I’ve gathered a few thoughts on this race vs. others. It seems to be a question a lot of people ask. I mean to illustrate differences, not to promote or condemn other races. If your question is “which race should I do” my answer has always been “all of them” – every one builds fitness, and adds people, experiences, countries and scenery to your memory banks!
Convenience: Excellent.
Breck is tops. The other races travel. Various amounts of that travel burden finds its way to the rider. TransPortugal includes no travel outside your daily ride (you ride from hotel to hotel) and your gear is transported. TransAndes and TR are near that in convenience. BC Bike Race is the other spectrum, where you’re put nearest to bike specific trails via other methods of transportation, solely to enjoy the singletrack. Breck commutes to start line from our house on High Street was either 2 minutes on singletrack, 20 seconds around the corner and down the street, or 3 minutes to the ski hill start stage. Stayed in town, didn’t move, town has all the conveniences of a great tourist town. Great event for bike riders with families as the combination of road trip plus Breckenridge and surrounding amenities and sights are terrific.
Trails: Good for mostly not being mountain bike specific.
Breck trails are scenic, epic, access remote back country. Not many of them are purpose built cycling trails. A western Canadian rider might find that different. They’re wide, made for vehicular or other access. They’re fast, with big rocks. Not many are difficult technically. The race emphasizes fitness (aka breathing at altitude) and scenery in my view over particularly demanding mountain biking skill set. This shouldn’t detract – there are portions of single track glory. I’m sure the steeps, rocks and roots would be challenging for the average Floridian. BCBR is nearly all purpose built bike trails. TransRockies is getting very close to that. Breck is more raw… yet as it’s not a “transportation” race, it has more technical than say a TransPortugal. I might even call this “North America’s luxury La Ruta”. Climbs for the most part are gradual, unlike La Ruta or first few days of TransAndes which are steep enough to leave my back sore for a few days after.
Fitness: Bring it, you’ll need it
Breck requires a higher level, or different, or at least difficult to attain level of fitness. Days for fit racers (ok, I’m putting myself in there, so beware of massive hypocrisy) average 4x4 hours then two shorter. Shawn and Thomas rode more consistent, I blew day 2 with the tire and attempt at good deeds in the rain. That’s not a long race (mean time on bicycle at TransAndes, TransPortugal, and old TransRockies were all higher), yet it’s longer than BCBR in terms of mean riding time per day. Having said that, it’s more draining than time on bike or distance would indicate… and it’s the elevation. Everyone will struggle with the elevation, regardless of preparation or where you live. I say that as mountain biking is an oxygen uptake and processing limited sport. But what does that struggle feel like? For same perceived effort, you go slower. On day one “neutral” leadout, the pack thins out before the first singletrack, and you’re in “your” spot. 15-20 people can stay in lead group each day beyond the first 10 minutes – each day starts with climbing. On a steep climb you could do at home, you might need to grab a tree and breathe for 5 seconds, even in granny ring. Or you might find yourself pushing on a very gentle grade, yet not be able to ride it any faster. So it’s a bit invisible really. Legs for me weren’t as sore as I couldn’t gather enough air to drive them hard. You recover slower… it’s noticeable. I felt much more tired than 4 hour gradual climbing days would imply. On the bright side, altitude response comes in a few days, and everything is still do-able before hand… it’s not like you get there and can’t function.
Attitude: 5 stars
The Breck Epic is biking positive, sportsmanship positive, competitive in the right ways, riding against yourself and nature and the little duo of tired devil and chickening out devil on your shoulder that hold you back which are tougher and more relevant competitors than a guy next to you. This stood out in my mind. Kudos to Mike for setting the tone. More sport in general, more adult sport, should be this way. Help each other, compete well. Be embarrassed if you think of cutting corners, cutting off other riders, or just generally being a tool. The mountains here are more competition than your bretheren, and after day one that becomes pretty apparent to participants, so I think most cool their jets on the head to head thing. Also, ratio of the uphill challenge to the downhill lack of selectivity means riders tend to stay in their spots more than changing via up/down competence ratio. I’ve stayed away from the size and scale of TransAlp, Cape Epic based on my perception from other riders’ reports of this concept. BC Bike Race has the challenge present too… a highly competitive amongst each other field that jockeys based on climbing/descending prowess, sometimes to fault even beyond 100th spot, when it could be just about enjoying trails together and yielding where it makes sense. Breck is also community and charity positive, with dollars going to causes. Ancillary to race items, souvenirs, support, etc. is priced inline with “helping you complete the event happily” not “we have you away from all other services and are going to gouge you”… which does occur at some events…
Bike:
I see this as a 29er hardtail race. The sections where I felt I wanted suspension were measured in meters at a time, totalling an inconsequential amount for the whole event. Bring puncture/tear resistant tires.
Where is the "Adequacy of After-Party-Stage" commetary?
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