Penticton has a long history of mountain bike racing, going back to the early 80’s at least.
However, although there’s been some racing in the nearby areas recently, it’s been several years since there’s been a real event in town. Cue the arrival of Megan Rose and the BC Enduro. We ran into Megan last summer when she was looking for venues for this new series. All parties seemed to feel that Penticton was a perfect fit for this race format, and prep work began immediately.
Which is important, because there’s a lot of trail here. Just look at the amount of marking that we needed to put in…
I got out for some pre-riding with Chris, Rich, and Julie (who all ended up on the podium) which allowed for us to get up and close with some of the many natural hazards of the course.
I was supposed to be shuttling all day actually, but a last minute transmission failure in the van meant that I was down to a pickup truck. Good thing bikers are resilient. People were far more concerned with the weather forecast. This is what a rainy morning looks like in the Okanagan…
One of the best parts of Enduro racing? No waiting around. Boom….you’re racing.
Shane Jensen
Jason Bond
This guy got the record for most flats. This is #5, and he was only at the start of stage 2. Right after I grabbed this shot, he somehow blew up a CO2 canister in his hand. Never seen that happen before, and it was really lucky nobody got hurt.
Thanks to Shane Jensen and Giant bikes, we had some onsite tech support. No gin and tonics in there though. Misleading or what?
Adam was enjoying the breeze all day during his first ever race.
Was this the perfect event? Well….not exactly. We made some rookie mistakes, mainly with marking the uphill portions of the course. A handful of riders made some wrong choices and ended up riding a bit more, but that was during un-timed sections. The vast majority figured it out. If you don’t get lost at least a little bit in the Mice, were you really there?
We had to endure more rain at the wind up at Misconduct. Weather reports in the Okanagan require a certain amount of translation for Coastal visitors.
Adam showing off his kilt at the after party. Freedom gave him some new shorts.
Some podium shots.
Juniors
Old cores
Ladies
Dirtbags…
Men
Pros
Afterwards we went to Laughing Stock for some food…
…and a little something to drink.
I finished up in 9th in the Old Core division, and would not have been last in the Pro Elite. Not too shabby for a guy that doesn’t really race. Maybe next time I’ll put a fresh cable on the old derailleur for this one….
More pics and write ups:
