So this has taken forever to get out but I'm finally sitting down and knocking it out.  We DID complete the BC Bike Race and we had a blast.  We trained through the winter, we got to ride with some amazing gals and the race finally arrived.  We headed up to Day Zero up in Vancouver.  We hung out at the North Van Holiday Inn on Lilleooat Road.  The hotel is just a short ride up the road to the north shore trail we were going to ride as a prologue.  The hotel  is bike-friendly and allows bikes in the hotel rooms and provide sheets for the floor. 

(Photo by the incomparable Sara Rigel - amazing support for her hubby)  Day Zero was a long day or standing around, filling out forms and picking up  this and that.  We got a chance to say “Hi” to Team LUNA Chix  racer Catharine Pendrel as we were standing in line.   Pretty much stood in line for about 2.5 hours before we got our bags, numbers, and then got into another line to get free Ryder sunglasses and then another line to sign up for a restaurant…Day 2 wouldn’t have dinner onsite but there were local restaurants that were scheduled to host us – by the time we got there, our options were pretty limited but we found something we could all sign up for so we could have dinner together.   

 To quote Kathy’s ride report “After standing around for hours, we finally made our way under the tent to start filling out form, after form, after form. “Keep the line moving please.” “But wait, I’m not done.” “Here s a clip board, now keep it moving. “ Finally got to the check in lady, “You missed the whole back side of this form. Quick, fill it out. Here’s your bag, here’s your plate, here’s your schwag, now move along please.” Mooo… “ 

After attempting to pack our clothing from our regular suitcases into the new BCBR logo-ed Dakine bag that Kathy had so coveted, Katie, Virginia  and I got decided to try to fit in our prologue.   The line was long and the prologues were only 60 seconds apart and the darn thing started with a climb up a gravel road.  Ugh.  It turned into a single track climb up a steep, rooty section, which lead right into a set of steep, rocky switchbacks.  Right about there is where I saw Catharine coming up behind me.  I quickly jumped off and got my slow butt out of the way as she easily climbed the singletrack and went on by with a “hey Sturdy Bitch!!”   Once we crested the climb, we got to descend some fun rooty drops on our way back down.  Passed some folks walking their bikes and thought “yikes – this is going to be a long 7 days if they’re walking this!” (Photo credit to Sara Rigel)

After the prologue, we lugged our gear back to the hotel.  Katie hung out with the family and Virginia and I decided to have a pre-race beer or two at the local pub, have a nice meal, and then get cleaned up so we could head back up to the park for the pre-race discussion.

Saw the Rocky Mountain tent and Catharine so I dropped off her Sturdy Bitch  tee.   Then we went to our last ‘event’ of the day to listen to the info on the race stages, first aid support, making sure that we were properly fueled and knew what support there would be as we went through the 7 days.  Sat around with the other Bitches and Sara and Andy as they clued us in to our next week.

Most important bits of info for a 7 Day Stage Race:  

• A happy camper pees clear
• Always immediately remove your chamois
• In a stage race, you’re not eating for today, you are eating for tomorrow