Finished!

Here we are crossing the line after 7 days of some hard riding. It took us over 31hrs to complete the race. We ended up 10th overall in our category for the week. We were pretty stoked with our result.

Happy 4th of July

Andy dressed in Stars and Stripes for the last stage.

Day Seven: 49k Whistler

Well the last day finally arrived. We were tired and sore from the day before, but optimistic that in a few short hours (hopefully) we would achieve our goal of completing the BCBR. The morning was very overcast and cool in Whistler. I had my clothes, helmet, gloves in a little pile next to my car--prolonging the inevitable moment when I would have to get into my lycra. Without warning a dog walks up and without hestitation starts to take a piss on my jersey. Talk about insult to injury. Turns out the dog belongs to a local guy from Seattle who kicks my butt in our local series. And now his dog was doing the same. After a few choice f-bombs, the dog's owner took my jersey washed and dried it in a hotel sink. Yep, that was my last "clean" jersey for the week, so I had to wear it. Luckily I hadn't put any food yet into my jersey pockets! Hopefully this would not be a bad omen of things to come for the day. Dave and I made our way to start chute B to check in. When we tried to check-in we were told that we were back up in start chute A (where I contend we belonged all along). So back alongside our friends, the gun went off and we headed out of town into the mountains. The first 30 minutes was nothing but climbing. And I mean climbing. 1600 feet or so over about 3-4miles. It was steep and very rough going. The week had certainly taken its toll on us and we decided that today we would ride for fun. (Actually a friend had exclaimed on the start line that during this race we had "ridden the fun right out of mountain biking!). The trails today were no less than spectacular. Twisty-turney, buffed out, high berms, fast, slow, wooden bridges, wooden ladders--you name, today the trails had it. We took it very easy on the technical sections given my spills yesterday and the fact that we just didn't have the quickness to react. It would be fun to come back and ride these trails again when we were fresh. We did encounter a large black bear along the trail--as if all the riding wasn't enough--but it simply was not interested in us. After a seemingly long 5hrs we finally heard the sounds of the finishline. It was quite a feeling of accomplishment and relief to cross the line, safely, and full of smiles. Dave and I had a great time this week and I felt really lucky to have such a good teamate. Our bodies held up but a few days of R&R will be welcome to work through all of the aches and pains.

Day Five: 65K "The Best of Squamish"

Day 6. (Hard to believe we started racing six days ago. The start last weekend seems like it was last month). We found ourselves today in the self-proclaimed "adventure capital of British Columbia": Squamish. For those who have never had the pleasure of journeying to BC, Squamish essentially lies between Vancouver and Whistler (site of the 2010 winter Olympics). I have been here on numerous occasions to mountain bike . It truly does have some of the best trails I've ever ridden. Of course having ridden here, I knew all too well what lay in store for us: lots of challenging trails and some serious suffering. The day started out with us trying to enter our customary "Group A" start chute, only to find out we had been moved back to start Group B. Bummer. Lots of fast teams out there. No matter. Once the gun went off we quickly moved up into the middle of the front and ended up about where we would have started anyway. We headed out on pavement and quickly climbed up, up, up through the neighborhood developments. Dave's gears weren't shifting properly so he was really working hard to get up the hills. After we climbed some more, we finally entered the woods and the real fun started. After some really nice trail riding we ended up climbing some more and then entered into a very technical section of trails. Dave's prowess lies in his ability to move down the mountain at breakneck speeds without fear. My strength lies in the climbing. Compared to Dave, I might as well be standing still while going downhill. We started down and encountered some really steep pitches. Some pitches made me think twice and I got off and walked. Others, I just sat back and went for it. Dave made all of them. We entered an area with a really steep rocky descent and I hesitated for about half a second. That's all it took and I was over the bars and sliding on my back and arms. Not fun. Luckily it was just a few scrapes. I was back up and riding again in a second. Shortly after this crash we encountered our (much faster) friends Andy and Aaron. Aaron had crashed, spun his handlebars and snapped off the hydraulic brake line for his front brake. Both Dave and I thought their race was over (in order to be a "finisher" both team members must finish all the stages together), but they thought they could slowly work their way through the course. I was skeptical. (Turns out they not only finished the race with Aaron riding without a front brake, but he also broke his chain and had to ride out in only one gear. They finished the day only about 5-10 minutes after us. Amazing). So Dave and I plodded along and did some more climbing. Dave was climbing really well--despite his grunts and groans as the steepness failed to relent. After a few more significant climbs, it was time to go back down. We had a ball descending for another 20 or so minutes at breakneck speeds. Then it was time to enter the famed "Powerhouse Plunge." The Plunge is one of the most technical sections of singletrack in Squamish. I have ridden it numerous times and thought I knew what to expect. Unfortunately the fatigue of riding hard for 5 days prior had really taken its toll on my body and senses. In the Plunge I had another "sliding" crash down some rocks and re-scrapped up my arm and now added a nice goose-egg to my leg and back. At this point my confidence was shot and I opted to walk anything remotely rocky until we were out of the Plunge. After exiting the Plunge, we were off for some more climbing in Crumpet Woods. Dave protested, but I assured him numerous times that "this is for sure the last climb." We finally rolled through the finish line just around 5hrs. It had been a very hard day in terms of trying to stay focused while being so tired. Despite the crashes I had a great time riding in the woods. This is what it's all about. Tomorrow we're off to Whistler for the final stage.

