Just a few metres from the finish line of the 2014 BC Bike Race, two girlfriends and I registered for the 2015 race by giddily typing our credit card numbers into some dude’s laptop situated in the back of a white cube van.
We had found out that if we showed up on the last day of the race, we could snag extra early registration access. So we timed our annual Whistler trip appropriately. On BCBR Day 7, we tracked down the van, registered and then strutted over to the nearest pub to celebrate our collective madness.
We lifted our beers, looked at each other and said,
“How hard can it be?”
Preparing for what faced us the following summer would be a stretch. Two of us were single moms; me with a 3-year-old. I was only managing one mountain bike ride a week at best. The odds of me finding time to train—beyond my daily bike commute—were slim.
I had no idea how I was going to make this happen, but I decided I’d worry about things like childcare, transportation and training later. I’d just told myself, “Yes, I can!” by committing my entire holiday budget to this adventure, and come hell or high water, yes, I would.
A big part of my decision to make it happen for 2015 was that two of my best riding buddies were doing it. If I didn’t do it that year, I would miss out on the opportunity to do it with them. I knew that having them with me through this 7-day adventure would make it even better.
Of course, it made the experience magical, even though we fought through injury, mechanicals, 35-degree heat, 6-hour days in the saddle, chafing and long segments alone in the forest. Though we each rode at our own pace, we ate together, sat on the bus together, reflected on the day together, drank beer together and laughed together…a LOT.
In the end, we were among the 531 people from 33 countries who finished all 7 stages of that year’s race.
I still remember the feeling of relief and joy as I rolled across that Day 7 finish line, greeted by my smiling parents and my son.
I’m still proud of the three of us and our decision to take on a challenge that was so far outside our comfort zone. We were all typical mountain bikers with all the usual life responsibilities to juggle in addition to preparing for BCBR.
It would have been easy to tell ourselves we weren’t fit enough, didn’t have enough free time, that it was too expensive and more. Instead, we lifted our beers, looked at each other with big, goofy grins and said, “How hard can it be?”
Words and photos by Carmel Ecker
