Buckshot 2019

Buckshot 2019 - May 18

I thought I had planned enough ahead but things never really work out that way. I was late getting out of work and getting packed up and out of the city. We made it to Kamloops and had a good dinner down by the start. Lennard had posted that there would be a quick get together at one of the pubs in town before the race so everyone could hang out for a bit before going on the ride and never seeing each other again. It was great to see and meet everyone again. Mostly BCEpic alumni were present and a couple of new guys. We did not stay late as everyone anticipated a tough ride the next day with the rainy weather patterns pushing through.

At the hotel we unloaded my bike and brought it up to the room and my wife suggested I bring up the kids bikes as well. I figured we had three locks on the bikes so we shouldn't need to unload them. My family was settling in but I was quickly and stress-fully setting up my bike and going through everything twice to make sure I was prepared for the possibility of rain and tough riding. I had everything setup and jumped into bed around 11. My mind was racing still but all I wanted to do was sleep. I struggled and struggled to get to sleep. Tossing and turning. Lots of noises outside the room as partiers came and went. There was a lookout across the lot from our hotel so I think that was the main draw. I finally drifted away for what felt like a little bit only to be woken up at 5am by my alarm. Another pre-race shitty sleep. I think I need to start taking sleeping pills or something to get me relaxed and let me sleep before these rides. I know, fear of the unknown is an amazing adrenaline booster and not something that will allow you to sleep.

I ate while I put my gear on, trying to intake as much as I can stuff down into my uneasy stomach. My wife was going to drive down to the start with me and see me off. We exited our hotel room and I immediately saw the back of our car. Two of the bike locks were on the ground. My daughter's and wife's bikes were just dangling there and my sons week old bike was gone. UGH! Some shit heads had come by sometime in the night as stolen my sons bike. We both inspected what remained and it looks like the thieves had some pretty big bolt cutters but they were not able to cut through any of the three braided cables. What they cut through was actually the lock holding the braided cables around the bikes. I was feeling gutted as my wife has planned to take the kids to the MTB park in Kamloops that day. I was going through what to do with my wife. I went to the front office of the hotel but it was closed and no one was around. I figured they would have security cameras or something on the hotel. I found out later that they had nothing installed. Perfect for criminals. It was getting late now and I was going to miss the start. I told my wife I would deal with everything when I got back the next day.

I blasted down the hill to the start trying to process what had happened and how to deal with it when I get back. I actually vaguely remembered hearing people talking outside our room or in my dream. Something about some guy saying "Get me that f***ing bike!". I was so groggy trying to get to sleep I wasn't able to put two and two together and go look out the door. My mind was far from focusing on a bike ride and more worried about my family. I rolled to the start just as Lennard was finishing up his pre-race talk. I said "Hi" to a couple of people that were not at the meet the night before.

The start happened minutes after I arrived. I actually think we started a bit late. I forgot to turn on my Etrex and was still fiddling with gear within 5 minutes. The roads were dry and the skies were clearing. I figured we might get lucky and have good conditions. I chatted with some riders as I rode up to the front. The pace was leisurely as we let Lennard lead us out of downtown. The route twisted away through to the outskirts of town where we go around the airport. Lennard and I pushed the pace here and the pack strung out behind us. My thoughts were constantly shooting back to the night before and thinking about my family. I figured if I could ride this route quickly I could get back and help them.

We popped out onto the road again and Lennard and I chatted for a bit more as we enjoyed the scenery of the back country farm areas. At the base of the first big climb I was going to test myself and to see how I was feeling. Lennard wasn't going to let me get away easily and he kept right up with me up the first couple of pitches. We came across a rider that had camped out on the side of the road last night. We didn't stop for him but we did say hi and motored on up. There were some switchbacks near the top and I kept looking back to see if Lennard was there and he was. Lennard was riding strong or I was not. Either way the road was moist hard pack and it made climbing fairly easy on the steep grades.