Stage 5: 65k

Oh the Sunshine Coast. Such incredible riding. Finally a day that felt like a true mountain bike race. Lots of singletrack and minimal dusty roads. Our race started at 8AM (a bit better than the 4AM wake-up call the day before) but it was still an early morning. (Did I mention that this was my 2 year wedding anniversary. My wife was happy to have been given a 7 day trip across British Columbia--I can see it in her eyes every time she loaded our suitcases into car). The weather was great. A bit overcast and cool. So we set out across town on our way to the trails. During a very high speed descent there was a pretty bad crash (on the pavement no less), but luckily no one was badly hurt. Once on the trails we had a very fun day in and out of the singletrack. There were lots of wooden bridges--some very wide--some very narrow. I would guess that we rode about 50% of them. I think the week has slowly been taking its toll. We were tired and made some silly mistakes in the woods. These trails would have been incredible to ride "fresh." There was lots of climbing--mostly in the woods--which was more interesting and challenging than riding up dusty roads. The last 9k was all down hill and we screamed down the trails to the finish. The finish was at another ferry terminal and we boarded our final ferry of the race. We relaxed on the boat and made out way to the mainland where we would finish up the last two days of the race.

So Cold!

God the ice bath is cold. Since we lost our massuese (we had one for the first 3 days), we had to resort to the old tried and true method of freezing our muscles post-ride. This pain was worse than anything I experienced on the rides.

Stage 4:60k

Today was an early day. Up at 4AM to mix up our water bottles and get our food ready for the day. Then, pack the car and drive to where a fleet of buses were waiting for our 5:15 depature. Then we were wisked away by luxery motorcoach to the first ferry terminal of the day. We boarded the first ferry and had breakfast while crossing from Vancouver Island to the Sunshine Coast. Once across, we bused to another ferry terminal and boarded our second ferry of the day. Needless to say the competitors were dragging. The coffee was horrible on the boats and we had a very hard time waking up. Everyone had a hard time waking up. So once we got into the ferry terminal the race directors set up the start chutes and set up the starting banner. Then all the competitors grabbed their bikes and we were off. Straight up the pavement with no warm up. We started at 11AM and it was hot. Even though we were only riding 36miles (a short day by BC Bike Race standards) it was a long day. Dave and I battled through the heat and battled our competitors. The singletrack riding was tough yet again but a welcome relief from riding on the fireroads. I think a few of our efforts put Dave in the "hurt locker," but luckily I gave him the key to get out. The first 20% and last 20% of the race we really jammed. However, the middle portion took its toll on both of us. We ended the day on a great note and hammered the trails home. Another day done. We are now over half way there!

