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.
Sept 6/09 As I sit in the Calgary t int. airport I am troubled with thoughts of my upcoming few weeks. Going to see my father and brother in the H ha same time, filled with fear and anxiety. I have been in such great spirits lately, life moving forward in mostly a positive form, someone that I care for deeply, and whom I hope feels similar, riding tones and surrounding myself with people that are of the same attitude. Even work is good right now. So why……. With this latest development that brings me home it’s very hard to not start to take these things personally. I know that is a dumb statement and fairly immature, but just as things start to look up and start to become happy some unknown force just tries to thumb me down! Yes I am too sensitive and yes I am pretty hard on myself but yrs and yrs of it is starting to make me wonder. Even going as far to think I’m cursed because of an incident that happened Friday that actually I was not involved with or had any hand in ...
It is now January 2010 and the grey skies seem to be getting to me a lil bit! Mical and I had an awesome Xmas and New Year. The first of many to come just like that I hope! Lotsa riding, lotsa food and a few to many treats!! Hung out in Seattle for a day which was so nice, till my camera decided to have a shit....so we bought a new one! LOL! Lot of really neat spots there and I can't wait to go back when we can spend a lil more time together and the new camera will be joining us too!! Its now the 5th and she has gone to FMM to work to pay for the summer ahead. I think its a great opportunity for experience and she only has to work till the thaw, few months. And its a plus that she can go xc skiing there on time off. I miss her a ton and having an empty house again has made my mind become a lil more active and my body not! Thinking about dad, worrying about mom and Aaron as well as career confusion. No inspiration to ride or shoot. A skunky lil funk that will not last long, or I ...
I awake thinking “holy crap, it’s already Day 3!” Not only that but I get to ride on a bus: then a boat. How sweet is that? It’s a bag style breakfast so we can grab the shuttle to the boat and I was thinking I may need more fuel then that. Surprisingly there was enough grub in the bag to get me through the day. This is one of those days were we need the little red race bag as we take a bus to the Courtney Ferry Terminal over to Powell River and trust me, you don’t need to wear a chamois that long unless your riding! We end up waiting at the ferry terminal out in the sun, catching up with Drew from Decline/Niner. He is from L.A and met him last year at BCBR and was stoked to see he made the long journey again. It goes to show you how awesome the trails are around here. Walk on the boat and its more relaxing for a bit. We need to get race ready on the ferry as we race shortly after getting off the boat. It’s just a matter of a short walk and trying to find your bike amongst 500 other...
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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