BC Bike Race 2010

First off I want to thank Brian and Margaret Benson for saving my bike and my race! When my race rig got held up in Canadian Customs, they were there to get the bike and I. Brain and Margaret are Team CF club members and Margaret is a CF butt kicker, with fresh lungs transplanted a few years ago. Go Margaret!

The reason for my trip to Canada was to report on the BC Bike Race for www.Cyclingdirt.org. I would be racing a seven day stage race through the wilds of British Colombia and shooting video along the way. I'd known about the race for years and had heard many great things about it. Being a stage race veteran I felt that I would pretty much know what to expect.
     British Colombia is a beautiful place. Surrounded by water, it is a rain forest with snow capped mountains in the distance. There were ferns chest high and cascading waterfalls. Trails were covered in moss that looked to be dosed with radiation. Big dark woods greeted us almost every day. For four of the five days we had to take ferries from one race start to another.
      Since I was there to report for CyclingDirt and they payed for a big part of my trip, I was obliged to make racing a secondary priority. I was looking at it as a training week for me and went with few expectations, except to have a good time and ride.
It ended up that I budded up with an old friend and now a good friend Ryan Lebar, who was reporting for Bike Magazine. We proceeded to act as if we had nothing to loose and stayed up late talking to people, writing and downloading pictures and videos every night. It was a great way to do the race without the normal early sleep schedule and tight recovery sechdule one would normally follow.
       I think one of the great things about the BCBR was that so much of the logisitcs were dialed by the promoters that we pretty much just had to take directions and could spend 7 days riding mindlessly. Tents, food and transportation were held under our noses every day. We slept on beaches, in the infield of track fields, city parks, bike hostels (cumberland!), soccer fields and resort hotels (Whistler). We ate in small restaurants, hockey rinks, community centers and every day it was good!  That's a terrible sentence.
       Anyways, I found myself contesting for a top ten spot and since it was there I tried hard enough to take it. It was fun riding with some really interesting and legendary people. I spent many days riding the wheel of current World Cup leader Catherine Pendrel and her duo partner and World Cup contender Geoff Kabush. I met free ride legend Darren Butler and after 6 days of trying to ride together fate found us kicking it on the last day. Check out the video for helmet cam highlights on day seven.
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237274-2010-BC-Bike-Race/video/345789-Stage-7-BC-Bike-Race-Helmet-Cam-Highlights-

If you have the time check out the other videos.

If you ever get a chance and have the fitness, go do BCBR. I give it the highest recommendation, 10 chili peppered rattlesnakes!


Harlan