Bruce Newton’s Road To The BC Bike Race - Part Seven

It's the calm before the storm and to continue the watery analogy I feel well in over my head.


Today was all about registering for the BC Bike Race, getting everything packed and loaded on the trucks and from North Vancouver getting across to Duncan on Vancouver Island.

So it went something like this; taxi from the hotel to Capilano University, register etc, sit through a very amusing hour of briefing of which the upshot was you can beat a black bear in a fight, you can't beat a grizzly and clean your hands properly after a pooh.

Then it was on the yellow buses, on to the ferry across to Vancouver Island, then back on the yellow buses to Duncan, where we are now ensconced in a tent city.

I've now had the chance to appreciate the sheer scale of this event. The 625 riders are supported by 250 travelling staff, the beloved red shirts. There's a wellness centre, a chill out zone, a massive bike maintenance area and full-on catering that feeds us all twice a day and has snacks on hand to feast on after we cross the finish line.

Speaking of which, tomorrow is day one, only 41km but 1692m of climbing, about double what you would expect in a race of that length at home in Australia.

I'm not as nervous as I thought I might be. I think that's because I am still not getting my head around the full enormity of what I have committed to do.

I'll let you know in my next post whether I have a better understanding of all that.