Day 2, 70k- We awoke early in the morning on day two, packed into a bus that took us to a ferry, that finally dropped us onto Vancouver Island. We must say all the transportation so far has been worth the hassle. Day two treated us much better. The course suited our strengths, punchy climbs, lots of rocks, and lots of roots. The riding was very similar to the single track on the coast of Maine. About half way into the race we took a little detour. Instead of turning right off of the fire road into the single track, we followed a few other riders up the fire road. About eight minutes later two guys from the Monavie-Canadale team came flying down the fire road informing us that we had missed a turn. Overall we spent about 10 minutes off course and countless minutes trying to find the route and space to pass riders who made the correct turn. We tried to keep it cool and make up the lost ground. By the time we crossed the finish line we had made up a lot of lost ground, but we still lost time to other two-man teams that didn’t miss the turn. We feel that without the detour, we would have most likely finished 7th. What we took away from the day’s race was a huge mental confidence booster knowing that we can beat some of these guys. This is all part of racing an epic event. Another team could make a mistake tomorrow.
Day 3, 60k Day Three was still held on Vancouver Island so travel was minimal today. Today’s stage had two major climbs in it, a 10k climb about 20k into the race then a second shorter but much steeper climb towards the end. Our goal today was to try and keep the pace high and make our way back into the top 10. We stuck to our plan and put in a fast time. Not sure yet on what the final time or standings are, but we do know that we made up time which is what matters. We didn’t get lost and stayed on course the entire day, another plus. The courses on day two and three have been amazing; some of the best single track we have been on! Tomorrow we will be up early, 4:30am early to get onto a ferry. After tomorrows stage we will remain on the main land where we will finish in Whistler.
