic sprint one kilometer to the first single track things began to sort out. It was a rolling descent that was pretty buff, and super fun even with the dampness of the morning. Before long we were up onto the highway for a short stretch until beginning our first climb to Grass Pass.

This portion of the route was mostly moto and cow trails of varying grade that were generally ridden with little trouble. Some folks seemed stuck in walking mode after yesterday, so we were able to work our way up to third place by simply riding more. A short descent gave way to another climb over Sullivan Pass. This ascent was more constant, and I was able to stay on the bike and enjoy the sunshine that was out and quickly burning away the morning gloom.

Jon was climbing well and we were in pretty good shape until the alder brush closed in halfway up. This seemed to be a bit of a distraction for him, and we fell back to fourth place across a rocky, false summit along the ridgeline. We were now in sight of second as we entered the alpine meadows near the top. The mountains were beautifully serene, and the weather perfectly calm and temperate. Nice enough that one could easily stop for picnic and a late morning nap!

There was no resting, though, as we crested the pass and dove back into the alders. They seemed solely purposed to remove all flesh from our lower extremities. The brush also made for some sketchy riding since it more or less camouflaged the trail ahead leaving some surprisingly large rocks and washes virtually unseen. We had really began to lose touch with the front runners in our category by the time we made checkpoint two near the bottom. The single trail gave way to smooth gravel road, and I could tell my partner was struggling now regardless of the terrain or surface.

This was unfortunate because we still had over 20km to ride and things were about to take a real turn for miserable. We exited the road and entered cow country full bore. I won’t elaborate, but imagine boggy meadows punctuated by patches of rooty woods and numerous streams—then add lots of cows living in the area. Essentially it was a mess; lots of mud holes, lots of poo, and lots of pushing. I kept myself mentally occupied by trying to ride through or avoid as much of the mud as possible, while Jon just seemed focused on putting one foot in front of the other just to make the finish.

On and on we toiled even passing a moto stuck in the mire. Luckily it was sunny and warm enough to be comfortable washing in the creeks while I waited for Jon to catch up. Finally, after a couple hours of this foolishness, we crossed the river onto a paved road for a few klicks to the finish at Anchor D Ranch. The camp is in none other than a muddy cow paddy! Unremarkably, it has been thunder storming most of the afternoon so I haven’t spent much time outside the tent. The scenery is rolling meadow and patchy forests of evergreen and aspen typical of the Rockies, however the big mountains are out of sight for the moment.

At this point, it looks like the overall podium was basically a pipe dream regardless of our issues yesterday so hopefully the weather will give us a break and we can ride our bikes more than we walk from here to Canmore. It must be a disappointment for Jon as he is legendary here at TR. Tomorrow he plans to take a day “off” and ride with his lady. In the meantime, we look forward to some “dude ranch” eats tonight—hopefully lots of meat and potatoes!

We started the race at 8:30 this morning as a precautionary measure since we were crossing the Continental Divide. The Rockies are notorious for afternoon thunderstorms and apparently it seemed like a good idea to get folks over the high alpine pass as early in the day as possible. The group rolled around Elkford for a few kilometers prior to heading north out of town on an undulating logging road climb.

Unfortunately, the road seemed to be heavily used and not very well maintained. The recent storms had left the road full of muddy ruts and puddles. A lack of any sustained climbing kept large groups of riders together which created dangerous chaos every time the road deteriorated as all of us tried to find the safest, driest line. While there was little gravel on the road, lots of large rocks were being dislodged. Jon and I were doing really as we neared the first check point and were riding in a large group at the front which contained most of the top riders.

About a hundred meters prior to the station, a rock the size of a softball flew towards me as I rode along the left edge of the road with nowhere to hide. While it just missed my leg and front wheel it slammed into the side of my rear wheel and instantly flatted the tire. Jon saw me pull off and asked if I was alright but I could only holler negatron as he rode on by. I was disgusted about the flat, but that is part of racing, so I was off the bike quickly and had the wheel and tire off in a flash. However, I couldn’t remove the mud covered nut holding the tubeless valve stem into the rim. No matter how hard a tried the mud was making it impossible to get a grip.

In the meantime, Jon had continued around the corner to the checkpoint to wait for me. Evidently he mistook another rider for me and rode through. For those of you new to team racing, the most basic rule is that riders on the same team must pass the checkpoint within two minutes of one another or incur time penalties. Jon realized his error and rode back to me about the time I was finally able to jam a rock against the valve just enough to get the nut free and put in a tube. Apparently the world’s slowest flat change wasn’t slow enough because the mud had fouled my CO2 inflator to the point that it wouldn’t seal properly and I resorted to pumping the tire by hand.

Eleven minutes later we were rolling again and slowly passed riders on the way to the second checkpoint where the climb began in earnest. I was able to scoot past some slower riders and rode much of the climb that others were pushing. Not only was it steep and muddy, it was completely overgrown with alder brush which ultimately ended up forcing me off my bike more than the grade or surface. We heard later that the BC Provincial Government in all its infinite wisdom would allow the trail to be pruned out, go figure!

I made in out of the thicket otherwise known as a trail a couple hundred meters ahead of Jon, cast my bike to the side, and ran back down to give him a bottle and a push. Before long, we were above the tree line and even momentarily caught the third place team who had also flatted. There were several more hike-a-bikes on the way over the pass before we began a steep, rocky descent into the valley below. The trail was technical and fun but I was concerned about another flat.

We picked our way down the blown out jeep road with me in the lead. Somewhere along the line I followed tracks off on a parallel single track and ended up about a hundred meters left of the marked route. While I could see that the two trails converged below, I wasn’t always able to see the other riders through the trees. The trail climbed above the jeep road and then dropped back down to it in less than a kilometer.

When I reached the bottom, I coasted for several minutes waiting for Jon while several riders we had passed on the climb rode by. He didn’t come so I slowed completely and was passed by a couple other riders. I asked them if they had seen him but none of them had. At that point I made the false assumption that he had gotten ahead of me and began to chase toward the finish. I passed several riders and teams but none had seen him so I rode as hard as I could to catch up with just eight kilometers remaining.

I reached the finish and was totally dismayed when Jon was nowhere to be found. I even told the officials that he was ahead of me but they claimed he hadn’t finished. The two minute window ticked by and finally Jon arrived giving us our second violation of the stage! This is the fifth time each of us has raced an event like this and neither of us had ever made this mistake. Today we both made it!

With an hour of penalty time accrued, our chances for the overall podium have come and gone. Regardless, will try to regroup and we may even try to make good on a stage podium or two. It is tremendously disappointing to lose a good race on such a silly note!

Let’s hope for better news tomorrow and thanks for reading. Oh, and NEVER, EVER, let your partner get out of sight!

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!

Hello again from the stunning town of Fernie, British Columbia. We arrived yesterday afternoon under sunny skies to this little town tucked into the heart of the Kootenay Rockies. This is hump week for me on my 2010 tour of North American mountain bike stage races—two down and three to go! As usual, Transrockies registration was dialed and we were all checked in to both the race and motel within a couple hours so we headed out to stretch the legs and check out the stage one course.

For those of you new to Fernie, it is a destination for both winter and summer outdoor sports. While the skiers and snowboarders come for limitless powder, the area boasts equally endless single-track accessible in minutes from town. We jumped into the course at about the 10km mark and my partner Jon Gould immediately picked up a stick and wasted his derailleur hanger. Hoping we had gotten our mechanical misfortune out the way, he headed back for repair and I continued on. Soon I discovered that the second half of the course wasn’t marked and ended up back in town after just a short ride.

I found a Scale hanger in my toolbox and we got that sorted in time to attend the opening rider meeting. It wasn’t too exciting until a storm blew in a cut the small talk short. At that point, we all thought it was just a passing evening thunderstorm. However when we woke up this morning, we discovered that it had continued to rain all night and was still drizzling. I was bumming as usual, but pulled on some extra clothes and my game face just in time for our 9:15 start time.

Jon and I rolled out and immediately dispatched our 30 second team before starting the 500 vertical meter climb up the Roots and Hyperventilation Trails. It was a brutally steep grunt with numerous tight switchbacks and slick roots. We were struggling to find are rhythm and were passed by several other teams near the top of the climb. The descent down Hyperextension was even steeper and more knarly as we plummeted back down to complete the first 10 km of the stage.

After a checkpoint, we immediately began another couple hundred meters of stair-step climbing that became increasingly slick with passing riders and areas of poor drainage. By the time we made the only significant fire road section around the 15km mark, the day was turning into a real slog. While we had looked had forward to the road as an opportunity to re-group it became apparent that there would be no rest as the it was covered in a two inch layer of slippery poo. Finally, we reached the second check point and began the last 10km of single-track back to Fernie.

The profile looked flat, but this section was a continuous series of short climbs and descents littered with roots and bridges. Even more challenging was the pervading side hill and copious top-soil that had turned to snot with the interminable rain. There was no momentum to be had and we soldiered on for what seemed like an eternity on the Coal Discovery Trail before finally cutting a developed foot path back into town. The last three kilometers were over in a comparable blink and we crossed the finish line thoroughly immersed in what will undoubtedly be a very challenging race to Canmore, Alberta next Saturday.

I am stoked! The new, re-tooled TransRockies has just dealt me the best stage I have experienced here after finishing TR in both 2007 and 2008. Withou the miserable weather this ride would have been one the best races in my career! After hearing bits and pieces about the courses to come, it sounds like we are in for a real hoot and with the sun out this afternoon it can only get better.

I asked Jon what he thought of the day and he told me it was very challenging and likely the toughest 31km of Transrockies he has experienced in 5 years of racing here. So, there you have it straight from a TR veteran—this race has stepped it up and delivered a day one doozy!

Ciao from Fernie…

Finally!