Day Three: 80k

Day Three was billed as the first day of the real singletrack. However in order to get to the singletrack we had to ride about 40 miles. It would be like if I rode my bike from West Seattle out to Tiger Mountain to do a ride. Why would someone do something so silly? Because we're in the BC Bike Race, that's why. So the race started an hour earlier than usual at 8AM. Dave and I found our place in Starting Group A. There are 3 starting groups: A, B, and C. It makes a world of difference to start up front for a few reasons. Today it helped to start up front because we reached the potentially bottlenecking singletrack in less than 3 miles. You are much better off getting to the singletrack with "good" riders so that you can actually ride the trails instead of walking them. Why walk the trails you say? Well for the uninitiated if there are 300 people trying to ride down a foot and half wide trail, the second someone comes off of their bicycle (for example if they get stuck on a root) then there is domino effect and most of the people behind the offending party must also come off. It makes for some slow going. Luckily Dave and I made the cut and we were able to make it through the first section of singletrack without incident. There were 4 major climbs today and one river crossing. We crisscrossed some beautiful country; snowcovered peaks in the background; a shot of the ocean from atop one of our highpoints. The 40mph descents were fast and super fun, but the slow-going hot-as-hell climbs were another story. After riding the logging roads for some 37miles, we finally made it to the singletrack of Cumberland. Talk about tough. Roots. Drops. Rocks. Twisty-turney. No way to keep your momentum. Dave summoned his "old-man strength" (you know the strength that no matter hold old your dad gets he can still kick your ass) and absolutely railed the singletrack. It was over an hour and a half of just hammering through the woods. We passed many teams there. We worked our butts off in there. Despite all of that working we still only ended up 9th on the day in our category. We retained our 7th overall ranking but the competition is getting tough. Hopefully as the singletrack increases in the stages we'll be able to make up some time on our competitors. Competitors or not, we're having a ball in the sun riding our bikes.

Day Two: 125k

Day Two was brutal. 77 miles of logging roads. What else can we say? It was filler miles designed to get us from one town to the next. The organizers couldn't get permits to gain access to the singletrack between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni. So we rode logging roads. The race started out with a "neutral" 10k start with police escort. What this meant is 600 riders hammering on the pavement, wheel-t0-wheel, slowing down, speeding up. If you ever want to incite a calamity give some matches and gasoline to a child or have 600 mountain bikers try to ride in a peloton on the road. The results are essentially the same: something bad could happen. Luckily no such crashes ensued and the peloton made it way off the pavement and onto the long and winding fireroads that linked the two start towns. Today was also one of the hottest days on record with temperatures well into the 90s. On a positive note, this was the longest ride that Dave had ever done in his life. And what a ride. The two of us riding the dusty roads alone with nothing but the vultures circling above waiting for a misstep. But we preserved and made it to the end. This day was very remnant of the Cape Epic that I did a year ago. Long dusty roads with no end in sight. With this, the longest stage, out of the way, we will move on to more singletrack as the week progresses. Now it's time for a beer.

Day One: 89k

Well the day finally arrived. Day One of the BC Bike Race. All the months of training in the cold wet Seattle winters; all the weekends (lost) in the forest pursuing 5hr rides; all the mornings before work trying to get in a few extra hours of saddle time; had all led to this. We were ready and so was our competition. The weather was beautiful, but hot. Very hot in fact as we stood in the starting chute waiting for the 9AM departure. The chute opened at 8 and we got in line about around 830. It was tough standing in the sun, but this was probably one of the smarter decisions we made all day. By starting so far up, even if we were getting passed by faster riders coming from behind we would still be starting ahead of some 600+ riders. Amy said that it took a full two minutes for the last riders to cross the start line. So the plan was to do two "promenade" laps around the venue (we were at some hoity toity rich kids school--think Dead Poet's Society--and the campus was not only expansive but beautiful). The race directors decided to changed (literally at the last minute) the promenade laps into "hot" laps. It was on from the gun. And there was carnage. The most carnage came in the form of destroyed/gummed up drive trains as the riders were sent across a newly cut farmer's field. The long grass got in everyone's chains and cassettes. It was a mess. In fact race favorite (Chris Eatough--who won this race last year) went into the field first, got caught in the worst of the grass, and ripped his rear derailleur off. It was carnage. Then there was the T-bone crash my buddy Aaron witnessed when one rider did not realize the course turned and he went straight. Luckily Dave and I were in front of this mayhem. So once the race got underway, things settled down and the sun got hotter. Throughout the day, Dave and I took no less than 12 endurolyte tablets each. This was the second good decision we made. I think the increased sodium fended off any cramps that may have been lurking in our muscles. Otherwise, Dave and I just stuck to our game plan. Slow and steady. And survive the first 3 days. We stuck to the plan, suffered a bit on some very steep climbs and bombed some super fun descents. The last 12miles found us on an old railroad grade. Pancake flat and straight as an arrow. Teams wizzed by us. But we stuck to our plan to keep a steady pace to the finish without killing ourselves. Dave tucked in behind me and we both put our heads down and thought happy thoughts until an hour later we popped out at the finish line. We had one day under our belt and I think it was a relief to both of us that we had made it through. Really it was not worse than any training ride we may have had. 5hour 44minutes. 5300ft of climbing. To our surprise sticking with our strategy paid off. After day one we ended up in 7th in our category (Veteran's 80+) and finished 48th overall. Not bad for two guys with day jobs. If only Dave had been 66. Then we would have been in the Veteran's 100+ category and we would have been in first place.

