Kaslo Suffer Fest, 100k MTB race, 2013
This is the authentic MTB Canadian experience ! Epic race from New Denver to Kaslo in British Columbia..
I signed up for this race hoping that the nice weather was going to continue for the rest of the month of September, however it turned into winter in a matter of hours prior to our trip to BC! We had already made plans to travel with the kids and mother in law and didn't feel like cancelling it last minute due to weather..
After packing for 6 people !! (insane task) we left Calgary at around 10:30am on Friday, drove all the way to New Denver stopping along the way for feeding times and diaper changing..
We stayed at Villa Don Quixote, excellent place to stay in New Denver and just blocks away from the start line.
The first 32kms take you to one of the picks and back to New Denver, where you have the option to grab things that you left prepared to keep going.. I left dry gloves, watter bottles and some food. This loop is a steady climb where all you do is stand up and pedal. I was riding with Paddy for about an hour and then took off for the next 7 hours journey on my own. Didn't passed or get passed by anyone from this point on, I stayed in 7th place for the rest of the race.
Going up to the Jackson Basin things weren't quite the same, as snow was starting to show and sub-zero temperatures started to affect my hands, knees and feet.. This is approx a 15k climb to the alpine (really exposed) and the last 3k of the climb were covered by snow (at least a foot at the top), once I reached the top (which was the hardest part of the race) I put on an extra vest and shower cap to try stay warm on the descent..
All I could do at this point was to put a foot down and let the bike go... For over 4k the trails were all covered in snow (deep snow), but once I started to see the ground again I started to feel better.
It was raining still and my wet hands and feet were making me think that if I could go faster I would finish quicker :--) if only it was that easy...
From here on I knew that the major climbs were over and that soon enough I was going to get to the finish line.
As I was getting exited about finishing the race I hit a wooden bridge sideways and wipe out pretty bad... The first and only crash, but luckily was on the bike right away without major damages..
In the last AID station at 10k to go they had warm pizza and coke ! sweet, for the first time in many races I wasn't feeling stomach sick to skip the pizza, so I grabbed one slide and kept going..
10k to go (that was all I was repeating to myself, 10k to go Cesar, come on !! pedal, pedal).. It was feeling a bit warmer and despite I was all wet, I knew the race was almost over, I could see the kms going by in my watch and getting some speed was helping to see them decreasing even faster !! sweet, almost there buddy almost there, just pedal dammit !
In the last 3k or so I was in an intersection and the marshal (pretty cute though) sent me the wrong way ! F#$%#$# what ??? I was pedaling and wondering "am I in the right trail???, I can't remember these stairs !! oh man more stairs nooooo, and when I finally saw the pink bridge (that I have already went by 20min ago I confirmed that she sent me the wrong way....) I wanted to sit and cry ! I turned around and as I was pedaling back couldn't stop swearing all along the way !!! I saw the marshal and yelled at her "you sent me the wrong way!!!" I am telling you, after 100+kms in the rain the last thing you want to do is to ride extra 5ks or so..
Anyway, crossed the finish line to see Leighton already changed in dry clothes and eating a burger with Peter (who I was chasing the entire race), Peter finished 26min in front of me, and he is 50+ (I really want to be like Peter when I am his age, that is for sure, he even ran the 50k next day to complete the Kaslo Suffer weekend !).
Anyway, after a few days here in the office I find myself checking the Kaslo Suffer Fest website and marking my calendar for August 30th 2014 to face this challenging race once again..
Next day was packing and hanging out with Nick and the twins, I guess that there is no recovery day for us (Dads) after any race.. Nick is supper active and all he wants is to play with dad, jump and run all over the place. It was still rainy in New Denver, but that wasn't keeping him inside the cabin, he wanted to be out in the rain, jumping in the puddles and getting wet ! (I guess we do are alike in that way).
