Stage 4 - Happy Canada Day

It was a super early start. We had a 4:30am wakeup call in order to load buses that would take us to the first of two ferries we would catch to make it to the start of Stage 4. It was actually nice to have breakfast at 7am and have a full 4 hours to digest before race time. We also got a great chance to take in the beautiful ocean and mountain backdrop that we otherwise wouldn't enjoy while riding. The race literally started right at the terminal in Earl's Cove. As soon as we stepped off the boat, it was not even 50 meters to the start area. Jo and I didn't get in the lineup queue until the B group was already half full. Luckily with a 10K rollout on roads we were able to move up with most of the top teams before the singletrack. Minutes after unloading the ferry we were racing.

From the get go, we knew we would have to take it easy. Jo's legs were fatigued from the efforts of the first three days. Mine were surprisingly good. They had been really tight the day before. Sherry, my massage therapist for the week, has been doing a great job. The day was a bit of a blur for both of us but some of the things we remembered:

• Jo taking a nasty spill on a beginning of a short descent, rattling her a bit for the rest of the ride
• Passing Spike Shooters (Mark and Katie Compton) as they once again fixed a flat. And then them blowing past us a little while later (once again)
  
• Riding most of the day with our closest competition proving that steady climbs were our strength while the technical singletrack is something we need to improve upon. Teams Deadgoat, North of Here, and Kopeks have superior technical skills.
• Catching up with Flight Centre's Nick and James and stopping to give them a tube for their flat tire (no one else offered to help them)
• Botching the stage's final 10K of singletrack, crashing at least 3 times.
• Loving the final 2K of nice smooth and tacky singletrack

Overall, it was another good team day for us. For the second straight day I've been an adequate partner riding stronger and keep my body from overheating. While we were unable to protect our early lead from a few of the mixed teams we have to be happy about being consistent. We finished 7th and remained in 7th overall.

aboard BC Ferries

Earl's Cove:Race start of Stage 3

Flight Centre preparing to unload and race