Day Zero

Today was a long day. The Grande Americanos woke up at 430 AM in Seattle and drove the 2hr+ to the ferry terminal south of Vancouver. At the ferry terminal we met our friends Andy, Sara and Aaron who joined us on our journey to Vancouver Island where the race was to start in less than 24hrs. Once we arrived on the island we made our way to the race venue and the startline for the next day's race. Lots of very (and I mean very) fit people walking around the venue. We ran into our friends (Robin, Justin, John, Steve, Jay, Chris) also registering for the race. It's always a good time when so many people you know are doing a race. After registering, we went for a quick ride to get a sense of what was to come the following day. We rode about the first 4 miles of the course and the singletrack we found was sketchy to say the least. Then it was off to the hotel, a quick shower, proper grooming inlcuding ample application of my hair product, the mandatory pre-race meeting, then back to the hotel and bed @10PM.

Spreading the Love

Almost a year ago, Dave and I hatched the idea to do the BC Bike Race while getting our morning coffee at CherryStreet Coffee House. The name for our team, the Grande Americanos, was derived from our daily ritual of going to CherryStreet and ordering short non-fat lattes. When we finally decided to sign up for the race, we had to come up with a team name. We both thought that Team Short Non-Fat Lattes just didn't roll off the tongue very easily. So the next best alternative was Grande Americanos and our team was born. Here Dave and I (the Grande Americanos) are enjoying some grande Americanos with Ali Ghambari, the owner of the CherryStreet Coffee House (actually there are 5 locations in downtown Seattle). As a token of our appreciation for his support of our biking endeavors we gave Ali a few jerseys that prominently display the CherryStreet logo. Ever mindful of jinxing ourselves, we told Ali we'd be back after the BCBR to sign them. As a token of his thoughtfulness, Ali gave Dave and I a dozen bags of coffee. He also gave us some sage advice: "It doesn't matter how dark it gets out there, when you are the light." Well, if nothing else we will be well caffeinated and spiritually high during the race and the rest of the summer. To those of you who haven't tried CherryStreet yet, you owe it to yourself to stop in an order yourself a grande americano or even a short non-fat latte. In my opinion (which is the opinion of a die hard coffee drinker), CherryStreet is by far the best Seattle has to offer. See for yourself.

1st Expert Podium

I was pretty pleased with my third place. Making it even sweeter was the sixer of beer for the prize!

Livin' the Dream

Grassroots Racing

Well exactly one week from now, I hope that Dave and I will have two stages successfully behind us. Our training is done so it was time for one last "tune-up" race before the big show next week. Unfortunately the usual racing crew (Dave, Andy Aaron, Jeff) were not able to make the trip up to Winthrop, WA. So Amy and I packed the car and set off ourselves to enjoy some of the best riding Western Washington has to offer (actually all of Washington for that matter). I hoped to reach back to my "roots" of racing this weekend--returning to a time of sleeping in my car at a campground the night before a race and just enjoying the scene without worrying about results. However, with the Amy in the mix (no wife(ves) or girlfriends during my "roots" days), we decided to still camp out but treat ourselves to the luxury of tent. Amy packed all our gear and we set off Friday afternoon for the little mountain town of Winthrop. We arrived at the Twin Lakes campground after dark and found our spot directly on the lake. I could already envision myself peaking out of the tent to watch the morning sun rise above the mountains to the east (directly across the lake). However, any such magical moments were broken by the harsh reality of the fact that a tent is absolutely worthless without poles. (Of course I am not pointing any fingers here, just merely making an observation). Thus, we really were returning to the days of sleeping in the back of the rig pre-race. Not sure what it was (perhaps the fumes from my chain lube), but the two nights we spent in the in the Jeep incited the most vivid, bizarre, random and violent dreams I can remember in a long time (usually my dreams consist of my boss telling that I've missed some important deadline-seriously. How lame is that?). The last thing I remember this morning before waking was participating in a (bike) dirt jumping contest only to fall and have a pit bull start chewing on my arm. Crazy dreams aside it was a fun experience and actually pretty comfortable. It reminds me of an adage that an old boss told me once when I asked whether I should buy a house or a sports car: You can sleep in your car, but you can't drive your house. Brilliant. So to cut a long story short the weather was incredible on race day: sunny, cool and dry. The trails in Winthrop are super buff and super fast. Me and new wheels were ready to race. Again long story short: I started out in 3rd, got passed by a bunch of guys, and then fought my way back into third position. It was a 20 mile course with about 3500ft of climbing. One of the climbs (that we had to do twice) took us to the top of the beginner downhill course. I can remember last year having to get off on on particular super steep sketch-ball section. This year I rode it without hesitation (yes, I did not hesitate to shit my pants). That is proof to me that all the riding I've been doing has paid off. Oh, and it was my first Expert class podium. I was really proud of that. And yes, there were more than 3 guys racing. In fact, since my age group had the largest field of the day, all 3 of us on the podium got our entry fees refunded.

