Last weekend, the team packed up the '83 Dodge Camper and our shop Sprinter van and headed out to Albion Hills Conservation Area just north of Caledon for Chico's 24 Hours of Summer Solstice- a 24 hour XC mountain bike relay race. 

Our team of 4 consisted of Daniel Nordemann DaSilva, Aaron Greenhow, Mason Lover, and Carson Lessif. Evan Spindler was our designated race mechanic servicing our bikes in between laps and holding down our campsite. 

We set out on the road at 10am on Friday morning, eager to get to camp so we could throw a fishing line in the creek before the initial festivities started on Friday night. We convoyed up Highway 401, filming some rolling video shots of our classic camper van along the way. We had a mix of John Denver, Counting Crows, and George Jones on the decks during the drive which put us in the sort of mood that makes you want to drink whiskey and catch trout. 

We made it to our campsite after a couple slight detours in the park- finding our campsite was not as easy as we had thought! Next year's site will be easier to find now that we know the way of the land. Our campsite was conveniently located close to showers, toilets, and laundry with power which allowed us all easy access to some much needed cleanliness throughout the weekend. We parked the vans, took a few visual notes of the competition thus far, and headed down to Centreville Creek which runs through the park. Interestingly, this creek connects to the Humber River which runs through Toronto and into Lake Ontario. We were pleasantly surprised to find it was teeming with a variety of small trout and other creek chub.

After a refreshing walk in the creek, we headed back to camp to finish unpacking before evening activities. On our docket for the evening was: pizza, ciders and beers from the chalet, and a team practice lap to scout out the features and put together a race plan. We had many friends set up at this years race- Cannondale was promoting their bikes- namely the Scalpel, Topstone, and Habit models. Shimano was showcasing parts and providing some service to the racers. There was live music going on and a ton of people buzzing around the property. The wine of all the high engagement hubs quickly faded into the background- we were stoked to be there!

Pizza and beers went down lickity split and then it was time to ride a practice lap of the 16km course. We set out at golden hour on the second longest daylight day of the year. The temperature was a manageable 25 degrees. Perfect riding conditions. If you were on the trail Friday night, you would have heard us yipping and barking at each other as we flew around the lap. It's important to be calculated when riding a trail for the first time. Each feature is a new experience and you can easily under estimate certain aspects. There were a couple punchy climbs right off the bat which reminded us to conserve our energy during the race as best we could. It's easy to blow up on a climb if you don't listen to your body. The twisty single track switchbacks that followed were some of the funnest parts to shred- technical and flowing. There were a couple nice rock features, harder to maneuver on some of our 90's 26 inch bikes, much easier to roll over on Carson's new Cannondale Habit 29er.  The lap finishes with a punchy climb which immediately turns into a couple fast berms which lead you into the finish tent. During the race, to complete a lap, each rider must dismount and tap their chip on the responder which logs your lap time. Once we were familiar with the course and how to pass off our chip, we headed back to our campsite to chill for the evening. The evening consisted of a smorgasbord of pasta salad, sandwiches, brews and bud. The temperature had cooled off at this point which allowed for comfortable sleeping- except for Evan who, in a hammock with only a blanket, who found it rather chilly. Without a sleeping bag or pad, even a hot night in June can be feel a little cool. Mason was in a 1 man OR bug bivy, Aaron was in his MSR 2 man Hubba Hubba, Carson was in the Dodge, and Daniel used moving blankets and foam padding in in the back of the Sprinter. 

Dawn broke on the morning of the race and everyone was up and at em. Breakfast was bacon, eggs, pb&j, coffee, Yerba Madre, and fruit salad. Pre race fuel is important when temperatures are expected to climb over 45 degrees celcius. By 10am we were at the first rider meeting, filling up water bottles, and warming up the legs. Daniel was the first rider from our team up to bat and to secure a good spot on the line, lined up around 11am. The sun was sweltering already but luckily a friend had a spare umbrella for shade.

The race exploded out of the the starting gate at a blistering pace. The group was  around the first bend and out of site in a matter of seconds. It was now time to prep the other 3 bikes and make sure Mason was at the finish tent when Daniel arrived. We estimated the lap to take Daniel about 50-55 minutes which meant that Mason should be back at the tent by 12:45pm.  The hour flew by. As Mason was arriving at the finish tent, the first racer to complete the lap rolled in- an impressive time set by a young rider. The next 3 laps went in order of Mason, Carson and Aaron being the anchor. It was fast, smooth sailing for everyone on the first lap. The course was still fresh, the dirt was still in place, and the washout sections were less washed.

