Club Announcements and Ride Logs
The Jungle
Our Team H2V fellow rider and John Henry racer, Matthew Young, had this to say about the hardest mountain bike race in the world. We can't believe he went to Costa Rica just after racing across Canada but once again he proved he is the man!
La Ruta Race Report 2007.
Problem with race reports is most of them drag on too long having to detail every minutia at nausea. This will be succinct.
La Ruta de los Conquistadores is billed as the toughest mountain biking stage race in the world. It takes riders from the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica over through the jungle & rain forests to the Atlantic Coast in 4 days. In November of 2006, we received an email from a friend who completed the event and said it was one of the more challenging things he had done. Perfect - challenge accepted. 4 of us committed, one of us registered. Luck would have it, I would find out two acquaintances also registered for the event and two weeks prior to leaving, we would have a pretty sweet plan set up which afforded us a support team of a mechanic and his girlfriend. This undoubtedly enhanced the experience for all of us.
After traveling for 12 hours we landed in San Jose Sunday night to acclimatize for a couple of days before an early morning Wednesday start. That morning came with a 3:30am local time wake up call - breakfast - prep and then start line pandemonium.
Day 1.
- 95kms / 59 miles
- 14000 vertical ascent
- 12:30 cut off
- 30 min warm up
- 1.5 hr hike a bike (gravel)
- 2 hr on & off bike (mud)
- 3 hr cross country - swamp / mud / gravel
- 3 hr ascent to finish the day - pavement / gravel
- light rain - scolding heat - cold to temperate weather
- finished in 10:49
Notes.
- 1st event I've ever contemplated quitting - very seriously.
- border line heat exhaustion - lay down for ½ hr at a checkpoint before resuming
- noted this race ideal for small, skinny, fast fuckers
Day 2.
- 75.2kms / 46 miles
- 12000 vertical ascent
- 11 hour cut off
Particulars
Notes.
- At one point we were cycling up a 22% grade incline for 1/2k.
- There were probably 7 inclines that were too steep to ride, even pavement in small gears.
- noted this race is ideal for small, skinny, fast fuckers
Day 3.
- 66.7kms / 41.4 miles
- 8000 vertical ascent
- 11 hour cut off
Particulars
- 4hour strait climb to start the day in middle & small rings - pavement
- it was like riding Seymour mountain for 35kms at once, mixed with a little old buck and a little mud.
- 2hr decent to flat terrain
- 30 min hike through waste deep mud to finish. No.. the kind of mud where you take a step, slip and fall on your face. Did I mention waste deep.
- Finished 6:35
Notes.
- Race organizers don't need to end days with 30 minutes of hiking through waste deep mud to prove a point.
- 1 more day of this bullshit and I was going to be riding relatively flat and getting the hell out of this jungle.
- Noted this race is idea for small, skinny, fast fuckers. However, real mountain biking isn't just climbing… it's about getting down as well and the little skinny guys sucked at something (finally)
- Oh yes, by hour 2 of this day we had ascended the equivalent of MOUNT EVEREST in terms of overall feet. All in small gear / small gear.
Day 4
- 120kms / 75 miles
- 4000 vertical ascent.
- 11 hour cut off.
Particulars.
- Of course a 1 hour climb to start the day - gravel
- Cross country for 4 hours - pavement / gravel / mud
- Downhill for 40 min hour
- Monsoon rain for 1hr, high heat for an hour, cold decent as we started very high
- Cross country for 2 hours - on 10k worth of railroad tracks!
- **ever ridden a bike across the inside of railroad tracks? Actually, ever had a tiny drip of water land squarely on your forehead? Same thing.
- Moved final aid station 4kms away bcs road had washed out. Bonked accordingly and barely made it to that station.
- Finished 7:40
Notes.
- Riding across railroad tracks was one of the most annoyingly mind numbing experiences of my lifetime.
- There were times where I would be riding alone wondering if someone ambushed me, how long would it take to find out I was missing and further, would anyone find me at all?
- Finishing this race made me feel good.
- Noted this race is idea for small, skinny, fast fuckers.
Overall.
