July 11, 2017

BCBR Stage 5

July 11, 2017

Have you ever ridden with a broom up your ass?

(Make yourself a mental image for a second.)

Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt today...not the smoothest way to get down the gnarly North Vancouver trails.

After yesterday's crash, I was pretty sore in the back and ribs so I went for a chiropractic treatment with Collin, who works for the BCBR wellness center. That's one more cool thing at BCBR; the wellness center is always set up at Basecamp and amazing professionals (massage therapist, physio and chiropractor) work there all day long to help the racers get through the week. Collin was awesome and after a couple of cracks, I felt much better. To my delight, when I woke up this morning, I felt even better, except for the third boob (bruise) that was starting to grow on my chest... No complaint here, I can sure use more volume in that area!

Anyway, after a coffee and bagel, I felt excited and ready for a short and intense stage in North Vancouver. Only 18km long, we had to go up for a few kms, than down some techy trails, a bit more up and all the way down back to the park. "Easy peezy" I thought, "I'll just go as hard as I can in the climbs and shred and relax in the downhills". Cute plan Magh... Spoiler alert, it did not go as planned.

Neutral start
Pavement climb. "Okay, time to go fast now."
Hmmm Geoff (Kabush) is riding mid-pack with us. That must mean we climb for a long time, Geoff is a smart guy.
Riding in the pack. "Probably not smart to go in front and attack all these pro guys...I'll stay chill here."
BAAAAAMMMMMMMM!!!!!! Suddenly, all guys start sprinting. Me too!!
Following Katerina. "Ouch, I'm hurting today." "Hang on Magh."
We arrive to a steep loose climb. No traction. "I can do this."
Wheel skids.
Katerina get's off the bike. I mess up too. Start running off the bike. Me too.
3 steps later: Now walking next to our bike. I convince myself we are power walking.
Start pedalling again. I am hurtiiiinnnng. "Here's an idea Magh: start signing to forget the pain"
I have an Akon song stuck in my head..."Baby we're stuck with each other, stuck with each other, there's nothing you can do about it!" Thinking to myself and finding myself pretty funny: "Haha, baby we're stuck with each other Katerina! There's nothing we can do about it" (Except in real life, she was just about to do something about it...)
Still hurtiiing...I need another song. Akon is just not doing it for me right now. Jay-Z is better. "C**ksucker take one for your team, and I need you to remember one thing. I came I saw I conquered, from record sales to sold out concerts..."
That strategy works and we finally hit the singletrack.
The soils is loose, trails are steep and I'm not riding super well. Magically though, I'm still hanging on to Katka.
1 min later. A guy passes me. "Try to follow him." Nope!
Lose sight of Katerina. "Bye".
30 mins of braking waaayyy to much and holding on for dear life. Stuck between two mindsets: trying to go fast and being careful.
Just try to relax Magh. Smile, relax, look up. "Man I'm slow..."
Finally make it to the finish. Phew!

In the end, today wasn't my best stage. All week I've been really enjoying the downhills, but today I just didn't have it; I was way too stiff in the descents. The trails were fun, but I feel like I would've needed a couple of laps to figure them out and be confident enough to let it go on that lose soil. Oh well!

In Belgium last year, Waldek, Katerina and I went to a place called Balls of Glory (they served all kinds of meat balls). It became kind of a joke between Waldek and I to say "No Balls, No Glory" before every race. It was a way to motivate me and put myself into a good fighting mindset. Well, today, I had no balls going down the trails. So I had no glory either.

However, I didn't have time to dwell on it too much as after the race, we went out of a little spin to a juice bar with some good friends from the race.

It was quite fun hanging out at the finish line and seeing the smile on everyone's face. I think the whole group of 625 racers was split in two: half was super stocked on the trails they had just ridden and the other half was super proud and happy they made it out unscathed from these legendary North Shore trails. The good thing about these 2 feelings are that the end results was a big smile on everyone's face so the vibe at Basecamp was super positive once again!

We drove to Squamish after the race and the drive was gorgeous. Now, Dave and I get to hang out with Lola, Rubi and Katerina for the evening!

Hopefully I can take my broom out of there before tomorrow morning.

Pizza last night with Dave! See those pockets under my eyes? Yep! 5 days of racing.

Dave is being creative with a repair-rack! He changed my brake lever yesterday after I broke it in the crash. Special thanks to Catharine for sharing her rack with us this week!

Tim, Geoff, Troy and Dave also joined us.

Links to previous days:

1: http://www.maghalierochette.com/news/2017/7/7/bcbr-stage-1

2: http://www.maghalierochette.com/news/2017/7/8/bcbr-day-2

3: http://www.maghalierochette.com/news/2017/7/10/bcbr-day-3

4: http://www.maghalierochette.com/news/2017/7/10/bcbr-stage-4

July 10, 2017

Maghalie Rochette

BCBR Stage 4

July 10, 2017

Maghalie Rochette

Stage 4: Sechelt to Langdale, 48.6km, 1400m D+

In a mountain bike stage race, you never know how you will feel. Sometimes, even if you are super tired, your body can surprise you and feel awesome. Other times, well, it can also feel horrible. Today was neither of these two options. I felt kind of in the middle.

