Overall, a super-great experience.  Glad to have had a buddy first go ‘round and now that I’ve done it, solo wouldn’t be that bad since you’ve got other  people around you most of the time.  You kind of find your group of people at your speed and see them at the aid stations and pass them off/on the  trail. : )  So, even if you can’t find a well-matched teammate, if you have some friends that want to go, doing it solo doesn’t seem that bad.  Was great to be able to eat dinner with the team and chill in the beer gardens, etc.  Never would have done it solo the first time (thanks Kathy) but now I think, huh – it is doable!

As far as terrain, I think 95% of what we rode was “climbable” with some just being super-steep or rooty/muddy in a few sections.   I think if you get used to climbing 4K+ and you’re combining road and technical climbs (40% road, 60% technical singletrack) and able to do 35+ miles a couple of days in a row it’s totally do-able.  I think next time I would be inclined to spend more time training for faster speeds and to make sure I can use the road to make up some of the time lost on technical climbs.  Also – they told
us that you didn’t need a big ring – not true – used the big ring a lot on long sections of flat-ish road.  Was helpful to have a bike with 5” of travel that was reasonably light but that could also be locked out
front/rear.  I did a lot of locking out for the climbing.






 

Technical terrain-wise there were some steep, loose sections with drops in them but all were rollable except maybe one or two in Squamish.   There were a fair amount of elevated wood stuff but 95% of it wasn’t too scary.  There were some that I walked b/c I would get tired enough not to feel quite
strong enough to navigate an uphill wood structure that had some exposure. Other than a few over some high creek beds, most wood stuff didn’t have much exposure and you can  walk what you don’t like but really, it was all totally do-able and not as intimidating as I expected except when I got too squirrely from being fatigued.  Then I erred on the side of caution. : )  A couple of times I got kind of out of control and just had to tell myself to let go of the brakes, get my head up and trust the bike.  Surprisingly came through some things I though were questionable. : )  Mostly did some stuff b/c I was too tired to walk it. I decided that walking is way more tiring then isolating the leg and riding up stuff even if it is slow to ride up it.  The times I walked were very demoralizing and I was a much happier camper
when I was on the bike.

Food – meal plan was convenient but the lines to get in were long so you want to get in early for that.  A few of the breakfasts were lean for folks that don’t eat meat, but otherwise it was actually pretty good.  Day 4 they couldn’t get food out fast enough though we didn’t get much to eat since all but the huge trays of meat were empty.  The Powell River (Day 3?) day kind of sucked b/c you had to take a bus or walk up a trail to get to the food and that was a bit of a pain.

Tents – actually this was not bad.  The tents are big enough for the bags and for the bodies.  The pads were fine and the locations they chose were grassy.  In Powell River we stayed at a park overlooking the water – beautiful.  Day 6 Jose arrived and I stayed in the hotel – was nice by then but it is difficult to me to pull yourself out of the mental experience of being in camp with everyone else.  I think if I did it again I’d stay in the tent all week until Squamish and then use the hotel on day 6.  Or…if we had the RV that might be the way to go.  Will have to think that through if I decide to do this one again.

Showers – not awesome, if you’re not back early it’s hit or miss on whether or not you get a hot shower.  By day 5 of freezing cold showers (except the one I took at 10;30 PM) I was over it.  Borrowed Kathy’s shower in the hotel at Squamish and was very, very happy.  Also did room service and had a big meal.

Bike Repairs – they had Shimano at the 2nd aid station every day and they did on the fly repairs so that was great.  Used their bike shop one day to change a flat when I broke off a valve – they were fast and good but that’s all I used them for.  They did have rags/lube/pumps available for free every morning/afternoon.

Aid Stations – they had 2 throughout the course, usually 14-20 miles in and the 2nd usually about 10 miles from the finish.  They were stocked with water & Ultima, Honey Stinger Gels and blocks, fruit, chips and snacks, etc. They also had motor cycle support riding throughout the course making sure people were ok and responding to any need for aid, etc.  Felt very much supported by the staff and they were great.

Beer Gardens – yeah they had beer gardens 4 of the 7 nights.  Good stuff.

Hotel Options – Kathy booked the suggested hotel every night.  Personally it seemed like a lot of work to me to get the shuttle to/from the hotel in between meals and all that but I think she was happy. Might not be so bad if your times aren’t as long as ours but it seemed like a lot of work to me when I really just wanted to get back, eat, shower, and relax.  She also said that the hotels were a bit scrappy until she got to Squamish/Whistler. The hotel in Squamish though (Day 5 there) had laundry services or for an
extra $10 there were washer/dryers in the room so that was a bonus.

Laundry – not much in the way of options so bring clean chamois for every day – and jerseys if you can.  We didn’t do laundry until day 5, the one jersey I washed took 2 days to dry.  We brought our own laundry soap.

MDJ RACING

Bike Setup – had one bottle cage with electrolyte drink on it and make sure I drank that before aid station 1 each day, refilled and drank from Camelbak/water and that alternatively after that.  Had 2 gels taped to the bike (3 for longer days) and made sure I ate them all each day plus 2 packs of Blocks.  Couple pcs of fruit at the aid station (until one of the aid station folks mentioned that people pee and then put their gloves into the fruit to pick it out, nice, eh?) and then I stopped eating unpackaged anything.

Eating/Drinking - They made a point to tell us that “you are eating for tomorrow” and “a happy mountaineer pees clear” – so even if you weren’t hungry, you ate anyway.  Even if you weren’t thirsty – you drank anyway.  I think we all did pretty well with our hydration and eating.  Kathy’s 1st day
was rough with the blood sugar being low but after that she seemed to get it dialed in and it didn’t dip too low throughout the next few days.

Hmmm….what’s all I can think of at the moment.  Overall, a really fun experience. I was thinking about what other race I would want to do next and really, I’m afraid the terrain won’t be as awesome so I’m tempted to just do this one again.  It really was breathtakingly beautiful and the terrain was
amazing.  Definitely recommend the experience! If I had a spare $2k and some others wanted to do it again, I’d be all over it.  Would  kinda like to have another shot at it.

Huge thanks to all that made the experience possible with sponsorship, donations, training support and on the homefront.  It was a lot of time and money but the experience, and to share it with Katie, Kathy, Virginia and Angela, was priceless.  Was great to have such amazing teammates.

Diamondback – thanks for the amazing Sortie – it was THE bike.  Nice and light for climbing, 5”x5” to navigate the techy stuff.  Truly the bike to have this experience on.  What a blast! Thanks to Sturdy Bitch, Big Tree Bikes (oh, and Katie loves, loves, her wheels), Rocket Promo, MDJ Racing, and the other amazing groups that made this happen!