Day 5 started out with great weather but it didn't last. It was a big stage 60 plus km and 6500 vertical ft of climbing. Exhausting really. We rode a new trail called Pneuma built by the Moose Mountain bike trail society. It connected more single track than I expected. A local racer, Jonathan Nutbrown, made a guest appearance and climbed Pneuma with Brian and I. Jon helped build Pnuema and told us all about it on the way up which helped pass some time. It was a fun visit. After a long descent, we started into some up and down trail riding and BAM! I got a flat. Boooooh. We were comfortably riding in 3rd at that time, but when we were fixing the flat, we got passed and couldn't get back into position.
Day 6 was a long one, 72km from Little Elbow to Rafter 6 Ranch. We rode some of the most epic trails in Kananaskis, Jumping Pound Ridge and Cox Mountain. There were grueling climbs with rewarding views and awesome descents. We spent most of the day with the Honey Stinger team and had the leaders in site as we climbed up to Cox summit. Unfortunately, Brian got a flat and we fell back into 4th place again. Two days of bad luck, but we were still holding 3rd overall. The time gap was closing between us and the Honey Stinger team. We were only 4 min in front of them and we had one day left of racing. Anything could happen.
Day 7. What a scary day. I woke up early in the morning and waited for Brian to return to the race grounds from his home in Canmore only 10 min away from Rafter Six Ranch. When Brian showed up, he was not feeling good. He kept telling me he felt dizzy. He also mentioned that his sleep was interrupted at 3 am by someone setting the alarm off at his bike shop. I thought 3rd place wasn't going to happen and I pictured the Honey Stinger team on the podium instead. The gun sounded. We started riding from Rafter 6 and when we hit the pavement, Brian was right with me. He appeared to muster up some power and we rode in a
pack behind the leaders, which was okay with me. If Brian kept the pace we were riding at for the rest of the race we'd hold our 3rd place position. When we got off the pavement and onto the trail, Brian came to life and as his speed picked up. We caught up to the Honey Stinger team and kept our pace steady. Near the end of the course there was some bad flagging. The Honey Stinger team, the Swiss team, and Brian and I were all off course. This resulted in a protest at the end of the race, so the Fernie team and the Swiss tied for 1st overall. It made for a disappointing award ceremony. I guess we finished 3rd overall. Or did we finish in 2nd?!
All said and done, the Trans Rockies was amazing! Up until the little miss direction on the last day, everything was great, the course flagging, the aid stations, the prizes, and night after night delicious food. Thanks to Aaron the organizer and all of the hard work from the volunteers. Thanks to all of the racers who are now friends. Huge thanks to Joe at Ryders Eyewear for sponsoring us!! Thanks to Nelson District Credit Union for sponsoring me! Thanks To NRG Enterprises for the Cliff products to keep us energized and for the Maxxis tires to keep us rolling. Thanks to Gerick Cycle and Ski for letting me race 7 days in a row. Thanks to Brian Cooke for hanging out with me and riding some awesome trails. Thanks to Tobi for loving me.
