BCBR Day 2 — Maghalie Rochette

Stage 2 - Powell River. 51km, 765m D+

BC Bike Race is more than just a race. It's pretty much the best summer camp you can imagine...at least for me!

After the first day in Cumberland, we took the ferry to Powell River where our basecamp for the night was in a park facing the Pacific Ocean. Everyday, once the race is over, people from the event (racers, volunteer and crew alike) are hanging out outside, chatting, swimming, relaxing or visiting the cute little towns we get to visit. All the towns we visit through the race are extremely welcoming and Powell River is no exception; as racers were walking out of the ferry to the campsite last night, hundreds of locals from the community were outside to cheer and welcome us. It was quite the parade!

Stage 2 promised to be quite different from Day 1; the course was not climbing as much and subsequently wasn't descending as much. Instead, we were treated to rolling terrain and lots of singletracks covered in roots and trails twisting through mossy trees and loamy forest. It was very pretty and fun!

Here's how the race panned out for me:

Start. My strategy was to try to get in front and go fast from the gun. It started on pavement and those strong guys offer a good wind shelter and "free" speed.
"It's so dusty I don't see anything. No worries, just trust that guy you've never met in front of you."
After about 20 min, I have a little gap on other girls.
Turn around and see Katka is coming.
We ride together for a while.
Take a second to look up: "Wow! So pretty! Looks like an enchanted forest".
Keep riding behind Katka in the trail. She's going fast. "Phew, this is hard. Doing good Magh!"
A bit later... "Ahh!" I crashed.
Jump back on the bike and start chasing. try to break "Crap I can't find my brake."
Stop and fix my break. Get back on bike and can't see Katka.
"Oh well, guess I'm riding by myself for the rest of the day".
"Wait a minute...If it was Katerina, she would totally find a way to catch up to me. Maybe I can do it too."
Chase mode.
30 min later: "OMG I see a yellow jersey!" Catch up to yellow jersey. It's a master man.
Keep chasing. "OMG, another yellow jersey and that is definitely Katka!"
Ride together until the finish. in my mind "Hmm okay. I'll try to get her on the sprint."
1 km to go. I prepare for the sprint... Then Katka says: "Hey, you take this one. You deserve it."
Me: Really?! Okay, I guess I won't argue with that. Thank you :)

After the race, we ate some snacks from the finishing tent and then I ate some more snacks that Dave had prepared for me. We got changed in our swimming suit pretty quickly and jumped in the ocean to cool off and relax from the race. It was awesome and felt like a true summer camp!

Our day finished with another beautiful ferry ride and we are now at a campsite in Earls Cove; chilling, stretching, eating dinner and relaxing until tomorrow. Also, David is baking a cake and it smells awesome in the RV. Day 3 waits for us with one of the toughest and longest stage of the week - can't wait!

Cheers!

Every night, there is a yoga session at Basecamp