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Confessions of a MTB Dirtbag: SingleTrack 6 Review: Day 3 Cranbrook

July 25, 2016 by Ryan Taylor

Part of being a MTB dirtbag is mooching off someone when you see a good thing come your way. I gave Bruno the night off and took a friend up on the offer to stay at their place. Pretty sweet spot if I do say so myself! The problem with Bruno I’ve discovered is that the back is simply 3 inches too short leading to ‘the dripping faucet’ effect. No matter how tired you are, the smallest thing(such as 3 inches short of leg room) can keep you painstakingly awake.

Cranbrook

The carnival that is SingleTrack 6 moved 100km down the road from Fernie to Cranbrook which offered a complete 180 from the previous days. The trail today was very dry(like the Okanagan desert) offering punchy climbs and slightly less elevation gain(thank god). Dry, loose, dusty, and rocky trails were on the menu, and 30 degree heat! (86F)

The race started in waves today and because of my bonkings, and broken chain I was relegated to the second group start(of five). This proved to be a blessing in disguise as the pace was redlined, but not puke in your mouth redlined. After the first fantastic decent I managed to grab the head of the pack and didn’t have to deal with any dust, which was a major factor today.

To be honest I thought today was going to be a weak link of the race. I imagined long hot climbs, with boring at best singletrack. This was not the case whatsoever. As lush and green as Fernie was…Cranbrook provided dry, hot dusty trails with great flow. The climbs were punchy and I was left with a shit-eating smile on my face throughout the race. There was a lot of single track today that made up 44km of riding.

Except for when I bonked the worst I ever have my whole life.

I didn’t know it was possible to ride the last 5km that slow. There were a good 5 punchy climbs within that 5 km and I had to walk most of them. I simply couldn’t pedal on my bike. I was absolutely knackered. Probably 25 people passed me. It was terrible! It was like being in a dream where you cant run away from something, but for me I couldn’t make it to the finish line. Terrible. I immediately drank 13 glasses of coke as soon as I got in the pit and flailed miserably into the shade of a nearby tree like a giant man-baby.

Whats with the timed decent?

I need to have a Don Cherry moment here. The timed decent was not a decent at all. There was a lot of climbing within it. If you have a ‘timed decent’ there shouldn’t be any uphill; simple, ripping downhill.

Kimberly, British Columbia

We are now in the fantastic small ski town of Kimberly. I love this place. The main drag is pedestrians only, it has great restaurants…beer..cool shops. Its great! A lot of the architecture is modeled after German styles, so it feels like a small Europe. I am actually excited for tomorrow’s ride as the trails around here are fantastic. My legs are ruined and stiff, so whats another 3 days eh?

Confessions of a MTB Dirtbag: SingleTrack 6 Review: Fernie Day 2

July 24, 2016 by Ryan Taylor

Of course the first person I see in Fernie I owe money to. Drew and I use to work together 10 years ago. I was in a pinch in Las Vegas one year and he loaned me $20, I hadnt seen him since! — Of course the first person I see in Fernie I owe money to. Drew and I use to work together 10 years ago. I was in a pinch in Las Vegas one year and he loaned me $20, I hadn’t seen him since!

I awoke this morning in the back of Bruno feeling the effects of yesterdays antics. Stiff shoulders, stiff legs, stiff back. Whether this is from yesterdays stage, or sleeping in the back of my car is debatable. Luckily I knew what the actual time was this morning. Bruno has developed a constant gas smell, which is little disconcerting considering it is my house this week. It can only make me stronger.

The Meal Plan

I opted to buy the meal plan offered with Singletrack 6. For around $300 they provide you with breakfast and dinner at the ungodly hour of 5:30-6:30 am and pm. Anyone who has raced an event with multiple days knows getting quality food consistently and quickly is a nightmare while trying to juggle 5 different things while also racing a bike! The meal plan is a no brainer in my opinion.

The food has been great, and there is a lot of it! I eat better at this race than I do at home, that’s for sure. But then again, my cats eat better than I do.

Aint no Pain like Champain – Stage 2 of the SingleTrack 6

Today’s Fernie stage started at the local ski resort. Since my cut-in-line technique worked so well yesterday I opted to do the same today and managed to be in the top 1/3rd again. I find if I am friendly and look like I know what I am doing people don’t ask questions.

The race exploded off the line leading into a 500m-gained double track climb. The pace wasn’t as spry as yesterday I felt, as I think there were some sore legs and egos from yesterday’s stage. I bled through my eyes trying to get my 30lb beer gut up the climbs today.

Today’s stage was much different from yesterdays. The course profile looked like shark’s teeth, and although most of the climbing was on a gravel road, there were 4-5 major ones followed by various types of descents.

Today’s stage featured the famous ‘Project 9’ decent which is legendary in these parts. There is even a beer named after it from Fernie Brewing Co!

Project 9 is a fantastic long decent with knarly fast sections that you would expect from a BC trail. The only words that come to mind are ‘flow’ and ‘chunky’.

Really the day was made up of going up, and then down many times. Compared to yesterday’s stage it was a little frustrating for this guy. It provided 1500m elevation gain, but other than project 9 I felt like we lost a lot of hard fought elevation without a ton of quality singletrack time. Lets be serious for a minute though, anything compared to yesterdays stage would be like going from a champagne room stripper, to Pornhub.

Around the 2 hour mark, I blew up! There was no gas in the tank and I was left climbing the final climb covered in my own spit and snot just trying to make it through the day. My idea of taking 1 bottle and hoping it would last for 2 hours failed me miserably. You live and you learn. You would think after 18 years of this shit I would have learned by now.

