TransRockies VII
Day 2; K2 Ranch to Nipika Mountain Resort (73.7km/3813m climbing)
News Release. Photos by By Dan Hudson courtesy TransRockies. / 14.08.2008
Overheard At The Shower Truck Sinks This Morning:
Open Men\'s category leaders, as of Day 1, Marzio Deho & Johnny Cattaneo getting interviewed by fellow tooth-brushers. When asked how they feel to have the early TransRockies lead, they said it was great, they were looking forward to today\'s ride, and they would see what today would hold before making any predictions about taking the category title. \"We\'re feeling good today, we\'ll see,\" they were overheard as saying.
Overheard At Breakfast:
There was plenty of snoring in Tent City last night, though the general consensus was that the low hum of generators from distant motorhomes eventually lulled everyone to sleep. Perhaps this collective deep sleep, after only Stage 1, is concrete evidence that TransRockies VII is indeed the most challenging edition yet?
TransRockies\' focus on highly nutritional and tasty food geared toward the endurance athlete is a huge hit with riders. Conversations across the breakfast table included high praise for this year\'s caterer, Anne Riches, and everyone left this morning with a full belly of hot food and strong Kicking Horse Coffee.
6:30 p.m. Nipika Mountain Resort; “It was a long day for everyone on the TransRockies trail today, as an already grueling stage got longer when the front pack went off course and everyone played follow the lemming,\" as today\'s 1st Place Open Men\'s finishers, Sobe Cannondale riders Mike Garrigan and Jesse Jakomait explained at the finish.
The riders went awry when some of the top teams missed the flagging tape on course indicating a right-hand turn. Instead, the group marched up a steep avalanche gulley shouldering their bikes all the way to the top, missing the turn and finding out, upon summiting the chute, that the trail had gone cold.
\"We were so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that we ended up just playing follow the lemming,\" said Jakomait. According to him, a group of about 20 riders at the front of the race, realizing their mistake, turned and began backtracking, eventually finding the route and getting back into race mode.
SleepMonsters
