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BC Bike Race: A week of the sweetest pain.
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Editor's Note: Subaru/Gary Fisher pro endurance racer Nat Ross has been sharing daily diaries from the BC Bike Race with VeloNews.com readers. Today, Ross reports on the final stage in Whistler.
We just finished the 7th stage in the 2nd Annual BC Bike Race and my body is pretty worked. My legs feel great because I was getting daily massages, and they are accustomed to high mileage in the summer months, but everything else on my body is sore.
I have a crazy cough from getting sick on the second day. I wheeze with every breath and my nose is runny. My eyes are super puffy from eating dust for seven days straight. My arms are covered in scratches from all the leaves, twigs, and branches on the side of the tight and twisty trails. My right heel is cut up through my socks from my chain constantly bouncing against it. The blisters on my palms are bulging and ready to pop. My head is pounding from being dehydrated day after day in the unusually high temperatures.
Today while racing, I could smell the ammonia coming out of my pores while sweating on the climbs. That smell is scary because at that point you are starting to burn muscle for fuel. It’s scary.
I’m not complaining, because this is what I do and in a sick way I like the longer races. Believe it or not, I take care of my body religiously 24-7, but racing takes its toll on you and it is quite evident after an endurance race. I am happy to be a mountain bike racer because we lay it all out on the line from start to finish, but mountain bike stage races are incredibly tough. It is a constant battle to mentally override all the signals that your brain is trying to process. In endurance racing your mind is usually the weaker link if you let your guard down. All it takes in one bobble or crash in the singletrack and you lose your game.
If you are not hydrated or fueled properly you lose your mental edge. It pays to be sharp focused and mentally alert. For me, that means properly fueling my body before the race and keeping my fuel tanks topped off while racing. It makes it easier for me to deal with all the constant situations that are thrown at you during the race. It is so important to keep a positive attitude and put the bad things behind you. For example, this is a list of the things thrown at my partner Chris Beck and myself on the Subaru Gary Fisher Team throughout the seven days:
Day 1
Chris’s luggage, including his bike did not show up. Chris raced on my bike, which was too small for him, and somebody else’s shoes. We sprint Andreas Hestler and Max Plaxton for 5th and get nipped at the line.
Day 2
Basically, a road race on mountain bikes. Thank God we are racing 29-inch wheels! I was dangling from the lead group going into the last feed station and decided not to stop to move up. I ran out of fluids and became dehydrated and ended up throwing up three times before the finish and suffered heat exhaustion. Chris’s luggage shows up at 8:30 pm.
Day 3
Chris and I blew up chasing down the leaders after the last aid station. We lost contact with the lead group after I fell backwards with my bike going out of the river crossing and Chris had to tow me to the finish after we fell off the lead group.
Day 4
Kona attacked like crazy and every other team chased all day. That day hurt because Chris flatted early. We chased back only to take a wrong turn. So, needless to say we lost a lot of time in the GC that stage.
Day 5
Chris and I take a wrong turn with the lead group and I take a tree branch to my rear derailer and it snaps off right after we take the wrong turn. Chasing from that point on and lose even more time.
Day 6
Andreas Hestler guns it from the start and we can barely hang on to the back of the lead group. Chris crashes super hard on a gnarly downhill and breaks his pedal off. We hang on to the finish only to lose the sprint with Cannondale.
Day 7
Chris and I get separated in the front group when the yellow jersey takes a wrong turn. I follow yellow jersey in the singletrack and Chris is a few wheels back with Trek and Cannondale. I noticed that he wasn’t there and wait, only to find out he is riding backwards on the course just a few kilometers up, looking for me. We reconvene and chase for the remainder of the day once again.
Wow. What an adventure. Can’t wait to come back and ride more of the amazing singletrack that we just sampled for the past week.
See you on the dirt,
Nat Ross
Final results
