Day 1 - Nanaimo

Distance: approx 70km / 43.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1200m / 3930 feet
Start Line: Departure Bay Ferry Terminal, Nanaimo
Base Camp: Nanaimo

First thing we did, after fueling up in the morning was dump our bags off at the big yellow moving truck and hike ourselves up to the 10+ school buses that would take us to the BC Ferries’ Coastal Renaissance.  While in the waiting room at the ferry terminal, the girls made-do with coffee from the vending machine.  Fortunately, ever the foodie, Virginia had brought some Starbucks Via to tip into hot chocolate and made some “mochas”.  They herded hundreds of us into the terminal and we waited for the gargantuan ferry to arrive. This may have been the finest ferry I have ever been on.  We scouted out spots on the ferry where we could watch the World Cup game that was playing and enjoyed the best and most comfortable ferry seats ever.  The ferry ride was a long, but more than comfortable so we ate again and then arrived at the Departure Bay Terminal in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. 

While the route was 43 odd miles or so, there was no less than 33 miles of single track.  We started with a few miles of paved climbing, we entered some double track and climbed a bit and then finally got to jump into the good stuff.   Aid station 1 was around 25km, departing Aid 1 we climbed up single track that looked like some great built stunts that would be great to "descend".  It was quite a climb out through dense singletrack.  We made our way to Aid Station 2 where Kathy put in some good calories. 

While everyone made it through the aid stations just fine, Day 1 was where Kathy had to work a bit on dialing in her blood sugar.  As her teammate, I hadn’t quite realized what assistance I could provide to keep her sugar stable and to remind her to eat, etc.  She was doing pretty good at Aid 1 but by the time we hit the last section of single track on the descent, Kathy’s blood sugar was really low.  She had mentioned it to someone along the way apparently and they told the medics so they were waiting for us when we exited the last part of the single track descent (awesome!).  We first met Meg and some of the other aid staff here and had the first of many conversations with them as we would make it through the 7 days.  They checked Kathy’s sugar, fed her some OJ and cookies and they made plans to have sandwiches available for Kathy at the aid stations each day.  For me, lesson learned – every hour, ask Kathy to check her blood sugar and remind her to eat.  That way, to quote one of the medics, she won’t “look like 5 pounds of sand in a 10 pound bag”.  Huh???  Not a compliment we decided but we both vowed to do better in the coming days.

The singletrack was amazing and the descents down into Rotary Stadium in Nanaimo were a blast but we were glad to be home.  The tents were all set up and ready for our arrival, the first night of sleeping outside…thank goodness it was a beautiful and dry sunny day! 

For dinner, we headed in to the ice arena where they had a full spread of food for us.   After dinner, Kathy headed out to her hotel and the rest of us showered up at the shower trucks (semis with shower or bathroom stalls) and crawled into our sleeping bags.

For a taste of our Day 1 experience, check the video…at about minute 2:08, in front of the young boy in the blue jersey, you’ll catch just a glimpse of Kathy in her Sturdy Bitch Jersey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNhbKDYMv5E