TransRockies – Alberta Bound

Just prior to the New Year I learned that the TransRockies was headed home.

In partnership with Travel Alberta the 2010 TransRockies now begins where it once finished. Riders will start in Fernie and ribbon through what is promised to be “the most spectacular scenery in North America” to a finish line in Canmore. For those us of living in Alberta and familiar with riding in the Banff/Bragg Creek area, many of the trails coming in the finish line will certainly feel like home.

I have to say, I’m stoked to hear about this seasons’ route changes. Though not on my schedule this season, I think the changes are due. Comparing last years TransRockies to many of the newer races (i.e. BC Bike Race, Intermontagne, etc.) the TR was a very different beast. You had to earn every checkpoint, there were no free rides from trailhead to trailhead – often resulting in a grind through many kilometres of somewhat dull logging roads. On the flip side, it sure made you appreciate the bombing descents and singletrack when it rolled out before you.

Read more

Where it all began

The other day I was forwarded this gallery, and as I went through the photos I was instantly reminded of Sheldon and my first steps towards the Transrockies. One of the defining moments that led up to our decision to taking it on was the series Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman.

Initially Sheldon and I had grand dreams of buying twin BMW 1200 GS Adventure motorbikes and tearing around the globe. Perhaps not tackling the Road of Bones or Mongolia, but maybe rambling through northern BC, or heading up the Pacific Coast.

Read more

Top Ten for 2010

Well, welcome to the New Year everybody, to help kick things off, I thought I would pull together a little collection of links. There’s nothing like a Top Ten to get things started on the right foot, so I decided to combine two.

First – With all the fixie hype of late, I present “The Evolution of the Hipster,” curating 10 years of hipster culture from 2000 to today. As an added bonus, I also thought I’d include an interview with Steevo Cummings, the man who brought you “Hipsters Discussing Cyclocross.” The article is worth a read and guaranteed to make you grin – One of my favorite questions from the interview:

Since you’re a PRO, when you go out for a long training ride… Is everything “epic” and in black and white like on the Rapha website? Sometimes I do kinda’ longish rides on Saturday mornings… I have yet to see a glimpse of black and white… When was the last time that you saw anything in color?

Second – I wanted to highlight both Sheldon and my top articles of the last year (based on your viewership). As we look to make 2010 a stellar year both on the bikes and on the blog I thought it fitting to pay homage to the articles our readers liked the most.

Read more

Gearing up for a stage race

If our recent experience with stage racing has taught me anything, it’s the importance of being prepared.

It’s not to say that Sheldon and I weren’t prepared for regular mountain-adventure circumstances (ie. rain, sun, wind, etc.), we just weren’t prepared to have almost the worst of them shoveled to us repeatedly for several days. Warm weather poses it’s own challenges, but gear isn’t usually one of them (unless you count hydration and sunscreen ;-), bad weather, especially day after day, will truly test what you and your gear is made of.

I can’t speak for Sheldon, but I know that I mulled over my packing list for quite some time as the Transrockies approached. I was rushed pulling everything together (as usual), but at least I had planned things out in my head ahead of time.

Simon Parker (who we had the pleasure of riding with later in the race), has pulled together a great 10-part series of articles about ‘What to expect on your first Transrockies’, and although he does a great job at outlining a gear list, I thought I would share mine with you in a slightly more condensed manner.

One thing that I will mention is that being properly prepared for stage racing requires a sincere amount of gear, and outside of your regular gear you’re going to want to stock up on some replacement parts, and be prepared for things to break and/or wear out. With that said, it’s worthwhile developing a relationship with your local bike shop – Explain to them the race you’re planning and oftentimes they’ll let you buy the additional parts you need and return whatever you don’t use (so long as they don’t have to special order parts). Even though it’s a chunk of cash out of your pocket up front, at least you’ll be able to recoup some costs after the race (assuming you don’t use all the extra parts ;-).

So without further ado, here’s most of what found it’s way into my gear bag:

Read more

Transrockies ’09 – Stage 6 & 7

Stage 6 – Elkford to Crowsnest Pass
101km / 2467m climbing / 9:29:03

There’s no easy way into stage 6 as riders, head straight up from Elkford to the rim of the Fording River Canyon and past Josephine Falls along some sweet singletrack. This is a long day in the saddle and the 1,000m vertical climb up rugged Grave Creek Canyon is gradual and unrelenting ride. From the top, the route drops steeply into Alexander Creek, but don’t get too excited by the descent – you’ll soon be climbing to the summit of Deadman’s Pass and crossing the Continental Divide into the province of Alberta. The finish rolls through some steep drainages across the face of Crowsnest Mountain and into the finish line.

Transrockies ’09 – Stage 4 & 5

Stage 4 – Nipika Resort to Whiteswan Lake
107km / 1,980m climbing / 7:56:06

Upon leaving Nipika Mountain Resort, the riders are faced with the longest ride of the 2009, a 107km epic through the deep wilderness of the BC Rockies. The route follows along the base of the Royal Group, with the highest peak in the Range, Mt. King George looking down on their epic ride.

Transrockies ’09 – Stage 2 & 3

Stage 2 – K2 Ranch to Nipika Mountain Resort
72.2km / 2835m climbing / 8:16:08

Just as all this scenery threatens to turn the ride into a postcard, the field comes face to face with the sheer western face of the Rocky Mountains. This near-impenetrable fortress has very few paths over or around, so they face the biggest day of vertical served this week with three major climbs of at least 700 metres each and a total of nearly 3000 metres on the day.

Transrockies ’09 – Stage 1

Stage 1 – Panorama to K2 Ranch
45.3km / 2267m climbing / 4:46:49

With North America’s third-highest ski resort vertical rise, Panorama Mountain Village is poised to its annual part in the epic send-off. Maybe that should read “send up” as riders climb straight up and over a vertical mountain wall into some spectacular scenic alpine singletrack at the literal high point of the week at nearly 2,500 metres.

Transrockies ’09 – Pre-Race

At last… At last… It took some time, but Ken and I feel that we can now serve up some tasty Transrockies moments to all of you, our loyal supporters, friends, fellow riders and Transrockians. We will also be doing some detailed write ups on a stage by stage basis, but this is a video post for the first part of our adventure.

Watch for more episodes in the days to come.

So, a quick recap for anyone just jumping on, the Transrockies is an annual 7 day mountain bike stage race through the Canadian Rockies back country from Panoroma to Fernie BC. Considered the most epic mtb stage race, Ken and I (Team Bikeridr) trained for most of a year to get ready for it, and boy oh boy, did this race deliver! This will be 7 days of incridible riding, wicked Rockies weather, truly epic locals, good times and wonderful people that we will never want to forget.

Fernie at last!

Ahhh… Sweet glorious victory! Team Bikeridr has officially crossed the finish line and have arrived safely home!

Race reports are coming – Despite hoping to keep our faithful readers and friends updated whilst on course, the rigors of the race combined with limited internet availability made it nearly impossible.

Stay tuned!