Stage 2 - Cumberland

Stage 2 -  Campbell River

After a hot stage 1, many riders were hoping they recovered enough for what stage 2 had to offer.  The stage started off with a fast gravel road descent followed by a long climb.  The early climbing usually helped to sort all the riders out into the proper "riding order", but this was early in the overall race and there was still more testosterone than brains for some riders.  

After the climb was of the most technically challenging sections of trail in the entire race.  The trail was called "Box Lunch".  Many other racers read reviews of this trail and some were fairly nervous.  Box Lunch was very wet and muddy despite no rain in the preceding days.  This trail was very narrow and was pretty much entirely filled with tree roots and rocks.  There were riders dabbing and crashing at every section of roots.  People were constantly passing others only to crash themselves.  It became quite comical!  Actually, the funnest part was when two local women riders passed the train of riders I was in and most of the guys just watch in awe as they rode the most technical sections.  After this happened, some slower riders finally let us by and it was smooth sailing.  It was really tough to keep the mojo flowing with so much stopping and starting.

Here's a video of some of the chaos on Box Lunch.

The remaining trails of the course were really beautiful.  The Enduros were shorter and much less technical than stage 1.

Results:

Overall stage - 32nd

Enduro #1 - 55th

Enduro #2 -  27th

Post race photo with Andreas Hestler.

Fellow racer Justin Matthews from Australia and myself.  Justin and I rode together a lot.  He was on a single speed hardtail.  Prior to this race, Justin raced in the single speed world championships and the Australia national championships.  I could not believe how quick these guys were with no rear suspension and only one gear!

Unwinding and enjoying the beautiful sunset.