Big White is AWESOME! The cycling edition... Part 1.

Exactly! Absolutely nothing to do with Big White. Cool eh?

What...? I don't care, you don't have to read it.

But for those still around... "Welcome; to the GCN... Cycling... edition"

Yes, GCN, (Global Cycling Network) my new favourite show, well, that and GOT... both start with 'G'... spooky...

Confused? Well, yes, you would be. It was gonna be called the GCN edition, but then I changed it... okay?

Anyone cycle?

Anyone cycle? I started mid 2016, May to be exact. I used to play a lot of squash, but eventually the dreaded day arrived, yes my physio suggested I quit (actually he used words more like 'idiot' and 'you', but not necessarily in that order...) Trail running, judo, army, squash, skiing... eventually took their toll. Skiing was not too bad, trail running uphill okay, downhill... not so much, squash pretty bad. And since I live in a ski resort and spent my winters as a ski instructor... skiing was staying.

On December 5th 2015 I hung up my racquet... a sad sad day... And by May 2016 I had become much more of a man... yes... I had become a chubster. Always had been really, always fighting the flab. Squash helped... until it ended. Now you would think skiing all day would help too... it did. What didn't help was the end of day decompression sessions... also know as beer and hot salty chips. Apparently I needed lots of decompression... over 20lbs... not good.

In May I came across this second hand bike - old, too small, but inexpensive and in perfect condition. I figured if I could start riding, and 'get into it' I could upgrade - you know, maybe buy some shorts... or proper pedals, (with shoes), a water bottle, shirt, gloves, repair kit... So I bought it and went for a ride... 

I live at Big White (the AWESOME! bit) but the cycling options are pretty limited - down the road and er... back up... 

Hell! OMG! To the junction and back is a 45km round trip... with a 1000m elevation gain... peaking at 1850m - i.e. great for altitude training... IF... you wanted to actually do altitude training... When you first start to ride up the mountain you think the road will never ever end. However after a few weeks you realize that your original assessment was correct - it never ends. You want to live longer? Try riding you bike up Big White road - 90 mins will feel like 8 hours...

Hell! I tell you. Even downhill has brutal uphill segments.

But... that 'Hell' did burn calories. Yes sir - about 1500 each ride, and imagine how much good it was doing your cardio system... as long as it didn't kill you... Incidentally that summer I got my heart rate up to 221 bpm... yes... my max was only supposed to be 172... :( I survived though.

In July I entered the annual Big White road race - 60km, Kelowna to Big White, 1800m total elevation gain... I even bought some shoes and clip in, clipless pedals (no, I don't know why, don't ask). The day before the ride I tested my pedals by doing the junction and back ride... this would also ensure I was adequately exhausted for the race. No not smart, yes my IQ brings the overall average down... meaning more people move into the 'above average category...' yes, you are welcome.

Of course I still did not have... shorts, shirt, water bottle(s), food... who needs those eh? Just because every other rider had them... I was unintentionally proving I had no idea what I was doing... a resounding success. 

A successful non plan.

Again, the ride proved to be hell... again. I thought I was doing okay until these two old batty-bats passed me on the last hill... chatting away as if it was a stroll in the park... whilst I was struggling to achieve two things - keep moving, and stay alive... "Hi" they said... "Fog off!" I would have said... if I could summon the energy to respond... and my brain was not so oxygen starved that it was able to retain the ability produce coherent thoughts... and then verbalize them... within an appropriate timeframe... (cycling is tough), anyway, what was I talking about... ah yes - bitches.

And then it was over. Of course my poor time had nothing to do with my fitness, it was obviously due to my substandard, and limited equipment... time to upgrade... by Wednesday I had a newish (still second hand) bike, (but it was the right size - yes, bonus), shorts, shirt and and and... a water bottle - apparently they are very important... who knew? Well who knew, apart from every other cyclist on the ride... but who else could have worked that problem out? I know every other... please shut up!

Come Monday I was out on the Big White road. And guess what? Yes! I crushed my best time by a whopping 0.427%. Bugger.

By October cycling season was coming to an end, but I had managed to become less of a man again... and the Hell? Well... the funny thing is, the 'Hell' did not really end... I just got to the point where I kinda enjoyed the suffering... kinda...

Sólido Properties owns, manages, cleans up, repairs, inspects, (and is disappointed by), maintains, renovates... numerous internal and external properties at Big White Ski Resort. Providing both short term (summer) and long term (winter) accommodation. Visit our website or Facebook page for more information, or if you would like to be ignored you can contact us via the website or FB page. We are a Human Rights company - we ignore everyone.

