4WhatMatters

Bear Mountain BC Cup DH

Bad conditions or excessive use? Sadly, results suggest the latter...

I never thought I would consider running spiked tires at a BC cup.

But no, last weekend at Bear Mountain they were the hot ticket, thanks to the sheer volume of rain that fell in the run up to, and continued to fall throughout, the weekend. This year, the organisers made extra effort to ensure plenty of shuttles were available on Saturday. Something that was greatly appreciated as shuttle access is often a tricky issue at Bear Mountain. Still, with the rain still coming down in buckets, and the course getting more and more chewed up as practice went on, many elected to do the sensible thing and head home to get a head start on cleaning kit in time for the following day's racing. However, “sensible” is not the most commonly used adjective when describing the downhill portion of Polartec Team John Henry Bikes, powered by Ethical Bean, and Ryan, Tim and I were happily boarding the last shuttle of the day as we scraped the layers of mud from our goggles, teeth, grips, and other unmentionable places.

Despite weather forecasts to the contrary, Sunday morning bought more of the same wet weather. Ryan proved he's worthy of his recent upgrade to the old man masters class, claiming he had thrown his back out in the previous day's practice and wouldn't be needing me to pick him up as planned. I may have teased, but there was a slight tinge of jealousy there as I loaded my truck full of kit still soaking wet from the previous day.

One member short, Tim and I both got in three practice laps thanks to the efficient shuttle operation in place once again. The morning's rain ensured the course remained a sloppy mess. Carrying speed in corners became the order of the day, and many of the jumps the Bear Mountain course is famous for became unrideable as it simply wasn't possible to get sufficient speed, although it didn't stop some from trying. I would start 60 seconds behind Tim, having registered together. Imagine my surprise then, when, about a quarter of the way into my run, I catch a glimpse of Tim's Team JHB jersey out of the corner of my eye as I ride past. I think I gave a token “you ok?” before passing. I'd love to say any lack of concern was due to my being focused on the task at hand but, truth be told, I was probably already out of breath from having to pedal so hard through the mud! Still, he was upright. That seemed sufficient for now. I would later find out that he had punctured on some of the rocky sections up top. My next surprise came a few seconds later when I was greeted with that familiar metal-on-metal sound that alerts one to the fact that the fresh brake pads he had installed Friday evening were done. I would love to blame it entirely on the conditions, but my time would indicate that excessive use may also have contributed to my premature pad wear. Nevermind. Still, with a DNF and a DNS respectively, I think I get to claim a moral victory over Tim and Ryan this weekend.

John Henry mechanic Jeff Bryson took the win in 5 minutes and 12 seconds. To put that in perspective, the course record, set in the dry by one Steve Smith, stands at 3:33. It's fair to say the course was running a little slower in the wet!

Thanks to all the organisers and volunteers that made the race happen. It's not easy to make everything run smoothly in such conditions and your efforts are very much appreciated. Next up, Arduum...

Polartec Team JHB @ Wade's Excellent Adventure!

Ok, my first blog entry as Tim and Ryan generally beat to writing about all the DH races, but I want to make sure I write about this because it was simply too much fun. Wade's excellent adventure is an event hosted by Wade Simmons, and organised by the kind folk at the NSMBA. The event is run as a "treasure hunt" style, with teams of five having to complete a number of laps on Mt Fromme.

I had to withdraw from this event last year as I was on holiday, and the guys I was supposed to ride with made me pretty jealous with their tales and stories following the event. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get the chance to do it again this year with a crew from John Henry Bikes. We were a mixed bag, to say the least. One adventure racer, one xc-racer, two downhillers, and one guy old enough to have done it all (sorry Ian!). Tim and I endured a pretty heavy amount of heckling, especially when asked why we were wearing knee pads and camelbaks. Why wouldn't we? That said, I was genuinely shocked at how well we rode as a group and matched each other's pace, both up and down.

We were in second place after the first lap, behind the Rocky Mountain Bikes "A" Team, and held that position until halfway through the second lap, when disaster struck in numerous forms. Meghan fell hard, and did a good number on a rear wheel. Having agreed to split up so that we could regroup back at the transition area, some of us made a, um, "navigational error". Who's fault this was shall not be discussed, And the fact that the route card was in my pocket at the time is irrelevant, ok? Long story short, we tacked on an extra couple of hundred metres of climbing to an already pretty long route. I'm not sure where we finished but all five of us managed to complete the final lap together, and we did so with some healthy-sized grins on our faces.

We'll be back next year, for sure, although I suspect someone else might be responsible for navigating.

Thanks to all those involved with organising, and if you get the chance to check out this event next year, I would strongly encourage you to do so. It's a fantastic way to ride the trails of Mt Fromme in a way you wouldn't normally, and you'll be supporting the advocacy and trail maintenance efforts of the NSMBA.

Oh, and props to they guy that rode the whole thing in green hot pants and a football helmet. A solid effort.