Here's something a little different. As Figrolls' "Man in Canada" this is my first report of the Vancouver XC racing scene. The intention was to ride in the whole Toonie Race series throughout the summer and trasform myself into a racing beast in time for the 24 Hours of Light which is now coming up all too soon. So, what's gone wrong so far? Race 1 started off well, I got there, the rain stopped, I registered (It's $2 to race, that's what toonie means here in Canada, eh). I had a little time so I went to pre-ride the course and pretty quickly destroyed my rear mech.... not ideal. Race 2 didn't go so well either in that I didn't bother going, whoops.
So, Race 3 - Buntzen Lake... picturesque venue for drunken barbecues and rowdy teenagers, and in this case a bike race. The course was rated as 3/5 for technicality, which here in BC means that 50% of the climbs will be ridable and there will be only limited opportunity for death and dismemberment. My favourite obstacle was a floating wooden causeway across one end of the lake where apparently 8 riders punctured last year. Amusing stuff. The course was dry and fast, except the climbs, which were steep and loose and full of roots and fist sized rocks, steps, and people falling off. One guy broke his chain at the top of a fast descent and was last seen pushing his bike back up from the bottom to find it. I had a race long rivalry with an Aussie guy, who then convincingly destroyed me on the logging road to the finish, along with about 3 other people who I had got well past in the trees. Oh well. Results? err, I didn't come last and it was fun. The numbers will appear on the Toonie website some time I expect, but don't be anticipating anything impressive. In 2 weeks time there's another race, let's hope I can make that strike 2.
