Salty Dog 6 Hour Enduro MTN Bike Race

This past weekend, the interior BC’s roads and mountain bike trails were invaded by Speed Theory’s racing team. While some members kicked off the Penticton Training Camp, 4 of our members participated in the Salty Dog 6 hour enduro MTB race in Salmon Arm on Sunday. Thomas, Simon W, Rick M, and I took part in the grueling event as solo riders. This meant doing as many laps as you could in 6 hours. Each lap consisted of around 10.5km and just less than 400m of elevation gain. All of the climbing occurred in the first part of each lap, and the first half of the climb was steep singletrack switchbacks. The other half was nice smooth doubletrack with sections that allowed you to eat, drink, get into a bigger gear and hammer, pass people, and text. With a water/feed station at the top, you refueled, and then the reward came. A sweet, technical, fun-rolling, big-grin-on-your-face descent which made you forget about all the hard work you had to do to earn it. As you rolled through the transition area, fans screamed and yelled and cheered you on and you felt light on your feet as you ran through there with your bike. Then the mental game started, and you had to do it all over again.
The weather was a perfect mix of warmth and overcast skies with some sprinkles here and there. Not enough moisture to keep the dust down and everyone’s faces from being covered in Salty Dog war paint.

Props go out to Simon W for completing 8 hard laps, Thomas completing 7 laps (on his single speed hard tail 29’er!) Rick M threw down 7, and I had 6 laps, surpassing my goal of 5 laps. Simon passed me twice during the 6 hours, and always in the swoopy, rocky, dusty, switchback descents. He was moving so fast if it wasn’t for his accent and Speed Theory kit, I never would have noticed him. My guess is he picked up the pace when he saw me, to avoid a repeat of last Wednesday’s C4 TT, and having to help me with any flats. Mission accomplished.

Next up is this weekend’s Trans Stony 6 hour enduro in Stony Plain. Great race everyone!