What a day! I woke up to the pouring rain at 3am and it didn't stop. I guess this was going to be to our advantage since we are from South-west BC and use to the wet muddy slippery trials!
It started off as a mass roll out start again, getting soaked within a few minutes from the spray from all the wheels. We hit the first gravel road climb and we tried to stay up in the pack as far as we could before we hit the single track as today was not the day we wanted to get stuck behind people that weren't from this area. But it was perfect race start for 500 people and it spread out pretty quick and the flow kept moving. I will have to take my words back from yesterday as I think Campbell River is now my favourite over Cumberland. Besides the wet, energy sucking mud and roots, the course was still pretty wicked with pretty much all sweet single track for the full course. I would love to ride this course again in the dry. Times were about 20-30mins slower then last year due to the conditions and slush out there. It really was like a repeat of the Test of Metal race and guess second time around I was a little more mentally prepared.
The 2 timed downhill sections (Gravity Enudro's) were again on todays course, the first being short and fun and the second being longer and faster and much wetter. My glasses were off and by the time my eyes were filled with mud, I grabbed for my glasses and threw them on, this didn't help matters much and in the end I was riding blind and veered a little too close to the bushes on the side of the trail and did a full endo over the handlebars into the bush. The person behind me rides by and I hear the beeping sounds of the timer that indicates your time stops at the bottom of the timed section. I look up to see I had bailed only 10 meters from the finish….oops! So I jump up and run across the beeper to get my time stopped! We are on the ferry right now so miss the presentations tonight as everyone else is staying in Campbell River, so will have to wait until tomorrow to see if I still managed to hold on to the overall lead for the Enduro, but I doubt it! Jim and I won again today for open mixed teams with a time of 3hrs 28mins and we now have a very nice lead on second place which is nice to know! The top solo men were tight again and 3 of them battled side by side all the way until the final sprint for the finish line. Wish I was there to see them cross it!
We get a very nice sleep in tomorrow (hence why we are getting the ferry tonight). Everyone else gets shuttled to the ferry early tomorrow, then has a 1.5hr ferry crossing before the start gets under way in Powell River at 12.45pm. We will be camped out at the start line sleeping sound until around 9 or 10am (oh how nice ;)
Here are some great images that Dave Silver the BCBR Photographer as taken from day 0 and day 1 - some stunning shots.
Race Briefing Day 0
Ariel shot of Base Camp and Tent City Cumberland Day 1
Ariel shot of Start Line Day 1
Race Start Day 1
Ariel of race start - dirt road lead out to the trails
Trail action
Fun trails in Cumberland
Start of the one of the Gravity Enduro (timed downhill sections)
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