This morning, I had a hard time getting out of bed and was wondering how I'd get it together to jump on the bike. I soon realized there is nothing a cup of Barista coffee and some french toasts from David can't cure! My brain was still feeling a bit groggy at the start, but I was optimistic things would turn around, especially since my legs were feeling okay.

In the morning, I carefully studied the course profile. It was going up and down, and up and down and up and down with a mix of trails and fire roads and some more ups and downs. After that deep and detailed study of the course, my strategy for the day was very elaborate: See how things go and how I feel and respond accordingly. Rocket science right here.

Race:

At the start, given my groggy brain, I decided to not go too hard. Still, it was pretty steep and I had to pedal at a pretty decent pace to stay in touch with our usual group. I still made sure to keep it somewhat comfortable...(According to my Garmin, that was 275w AVG for 10 min...which is usually not that comfortable for me, but I guess all these BCBR hard hours are starting to pay off? Or I'm so tired that my heart rate doesn't go up and it feels easier...Whatever, I won't complain!)
After 30 min..."Hmm still don't feel amazing, but the pace isn't too high. That's fine with me, let's just fake it for as long as possible and follow".
Hielke (3rd girl overall and Netherlands Marathon MTB champ - cool girl) rode with us for about the first 45 min- 1h.
Still following Katka.
In my head: "Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got something to say...Did they forget about Dre." Thanks Eminem for the song distraction.
An hour in, I started feeling better. Took the lead a few times.
THESE TRAILS ARE FUN!!!!!
"....But nothing comes up when they move their lips" Some more Eminem stuck in my head.
Feeling better and better as the time goes by and having a blast in the trails exchanging the lead with Katka.
At 37km, we had been climbing for 2 km and I could see on my profile that we should be climbing for another 2-3km. Katerina and I were climbing together, I was at the front and feeling pretty good.
Suddenly, I got an idea. Maybe I can try to attack? (I never had the guts to attack her before...I really look up to her and somehow it never quite felt right). I know that's stupid and she told me many times she'd be happy if I attacked the hell out of her.
Inside dialogue: "Nah, don't attack." "Yeah, you should totally do it Magh" "Nah..." "Oh come on, at least try, otherwise you will regret". "Okay. If I do, I have to go quickly".
"I'm going!" Open a tiny gap. "AHHHH Keep pushing Magh!" I get over a roller, and the road is flat..."Crap, that wasn't the plan...Keep pushing anyway!"
Anyway, it didn't work. Once we hit the flat, Katka came back to me. I almost laughed at myself.
2km later, we sprinted to get first in the last singletrack downhill. I got it.
Messed up in the first corner, she goes by. Not impressed with myself: "Wow. Newbie moves festival Magh..."
Shredding fun singletrack descent together until "AHHH!!" I crashed and fell off a bridge. "UGHH" breathe cut for a second.
Katerina is the nicest person ever. "Are you okay!?" "UGh, I think so!" She stopped and ran to come and rescue me from under the bridge. She makes sure I'm okay and we start riding again. 5 min later, she crashed. I stopped, make sure she is okay. "Lets just get to the bottom of this one and have fun!"
We finished together.

Today was a super fun stage with amazing trails and fun fire road climbs. I'm super happy with the race. Mostly, I'm super grateful Katerina stopped to help me when I fell off the small bridge. That was a perfect opportunity for her to gain more time on me (especially after I had just attacked her), but instead she ran to help me. When she crashed shortly afterwards, I immediately stopped. It didn't even cross my mind to keep going. I care about her a lot more than about the competition, and I think she feels the same way. Never doubted that, but I sure appreciate it! In my book, good friends are a lot more important than a yellow t-shirt. BTW, I'm happy to report we are both okay, except for the fact that I might have a bruised boob.

Tomorrow is the North Vancouver stage and I'll do my best to not fall off any bridge! Should be fun :)

Sam Schultz is a cool guy! Dave has been enjoying riding and taking some race pics :)

Tim has been here all week and it's been fun catching up with him!

July 10, 2017

Maghalie Rochette

BCBR Day 3

July 10, 2017

Maghalie Rochette

Phew! I am tired tonight.

Stage 3: Earls Cove to Sechelt. 57km, 1400m D+

Day 3 was a point to point race from the ferry terminal in Earls Cove to the town of Sechelt. Everyone talks about that day as the hardest of the week, because it is longer than other stages and there is a lot of climbing. Still, it was quite a nice day and we had a good time out there on the fire roads and trails of the Sunshine Coast of BC.

I started out fast as I thought I could maybe get away from Katerina, but didn't want to go over my limit because I knew it was going to be a long day. Obviously, that didn't work out! She was right there, so I slowed down and we rode together for a very long time. We had a pretty good group of about 10 (all guys except the 2 of us) and it was nice to have company out there on these open roads.

