Furious3 Recap

This last weekend the Furious3 took Fernie by storm. 300 riders and their family and friends set up camp in this little town in the Southern Rocky Mountains for a 3-day stage race which included 120km of singletrack riding and over 13,000 feet of climbing.

I decided to sign up for the Furious3 last year as it sounded ridiculously fun and was also a great opportunity to race on the trails I ride all summer long. The goals I set for myself were to push myself, finish pain-free, and to have fun.

Showed up in my sweat pants to keep warm...

Turns out I wasn't the only one! Johnny Shaw had the same routine, with Tom Ryan catching on by Day 2

Friday morning, after minimal sleep listening to the rain fall and having flashbacks of Day 1 TransRockies 2010, I felt super nervous but was happy that I was able to eat. I decided to ditch the backpack in an effort to avoid neck pain. This meant more strategy as I didn't want to stop at aid stations, and lucky for me Rich came on board as the one-man support team, popping up every hour to exchange water bottles, pour water over my head, and cheer me on. I carried everything else in my jersey - a first for me, and loved it.

So many people came out each morning to cheer all the riders on, and seeing those familiar faces at the start and along the route made the ride that much more enjoyable. Day one highlights were Heidi Berry yelling my position as I passed the first aid station (this trend continued), the Mong Show surprise camp on Burma Road (continued as well), Paul Attalla coaching us up the steep hill on Roots, and riding with Megan Rose whom I continued to ride sections of each day with throughout the Furious3.

Angela Etheridge gearing up for the race, TR partner Angie Bryans boosting my confidence, and friend Katya Choroszewski showing her support!

I ended up finishing fourth and was surprised by my results, feeling good going into Day 2 - the longest and most technical of the race.

Elk River Water Therapy - my "sports psychologist" Emily Brydon highly recommends it!

The next morning I was in the first heat and as usual, chatted with fellow Fernieite Don Arsenault. I would say, "How long do you figure? __ hours?" and he would always respond around an hour shorter than what I had told family and friends. Let's just say many of them missed me coming through!

Don and I at the start

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the second day. It was an amazing course and included a lot of my favourite trails - Phat Bastard, Brokeback, Black Forest/Mega Hurtz/Old Goat, Dem Bones, Red Sonja and Swine Flu. And it was the first day Megan and I caught and passed the third place rider, whom I called the Luna Girl. The day ended with a 15 minute double train wait at one end of Stumpy, resulting in a mad dash to the finish... which I hate (remember I am not a sprinter). But overall it was the day I had the most fun of the three.

Highlights were seeing my mom at the end of her driveway as we passed by and yelling "hi mom" (resulting in another rider letting me know his mom was watching too while everyone laughed), crossing the avalanche in Gorbie Bowl on our way to Black Forest (the other bikers didn't seem as interested), an Austrian rider whom responded, "If you're lying, you'll break my heart" in a thick Arnold-type accent when I told him we had just one more climb, and flying down Swing Flu like I've never done before.

I think Johnny enjoyed it too! Coming out of Sherwoody in the Fernie Provincial Park

According to Rich, watching people take on the stairs was entertaining... one rider didn't realize they were there and cleaned them entirely!

That evening I felt great, and even enjoyed a beer or two on the patio of Rip & Richards. I finally felt stress free and hungry, with just one more day to go. Until... I saw the results. Third place. What? I knew it was by default, as Luna Girl made a wrong turn, but felt a bit proud as had spent the day super close to the leaders. The nerves were back, and with a vengeance!

Yikes! Glad I forgot my heart rate monitor that morning!

Megan and I with Luna Girl (okay, her name is Danelle Kabush) just in front of us.

Off we went, to the powerline, up Hyper Vent to Hyper Extension. I bet most thought it would be the harder portion of the day, but with just 13km under our belt and over 17km to go including climbing Eric's Trail and Oh Dear, I knew better. To lighten the spirit, I told the riders around us about Henry Barret's "Furious1" - he biked the entire three days in one go! They were silenced.

One of Day 3 surprises - Scary Trail, aptly named.

I got into a pretty steady pace, but Megan decided we needed to go faster, got out in front and started passing people. I realized then that I was wimping out and something inside me switched on. By Kush we had passed Marg - a seriously tough competitor, and then flying on Coal Discovery we caught Luna Girl. Game time. When we reached Ich Bin Sofa, I pulled my local's card and took the steep alternate route and passed by Luna and Megan. By Oh Dear, Rich was there and let us know people were hitting walls. We gav'er, passing riders all the way up. Tim Cooper at the Four Corners gave me more encouragement, and by the time I had done the R-Trail/Deadfall loop back to him, I had caught up to the Hammer Team... I couldn't believe it. We pedaled hard through Broken Derailleur and Sidewinder, and I kept with them all the way back to town to the finish at Victoria Avenue.

Danielle (Luna Girl) finished a few minutes behind me, and while I knew it wasn't enough to snag third overall I felt like I had laid it all out on the table. Riders like Margie (2nd place finisher) and Megan (5th place) shook my hand in congratulation, Hammer Team came over to tell me "nice riding today", and local riders Troy and Christine Misseghers (whom I have looked up to since my first pedal) told me they were impressed... humbling to say the least.

Don and Johnny finishing strong and feeling happy about their awesome performances.

My mom there at the end!

We all look on as Megan pulls in!

By the 4pm Banquet I was ready to celebrate. The Fernie crew had its own table and we cheered Martin Vale and Troy on as they received their very impressive 1st and 2nd place trophies. But perhaps the most impressive moment of the evening was Mark Kaltenbach handing Dave Richards of the Fernie Trails Alliance a cheque for $8,000. The Furious3 bought each racer a membership to the club ($20) and also donated an additional $2000 for the work the Alliance did prior to and after the race.

Mark and Dave at the Banquet

Special thanks to my team: Straightline, Giant, Heather Lewis of Fernie Athletic Therapy, Cathy Morris of the Massage Place, and Dr. Paul Attalla. And of course to my family and friends, and the one-man support team!