TransRockies Day 2

I did breakfast in 10 mins and continued power sleeping till it was time to go - caught a little of the women's road race then off we went to start. Got a decent warmup in, then...

Bam. No course profile graphic could prepare you for how vicious the powerline climbs were off the start. Steep and in your face. Ouch - pure heinous. I was near Devin and Geoff, which was smart pacing after yesterday. I tried to spin, err at that grade just grunt my granny ring around and save legs for later. There was so much climbing this morning - just kept going up and up and up. So tough.

I tried to pace well as I knew the climbs at the end would crush if you had nothing left. Rode most of the way with Gabor in sight, and Ian Crosthwaite whom I finished near yesterday. We just exchanged positions all day. Completely beautiful alpine views, awesome descents.

I stopped at aid 2 for a bottle and lost those two, but just kept plugging along. I couldn't tell on the final climbs what was hurting more - my legs or Gabor's crankset. Ian was ahead by 15 seconds then Gabor when we got to the last several kilometers of climb across the ski hill. I knew I had a few seconds on Ian but didn't want to give up time, so I finished by last bottle, had a gel, and started trying to reel him in. Surprisingly it happened quick, so I looked up and kept my pace. Surprisingly, I got up to Gabor fairly quick too. Then he didn't match my pace. I suspect the skipped feed had those two fading a bit, so I hammered to put in time.

Hit the tough downhill and heard some chain slap coming behind me, so let it roll best I could. Just worked over the shock and arms; hands were on fire. Gabor was approaching, he said after he rode that trail all day with his kids earlier so knew it all.

Just getting the reports on Devin - helmet crushed and handle bar broken off. All we heard earlier was shoulder issues. Geoff also had contusion and ripped shorts from a fall earlier in the day. Tough out there.

All in today was a full on, tough, mountain bike course. Engine alone couldn't do it all - it needed a big dose of mountain bike riding too. Really fun but hard day.

I'm riding well for me. No mechanicals, no body issues, just pedalling and eating and going so it just feels like true results. Absolutely great mountain biking days when the body works, when friends are around, when weather is perfect. So fun.