This was one of the most challenging events I have done by far, hands down, no exceptions. It's akin to doing an Ironman for 4 days in a row with the hike a bike, heat, fueling and sheer magnitude of the event. Normally we would come back and put these types of events on the list for everyone to do, but I would hesitate to advise people to run and sign up for this unless they wanted to truly test their skills and mental capability. 575 people started this race and they say 42% did not finish it. Comparatively, last years day #1, saw 50% drop out of the race. For someone was a smaller framed, light, strong rider - this would be an IDEAL experience and venue for them to perform and do well in (provided they trained properly), however for the average recreational rider, it might be a pretty significant challenge. I rode for 32 hours over 4 days, and placed 77th in my category. Of that 32 hours, I can accurately report 3 total hours were downhill, 7 were cross country, 3 were hiking my bike and 19 were riding uphill in the middle or small ring.
The overall race preparation must be spot on, meaning fuel, race plan, support teams and organization must be tight. I rode a specialized epic and ran tubeless tires and the bike ran great (thanks Willie @ John Henry's). There were people on hard tails who looked like 92 year old hunchbacks by the time they finished the ride. Do not attempt this event on a hard-tail or single speed unless you feel the need to add an element of pain to an already painful event.
Thanks to everyone who supported myself through this event from family (away again), to Fraser (support), James & Dean (fellow riders & room mates) and Willie at John Henry's for the awesome Specialized Epic Carbon hook up! Next Stop is the 100km Sahara Del Mar in March where we will run across Africa's desert for 4 days!
Get busy living… or get busy dying!
Riding Review
Sunday October 28th was an interesting day to say the least. It was filled with some good riding and some epic video footage as Fergie would say. It lead to a new experience on my DH bike following Tristan Olk down the sketchy, wet, boggy shore, riding cypress a mountain I have never been to before. Tristan Olk, a prime rider at his athletic peak blows all competition away as he had some good racing last season making 2 dollars on a race from the free beer at the end.
We didn’t hit the trail-head until mid afternoon because we were chasing old Tristan around trying to get some riding done with him. Riding around in the Huck Wagon with Ryan Anderson is a blast as we joke and play pranks on the ESC Free-ride team. Always good times as Ryan, former employee of JH, is constantly joking around and makes the morning of meaningless waiting and driving worthwhile.
Finally organizing shuttles we got to the trail head and the rain mellowed out making the day salvageable. The camera started rolling and the riding finally began. Suited up we dropped in and all worries go away. All that exists is the trail your bike, and the buddy you are following. Tristan lead the way giving pointers and jokes as he never passes up an opportunity to crack a joke about someone. The trail was wet and slimy but we managed as we rode a sketchy upper part dropping you into family guy. Tristan once again telling stories about Jeff Bryson and the want to be JH crew. Family Guy was an epic trail and flowed really nicely even in the slimy soil. Dare devil Tristan rode most of the day without functioning brakes, which I wouldn’t recommend, still ripped and it was a sweet trail to get out there and ride.
The perfect way to end the trip was the ride back in Tristan’s truck with the Dakine tail gate cover inside on the two front bucket seats. Rolling into JH I felt invincible even though I had a few mishaps on the trail. To cap the day off Curtis Leblanc a fellow “grom” at the shop made me a nice mocha which made the lemon loaf go down smoothly. An excellent way to end an excellent ride.
Check out the rest of the video's online here.
Fall Riding With Duncan Mortimer
October 31st was an excellent day for riding - a prime example of why we can ride almost all year round in our West Coast paradise. By 2pm the sun was bursting through the clouds, and we were reaping the rewards. Tristan, Grant and myself were up on Cypress, getting some late season shuttles in. First up was Mystery DH - appropriate for Halloween? I have never ridden Mystery before, but it was a solid proving ground for my new Team DH, a few drops, a few gaps a lot of chunder and even more flowy singletrack. The only thing that kept me off the pace was a lack of fitness, but that's what the "off" season is for right? Everything was hooking up well on the bike, and there were several moments where i was wondering how i could be so confident given the unknown nature of the trail. Well confidence in your equipment is good, but over-confidence usually bites back. One shoulder check into a big old stump and my exuberance was toned down, just a little - Dainese armour coming to the rescue - thanks Italian dudes. By the time we were done with Mystery i was cooked - i guess that's why the local fast guys use it for training runs. You need to know your line and hold the speed high to carry momentum at crucial spots. More time on the trail will be coming soon in my future i can see..
