As above really. It’s an event that I’ve been aware of and sort of thinking I’d like to do for a couple of years now. I turn 40 next year so it seems as good a time as any to sign up and registration opens this evening.
So I guess my question is, is it just a quite stupid idea or an extremely stupid idea?

I know a lad who did it, was one of his best times on a bike (and he’s done silly things before, like the TransAlp)

Infact, he did a nice day by day blog on it: https://transalpuk.wordpress.com/author/transalpuk/

Have a look at https://www.instagram.com/pinkmtbr/ and the smae user name on twitter.

She’s just ridden it and seems to have had a (mostly) great time. She should be able to give advice on training (in her case riding a 120lb cargo bike with 3 kids in it, from what I’ve seen).

I went to watch the start of the Squamish stage on my way to work which is clearly almost like doing it 😉

It was interesting seeing the large variety of bikes there. From full on Enduro weapons to ultra scary looking steep angles carbon 29er hardtails. Some even had 26″ wheels WTF! The people who knew what they were in for tended to be riding lightweight modern trail bikes with geometry that made the bikes pretty competent on the downs.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bc-bike-race-2017-2018

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bc-bike-race-2016-whos-going-and-how-is-that-training-coming-along

On the one hand don’t underestimate it. On the other hand the logistics etc are very well organised and with training I think most “average” riders could manage it. Doing well would be another matter.

We’re off to do Singletrack 6 in about ten days if the op is after Canadian challenges, very well run race.

Thanks for all the replies and links, all very helpful and pushing me towards entering. 🙂

Did it in 2015, loved it, went back in 2016, loved it. Signed up for Singletrack 6 in a couple of weeks.

It is not a remotely stupid idea, but do some training.

I had to train hard just to get round singletrack 6 last year 😳

And this year ST6 doesn’t look any easier… 😯
Sweamrs is riding ST6 this year so we’ll see how it goes.

I’d be interested in comparisons post race.

I’ve had a lot of shoulder problems this year – all as a result of a crash at st6 last year so the training has been crapola, I am hoping to bin at the end of day three!

So is Singletrack 6 less of an XC fire road event than BC bike race? To be fair BCBR seems much more trail orientated than the cape epic!

I think there is plenty of trail in both. The only days on BCBR that drag are 3 & 4 where you’re traversing between towns. Both events are always trying to add trail as well.

A bit of fire road is good to space out the field and have a break.

ST6 has more DIY to it than BCBR where they handle everything although I notice for 2018 they are adding meal plans etc so more like BCBR.

@Kilo. Day 3 is Seven summits? You should definitely hold on for that one as doing it normally is a shuttle / logistic challenge.

BC 2018 is 50% sold so decide soon 🙂

I’ve done it in 09 & 17.

Here’s my thoughts:

TRAINING:

Do not underestimate this event. Although the distances do not seem much – BC singletrack can be tough. Put the miles in & work on your core as well. You will enjoy it more if you aren’t suffering so.

BIKE:

I’ve done it on FS XC bike (100mm travel & 26″) & FS trail bike (130mm & 650b). Although I was able to take scetchier lines on the trail bike I’d recomebd an XC bike & 650b at that. The singletrack can get quite twisty & a more nimble bike might feel better. The climbs can be quite cheeky as well so go as light as you can. You’ll also want a small camelback.

I think the ideal bike would be FS 100-120mm 650b.

TENT CITY:

It’s fun but it’s also quite easy to get a rough nights sleep due to snorers, farters & folks just generally not realising that noise in tent city carries. Solo upgrade well worth it & hotels even better.

If you can get a group of friends together & persuade someone to drive an RV, then that my friend is just pure gravy.

I’ve done it with an RV & I know which I prefer!

MEAL PLAN:

I went for A, the earliest each day, & it worked well for me.

MASSAGES:

Recommended – as often as you can.

DOWNSIDES:

You spend a fair bit of time transferring in buses & ferries. That’s quite cool as you do see a lot of BC, but there can sometimes be time to kill. If you’re feeling a bit broken then that can be rough.

UPSIDES:

You get to ride awesome singletrack. Sleet/eat/ride repeat for 7 days in a very cool, friendly environment of like minded bikers who want to push themselves.

Basically: You get to live the dream!

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?

No, I’m 46 & I’ve done it twice. I also found the hassle of packing up & moving a bit of an arse. We moved a few too many times for my liking. Next year I’m looking at the Quebec Singletrack which is based out of a hub.

I wouldn’t worry too much about it selling out – there’re a wait list & folks do drop out.

HI Sweaman2

Will try and last to the end of day three then!

Not sure ST6 is that diy, you can buy transport and accommodation packages and they did a food package last year – but the food was not very good value!

There wasn’t that much fire road on st6 last year it was pretty much all trail it’s just a lot was pedaling up down hill runs!

Having done Sani2c a few times there’s no way I’ll do a bike race involving tent villages ever again 😀

Mrlebowski, thanks for all the tips, any advice is always welcome. Core has never been my strongest point so this could be a good push to finally do something about it.
I have signed up so now just need to figure out some logistics and start getting fitter!! I now also have a legitimate reason to go bike shopping. 🙂

I am also in and signed up for my third. I seem to know quite a few UK folk that are going so it should be a bit of a riot.

Super excited already and I have loads of stuff in between.

lucky – feel free to get in touch if you need additional info. Email in profile.

I’ve just got back from doing BCBR followed by three days in whistler. It was bloody lovely, best riding I’ve ever done.
As mentioned by mrlebowski, it’s not to be underestimated – stages are relatively short but lots of height gain.

We went for the meal plan, but if I were to do it again I doubt I’d bother. Whilst the food is good, it’s very expensive and there are generally options for eating out in the towns visited – you’d just need to have some breakfast supplies in place.