Daniel started Lap 2 started around 3:30 followed by Mason who experienced a flat tire on the second portion of forested single track. This mechanical set the pace back about 30 minutes as Mason had to hike-a-bike about 2 kilometres out to another team's compound for help.  Shout out to the couple riders who donated their hand pumps to Mason during his bout with changing it. He was unsuccessful in the end but greatly appreciated the camaraderie and willingness to help from other riders. He unfortunately lost one of two pumps out of his jersey pocket somewhere on the back half of the lap. If you can verify that you were one of the generous donators of the two hand pumps, please feel free to contact the shop and we will reimburse you for your equipment. 

A light rain started to fall during our 3rd laps, which dissipated some of the dust in the forest and improved traction in the trails. It was a welcomed cool off from the extreme heat. The sun went down around 9pm but light persisted until around 10pm- after all this was the longest day of the year. Our team had invested in bright MagicShine head lights, that paired with a headlamp on the helmet provided amazing trail coverage. They come with a button that ties to the handlebar which allows for easy ON and OFF toggling. We all highly rated our light set ups and would love to help equip anyone looking for a good bike light with these MagicShine lights. Contact us for more information about special orders. 

On his third lap, Daniel rode a new Cannondale Scalpel- a fully loaded XC weapon designed for this exact type of race. As you can imagine, it excelled at every aspect of this competition. From the technical switchback climbs to the fast flowy single track XC trails- the scalpel was the optimal tool for this job. 

Night time racing was eventful. Dozens of racers eagerly awaiting their turn to do a lap in the dark, anticipating what they might encounter while out on the trail. We had to constantly be eating carbs and constantly drinking electrolytes as well as stretching to ensure we didn't cramp up on the next lap. All while trying not to fall asleep and miss the alarm to be at the handoff in time. We ran a tight schedule which had us in 3rd place most of the night. Carson ended up having a yard sale around 3:30am which rehashed a previous shoulder injury forcing him to hang his jersey up for the rest of the night. Aaron was experiencing appetite loss and found it hard to stomach the necessary electrolytes and sugar needed to refuel. Mason had been battling a strained lower back for a few hours. Needless to say the team was in dire straits. Daniel was our last hope for success. After a quick pep rally and some breakfast between the team at the campsite, Daniel set off on his last lap of the course. Temperatures were reaching record heights as early as 8am which did not lend any helping hands to the team after racing for 20 hours straight. 

Daniel arrived back at the campsite after his last lap around 10:30. He rode Evan's Schwinn Homegrown- the bike which ended up being used for the most laps on our team. After that lap, we collectively threw in the towel. It was time to head back down to the creek for a swim and a well deserved beer.

After listening to a few words from Chico at the award ceremony, the team set off on the road back to London. The temperature was soaring around 45 degrees which the Dodge van did not like one bit. The battery ended up dying at a gas station on the way home- luckily we had the Sprinter and jumper cables to get it back up and running but the issues did not end there. It was on the verge of sputtering out the entire way home which does not pair well with GTA traffic jams. At one point, the team stopped at an On Route to grab grab food and Daniel was forced to keep throttling the gas every few seconds to keep the van from dying again. Old vehicles have #swag but they also come with #tradeoffs lol. 

The team arrived home late afternoon on Sunday, glad to escape the beating sun on the highway. We will certainly be back to participate in next years 24 Hour race!

#RIGREPORTS

Carson was riding his new Cannondale Habit Carbon 2. This was a rocket ship on the technical descents, and fared well on the pedally flats and climbs. The new Shimano XTR carbon 29” wheel set were lightweight and bombproof folding any stick that dared to venture into spoke territory. Upgraded Renthal Fat Bar Lite carbon handlebar and Apex stem saved weight and added rigidity. He was also rocking the ultra swag SDG Bel-Air V3 saddle in cow print. 

Daniel was riding a Schwinn Homegrown- a last minute swap from his vintage Cannondale F800 that he crashed and bent in practice earlier last week. The Homegrown took the most laps on the course out of any bike that we brought, and held up the entire way with nothing more than a broken chain, which Daniel fixed mid lap with the help of a friendly racer. He was rocking Shimano clipless pedals in true road racer style.

Mason was riding his newly rebuilt Cove Handjob XC. Equipped with Ultra Dynamico Mars JFF 26” x 2.3 tires, Sram 2x9 speed drive train, and a Rolf Propel wheel set. Fresh Kool Stop V-brake ceramic brake pads provided excellent stopping power. During lap 2, Mason experienced a flat tire from a poor line choice which sent him running with his bike to the nearest campsite where with the help from (insert blue Hawaiian shirt team name here) they were able to fix the flat and get him back on the trail lickity split!

Aaron rode his GT Avalanche- an XC race classic equipped with Shimano XT componentry and Panaracer Fire XC Pro 26” x 2.1 tires. Aaron was also running Kool Stop brake pads. The lightweight aluminum frame climbed the hills like a mountain goat and descended like a mountain goat.