Blah. Wet. Cold. Rainy. Mud. Went wrong way. Got too hot. Overdressed. More mud. Bike having shifting problems. Cute little bird in the trail. Long slog on the dirt roads. Heavy mud. Course rerouted due to severe weather. More mud, mixed with horse poo. Lots of horse poo. Rain. Finish. Woops.. missed the finish, but found it again. Too much mud in our eyes.

Arrived at Rafter 6 Ranch. Amy & Marc were already there (our super friendly, amazingly hospitable local Canmore racers). dang they beat us. Changed. Packed up our stuff into Marc & Amy’s car. Drove to cafe. Ate- with mud still on our faces. Went to theIr house in Canmore to shower up.

Life is SO much better now!

Headed back to Rafter 6 Ranch for dinner and awards. Only one more day… after a nice sleep in a real bed (thanks to Amy & Marc)! (Plus we did laundry!)

And WHOA… an elk on the way back to their house. This is what bolted by us on one of the early stages! They’re huge!

Today was certainly a long day- 2100 meters of climbing and 66 km of ruggid single track, dirt roads, paved roads, and hike-a-bike.

Within the first hour Jeff flatted his rear tIre. We tried to fix it with a quick shot from the air cartrIdge, but the tire was ripped a bit too much… he had to put a tube in and pump it up by hand.

Jeff’s next event today was just after the first aid station. We headed up our first long climb, zIg zaggIng along the narrow swItchbacks that would lead us to the summIt. With Jeff just ahead, I watched as he came to a stop and, without unclipping, tipped towards the downhill slope. It all happened so fast; he tumbled and launched head first into the dense shrubbery and grasses. It looked bad, real bad. The bike flew in one direction, landing about 15 feet below the trail (halfway to the switchback below).

I jumped off my bike and climbed my way down to Jeff. “Don’t move, I’m coming… I’m coming. Are you ok?” I asked nervously, knowing that this could be serious.

“I’m fine,” Jeff replied.

… But it just looked so bad. His feet were uphill, he was lying on his stomach, and hIs head was about 2 inches from a cooler sized rock. He had catapoulted the same distance as the bike, but landed about 10 feet from where it was.

I helped him to his feet. Everything looked good- becides the blood running down his elbow and finger (his “good” hand). It wasn’t until we arrived in camp that we noticed the new scratches on his legs and back.

The bike was fine once we pulled the chain out of his gears.

The ride was long. The rolling terrain seems to take more effort than the long climbs. The open fields… those are the worst! It seems that a fairly flat field would be a resting area- an easy pedal and a place to recover- but they continue to suck my energy. It’s slow going through the thick, soft grasses. We also had unridable sections of hike-a-bike. The constant pushIng and walkIng Is taxIng on our calves and arms.

The rocky summit of our second long climb, and some of its jagged decent were too rocky to rIde- although Jeff braved much more of the downhIll than I dId. We were faced wIth big sharp overlappIng spInes and bowling ball sized rocks.

We finished in 6th place after a 6 hour and 12 minute ride. Two teams have since dropped out. (Our patient from yesterday returned to camp this afternon with a crutch and some severe bruising… but she’s gonna make it!)

The afternoon was complete with another fantastic hour-long massage, good food, and some prepping for tomorrow’s chilly ride. (They’re calling for a high of 14 degrees Celcius, whIch we’ve been told Is In the high 50s. Plus… there wIll be raIn as we traverse the rIdgelIne. Burr.)

Time for some shut eye before our longest day, day 6. (Well… maybe beddies after a game of su do ku on the iPad.)

And one more peek at the last bit of light on the mountains. (Keep in mind it’s 10:15 pm. It stays light for awhile!)

“It’s gonna get a little hot and a little dusty in here.” That was the warning from our bus driver as we pulled down the dirt road that led to our start.

Dusty it certainly was. Within minutes we were sitting in a fog as we waited to exit and prepare for day 4.

