BC Bike Race - Summer Camp for Adults

As I am writing these words, BC dust still covers my bike. No, it's not just because I am lazy or that unlike at BC Bike Race ("BCBR") I don't have a bike vale at home. It's mostly because, it's still hard to say goodbye to this adventure and the adrenaline is still flowing in my veins.

Before we jump to my race story, I have to start by explaining how I got myself into this "mess"

Power River - Day 2. 52 km (32 miles) and 1080 m (3,553 ft) of climbing
Photo: Todd Weselake 

Every Ending Is A New Begging 

The end of my triathlon "career" (at least for now), happened unexpectedly. It all started and ended in an innocent conversation with Yarnin, another BikePanel writer at the magazine meeting in Samar (read about the riding there here). After riding Samartathon race course together, he proposed: "let's ride BC Bike Race together". What? me? BCBR? hmmm I don't know if I am good enough for that one" This was my initial reaction. But he planted the seed. About an hour later, in a conversation with a dear friend who rode BCBR I got the full picture "you? BCBR? well - you'll need to work hard on your riding game". So with this cheap effect of reverse psychology it happened. I stored my tri bike and renewed my baggies fleet. I was committed. I will show him and more importantly myself that, yes, I am good enough.

Squamish - Day 6. 53 km (33 miles) and 1680 meters (5512 ft) of climbing
Photo: Todd Weselake

What Is BC Bike Race?

BCBR is a multi stage mountain bike stage race taking place on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada - or as it's also called 'the Shore'. For 7 consecutive days, over 600 riders from approximately 36 countries will sample some of the best single-tracks of one of North America's mountain bike Meccas'. The course is about 75% single-track and the rest is dirt roads and a little bit of paved roads.

Cumberland - Day 1. 43 km (27 miles) and 1159 meters (3802 ft) of climbing.
Photo: Todd Weselake

The race starts in Cumberland, Vancouver Island and moves through the shore, nearby islands and back to the mainland where it ends in Whistler. The stages themselves are not long and range between 18 km for the shortest stage to 57 km on the third day queen stage. Don't let the lengths of the stages fool you. Life in BCBR is no walk in the park, well at least not while you are riding.

I chose to describe this adventure through several realizations I reached during and after the race: 

Whistler - Day 7. 33 km (20 miles) and 1569 meters (5148 ft) of climbing
Photo: Dave Silver

There Are Several Ways To DO BCBR

There are several ways to DO BCBR:
The first, of course, is to race it. Well after all it is a race. This means: go all out every day, put your head down and grind. Push your limits every day with one goal in mind - finish as fast as you can every stage. In this category we can obviously find, among others. all the big names that showed up to race: Olympians, national champions from many countries, past winners and current challengers. The race among those is fascinating for sure, but let's be honest they are not the reason why we sign up for a race like this, so I will not expand much about this group.
The second is just ride and that's what I chose to do. Look up and around, enjoy the experience and even, god forbid, stop and take a picture or two. Because who knows when or if I'll ever be here again.
There is one other ways to do BCBR, which is as important and I will expand more below. It's the dozens of volunteers that come back every year. This category has a life of its own and it is one of the reasons this race becomes an experience.

I chose to stop and take a picture or two

The First Day Sets The Tone

The first day in Cumberland sets up the tone for the rest of the week. While on this day your start corral is self seeded, with a little "help" from the organizers in the form of expected finish time signs. For the rest of the week, your start corral will be decided by your first day finish time. You will be assigned a color and from that day onward your riding experience will be defined by your corral color.
The first day also serves as a shock to the system and a slap to the face - hey, wake up! you're in BC. While your body will ache from the effort, your face will be even more sore - that is of course from the silly smile that will not leave it. This scenario repeated itself every single day. OK, let's be honest - the smile did disappear at times, and even was replaced by tears (keep reading you'll see why).

What goes down must come up

18 km Is Not A Rest Day 

Don't let the length of the stages fool you. 871 meters (2858 ft) of climbing over 18 km (11 miles) is A LOT. Each stage in BCBR is hard and epic. Don't even let the pictures fool you. BCBR is a cross country race - so remember: you will have to climb, a lot. The trails are steep and rocky going up and down. But if you are like me, you climb for the descent - don't worry they will come BIG TIME.
Which brings me to my next realization.

There are 2 types of fun
Photo: Jennifer Purcell

There Are 2 Types Of Fun

In endurance sports, in general, there are 2 types of fun:

Type I - fun during and fun to remember. Which means, every second is fun. It doesn't suck for even one split second. You will not want it to end. You will want more and more.
Type II - sucks and is painful during but fun to remember after.   Which means, during all you can think about is "why the hell am I doing this?". It will take you to the limits, it will make you cry. But after, you will run and share with your friends at the local pub, or even worse - will sign up again. Type II fun is character building and is the type of fun you'll remember for the long run. It is the reason you will wear the belt buckle/medal you received after crossing the finish line with pride for years to come.

