Went up to Whistler to offer support to Emily and Kirsty for the final two stages of the BC Bike race. Not that they needed my support; the race promoter and volunteers had put on an excellent race seemingly providing everything that the racers needed, and the girls were having a great race. So my support was largely in the form of ringing a cowbell at various vantage points on the course, and truthfully, Who doesn’t need more cowbell?
Except for Emily. I think that she found the cowbell to be quite annoying. Between cowbelling, I took a few pictures of Kirs n Em Bikes during Stage 7.
Emily, smiling, crosses a suspension bridge over the Cheakamus River
Kirsty on the Lower Far Side trail, getting set for some more, extended, climbing
Bob was a welcome sight for all the racers (Bear on a bike), including Emily and Kirsty
Afterwards, they were both overcome with emotions from completing such an event
and then Emily was overcome by gravity
So, where did the good karma come from? Supporting a race instead of competing in it (although I’m ready to register for the ‘09 BC bikie race right now).. nope, the karma actually came from passing out beers to some of the finishers. It’s a fairly regular habit for me, but in BC it’s taken one step further because beer is EXPENSIVE. The costs for pints in pubs are similar to those in the States, but a sixer of decent beer from a liquor store (no alcohol in grocery stores) will set you back $15 CAN!!! Ouch….
More pictures of Emily and Kirsty can be found in my gallery, and as I work through the other 800 pictures that I took, I’ll post more of them throughout the weekend..a few more can be found here
a photodump can be found here
a great write up by Rob can be read at his blog, Work and Meals
man, thanks for the pics, and thanks for bringing the brown liquor, you were a welcome guest at an event that needed just a little bit more party in it. I met so many people during the event that names and locales are becoming blurry, but reach out and get me some contact info, and keep an ear to the ground for SSUSA 09, in Georgia, sure to be a SS party blessed with some great riding.
rob
it was great meeting you at the race. I\’ll look you up at the SSWC. I don\’t have an entry, but I have a campsite, and I\’ll have some more brown liquor with me. The original brown liquor pusher, Dave, may be there as well, so we may try to tempt racers with a little strannies somewhere along the course…
great ride and it was great talking to your dad on stage 6