A photo of the finish

It was a good day. The gun went off at noon. Jeff and I started at the back of the pack (thanks to someone’s last minute bathroom run… ahem… not mine) making our way towards the mIddle. I rode strong up the fIrst long clImb, along side of the second place sponsored ladies team and past the teams that were walking. The first climb was the most significant double track hIll of the day, taking almost an hour.

We had several stream crossings today. Wet feet were unavoidable- an unfortunate combination of wet shoes and camping (where things are harder to dry).

We also had several injuries today. Riders were sliding out along the loose gravel and endoing over the large rocks that were spread over much of the single track.

Jeff and I stopped to aid the 6th place co-ed team. (The second time in a month where I’ve been thankful of my WFR knowledge!) The woman had clipped her pedal on a stump hidden along the trail side. She flIpped over the handlebars and landed about 12 feet from where her bike hit. It was a fast downhill section about 8 km from the finish.

When we arrived, she was still lying in the trail. Two men had stopped to slow down traffic and her partner was by her side. No one seemed to know what to do.
Jeff arrived first; when I rolled up he look at me and (with a serious/ concerned tone) said something to the effects of, “you should do your thing.”

I dropped my bike, took off my pack, and proceded with a frIendly assessment  (askIng her not to move her head). FallIng at such a hIgh speed Is certaInly a mechanIsm for a broken back. She was cold (although covered with a space blanket) and had two serious problems. One, she was complaining of intense lower back pain (In her SwedIsh accent)… so much so, that she couldn’t lift up the 1/2 inch needed to get my space blanket under her. Secondly, her lower left leg was in so much pain that she wouldn’t let me remover her tall knee sock to look at the injury. (We left it on knowing that help would soon arrive.)

We kept her warm, povided reassurance, kept away the bugs, and had a constant hand on her sholder until first aid arrived… 45 minutes later! The paramedic (or whatever he was), couldn’t roll her to look at the back Injury. Her pain was too severe (… It was really bad). He started an IV drip with Morphine and trIed to reach continued care on the SAT phone. The helicopter or ambulance was standing by. He opted for the ambulance. A quad made it’s way to us (through a thigh high river crossing) and evacuated to the road. It was to be an extremely uncomfortable ride out for her. ( WIth a possible broken leg and potential kidney damage. I’m sure the MorphIne helped.)

An hour and twenty minutes later, Jeff and I made our way to the finish line ( and across that sketchy river crossing.) Keep your eyes peeled though… our river crossing photo may make the TransRockies Facebook page. (We saw ourselves on the slideshow tonight. Me carrying my own bike, but Jeff lending a hand. Aw.)

Now here we are in tent city at Little Elbow in Alberta. Day 4. what a day.

This little video (above) may or may not work; I’ve never posted a vIdeo. This was what we knew of Fernie. Several quaint hotels and houses along maIn street, a huge ice rink (we heard that many of the NHL players played here when they were young), and mountains. There was also a nice bike path that followed the river and and crossed the railroad tracks.

The goods news is that we’re both still smiling after another 31 km on the bike and 2000 meters of climbing. The bad news… um… well… let me think back on that.

Today was awesome. Jeff was feeling better, and back to hIs old self agaIn. (He’d claim it was the beer he had last nIght… I’m thinking this might be a real life example of the placebo effect.) Jeff rocked all the descents- making hairpin switchbacks and rolling down some major rock & root features. I led the way on the unforgIvIng climbs. The uphill was endless, the downhill was intense… and the views today were AMAZING!

I debated bringing my camera on the ride. As I stuffed my pockets thIs mornIng with food, air cartridges, arm warmers, and little baggies of drink mix… I had to make the crutial decision- camera or bear spray. Although photos would be nice, bear spray won out in an instant. I’m sure there’ll be some really nice photos of us; we’ve seen many photographers on the course. (raveneyephotography.com)
You can also visit the TransRockies website to see some of the pictures; although we may not be in the photo, we’re riding that same stuff! Words can’t describe how beautiful and magestic this land is… or how big and how wild it feels. (Or, how fresh and green the bear scat was that we rode through today. Good call on the bear spray.)