That being said, there are fantastic aid stations with everything from Coke, to Ultima electrolyte drink to watermelon and gels, but I’m too stubborn to stop. Of course it makes more sense to spend 5 minutes on the trail in the middle of no-where bonked out of your mind trying to find out where your hands are, then to take 30 seconds to fill a bottle and grab a free gel 20 minutes earlier…..hindsight is 20/20.

As of now, while sitting in a bar with a ‘Project 9’ beer in hand, I feel pretty good. I hope this is a good sign of things to come tomorrow. It’s a good game plan to anticipate adapting into form 3rd day into an epic mountain bike race and pull out some strong legs right?

Confessions of a MTB Dirtbag: SingleTrack 6 Review: Fernie Day 1

July 23, 2016 by Ryan Taylor

Wow what a day. Where to begin. The moving carnival that is Singletrack 6 started its wheels in motion today. The small mountain town of Fernie is full of shaved legs, and weird facial hair. There is an audible buzz to the town as hundreds of racers began their day today. Some trying to take on the world one hemp/mocha/glucosamine power shake at a time, and others just trying to earn the post race beer.

Google doesnt know what time zone Fernie is in...which leads to massive panic attacks when race start is 8am. — Google doesnt know what time zone Fernie is in…which leads to massive panic attacks when race start is 8am.

Fernie is fantastic. Ive been here many times and it holds a soft spot in my heart, but to be honest I never got my trail jazz from it until today. Today was epic.

The carnival started at 8am with the likes of many speakers pounding AC/DC waking you up more than an espresso enema. I snuck my way into the first third of the massive group at the start line, where I looked around and I couldn’t see a dropper post in sight. The legs were mostly shaven, and I wondered if this was the party I wanted to be in. Mostly all I could think about was that I forgot to brush my teeth.

Like lemmings off a cliff into the pain train.

A neutral start plowed through Fernie, being led by an old town firetruck where mass carnage and chaos took place as the experienced battled with the not so experienced. On mass, we climbed and climbed and climbed what seemed like forever. Pavement turned to dirt as the vista exploded below as we were in our own personal fight club, inches from the wheel ahead and behind.

Being a BC resident I am use to climbing a lot…..its just part of living here. Your pre-work 1 hour burn ride typically holds 500-700m of climbing. I was not too impressed when I burned a lot of matches just holding the wheel in front of me to start the timed decent after 45 minutes of pain to read the Garmin only had 500m gained…..of 1500m for the day!

Oh god.

No matter. The decent started.

In my previous post, I mentioned that this week was a search for trail enlightenment. Well, everything from here is a bonus. I found trail enlightenment on the first day! It was fantastic. The crew at S6 has put together a truly great day of racing. Almost all of the riding was singletrack and the decents were fantastic. Today’s stage was truly a no puff puff race. When you weren’t descending for km’s at a time, you were riding rollers that felt like a roller coaster. Many times throughout the day I simply screamed with joy to the fright of people ahead and behind me. It was fantastic.

Until I hit the second climb.

The second climb, was far more steep than the first, and after 1.5-2h in the saddle getting your legs, arms, core, and head rocked…it was not a welcome sight! What is life without bringing you to your limits though. Unfortunately I broke a chain at one point and had to run to an aid station(which are fantastically well stocked) to find a chain tool, and in minutes I was back on my way.

I finished the day with another great but shorter, decent to roll in on the brink of being a broken man. My arms burned from pulling on the bars so much while climbing, and also from then railing extended sweet descents. My legs were cooked and my mind fearing how I am going to handle the next few days.

Simply it was one of my best days on a bike. Kudos!

Confessions of a MTB Dirtbag: Singletrack 6 Review: Foreplay

July 22, 2016 by Ryan Taylor

Over the next week I will be writing about my experiences at Singletrack 6, a 6 day marathon MTB race in mountain biking’s greatest hotspot, British Columbia, Canada. Singletrack 6 moves to different locations in BC every year and this year the Rocky Mountains are featured. The event stops in legendary outdoor meccas such as Fernie, Cranbrook, Kimberly and Golden.

My game plan for writing this article is to document the experience of Singletrack 6 as opposed to the ‘race’. The event attracts some of the best high level racers from all over the world, but I am not one of those. I am 30 pounds heavier than when I was a Cat 1 racer, and despite racing thousands of races through my life, I am more interested in the experience and the memories it gives than the race itself. Lets just say this guy will not shy away from the post ride beer. For me, this ‘race’ is an attempt to discover singletrack enlightenment through 6 days in the Canadian Rockies. What I do, what I eat, how I ride is a reflection of that journey.

Meet Bruno – My Home Base for Singletrack 6

No one can find enlightenment staying in a 5 star hotel. For this adventure I wanted to get back to the grass roots of riding, and my trusty(or not so much) 98 Subaru Legacy is the perfect vehicle for that. Instead of camping, glamping, or staying in hotels(S6 offers great hotel packages) I wanted to travel and live in ‘Bruno’. Part of this reason is that I have to make my way to the start of the stage every morning(there are shuttles available from S6) and the other factor is that I didn’t want to move 6 days worth of gear every morning. Bruno would be perfect.

From home base in Penticton, BC to Fernie it is roughly a 7 hour drive. For you International folks reading this, that is roughly driving time from Paris, France to Munich, Germany. Canada is a big place!

Unfortunately, Bruno didn’t like driving through some of the hardest driving conditions North America has to offer, and he lost a small bolt in the caliper of the rear right brake preventing me from stopping and causing a lot of banging noises. After some frantic phone calls and experimenting with the powers of zip ties, I decided to drive the 90km to the nearest town through a Canadian mountain range with only the emergency brake.

After a rain storm and about an hour of finesse braking I arrived at the nearest Canadian Tire, which is basically a do-all hardware store here in Canada. Luckily, Josh helped me out and I was on the road again!