“This race was definitely my highlight of mountain bike racing career,” said Blue River’s Andy Aufschnaiter after competing in the BC Bike Race.
This year’s seven-day mountain bike event took place June 30 to July 7 and included stages in or near Cumberland, Campbell River, Powell River, Earls Cove, Langdale, Squamish and Whistler.
According to Aufschnaiter, the event included exceptional hand-built mountain bike trails, stunning scenery and ocean crossings, and beautiful beachfront base camps.
“It was an unforgettable week of the best that B.C. has to offer,” he said. “An amazing adventure.”
Despite Aufschnaiter taking a nasty fall, he and his partner, John Ramsden, a Vancouver physician, finished the race in second place overall out of eight teams in their category (ages adding up to more than 100 years).
“On the second last day, Stage 6 in Squamish, I had a big crash and went over the handle bars,” Aufschnaiter said. “My chain ring got stuck on a log on a fast downhill section on the trails. It happened so fast I could not react to save myself and landed hard with my face on large rocks. I cut open my chin. Luckily, I had a good helmet. It saved the rest of my face.”
His partner checked him out and after a few minutes he was ready to finish the last 10 km. When he made it to the finish line he and his bike were covered in blood. The pair came in third that day but still held onto their second place overall position.
The Blue River man ended up with 15 stitches on the chin and a black eye.
“I was happy the day was over and I had to start to focus on the last day in Whistler. We were 12 minutes ahead of the third place team and over 45 minutes behind the first team. We could not wheel the first team in anymore on the last day but our goal was set to hold our second place,” he said.
Before the crash the pair had covered anywhere from 38 to 65 km single-track riding and had been on the podium after every day. Once Aufschnaiter broke his rear derailleur eight km from the finish but with a quick fix they made it to the finish and lost not too much time.
“The last day I only remembered the start and finish,” he said. “We only had one strategy in mind – to not loose too much time. We knew the third place team would push as hard as they could but at the end of the race we still were three minutes ahead,” Aufschnaiter said.
The pair ended up in second place overall.
First place went to four-time Olympic participant Pierre Harvey from Quebec and his partner Daniel Auclair.
Aufschnaiter said he and Ramsden had great support staff. They cycled for Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing of Blue River and for Steed Cycles from Vancouver.
After taking one week to rest Aufschnaiter started to get ready for the 24 Hours of Adrenaline, which was held in Canmore, Alberta on July 23/24.
Future plans include organizing the Blue River Mountain Bike Race in 2012 for the 100th anniversary of the town of Blue River.
