Crank the Shield is Ontario’s first mountain bike (MTB) stage race. It mirrors other epic stage races such as the Transrockies Challenge and BC Bike Race (both 7 day epic races) except on a much smaller scale. With over 275 riders registered, this first year event was a popular option for many MTB enthusiasts who wanted to stay closer to home.
The quick low down:
Value for Money – I think many people initially balked at the $750 option – let me tell you the money was well worth it for the quality of the race organization, the stocked aid stations, 6 meals, accommodations, transportation, and great riding! I think a great addition to this race was the Shimano guys fixing your bike (if it had Shimano parts) and replacing parts FOR FREE! Can’t beat that especially after what the course did to the bikes.
The Schwag – It’s all about the schwag! Large duffel bag, bike jersey, T-shirt, headband, gels, bars, gum, ear plugs (thk goodness!). A good chunk of stuff to keep you going for 3 days.
The Food – by far the BEST race food (breakfest, snacks, dinner) of any race I have done. Plenty of choice, and best of all multiple helpings are allowed and encouraged! Kicking Horse coffee – YUMMY.
The Logistics – very well organized, tonnes of volunteers to help. The pattern each day: wakeup, eat, go to washroom, change, lube up, test bike, line up for start. Ride, finish, eat post-race snack, wash bike/fix bike, grab bag, find cabin, go for a swim in the lake or shower, prepare bottles/bladder for next stage, go to dinner, stage awards/course preview, go to bed – repeat 3 times!
The Team: My partner in crime this year was Kevin Wall – a multisport athlete himself competing in his first tri @ Wasaga and now his first multi-day race. Kev is no stranger to mountain biking – many years ago he was a budding club rider. Also joining us were Team RFers Bill Logie and Brad Brock, both fit as a fiddle from racing in Australia and France (Bill). We would see if a bunch of multisporters could compete against the single sport MTB specialists!
The Course:
Day 1 – Buckwallow to Camp Kandalore 80km
The rocky and twisty single track of Buckwallow wasn’t a good preview for the rest of the stage. For some reason, my heart was in my throat as I pounded the first 10k of singletrack with riders right on my wheel and me on the wheel of the guy in front of me. I couldn’t hold the pace and whitered away in the double-track which quickly turned into bog. Some bogs were rideable, most were not. Those bogs that weren’t rideable were the ones I tried to ride through resulting in a perfect endo and a mud bath. Crank the Shield? More like Crank the Bog as unpredecented rainfall this summer washed out the course. Perfecting the cyclocross hop, unclip run, hop back on, clip in sometimes resulted in some funny acrobatics. A wonky derailleur and a flat did not deter us. Somehow, Kevin and I managed to get to the finish line a little worse for wear but generally in good spirits. Camp Kandalore was a quaint campsite – heated cabins, a large mess hall and a beautiful lake made for a perfect break. Day 1 done in a lowly 17th spot due to a very tough day on my end.
Day 2 – Camp Kamdalore to Camp White Pine 85k
A short ride to the start line saw the peloton bolt down a 1km of gravel road before turning into the double track ATV. As with Day 1, more bog awaited us. With the bog came some stellar sections of Canadian Shield – our version of Moab slickrock (but not as nice!) with short steep climbs and fast, technical rocky descents only to end in a guess what – a BOG. At Aid station 2 we thought we were home free with 10k of single track left to go but this was the worst 10k ever with a massive climb out of the aid station – talk about an upset stomach! This was followed by a horrendous muddy, boggy section that had everyone crying for their mamas.
The last 20k was on gravel rail trail with a slight uphill gradient. It was a welcomed break – NOT! The soft gravel gave little traction to our muddy tyres and the long straight aways made for tough riding. Imagine that – a 20k rail trail being the worst section of the stage! Good news though was that we had improved our placing by 2 spots and moved up to 15th spot.
Camp White Pine was even better than Camp Kandalore. More importantly the spread they had at dinner was 5 star!
Day 3 – Camp White Pine to Haliburton 17k neutral start, 55k
The last day turned out to be the most epic stage. After a 17k neutral start on rolling roads the race took off on a powerline trail – loose rock and sand, with some nasty ups and downs. So far Kevin and I were whipping through the first 15k. The next 30k was truly classic single track through rocky, technical sections that required some hike a bike. A series of thigh busting climbs awaited us but what goes up must come down and a wicked 8 min descent into the valley. The punishing terrain made for a great stage but the last 10k seemed to go on forever. Finally the finish line was in sight and the end of 3 days of great riding. We moved up another position to end up in 14th spot.
Kudos to Brad and Bill who finished 3rd in the 80+ age category. Also props to Bob Miller for designing yet another epic course that covered some of the Logs, Rocks and Steel multisport course. And of course to Chico Racing for bringing MTB stage racing to TO.
Hey John, great report, sounds like you really enjoyed it! nice work.
Nice work Yip. I was one of the “price tag” skeptics, thinking $750 to ride on cottage roads and ATV trails was a bit of a rip-off but I will take your opinion into it… maybe for next year…. Think it will be back?
Hey harper – had the course been dry it would have been a ripper of a course. I think the bogs might have turned a lot of the pure MTBers off. Day 3 was particularly hard on the body – much rougher than some of the days @ TRC. Thx Denise yes enjoyed hangin with the boys and riding my bike and not working for 3 days! BTW Bill Logie snores.
Hey John, great report, but I don’t think you mentioned the bogs enough!! I definitely agree with you that we got a lot of value for the money. Hard to imagine that it could have been run any better. Word is that they will change it up next year and even cut bike trails for it to avoid much of the ATV trails. I would go up there just to help ‘break in’ those trails; it is a beautiful place to ride! Thanks for being a great partner for this race. I am looking forward to stepping it up next year for some tri’s, o-cups and longer distance races. Maybe even a team event or two.