Day 2 starts off in the quaint little town of Cumberland so it is an early wake up ( one of many ) to get loaded up and drive up. This will also be one of the last days we will have the truck as we are ahead of support for the rest of the race. Base camp is to be at VillagePark right at the end of Downtown Cumberland. I spend some time here on and off during the summer and its great place to come and ride. If you can get here I recommend it. The route will take us right up the main drag of this historic town and into some of my favorite trails on the whole Island. With trails names like “Two and a Juice, Buggered Pig, and Short and Curly bouncing through my head how could you not love it? Weather is again magnificent as we herd together in the field. Luckily our Start is also our finish today so its one huge loop ….kind of.With approx. 60km and 1300ft I am hoping the chain holds today. No worries, I am on my bike so life is good.
The gun goes and we are off. Its cool seeing 500 cyclists rolling down the strip in Cumberland. We pass the Old Waverly hotel famous for Lucky lager consumption among other things. It’s Just a quick burn on pavement before we hit some dirt. It doesn’t take long through some quad trail to get packed up with traffic. So much so that we are now at a stand still. The time I was thinking of gaining with trail knowledge is dwindling as we speak. I would be bummed but it’s sunny and we are riding so “hmmph”. Just like the Colwood Crawl in Victoria its hurry up and wait. And trust me; I am in no rush to get to Forbidden Plateau. I have shuttled it in the past but never tried to climb it. Now I know it’s a grunt. I just settled in and grunted along. Often felt like I was going backwards. The aid station is atop so I dismount and grab some food and drink, something I didn’t do in Nanaimo and think it hurt me a little bit. The downhill is super fun and then super technical, on the rigid bike anyway. A lot of rocky stairways and loose corners so its survival mode for a lot of people. Regretting the no suspension idea for a little bit.The trail Peels out to some wicked fun riverside trails and then back towards town. Again I recognize some trails so I crank he throttle a bit. I am Full boar until town where I see my friend BOB waiting for me. Its A super fun day, as all riding days in Cumby are. Dinner tonight is a little different in that some local restaurants are opening there doors to serve the BCBR clan. We hit up Tarbell’s and as we walk in there lies the biggest chocolate cake I this boy has ever seen. At least I know they won’t run out!! Dinner was awesome and I would like to thank all the folks that kept everyone fed here in Cumberland. You truly cannot beat a small town in Canada.
So I have been yakking in Mical's ear for about 2 years now about doing a ride in the Cowichan Valley that encompasses Mt. Prevost, Maple Mountain and then finishes up on Mt. Tzouhalem, a ride dubbed 3Peaks. Now to be honest I knew this was a ride that Mical would absolutely destroy me on so i was a lil apprehensive of my fitness level. I had estimated that this would be about 6hr ride and maybe an extra hour of resting and stopping ( maybe puking or dying ). I almost pulled the pin in the am as I wasn't feeling all that "comfortable" but after a wicked omellete and some baked "crack" care of Choux Choux Charcuterie i was ready to push my limit screw for the day. After some packing and food prep we headed out ion what might have been the nicest day of the year yet. Here are some snap shots of our super long day in the saddle. Someone forgot socks The grind up Prevost The unrideable Cleavage The view from Maple to Ge...
If you are wondering why you have not seen me on my bike or even wrenching at Pro City I have a lil story for you. Mical and I had our usual mildly lazy morning and pre-ride breaky before heading out on what I think was one of my first no leg warmer rides of the year. It took till the second week in June but hey, its here! So a long ride on the road and the goose and on to Durance Lake road so Mical can do her Intervals with Partridge Hills being the End Zone. We entered Partridge the hard way climbing around the outside shoulder and with conditions being perfect.....it still sucked. But it brings you to the best single-track out there. We ended up on the Danger Trail so I figured why not, dump a bunch of elev. but its super old school techy trail and Mical dug it. Climbing back up the quad trail to the summit again i feel a pop and it was my chain had broken a link. So no biggy, Mical had a link so I installed it and we were again on our way oblivious to how abrupt my day would en...
So this year i decided to take part in the Rapha endorsed, Strava recorded Festive 500. Why you ask? Well I have never been very good at setting goals myself but seem to excel when something is put in front of me to aim for. Having completed the #rapharising challenge of the same ilk I knew that I really enjoyed the numbers game of riding with a set elevations needed, everyday plotting out routes that would maximize my gains. So with the #festive500 i did the same, sitting down the night prior to plot out enjoyable but long routes. The catch was that i needed to complete the challenge while not riding the last two days as it was surfing nye in Tofino. I came up with a couple 2 a day possibilities, a Leechtown, a TDV and a couple good post work as well....oh ya, was working the whole time too, minus Xmas day. The riding wasnt so much about the mileage but more about what I could put myself through to achieve my goal. My brain struggles with self worth sometimes and th...
favorite trails on the whole 
s atop so I dismount and grab some food and drink, something I didn’t do in 
ferent in that some local restaurants are opening there doors to serve the BCBR clan. We hit up Tarbell’s and as we walk in there lies the biggest chocolate cake I this boy has ever seen. At least I know they won’t run out!! Dinner was awesome and I would like to thank all the folks that kept everyone fed here in 
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