New Wheels

I got my new CrankBrothers Colbat wheels this week. Man, they just look fast. And they match the bike--which is clearly the most important factor in any component selection. In any event, I told Amy that if instead of engagement rings men proposed with wheels--these would be the wheels on her finger. Bling, bling.

Some Other Notable Buddies

The BC Buddies are in good company:

Rob and Big's great tasting cereal. . .

Who can forget the sitcom that started Tom Hank's career. . .

Buddy the elf.

Logging the Miles

Finally some sun! Well that statement is only half true. On Saturday, sun was predicted, but it was cold as hell and June 14th! I think the cold is wearing on everyone. Especially those of us trying to log miles for the BCBR. Luckily it did not rain--nothing like riding in the cold wet rain to send you whimpering home. In any event, we got 4 solid hours in on Saturday with 37miles and 6500 feet of climbing. Dave was calling me Emeril today--because I cooked him with my route selection.

Sunday was a different story. Finally some sun. Boy does that make all the difference in the world. Sun was out. No arm warmers. No knee warmers. We actually put on sunscreen. I can only hope that the weather is the same for the bulk of the BCBR. Although it would be interesting to see how the other riders cope with wet rocks and roots should the weather turn sour during the race. However, I am willing to let that question go unanswered. Pray for sun.

Both days, we saw black bears on the trails. Each one spent about a minute checking us out and then disappeared into the woods. Other than that excitement it was just Dave and I logging the miles. Today was the last big ride before the race. It's a good feeling to know that we've really done our best to put in the time to train. It's also a good feeling to know that those close to us are supportive of what we do--even if it means being away from home on the weekends for the bulk of the day.

How I Plan to Cheat the Wind

The long-sleeve skinsuit is just one weapon in our BCBR arsenal. One only needs to imagine the tens of seconds that can be saved over a 72 mile course by wearing this hi-tech garment, fit for a superhero or for THayes.

Weekend Riding

In anticipation of the BCBR, the weekends usually find us working at our second jobs. Luckily that job is riding our bikes. On a typical weekend, we are putting in two 5hr days. This weekend was a bit different with a race on Saturday. Dave wasn't able to go so I had the fly the Velo Bike Shop/Cherry Street colors solo. It was a gorgeous day East of the pass. Sun was out. Nice breeze. 70 degrees. Couldn't have asked for better conditions. And we finally got our new team kits this week. So all the stars were aligned for a good day of racing. The course consisted of 3 laps of a 4 mile climb (1800ft gain) followed by a 4 mile descent down a road riddled with water bars. I felt good on the climbs and good on the 2nd and 3rd descents. All in all, I ended up taking 8 minutes off of my best record on the course. After the race, it was straight to the beer garden for a double cheeseburger and a glass of New Belgium Beer. Amy and I did not want to leave the sun and come home. Sure enough, an hour after we left the sunny skies of Leavenworth, we were sitting in the rain at the pass. We cursed ourselves for not staying another day to ride in the sun! Sunday was another five hour group ride. Despite the camaraderie of riding with friends, my legs were cooked from the racing and my morale was dampened by the clouds sitting over Seattle. At least it wasn't raining. But it sure wasn't the sun from the day before.

The BCBR is a seven day mountain bike stage race that spans over 300 miles of some of the best trails that British Columbia has to offer. Our two-man team, the Grande Americanos, is comprised of Dave Miller and Tom Hayes: two co-workers from Seattle who decided over our morning Cherry Street coffee (not coincidentally Grande Americanos) to undertake the ultimate mountain bike adventure in 2008.