2010 Transrockies: TR3

This August marked another chapter in the Bikeridr saga… A chapter where paths diverge, where each man is forced to make his own way, to etch his own destiny. You read correctly… This August brought the TR3 to the Bikeridr boys.

We knew it was going to be an entirely new grab bag of pain, suffering and epic awesomeness (yes, I just said that) compared to last years Transrockies. But before we get started – A quick shout out to all our readers who came up and said hi:

Thanks so much! We really appreciate it!!

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Ready for the TransRockies?!?!

With both Sheldon and I having fairly serious commitments this summer it just wasn’t in the cards for another full fledged 7-day epic. As we pondered what this summer had in store for us we eventually determined that the only logical alternative we had was the TR3 – well, as logical as mountain bike stage racing is ;-).

Granted we may not be officially racing together this year, but we’re still Bikeridr teammates… Here’s how we’re feelin’ from the north and south of Alberta!

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Are you ready for a stage race?

I might be a little premature, but I hazard to proclaim that spring is here (despite the weather yesterday). April is fast approaching, and with the sun setting well after 7:00 it looks as though we can leave our vampiric, sunless winter behind us.

As the sun rises on a new season, thoughts turn to long days of tearing up the local singletrack, or for those of us longing for more epic challenges, thoughts may turn to stage racing.

Unfortunately, when preparing for your first stage race, I’m not sure you ever feel 100% ready – you just try to prepare yourself as best you can. In an effort to ease some of your trepidation and potentially avoid some painful lessons being learned in-race, I will impart some sage words of wisdom based off the extensive experience I have (ie. 1 race ;-).

With that said, I’ll apologize ahead of time for the somewhat monumental nature of this post, but I feel (or at least hope) that most of this advice may prove helpful. So grit your teeth and bear it, with strength and determination you can make it to the end ;-)

I’ve pooled my deep reservoir of knowledge into eleven provocative sections:

1. Know yourself
2. Know your partner
3. Keep the calories comin’
4. Check your ego at the door
5. Be able to dig deep
6. You’re not strong enough
7. You are your own wrench
8. Gear up for adventure
9. Know what hours in the saddle feel like
10. Recover
11. Enjoy the ride

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Sometimes this big world seems small

I want to say just how crazy I think it is that people from all over the world read our little bike blog. I mean you start a blog and post articles so people will read it. That is the point, but I just think it’s super cool that people actually do! So, on my last post, Pascal, a rider from Belgium commented, mentioning that the weather was a bit gloomy there that day, and that he’s been reading up on our Transrockies adventures because he’s going to be racing it this summer. (I hope you don’t mind me singling you out here, Pascal) When I read that comment, I just thought ‘Huh… You know… How cool is that, that riders, like Pascal, from thousands and thousands of kilometers away are able to so easily read our stuff.’ Sometimes this big world seems small, indeed… So yeah, this comment of Pascal’s got me thinking about the Transrockies again. I know quite a few people racing it this year, and so I wanted to share another quick story from last year that I think is pretty cool.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.