Stage 5 - Sechelt to Langdale

Today we were determined to get to our start area early to avoid doing any extra work. To our surprise we were no longer in the B group but the A group. We were stoked getting to line up with all the top teams and not having to battle for position from the start. Stage 5 was another rollout on town roads before hitting singletrack and double track uphills. There was a significant amount of climbing but also featured some amazing singletrack. After getting through some of the tough sections we hit what was probably a good 45 minutes of the best single track I've ever experienced with bermed corners and fun and challenging bridges(although some were just to risky for us to take). Again, we built an early lead after the opening climbs. Deadgoat and North of Here both caught and passed us as we remained challenged through the technical singletrack. Jo's legs were still fatigued and I tried to help return the favor of a few days back by pushing her when I could. The hardest part of the day had to be the singletrack climb leading to the Aid Station 2. Already spent from working another technical singletrack the aid station couldn't come soon enough. We made another quick transition despite the need to rest. I filled up my camelbak with some Accelerade powder and topped off my waterbottle. It was bit more climbing before we hit another sweet section of fast singletrack under lush canopy. Then Jo ate it hard off a log. My heart skipped a beat fearing the worse but thankfully she was just a shaken up with a few more bruises. It was all downhill from there to the finish at the ferry terminal in Langdale. It was another consistent and fun day for us and to our surprise, while we did lose some time to a couple groups in front of us, it was not much and we made a large chunk up time on the 5th place Kopek team. Again, 7th on the day. Still in 7th with 5th in reach.

Almost immediately after the race our bikes were put in a truck and we walked onto another ferry in Langdale to Horseshoe Bay where buses waited for us to take us to Squamish, known as the "adventure capital of the world."

Tomorrow is going to be another fun ride, but supposedly tough and long. Luckily we start and finish in Squamish at the Brennan Park Rec Centre where will be staying two nights. It's absolutely gorgeous here. Sounds like we might get rain tomorrow though...


Post Race stop for grub with Grant and Scott (Bike RX) at Horseshoe Bay

Race Village in Squamish