by Joanna
Day 4 was another long one,
thanks partially to a silly fall I had just 2k off the start line. It was a
“rolling start”, since the first few km’s were down a hill with several turns
on the paved road. With the strange start I wasn’t exactly sure when to start
my Garmin to track the course, so when a patroller approached to my left, I
turned to ask if the race had started. As I turned my head, I unknowingly drifted
right and my wheel hit Mom’s back wheel…and I lost it. I completely slid out on
the pavement. The road rash was the least of my concerns. I just wanted to get moving
again. But the patrollers (rightly) bandaged me up. What was worse than hurting
myself though, I hurt my bike. My derailleur was damaged, and I couldn’t shift properly.
We tried to straighten it out, but couldn’t fix the issue, so I rode the first
20km to the aid station jumping gears. I managed, and sped ahead of Mom for the
last 3km to get to the Shimano mechanic tent at aid station 1. For the second
time on this race, they saved my butt. They managed to fix it up so that it was
riding fairly well for the rest of the day. At the end of the day my Scott
Genius will go to the guys at Obsession Bikes for a new derailleur casing and
cable. These guys are working literally all night to undo all the damage we do
during the day. We’re so grateful to have James and the team looking after us.
Aside from that little
blunder, the trails were fun today! Lots of climbing but beautiful single
track. After losing time, I was interested in pushing things a bit, hoping not
to be on the bike for as long as yesterday. But after the chat with my teammate
yesterday, I was conscious of sticking to “ride” pace versus “race” pace. We
took our time at aid stations and ate and drank lots, finishing the 52km and
1500m of climbing in 5 hrs 48 minutes. Mom had a blast of a day, while it was a
bit of a lower key one for me. I must admit though the final 12km of downhill
coming into the ferry terminal at Langdale was pretty thrilling riding. Both Mom
and I agree we would love to go back and ride the Sunshine Coast again!
Day 4 was the first day that I
really felt drained. I came across the finish line feeling exhausted.
Thankfully, it was just a short ferry ride back to Vancouver. Home!! We had
planned to camp during the whole race, but with Mom not sleeping all that well
in the tent, and less than ideal weather for much of the week, a real bed
sounded like heaven. Kia picked us up at Base Camp in North Van, and seeing him
definitely perked me up! It was so nice to be home and have both Don and Kia
with us for support.
Day 4 means we’re over the
hump - 3 more days to go!
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