In BCBR you will experience both types of fun every single day, which makes this race very special. For example, Half Nelson in Squamish - will make you giggle like a teenager and scream with joy. Its a big roller coaster full of fun, fun, fun. But immediately after, it will come - a section of type II fun. At the end, you will be more proud you nailed the latter.

Flow Is A Relative Term

From a conversation with two local riders, I understood that flow is a relative term. The tight single-track sections with tons of roots, rocks and slippery moss that were so fun and flowing for them. To me looked more like trying to comb Bob Marley's hair with a fine tooth comb. It took me 6 days of riding to realize that as the race organizers say: flow is not a type of trail but a state of mind. I finally reached this 'flow' state of mind, that mountain biker nirvana, yes, even on the hike-a-bike sections.

North Vancouver - Day 5. 18 km (11 miles) and 871 meters (2858 ft) of climbing
Photo: Todd Weselake

BCBR Will Take Your Equipment To The Limit

7 days of riding on the aggressive single track of BC will test not only your body but also your equipment. Before you head to BC, make sure your bike is in excellent shape and everything is working properly. That your tires are relatively new and are the right type for BC riding - this means with lots of grip.
The folks from Obsession Bikes worked around the clock and through the night to fix any mechanical issue that arose during the race. At the end of each stage over 100 bikes were handed over to be treated. My bike that was almost brand new spent 2 nights at the mechanics tent.
By the way, each visit to the mechanics tent is not included in the race price and will cost you extra, so be prepared.
During the stage, Shimano provided tech support.  

Fun factor
Photo: Lorenz Jimenez

The Bike

Speaking of equipment. Let's talk about the most important piece of equipment in your BCBR experience, your bike. For this I have to go back to a conversation I had with that same dear friend from my "new beginning" story. When I told him, that's it, I did it. I signed up for BCBR. His second sentence after congratulating me was "you're not going to do it on your Epic - right?!". "Why not?" I asked innocently. This is where I learned a very important, and not cheap, lesson in life. 2 words. Fun factor. Yes, there are people who ride BCBR on a hard tail or even a rigid bike. The pros do it on a pure XC 100 mm full suspension bike, but this is exactly the point. I am not. Most riders chose a bike with at least 120 mm of suspension. Which makes the fun factor higher. So thank you Nimi for the valuable lesson. My Yeti Beti 5C was the perfect bike for me to maximize my fun factor. Fun downhill with not too much sacrifice on the climbs.    

The Bear Necessities

The pre-race briefing and the mandatory race kit include elaborated explanations on what to do in case you meet a bear, a conger or other predators. A whistle, emergency blanket, pressure dressing, water proof matches are only part of the mandatory necessities you will need. Happy to report that the only animals I met on the trails (well other than people) were pesky mosquitoes and butterflies.  

Sunset Yoga and stretching  

Beyond The Riding - Summer Camp For Adults 

One of the special experiences in BCBR is post ride. It's this amazing community of over 600 riders from all over the world. A mix of languages all around, but everybody speak the one single language that counts - the bike. We all are here for the same goal. The ride. Add to that fully equipped camp site, a beer garden, communal meals, a shaded corner to hang out with wifi and a charging station (because if it's not on Strava it didn't happen), and you have a winning recipe. Summer camp for adults. You ride during the day and get to share stories about it over beer or shake with your new friends. Then you end the day with group yoga and some stretching as preparation for another amazing riding day.
Even if you came alone, the combination of an assigned corral and the camp experience will make sure you will not be alone for long.    

It was funny the first morning, not sure how I felt on the 7th
Photo: Tom "Danger" Place

Cockadoodledoo ... 

Who thought the a yellow rubber chicken will become the star of BCBR. This chicken that screams into the mic each morning "goooood morning BC" may be funny on the first morning but it wont by day 7. It speaks French and Spanish. Sadly does not come with a snooze button. It will keep screaming until you unzip your tent. Good morning, it's time for another amazing day on the saddle. It is an annoying yet inseparable part of the BCBR experience and worthwhile dedicating a whole paragraph and a photo to.
The yellow chicken, by the way, was "stolen" and right now is touring down under while posting on social media. Don't worry as the "thief" promised to return the chicken in time to preform his important duties in BCBR 2018.  

It's a party on the trails
Photo: Rob Shaer, Dave Silver

The Friends You'll Meet

In BCBR you will meet 3 types of friends:

The residents of the host towns, that will come out and cheer for you when you arrive into town. With a band of wind pipes, cow bells and cheers, and you are not even racing yet, just walking off the ferry. In a different North American reality where locals fight to close trails and restrict cyclists access, this warm hospitality and local investments in the trails and riders is remarkable. It will make you feel like superstars.