Over the top and down along the side of a steep valley with a noisy creek at the bottom. This is where the road turned to crap. Wet and muddy spray blasted me on the downhill. I thought it was only going to last for a short bit but it never did. I quickly pulled over and put on what rain gear I had even though I was already quite muddy. The clouds looked to be stuck up in this hilly plateau and the rain sprinkled down. When I crossed the bridge over the creek I could already feel the cold water penetrating into my shoes and socks. Lennard and I were yo-yo back and forth for a while. I tried my best to enjoy myself and looked at the old farm houses and farm land. This area would be a beautiful valley if it wasn't so socked in and wet. The road was waterlogged and there was flowing water here and there. I had to focus on the road to make sure I didn't end up in a puddle. Lennard and my bikes were not happy. You could just hear the muddy grit grinding away at the pedals, brakes, gears and chain. My hate for the weather stewed and my thoughts strayed back to the events of the night before. Around and around they went in my head. I was down and I talked to Lennard about it. I tried to eat a bar but my gloves were so muddy that I felt the mud grit in my teeth when I chewed. I had to keep my mouth closed most of the time to keep the mud out which didn't help either. Our pace was slow but everyone else was slow as well. We stopped to eat. I could feel my body getting chills so the breaks were short. I pedaled harder to warm up. I asked Lennard what my options are if I were to get out of here. He told me that the only exit is where there is T intersection I could go left and it would dump me out on the highway. I thought I would see how I feel then and make a choice then.

The route followed muddy back roads going through small farm communities that I would have never have thought to be up in the mountains. It twisted it's way westward until a sharp left turn led us down the first big decent. You could actually see where Angela Chang, an ITT'er, had missed the turn from the previous day. Her tire tracks were easy to see in the mud. From here it was a rolling downhill through the forest with some high speed sections hat froze me to the bone and I was wearing a lot of gear. Lennard was wearing much less than I so I am not sure how he was feeling but he had to be feeling the cold. We crossed a creek or two and into the cows. Cows were here and there. We descended, what felt like an old fire road and we came into a large pack of cows. We shouted and hollered the best we could be the herd began to run. The big old cows were predictable but the young cows were skittish and ran ahead of us forever. Not only were we dodging cows but we also had to dodge their landmines. Some sections it was impossible to not go through their shit. Yuck! The road switch backed and we road beside an old quarry or mine and down to the T beside the old barn. This is where I had to make a choice. I chatted with Lennard for a bit as we ate some food and he decided to push on while I pondered my decision. The weather was quite pleasant and I was able to change out my socks and gloves. I just couldn't get my core temperature up and my shivering was only settling down a bit. I looked to the north and saw only dark rain clouds. If I were to continue there would be no salvation for at least another 100km and I just couldn't muster up the strength to continue on. I hit the help button on my Spot and turned south towards the highway.

It was mostly downhill to the highway but I could feel the air getting warmer and warmer as I descended the valley the clouds cleared and the sun was fighting to push through. I was disappointed that I had to DNF but happy to be done with the cold and wet. I called my wide once I hit the highway and she said that she was already halfway to me. She said the Spot had actually sent her almost 20-30 messages for help. I guess I need to press the button again to turn off the help messages. The sun was out now and a coasted down the highway. I was coated helmet to show in dried mud now and I am sure I had some interesting looks at passers by. My family picked me up at Savona and I was relieved to be done.

After the event I talked with Lennard and he had told me that the weather was worse after he went north. I did make a good decision.

My wife had talked to the RCMP and had already filed a report with them with the serial number of the bicycle just in case it was ever found again. I didn't think it would ever be found again and the RCMP said bicycle theft was rampant across southern B.C.. I went back to the hotel cleaned up, packed up then headed to Kelowna to relax for a couple of days.

I will try to come back and ride the full route one year. I still have my timing pace chart stuck to the base of my computer monitor as a reminder.