We made up time on the rIde, spacing our gap with 7th place today by only 6 minutes. We were happy with that. We both feel good about our pacing; our legs are tired but recovering well.

A little dusty and a few new bruises, but we’re good. (Even better after our first hour long massage this afternoon. Yipee!!)

The bIkes are loaded on a van (whIch wIll meet us at the remote start tomorrow at noon). Our bIke boxes are loaded on another van (whIck we’ll see on the last day). Tomorrow we take the 7:30 am shuttle north and race towards Canmore (with a couple nights of tenting along the way).

The bad news… yes, I thought of something… I’m not sure we’ll have cell service or internet for the next several days. And.. we have to leave this little town of Fernie at the crack of dawn.

Another day under our Camelbacks… and what a day it was. Right out of the start line we rode along the highway (closed for TransRockies) and onto a dirt road. On the first descent one of the racers ahead of us took a terrible fall; we dIdn’t wItness It, but we dId see hIm lyIng lIfeless In the grass- hIs teammate and several other racers by hIs sIde. (Here’s a photo taken from the TransRockies website of hIs mangled helmet.)

Fortunately he walked away from the crash. (This is why we wear helmets!!!) It was a rough morning. (Ours wasn’t as bad as the above racer, but it was a slow start.) Placement wise, we hung in with the same result as day 1. Not the day we had hoped for… but tomorrow is another ride (and we have 5 more to go). Last night’s recovery was enough to give me well rested legs. Tonight, we set Jeff up with a more “normal” recovery habit… beer. Our orIgInal thinking was that hydrating, without beer, was the way to go. But this guy may ride better after a good brew. (The 30 minute massage and a dip in the river may help too.)

We’ve met some amazing people here- locals and individuals from around the World. One couple from Calgary has offered us their guest room on Friday, which we’ll probably take them up on.

The mountains here are amazing. The riding is phenomenal. The people are friendly. And the bears… well… there are bears.

Today we rode up on an elk. Who knew those creatures were SO darn big!! Fortunately… no bears yet, bur we’re prepared. (Thanks to James & Daisy for their borrowed bear horn and popper.)
Thank you all for following along and sending well wishes. We read your comments and feel the love. We think of you all too- whether we’re in our room or on the trail!!!

Ready to rock… but not too hard.

Day one was ok. Not great, because the competitor in me hates to let other teams pass us by, but we held true to our pacing guidelines. Steady and consistant is our focus. This is a long race, and rememberIng thIs detaIl Is crItIcal. Some people will push too hard and tire out. Others are really just THAT strong and can hold a crazy pace for several days (and those riders are here racing- pushing hard and knowing that they can maintain their stamina). We’ll see. As the race progresses, riders will fatigue. I’m hoping that our pacing structure (from our trainer) will help to keep us in the race as we enter the harder stages (with longer distance and steeper climbs).

Oh my gosh!!!! Now I’m nervous! 2 hours still start time. At 9:33 we’re scheduled to roll across the start line. Eeeee. This is where it’s always good to have your mom to calm your nerves. (She’d say, “oh Meg, don’t be ridiculous. You’ve been training for this. You’ll be fine. Just go out there and have fun.” Jeff thinks his mom would say, “don’t crash and don’t feed the bears.” All good advice. So… wIth that… here we go.

A great pre-race day in Fernie with family. Jeff and I are are excited to be spending some time with my cousin James and his family (Daisy, Calvin, and their dog Sage).

And a little good luck for tomorrow…

Here we go.

This is the best looking group that I’ve ever seen at an airport.
Look at all the bikes!

(Trying hard to be inconspicuous… but this new phone is huge!) There are, at least, 12 pepole here waiting for the Fernie shuttle. Eeeee… this is getting more exciting.