The second lap we reserved for some good old classic shore goodness with a run comprising Reaper to Paul Hogans to Family Guy. Reaper passed off without incident, but Paul Hogan bit back. Both Tristan and Grant had "off the bike" moments dealing with the gnar of the old school classic.I managed to stay upright stumbling through the undergrowth to avoid Tristan sprawled across the trail, and no one was seriously hurt, though Tristan came close to wedging himself thoroughly into the trench that the trail has become. Family Guy is always a pleasure, with beautiful rock faces and fantastic construction it is a modern classic. It is the trail that claimed me the last time i rode Cypress - back in June. One broken Meta Carpal later and it feels like a trail just waiting to claim me on this ride. I skip the sketchy rock drop that got me last time, and roll out unscathed. Next time Family Guy, next time!
After Family Guy i was suffering from a bad case of the "claw" - some brake bleeding is needed on my new brakes as a result of switching the lines to my preferred "moto" style. Front brake on the right. I let Grant and Tristan do another run, and they blitzed through a Wild Cherry to Roaches run and were back at the cars in a blink of an eye.
3 runs on Cypress, no real injuries, another solid day on the Shore.
Duncan Mortimer
Member Insight In 10 Questions - Emily Cross & Erin Irwin
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| Emily Cross & Erin Irwin | |
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| 1.0 | RISERS OR DROPS? |
| Erin: | Drops of course! |
| Emily: | little jumps.... |
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| 2.0 | FIRST BIKE? |
| Erin: | A blue Supercycle...from then on I was under the impression I was supposed to be a boy! |
| Emily: | a red trick with blocks on the pedals because I was too small and then a Specialized Rockhopper when I started to work at the store…it's purple |
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| 3.0 | FIRST TRAIL OR ROAD YOU REMEMBER RIDING & WHERE, WHAT? |
| Erin: | The schoolyard at Hillcrest School in Hespeler, Ontario. I must have graduated from the endless hours of hitting the tennis ball against the wall. Thanks Dad! (I preferred the bike) |
| Emily: | Fisherman's and I swore that I would never do anything more than that, just long flat trails but I have totally amazed myself and am loving every minute of it! Whistler here I come!! |
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| 4.0 | EVER SUCCESSFULLY PATCHED A TUBE? |
| Erin: | Yeah, no and I hate to admit it. But I have witnessed this...once! |
| Emily: | lol no I have a store full of bike boys to do that for me...or Jen because she comes prepared |
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| 5.0 | CLEAN YOUR OWN CHAIN? |
| Erin: | Yes, I am familiar with how this is done this but most often someone else will do it. Guess who?! |
| Emily: | yes. Tristan and I spent a night in his garage cleaning the chain and entire drive train...he did help but I definitely got some grease on my hands |
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| 6.0 | SHAVE, WAX OR AU NATUREL? |
| Erin: | A combination... |
| Emily: | shave...I don't even like it when my own legs are prickly |
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| 7.0 | SAUSAGE & EGG BREAKFAST SANDWICH OR AVACADO SMOOTHIE WITH EXTRA FOAM? |
| Erin: | A smoothie, anything flavour but avocado! |
| Emily: | The breakfast sandwich minus the sausage...I prefer bacon |
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| 8.0 | SOLO OR GROUP? |
| Erin: | Group, but will ride solo...there's nothing like climbing a mountain and doing it solo |
| Emily: | group...I love the social aspect of riding, everyone is always encouraging each other shuttle or climb? |
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| 9.0 | SHUTTLE OR CLIMB? |
| Erin: | If you can't climb up, what are you doing coming down?! |
| Emily: | I love to climb on my cross-country bike while being clipped in, but would not pass up a lift up Whistler or Seymour when doing a DH ride |
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| 10.0 | TUNES IN YOUR IPOD? |
| Erin: | Hmmm, THE RAP coz that’s what is left over? LOL |
| Emily: | I love country...cause everyone could use a cowboy! And, I am a fan of Citizen Cope right now. |
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| 11.0 | WHAT LOGO WOULD BE ON YOUR JERSEY? |
| Erin: | A big pink heart and a fluffy bunny ;-) |
| Emily: | "Em's Bitches".......that's the name of my team with Katy, Jen and Leah |
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| 12.0 | WHAT ANIMAL & WHY? |
| Erin: | Eagle, wise old souls that can spot you coming... |
| Emily: | I like cats...I am starting a collection. I already have 2 (Macey and Marley) and that's just the start of my dream of becoming a crazy cat lady |
