Day 1: All the smiles and all mud

We're on our way! Day 1 in Cumberland brought 45km's and 1159m elevation in a finish time of 4hr 40mins.

We woke up to the rain so weren't surprised with all the mud and slippery roots en route. The excitement and laughs along the way more than made up for it. 

We seeded ourselves toward the back of the pack, estimating to finish in 5 hrs. The first 13k were climbing up a logging road, and then onto a quick single track climb and descent. To get past the pile-ups and slow moving crowd at the back of the pack, we barely stopped at the first aid station. A quick banana and PB&J and we peddled on. 

The following two thirds of the ride were much more free flowing, with some fun technical downhills, super fun pump flow, and more climbing, this time mostly on lovely switch back. We loved it all, except for a particularly muddy, rooty section that was chewed up beyond recognition of a trail. 600 riders can do that, I suppose. 

The final trail, crafty butcher, was mom's favourite, with the smooth rock bringing back memories of early day riding in the Gatineau Hills, near Ottawa. 

Mom had to mention pacing several times, as we discovered Joanna definitely has a "race face" (surprise, surprise). 

Both we and our bikes were coated in mud by the time we came across the finish line. The mud treatment is an added service to the BCBR this year! Our finish time today will seed us in the blue group for the rest of the race, just ahead of the last group. Were not last! 

We're now off to Powell River, home for the next two nights. The forecast is calling for more rain. Lots of it. Not ideal, but I'm sure we'll make the best of it, just like we did today.