It’s a very well-run event, very slick considering the logistics involved, course marking is spot-on, feed stations always well-stocked. Oh and the bike patrol and medical guys on the course are very professional as I found out on the last descent of the last day after face planting from around 8 feet up on a ladder

Or, save a load of cash and come and ride the trail’s in Fernie. Loads of good hotels, motel, campgrounds. Hell, we even have a great sushi restaurant.
There are 300 km of trails, 4 superb bike shop with brilliant service and you can raft,hike,fish,drink beer after riding too. Check out the trail’s on ‘trailforks’. Best trails I’ve ever ridden, and no crowds.

sweaman2 – Member
And this year ST6 doesn’t look any easier…
Sweamrs is riding ST6 this year so we’ll see how it goes.

I’d be interested in comparisons post race.

Just home from BC. I only rode a bit of day one in the end, an injury I picked up just before the race did for me and with the heat I was seriously not enjoying it!
Mrs Kilo did it all, the chat seemed to be that quite a lot of riders were less than pleased with the severity of the course. Lots of very hard climbing and a lot of very technical descents. It seemed much harder than last year and some of the locals said the course seemed to be aimed at the top 5%. After this year we probably won’t ride it again and I’d think twice before recommending it. They also got rid of the finishers belt buckle which is a bit cheap.

What do you mean? I got a belt buckle this year.
And With regard to the level of technicality, what were people expecting? It’s not a trail centre, it’s supposed to be tough! For me it was pitched at just the right level – pushed me to ride tech that I might not attempt at home, and after the first day, I’d got my eye in and rode pretty well. The level of grip everywhere is almost unnatural.

Mrs Kilo and other finishers just got the medal, no belt buckle, was the same for others who finished about the same time too, which makes it even more cheap.
It was noticeably harder than last year. I was chatting to a fair few riders, mainly locals, and they felt some of the descents were a bit extreme, last descent on stage 2 iirc, new black run, was mentioned by a few. I think ST6 mentioned in an email that it had been a much more all mountain than xc race this year. Stage three looked great.

I’d say that I didn’t see a lot of difference in the technicality from 09 to 17. In fact I recognised a fair bit of the singletrack – though some was in reverse.

I can’t say I recall much re. climbing though IIRC correctly Squamish & Whistler were a bit cheeky.

I’d second bullandbladder – it’s BC, not Afan..

Kilo – if I’ve followed correctly your comments are in relation to singletrack6 as opposed to the BC bike race?

Kilo is referring to ST6. Sweamrs made it round ST6 this year (same as Mrs Kilo) but would agree that some of the descents were nuts. Whiskey on the rocks in particular. She can ride blue tech and some black tech in Whistler bike park so isn’t a beginner by any means and she was walking things. Agree on aiming for the top 5% and more all mountain / less XC. Next year has 3 days in Golden and I personally can’t see 3 days decent riding there.

Sweamrs said ST6 2017 was much more tech than BCBR 2016 (she did both).

If we sign up again we’ll be leaving it closer to the time and looking for courses before parting with cash.

Whiskey on the rocks

in Rossland??

Funnily enough, I’m in Rossland currently and have just ridden that trail. It’s a double black but in reality it would be a hard blue/easy black in most areas the BCBR goes through.

Helluva lot of fun though, even in 32°C in thick dust!

Yep. In Rossland. I’ve not ridden it personally so can’t comment but it seemed to annoy sweamrs. For comparison she loved Tunnel Vision (Whistler BCBR). Whisky was a trail though where she wished she was on her big bike and not her xc race bike.

Edit. If you’re in Rossland Full Monte is a favorite of mine.

the chat seemed to be that quite a lot of riders were less than pleased with the severity of the course. Lots of very hard climbing and a lot of very technical descents

Maybe if loads of people weren’t riding such ridiculous bikes then they’d have found it easier. Half the field looked like they were lining up for an XC race at Thetford Forest when I went to watch the start of the Squamish stage. I’m not sure why people would enter a race, based in the home of some of the gnarliest trails on the planet and expect it to be easy? The Squamish stage picked some of the easier trails (I’ve ridden Leave Of Absence on my cruiser as part of an Enduro race for rigid bikes).

Walleater. Perhaps I should have reiterated that I was at Singletrack 6, it is detailed earlier in the thread though. The part you’ve quoted relates to Singletrack 6 and the disparity between 2016 and 2017so your subsequent post is a bit misdirected.

As an aside I chatted to two people who rode both BCBR and ST6 this year and a few who had ridden ST6 this year and BCBR on previous years, all thought this ST6 was the harder of the two.

This thread is heading off on a tangent but hey ho. I honestly think some people don’t realize just how technical BC trails can be compared to other places. On about day 2 of BCBR last year I was behind someone who got all out of shape on a very small drop / roll. XC 29er. No dropper. My thought was along the lines of “dude you’re going to die in Squamish”. I chatted to him the next morning and nothing he rode near his home in Germany needed a dropper. I also had an amusing conversation with some Italians pre race who were amazed at my 2.5 Minions… they couldn’t imagine ever needing a tire like that.

It’s tough as lots of people who do things like that have an XC race bike and it is a bike race. I think what Kilo and I are both referring to to some extent is that ST6 pulled a bit of a bait and switch this year. Last year it was more XC but between registration and the start they decided to make it more all mountain. So people got a little caught out.

Is shortcut reading this? Seem to think he’s also done both so he might have different perspective.

I also had an amusing conversation with some Italians pre race who were amazed at my 2.5 Minions

Interesting.

IMHO that’s a huge tyre for BCBR – I was quite happy on a 2.35 & even wondered if a 2.25 would have done.

Certainly the 1st time I rode BCBR I rode it on a FS XC bike 100mm F & R with 2.25 Rocket Rons..