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

Contributed by: Matty Blayney

Well it’s nearing an end and I’m starting to come out of the dumps. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Today however was one of the hardest if not the hardest. The Altitude gain or elevation gain was over 2000m. I’m not sure of the exact number but it was far bigger than any other stage. I’ll put up the graphs of each stage when I’m home. (check cycleseen.com for that)

The mood among the riders was good. Everyone knew if they could make today they were more or less home as tomorrow is an easier day. I felt weird; in one hand I was glad to be doing the last big stage and in another hand I was annoyed at myself for not enjoying it more. The more I talked to people the more I realised lots of people were on the same boat.

The stage started pretty rough, straight out of Sparwood and into a climb. It only lasted 6km but the pace was high and everyone was jockeying around for position as a single track was up next. It made little difference. 6km isn’t enough to break up 600 riders and the single track became a long queue and not much real riding could be done. Another gravel decent and flat section took us to the first CS. The dust and gravel played havoc with peoples eyes, and if you were hungry before it you weren’t after. Gravel doesn’t taste so good so we stalked up on fruit and bars before the 1st big climb.

The climb started gradual but fast became a killer. I’m amazed that I’ve been feeling stronger and stronger as the week has went on. I went very hard up it to see who I could catch and had great fun passing many guys I’d got to know. I probably went my best up this climb than any other. Perhaps the smoke from a forest fire nearby blocking out the sun helped me. Duane certainly felt it too as he climbed at a constant pace. The heat and altitude have hit him hard on some stages, though he always seems to get there. A lot of people walk. After another hike-a-bike session, which wound a lot of people up, we went into another long and fast descent. The terrain was rough as usual and Duane punctured just before CS2.

The gravel and dust is so bad that at the CS’s a man oils your chain and cleans your glasses. For those of us without glasses its watery eyes for a while. The next lot of the course was double track and road riding. The double track is a nightmare when you expect it to be flat. It never is and the little rises take it out of your legs a lot. The bits on the road where fast and allowed us to get the food in. CS3 was at the foot of the next climb and saved a lot of peoples chances of completing the race. Many people were simply done and carrying injuries. The energy they got at the foot of the mountain defiantly got them up it. For us it was just about getting up it as Duane’s foot numbed up. The climb seemed to last a lifetime and as I caught more and more people I noticed we were higher up the field than we had been before. A good chance to move up the order a bit, but it wasn’t to be.

As I waited at the top everyone that came past was whooping and shaking hands. There was smiles all round. I think everyone realised that that was the last real mountain they’d be climbing. As Duane came over we went straight into the descent. Our constant riding had put us well up and we could coast the downhill and last 7km to record our best result. Disaster would strike. About 1km into the descend Duane punctured again. After a quick repair we got to storm down again. Now we have been flying on the descents this week but I didn’t think we were going fast enough to miss the course markings! As we started climbing again and rolling up fire track trails I thought ‘this wasn’t on the route guide’. I ended up in a ringed area with no exits. After a few expletives we went back. We must have gone a few km’s the wrong way. It got worse. About 100m into the right descent Duane punctured again! The amount of teams that passes us by the wrong direction was bad but this threw us into despair. By this point Duane was shattered, more mentally I think than physically. Three punctures in one day would put anyone’s head away. It would get worse of course and I was fast running out of water. Another 300m and I was out on the valley floor on the road. I turned round to see he had punctured again!

By the time we got going I was out of water and my mouth felt like a desert. But then we saw the finish line and all the tents. Yes finally we made it. The longest, hardest and most frustrating stage was over. ‘6km to go’ shouted a woman in an official’s jacket. I was not amused and asked her if it was a joke but of course it wasn’t. I still think it was kind of twisted doing that to people. It was a bit like day two. I felt my head going so hammered it to get to water. Having to crawl under a bridge with the bikes just did us in. As we finally crossed the line there was no relief that the Rockies more or less conquered> not a lot was said at all. I was just cursing my luck. It could only happen to me and it could only happen on day that was meant to be sweetest.

Two of our English friends had got us a tent and helped us get sorted but it was a terrible end to a great ride. 8hrs 40mins, our longest day. As we had diner that night I got some comfort by watching groups come in at 10 hours. Then a group of eight at 12.5 hours and then the last two at 13hours. It was getting dark. These guys were smiling; thought one of them did cross the line with his head on his handlebars and then collapsed!!  The cut off time was 10 hours but they let these guys continue out of sheer pity. There were people like this all week. 8,9 and 10 hours per stage and they still got up the next day and rode. They deserve a medal.

But the big story was a poor guy in a father/son team. He was coming to the end of the downhill (also the last big one) and hit the dirt hard. He had to be airlifted out. He was something crazy like 9km away from the finish. Thankfully he was ok and only suffered a broken collarbone or something but his race was over.

Last day tomorrow. The finish will be so nice to see. Our party plans have already been made and we intend to celebrate well.

Matty

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

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