Big White is AWESOME! Not a bad place to Everest...

"I'm gonna keep going..."

"What?"

"I'm gonna keep going, riding..."

"For how long?!"

"Dunno, I'll keep going until, I cannot."

"But for how... Wait... are you gonna Everest?!"

"I dunno, it depends how tired I get, I'll keep going... until I can't..."

"But, but, but..." there were lots of 'buts' 

And 'Why now?'

I could understand the questions - I had not planned an Everest attempt... or prepped apart from riding my bike up and down that road... Big White road. I had talked about it, I had thought about it, I had picked and ridden some routes... figured out how many laps... and the number of kilometres I would travel. 

Wait... you don't know what I'm talking about when I say 'Everesting' do you? Silly me.

Everesting - I think I came across it last, or early this year on GCN (it's a YouTube channel) interesting if you like cycling. I didn't really pay much attention to Everesting when I first came across it, riding a bike the equivalent height of Mount Everest. And then you hear about it again, pay a little more attention think about it a little... height of Everest (8848m), riding the height of it, on one ride, on the same hill (or mountain), repeat until you get to the number 8848m... no sleeping allowed.

Why would I need sleep...? I'll just start early. Ha!

They have a website, they have videos a calculator, - pick a Strava segment, plug in your expected speed, weight, bike weight... add some rest breaks... Big White road usually takes me 1h 50mins, +/- if I 'press-on' 2h 30mins if I take it easy...

I do the math in my head, the ride is 985m gain over 45kms... nine laps... 9x1h 50mins... ooh,... 400km +... ouch, add some breaks - six times 10 mins... ahh... that's 19 hours. Hmmm... maybe I'll get up really early...

I'm still not really paying attention... and it really does not appeal much. It sounds tough, it sounds brutal, it does not sound like fun... 19 hours... riding up and down a hill? Not for me thank you very much. 

...Then I see the phrase 'Earning the Grey Stripe Kit...' What is this grey stripe kit...? I find out - hey, yeah, that looks cool... What do you mean IF you have Everested you can wear it... If? IF...!?! I can wear Chris Froome's replica yellow/red/pink/green/polka dot jersey(s) from whatever Grand Tour he has won or lead... I can wear any team jersey, I can wear any race jersey... but I cannot wear, or even buy their shirt...?

Whatever you do, do not fall into their trap. It is just a scam I tell you. A Scam!

Cos I don't want this Grey Stripe Kit... do I? No, not until they tell me I can't have it... then I want it... 

So, there I am responding to my wife's but... (s) (almost forgot the 's') contemplating Everesting. It is 8:00pm (ish) I have been riding since 3pm, I have finished my second lap... at this point I'm thinking maybe another 15 hours... if I can keep going... Ha! Damn Grey Stripe Kit.

Six hours and two laps later I am still moving and everything is... perfect. Yes, it is cold (bottomed out a 6 degrees), yes I am tired, yes I am not even half way (that's a sobering thought after you have been riding for hours...) yes I don't have much light, yes I saw a grizzly (small one... you know, the slow, friendly kind... I hope) but man the night sky is perfect, brilliant, vibrant... I am just riding and looking at the sky, staring at the milky way, just... just looking. That was the best part of the ride - two laps, dark skies, no light pollution (not even the moon) milky way and shooting stars... my breathing is steady and strong, I can hear the rhythm of my carbon wheels... you know if you know...

Awesome!

Nine hours and three laps after that... not so much. I am only on lap 7... my 11am goal was gonna be closer to 4pm... if I can speed up... Ha! Temp is rising (it does get to 32...) but everything is holding up, I'm not exhausted (fatigued yes), knees, feet, back, neck all seem okay, hands are getting stiff and numb but manageable. Do I want to stop? Not really, I didn't really consider doing this; but to get this far, and then stop? If I keep going I only have three laps to do (I can do three laps can't I?) If I stop...? Well, then I have nine more laps to do... pretty easy choice really.

I finished just before 6pm... 27 hours total, 22 in the saddle - (I found out the little rest breaks were not so little...)

So was it worth it? Well, you will have to try it and find out. Will I do it again...? Yes.

Finally, I have to say thanks to my wife and son - despite the short notice they really looked after me all night. The home made, double burger, with bacon, cheese, mushrooms, sautéed onions and a coke (not home made) at 2:30am is a meal I will probably never forget.

Sólido Properties often used to write a blog about rentals, seasonal staff/work, living and doing life at Big White... and then... procrastination...