The course was mostly on fire roads and power lines today, but all these long pedalling sections were separated by some fun singletrack trails, which was a nice way to break things up. Katka and I exchanged the lead at the front of our group all day. Sometimes it was really hard and I wondered how I'd get to the end, and other times it was quite comfortable and I enjoyed myself and took these opportunity to eat (I discovered the Vanilla CLIF Shot this week - it tastes like cake and I love it). In times when it gets really hard, I always convince myself to hang on just a little longer telling myself that the next descent can't be that much further!

Our group got smaller and smaller throughout the day, until it was only the 2 of us with Brett, a nice Aussie guy. I went in front in the second to last climb and tried to go fast to see if I could get rid of Katerina...of course, that did not work out! She led the next downhill section, and even though it wasn't easy, I had a blast following her. With 5 km to go, we hit a super steep singletrack climb and Katka led it at a pretty fast pace. "Just hang on a tiny bit longer Maghs, you can do this". I was suffering. I hung a bit longer, and a bit longer again until I just cracked. She opened a tiny gap and when she realized it, she accelerated and the gap grew bigger. I did my best to keep it together until the end and suffered pretty bad to finish about a minute back.

So if you were wondering how to crack Katerina. Well, don't ask me! I have not figured that out yet hahaha! If you wonder how to crack me; ask her!

In all honesty though, it's a very friendly competition. Of course I want to beat her, and I think she also wants me to try my best to beat her. But at the end of the day, I learn a ton from her and we have lots of fun.

I was cracked and tired after todays' stage. All I wanted was to eat a burger, so we went to McDonalds. After that, we hung out a the CLIF lounge at the finish line and chatted with other racers, sharing stories of the day - another good day at BCBR!

See you tomorrow!

The aftermath. 4 empty gels and dirty clothes.

July 8, 2017

Maghalie Rochette

BCBR Day 2

July 8, 2017

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

July 7, 2017

Maghalie Rochette

BCBR Stage 1

July 7, 2017

Maghalie Rochette

Stage 1: Cumberland - 44.8km, 1054m D+

Exactly one week ago, Dave and I were talking during our ride and we thought maybe it could be cool to go out to BC and train there before Nationals. Immediately, I remembered that Troy Wells had told me that Benjamin Sonntag (fellow Clif Bar athlete) was injured and that his BC Bike Race registration might be up for grabs.

So after a couple of calls, thanks to Clif Bar, Ben and BCBR organization’s generosity, I was in for the race! That night, Dave and I modified our Nationals flights, rented an RV, and on Monday, we were in the plane heading for our second BC Bike Race. It was a last call, but I couldn't have been happier to be back at this incredible 7 days stage race event.

The first stage of the race saw us starting in beautiful Cumberland. When I raced in 2014 as a team with Catharine Pendrel, Cumberland had been one of my favorite stages. This year’s course was a bit different, but in my opinion, it was even better than I remembered...or maybe I am just able to enjoy the technical trails better than I was 3 years ago?

On the start line this morning, the atmosphere was electric as all 600+ riders were getting ready and feeling excited to start the stage race. I wasn’t nervous at all, but I was definitely excited and fired up to get things started and to see what the trails would be like!

Start.
Fire road climb for the first 12km. I go in front, Katka follows. "Hmm I'm feeling good!" "But let's not go too hard too early Magh."
We reach the top. Katka and I have a gap on the third girl.
Hit the first couple singletrack descents.
Next 30 min: Can’t stop smiling. “These are some of the coolest trails I’ve ever ridden!”
People are cheering. It’s awesome.
Still riding with Katka. Thinking to myself: “This is fun”.
We hit a section where we are surrounded by tall purple flowers and have gorgeous views of snowy mountain peaks. Katka says: “This place is gorgeous”.
I secretly want to stop and take a picture of her riding through this magnificent scenery. Instead, I just take it in and keep riding.
About 10km to go, we hit a flat-ish, super rooty and twisty section… I have a hard time keeping up. "I am being pretty bad at this right now".
Thinking to myself how I can do this better. “Try to use your body Magh. Look ahead, pump with your arms and legs. Katerina has so much flow, try to imitate her”.
Can’t figure that section out. Lose sight of Katka. Mess up a few times.
Finally come out of that section. See her a couple hundred meters ahead on the climb.
“Try to catch up!” Gap stays the same.
She beats me by about 2-3 mins.

Finishing second to Katerina is starting to become a familiar thing this season! However, a few months ago, I couldn’t even keep up with her for just a couple minutes on the mountain bike. She is quite a ripper in the trails and obviously, she is super strong, so it’s always a privilege (and pretty fun) when I get to ride/race with her. We had a really great day!

Dave is not racing, so he went on a ride with our friend Mical Dyck and when I got back to the RV, he had prepared a recovery shake and delicious lunch. Yeah, he’s a keeper! I jumped in the shower, headed to the podium and we drove to the ferry where we got to soak our legs in the ocean before departure.

We are now on the ferry to Powell River where another sets of beautiful trails await us tomorrow for stage 2. I can't wait!

Cheers.