Day 3 part II

As the race progressed we worked our way through the field, again meeting a lot of familiar faces and riders that we'd met previously. In many cases there is a team member feeling stronger than the other, so conversations start up while they wait for or try to catch their partner. We talked to lots of people from Colorado, Calgary, ...
Conversation usually starts with "how you doing?". "First race", "where are you from" and related small talk. After meeting repeatedly, you learn about them and expand the conversation. I can't seem to remember any names, so typically refer to them by city. "How ya doing Seattle?"
Those that don't talk are usually suffering and can't spare the energy. Unlike some shorter races or other sports, people are very supportive of one another. When a rider goes down (wipes out), is keeled over, looks to be in pain, or is standing beside the trail; passing riders almost always offer help.

One woman's team from Ottawa who we seem to encounter every day is always cheery and upbeat, and I never would have guessed that one of them was on an IV shortly after she had inquired about Stew's state (prior back injury and dehydration issues) and offered encouragement.

Lots of gradual climbing which was a good way to gain altitude, which I was mindful of. Also some very high speed loose gravel downhills, which can give an adreneline shot as you try to round corners which could result in dire consequences.

Stewart put in a solid ride but was experiencing some knee issues which penalized his attempts at working harder.
I felt extremely strong for the first 60/80 km, but began to feel the pinch as the day wore on and looked forward to the singletrack. Also has a knot in my trap that hurt pretty bad.
Then it came, but not as expected. It was great terrain that zig-zagged along the steep enbankments. It was obvious that someone had put a lot of work into it, but it was new unpacked dirt that was extremely choppy and hard to ride. Not particularly challenging, a stark reminder that you can't underestimate the terrain when we passed a rider with a freshly broken wrist, being attended to by the motorbike medic. Then, finally, some packed singletrack with high speed flow. At one point I saw a junction but noted the trail flag over a ladder bridge to the right, which I took. It started off with a wide ramp, but then it turned into just a log. Maybe it was less, but I remember it being about 6" off of the ground with various logs and debris underneath. Falling would have meant getting hurt. I was getting nervous as I tried to maintain a line in the centre until it rejoined a ramp on the far side. (This is about 5 hours into the ride and my trap was hurting!). As I got my wheels back on the wood slats, "Wack" my bar hit a tree and snapped my wheel sideways. Fortunately I caught by balance avoiding what could have been a race-ending fall. Phew! Seems that could have been marked better.
As I counted down the km's remaining we saw Peter and Anthony, another team from Ottawa who passed us. Unfortunately we weren't able to stick with them.
Finally we popped out on a fianl flat stretch and sprinted to the finish with another team.

We crossed the line and began the post ride process.

Something that you note when looking at the participants is just how fit everyone looks. While the average age seems to be mid to late thirties, there are people who are absolutely ripped and in their fifties. Middle-aged women with veins in their calves and biceps are normal. Interesting too, is that physical appearance seems to have very little with actual performance.

Opting to get to the hotel, we skipped the evening ceremonies and grabbed a steak at the hotel restaurant.

Tomorrow promising some great singletrack.

UM
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