Back to Bike Racing, sort of…

Living in times of Covid-19 things are slowly opening up and social gatherings are becoming larger and larger. However, we haven’t gotten to the point where any sort of racing has started yet. So the professionals at Norco Mountain Bike XC Team, Andrew Lespy and Hailey Smith have put together a sort of fun way to get out and race you mountain bike through Strava segments called the “Durham Epic”. The local forest in Uxbridge Canada, has close to 100km of trails and they have put together three weeks of racing through segments throughout the forest. The whole purpose is to get everyone out on their bikes and enjoy some sort of racing during this time. Prizes were handed out to KOM & QOM, and various swag as random draw prizes.

Stage 1 - Dagmar

This was a fun rip through some of the more technical trails the Durham forest area has to offer. Though nothing crazy, all of the riding in the area are XC fast and flowy trails. Dagmar has been purpose-built to add “man placed” features to the trails such as rock garden, tight switchbacks, drops, etc. The course was about 10k in length and I was able to finish it time good enough for about 60th/ 400. I was happy with my time as I’m not the most technical rider and was able to get through all the trails at a sort of fast pace.

Stage 2 - Walker Woods

This was a total fail for me. I wasn’t able to find the 20k long segment as it took you through various open double track and fast single track trails. This is a side of the forest I'm unfamiliar with and simply got lost. Upon trying to find the course, we ran into a lady who was pedaling in the opposite direction. Upon a brief conversation she told us she saw a black bear the direction we were heading (the way of the segment - I think). This totally derailed the plans and just turned out to ride instead. I wasn’t the only one who got lost, as stage two saw the least amount of finishers.

Stage 3 - Durham Forest

The final stage was set in trails I know very well. The main course had various sections I often ride and enjoy such as SuperFly and Sliders. Various fast and flowy trails and climbing, yes a lot of climbing. Well I thought I liked climbing until I hit the end of the segment which ends at the “Wall of Pain” - the steepest uphill in the forest. At the end of a fifteen minute-ish segment, going full gas, flooding my body with lactic acid as I have never had before. This was the hardest I’ve ever pushed myself on the bike and ended up with a time of 16:06 good enough for 31/124 overall.

So there you have it, that’s all the racing I’ve been up to the past few months. Though a bit different then virtual races adding another element besides just time (racing on the same segment or course) it was fun to push yourself and compare your stats to others. That and having a slight chance at winning a pair of socks. I’ve only ever competed in long distance mountain bike races as the thought of racing in a group has always gotten me a bit nervous. I think when things open back up it will definitely be something to try.