Matty has checked in with his thoughts on the event after the first race…

Contributed by: Matty Blayney

The race started today and it was brilliant.  There were loads of people to see us off.  It was straight up a mountain though so things got tough quick.

The heat was killing me and it got a lot worse when we had to hike up climbs with the bikes.  You couldn’t ride down these hills never mind up them.  The 2.3km climb took well over an hour.  I felt like cryin’ and packin’ it in but an American guy kept me going.

It was worth it for the 18km downhill after with sights I will never forget.  There was 36 hairpin turns down it and my back brake give in near the top.  My shorts nearly changed colour but I made it down with the front and whatever rear brake I had.  Some guys bit the dust big-time though.

The ride into the village was awesome too.  I loved the race apart from the hike.  It was hell.  We finished in 3hrs 52mins (1hr 40 behind the winner) and considering Duane punctured that’s not bad.  87th out of 131 teams in our category is good going and 135th out of 300 overall.

Today was probably the worst and best time I’ve had on a bike.  I’m totally shattered.  My massage helped but if this is what it feels like after a 33km race I’m not looking forward to tomorrows 66km or Wednesday’s 120km.

Matty

Category: Mountainbike » Canada, Matthew Blayney, Matty's Trans Rockies Diary, Trans Rockies |

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