The second group is those who you will meet on the trails cheering for you and making sure you are not alone. There you will find big parties, costumes and music, bacon, shots of gels and other more adult like beverages, cold watermelons etc. But mainly, you will not feel alone.

The third is your new BCBR friends. They will be there when you need help or just a word of encouragement. Even if it will cost them their own race. They will stop to help you fix your broken chain, will give you their handlebar so you can finish the stage, will lend you a cleat for your shoe etc. Comradery is the name of the BCBR game.

The crew and volunteers are key part in making this even tic like a Swiss clock
Photos: Tom "Danger" Place and me

Perfect Organization To Complex Logistics

BCBR is not cheap to say the least. However, when you take into account the crazy logistics and tthe flawless race organization, I really have nothing to complain about. The camp moves 5 times, which requires buses, ferries, transfer of the bikes from one finish line to the next start line, the showers, restrooms and taking down and putting up the camp - all before the first rider crosses the finish line. Just remarkable. It is the 11th year of this event and everything is ticking like a Swiss clock.

All this is possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of the crews and volunteers that come back year after year. Their excitement and willingness to help is admirable. Tom Danger, a crew member, who after riding in BCBR decided to come back every year and work the event told me when I asked him Why? that it's his second family. It's the comradary, meeting people from all over the world, the experience, the adventure. This is exactly the reason why. Regardless if you are a rider or a volunteer it's the experience that brings us all there and back.

Photo: Lorenz Jimenez

Whistler - Day 7 = WTF?

Not everything is coming up roses in BC. There is some criticism but really nothing big. My biggest beef  was day 7. Whistler, a mountain bike Mecca. The stage that I looked forward to the most, was a huge disappointment. This year the organizers decided to extend the stage from 18 km (11 miles) to 33 (about 20 miles) with 1570 meters (5180 ft) of climbing, of steep and not really rideable single-track. Due to very dry trail conditions the stage was shortened to 28 km (17 miles), but it wasn't enough. I am of the opinion that the last day of such an event needs to leave us all with wanting more. In this case it was the exact opposite.

Earls Cove - Sechelt - Day 3. 57 km (36 miles) and 1710 meters (5610 ft) of climbing
Photo: Todd Weselake

Tips To The BCBRer Wannabe 

If BCBR is on your Bucket List, here are a few tips that will help you get there with a smile. Hit save or print. If not, then skip forward.

1. Registration for the following year opens a day after the race ends. Mark your calendars and block them for the time registration opens. The race sells out in less than 24 hours. 2018 race is wait list only, but sign up you may get lucky!
2. Check the BCBR website for the recommended hotels for before (North Vancouver) and after (whistler). Your life will be much easier if you book one of these hotels way in advance. The Pinnacle hotel in North Vancouver is right on the water and close to many restaurants, the local brewery and bike shops (should you need anything pre-race). 
3. Arrive a few days before the race. In order to make sure your bike will get there and is all in one piece. Also to pre-ride some of the trails and see what to expect. I highly recommend to book one of Endless Biking course pre-rides. They will take you with experienced guides to pre-ride Day 5 course that is the most technical day of BCBR. 
4. Pack for any weather. Don't forget a good rain jacket. However, don't overpack. The red bag that you are given may look big, but half of the stuff I brought with me found it's way to Whistler to wait for me there. I sure am happy it was warm and dry in this year's race. 
5. What is Day Zero? When should you get there. The website is a little confusing. The race starts in Cumberland, which requires a few hours on the bus and a ferry. Day Zero is the day that the race organizers will transfer you from North Vancouver to Cumberland. 
6. So what is day -1? This is the day you will have to pick up your race packet and hand over your bike. Which means, arrive at least 4 days before the race starts. 
7. Meal plan. I'll start by saying it costs extra and yes you must. The food is excellent and you don't want to be stuck without food. Which plan to pick? The difference is the times of the meals. Chose A or B. If you'll get stuck with C (like me), this means that your breakfast will end 30 min before the race start. Not ideal.  
8. During the ride, remember to smile.  You did it, you are in BC. Time to have fun.  

Post finish line photo with the 3 starts of BCBR - Dave Howell, Brett Tippie and the Chicken. 

BCBR was one of the hardest races I've done but one of the most fun. I will definitely be back again. Well, once I have a chance to "up my bike game" some more.


Special thanks to Jen and Tom for letting me use their photos. It was great meeting you both.
Colin, thank you for taping my wrist before each stage. You made it possible to ride the trails.
To all the new friends I made during this epic week, thank you for making this week way better that I dreamed it would be. I hope to share more rides with you in the future.

To all the ladies of the purple corral - you rock!!!

The purple corral rocks

This is the English version of my article that will be published in BikePanel.com in the coming days. Like always with some changes and additions here.


Thanks for reading.