I signed up for this race hoping that the nice weather was going to continue for the rest of the month of September, however it turned into winter in a matter of hours prior to our trip to BC! We had already made plans to travel with the kids and mother in law and didn't feel like cancelling it last minute due to weather..After packing for 6 people !! (insane task) we left Calgary at around 10:30am on Friday, drove all the way to New Denver stopping along the way for feeding times and diaper changing..
We stayed at Villa Don Quixote, excellent place to stay in New Denver and just blocks away from the start line.
I had pretty much everything organized and the bike and all the stuff needed for the race ready to go. I couldn't go to the pre-race meeting, but they sent me the race package to the start line.. The start was at 7:00am, bit cold but it wasn't raining yet.. 43 people started the race (only 23 finished the epic day).
The first 32kms take you to one of the picks and back to New Denver, where you have the option to grab things that you left prepared to keep going.. I left dry gloves, watter bottles and some food. This loop is a steady climb where all you do is stand up and pedal. I was riding with Paddy for about an hour and then took off for the next 7 hours journey on my own. Didn't passed or get passed by anyone from this point on, I stayed in 7th place for the rest of the race.
The scenery is amazing, wildlife (bears) and beautiful colors.
Going up to the Jackson Basin things weren't quite the same, as snow was starting to show and sub-zero temperatures started to affect my hands, knees and feet.. This is approx a 15k climb to the alpine (really exposed) and the last 3k of the climb were covered by snow (at least a foot at the top), once I reached the top (which was the hardest part of the race) I put on an extra vest and shower cap to try stay warm on the descent..
Descending the Jackson Basin in dry conditions is a challenge let alone with a foot of snow ! crap it is scary..
All I could do at this point was to put a foot down and let the bike go... For over 4k the trails were all covered in snow (deep snow), but once I started to see the ground again I started to feel better.It was raining still and my wet hands and feet were making me think that if I could go faster I would finish quicker :--) if only it was that easy...
From here on I knew that the major climbs were over and that soon enough I was going to get to the finish line.
As I was getting exited about finishing the race I hit a wooden bridge sideways and wipe out pretty bad... The first and only crash, but luckily was on the bike right away without major damages..In the last AID station at 10k to go they had warm pizza and coke ! sweet, for the first time in many races I wasn't feeling stomach sick to skip the pizza, so I grabbed one slide and kept going..
10k to go (that was all I was repeating to myself, 10k to go Cesar, come on !! pedal, pedal).. It was feeling a bit warmer and despite I was all wet, I knew the race was almost over, I could see the kms going by in my watch and getting some speed was helping to see them decreasing even faster !! sweet, almost there buddy almost there, just pedal dammit !
In the last 3k or so I was in an intersection and the marshal (pretty cute though) sent me the wrong way ! F#$%#$# what ??? I was pedaling and wondering "am I in the right trail???, I can't remember these stairs !! oh man more stairs nooooo, and when I finally saw the pink bridge (that I have already went by 20min ago I confirmed that she sent me the wrong way....) I wanted to sit and cry ! I turned around and as I was pedaling back couldn't stop swearing all along the way !!! I saw the marshal and yelled at her "you sent me the wrong way!!!" I am telling you, after 100+kms in the rain the last thing you want to do is to ride extra 5ks or so..Anyway, crossed the finish line to see Leighton already changed in dry clothes and eating a burger with Peter (who I was chasing the entire race), Peter finished 26min in front of me, and he is 50+ (I really want to be like Peter when I am his age, that is for sure, he even ran the 50k next day to complete the Kaslo Suffer weekend !).
Anyway, after a few days here in the office I find myself checking the Kaslo Suffer Fest website and marking my calendar for August 30th 2014 to face this challenging race once again..
Next day was packing and hanging out with Nick and the twins, I guess that there is no recovery day for us (Dads) after any race.. Nick is supper active and all he wants is to play with dad, jump and run all over the place. It was still rainy in New Denver, but that wasn't keeping him inside the cabin, he wanted to be out in the rain, jumping in the puddles and getting wet ! (I guess we do are alike in that way).
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