For the past 11 years, if a mountain biker in the Bow Valley wanted to prove his or her grit, there was one challenge to face: the TransRockies seven-day gauntlet.
Early days required 600 kilometres of backcountry trail riding from Fernie to Canmore through dusty fire roads, sloppy mud and several feet of snow at high elevations.
It required emotional and physical endurance, speed and tons of resourcefulness to conquer.
Changes to the mountain bike landscape mean this will be the final year for TransRockies, which concludes on Main Street in Canmore on Aug. 2. The race has lost many top riders to other single-track races (and responded by chopping 300 km off the route and including much more technical riding), and organizers will try another series next year.
Many of Canmore’s top riders are mourning the loss of the race, as what was once a pure adventure race fades in the face of market forces.
Craig Bartlett won the race in 2012 on a team with Pat Doyle, and has competed in seven of the past 11 races. The character of the race has changed over the years, as its shifted from logging roads and cow paths to single track, he said. Short, intense days have replaced long slogs, and it no longer crosses the Great Divide.
Bartlett said racers expect a different experience these days when entering a multi-day race, especially since so many core riders are getting older.
“Riding between 300 and 400 kilometres is still a pretty big challenge. The quality of mountain biking hasn’t changed that much, but the expectations have. Now, people want to ride for two and a half to four hours a day. Back in the day, it was five to 10 hours a day. I don’t think there’s the same appetite for that anymore … I don’t think there is the same desire to go out and push hard for eight hours, seven days in a row.”
Bartlett said TransRockies point-to-point racing suits his style, which kept bringing him back. Patrolling the backcountry on two wheels, pounding through long days, was something unique.
“In the early days, when I was getting into this, some of those first big days had you ride five hours up 2,500 metres in the middle of nowhere. That was kinda cool, soaking it in on pretty amazing terrain. It made the hard work worth it,” Bartlett said.
“I’ll shed a tear for the old way, but look forward to the new challenges.”
Jon Firth is another past winner who is sad to see the race go, so this final year will be something special.
“This will be my six or seventh time. At first, it was a goal I set and just wanted to finish,” Firth said. “I really enjoyed those long days, doing 100 km, with 2,500 to 2,800 metres of climbing. Now the stages are shorter, and it’s easier on most people.”
The challenge is intense mentally and physically. Firth said he’d rather see the race stay in the area.
“There’s a lot of race preparation, because it’s a different kind of race training. You’re running on a high. Your body shuts down a day or two after the race, but during it, you have to be eating well, stretching and rolling, or your body shuts down. In the early days, I wasn’t eating or drinking properly. You have to train your body to go with limited water and food.”
This year’s final event will draw some excellent national level riders, such as Kris Sneddon, Cory Wallace and Neil Kindree, and the format gives riders a chance to learn from them.
“At the end of the day when everyone gets to sit down for dinner, everyone gets together and you get to know a lot of people,” Firth said.
Losing that chance in his backyard upsets him.
“I don’t like it. There is something new being launched, and I hope the TransRockies is brought back some day.”
Gary Buxton and Town of Canmore co-worker Alaric Fish completed the race together in 2007, and Buxton will face the challenge again this year. He recalls the grinding days over tough terrain, which was hard on body and mind.
“It’s great to have better technical riding. I’m not going to claim riding was stellar, but the experience to cover that much ground was unique. The race is losing out for people who like to ride technically,” Buxton said.
He understands the long, gruelling days aren’t for everyone.
“It seems like it gets worse for two or three days, but by the end you feel a little better. You get off the bike and just eat. Then by the end of the week you don’t want to eat. You’re sick and tired and your digestive system is run down,” Buxton said.
“I enjoyed it. Those long five to six hour days are now three to four hour days … It’s quite the experience. You’re 60 kilometres from the highway. If you get hurt, you’ll be waiting a long time.”
Buxton said the sport has changed over the past 11 years, but the camaraderie is still the same.
“We all have better equipment, better toys. It’s still a laid-back sport. People really try and win, but it’s not ultra-competitive. The intensity doesn’t seem to be in mountain biking. We’re out to have fun.”
