Hell of the North

Race:             Hell of the North
Date:             Sunday April 11, 2010
Location:      Musselmans Lake
Website:        http://www.labicisquadra.com/

“Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company”   – Mark Twain

On Sunday April the 11^th my eyes were opened by a single bicycle race.

Over the past few years that I’ve been racing I’ve always been a fairly strong cyclist, placing top ten in most races that I enter and averaging anywhere from 36 to 40km/hr in the standard Triathlon/Duathlon time trial.  That all changed this spring when I enrolled into a race called the Hell of the North – it’s a 95 kilometer cycling race geared mainly towards Cyclocross racers.  Being the first race on my Specialized Tricross bike, I was almost giddy when I arrived to the venue to try it out in a race as opposed to the standard training rides that it’s only ever been on.

The Hell of the North is in it’s 2^nd year now and produced a turnout of roughly 100 racers.  It’s held the same day that the pros tackle Paris-Roubaix in France and organizers are trying to make this Canadian version of the Hell of the North as nasty as its namesake.  In my eyes, mission accomplished.

The venue this year was the same as the last year at a place named Cedar Beach Resort on the shores of Musselman Lake.  Breakfast was served for those wanting to fuel up before the race, and a fully catered lunch was waiting for you when you crossed the finish line.  All in all, it was a great venue with plenty of free parking and convenience stores around for those who may have forgotten their race fluids or granola bars.

The beginning of the race started off with a 1 kilometer “truce” ride (where nobody was able to really gun it or pass anyone) but once we hit the 1km marker it was everyone for themselves.  I was pretty well dropped by the peleton (draft legal event) in and around the 9 kilometer marker, I kept thinking to myself that if I continue at the blistering pace they were going I’d be a lump on the side of the road in no time.  The hills that I had encountered within the first 15 kilometers were insanely steep but started to taper off (for the time being), so the fact that I no longer had a position within the peleton made me very nervous.

The road conditions for the most part were smooth asphalt, but in and around kilometer 27 that drastically changed.  I knew going into this race that it was a combination of road and off road, with approximately 20% of the course being off road… but what was waiting for us at the first off road section was unbelievable.  It started off with a section of dirt road that was pretty fun to ride on, but then as we entered the forested area conditions got a bit thick.  There were mud puddles that were actually wider than the trail was, and gobs of mud quickly clung to your bike and shoes…  I question whether I could have made it through this part on my mountain bike, yet alone my cross bike!!  In the end there were only a handful of riders that actually rode the entire section… how they did it is beyond me, but they managed somehow.  Once that section was finished, we turned out onto McCowan Road only to face… more climbs!!

Approximately 15 kilometers from the first off road section (in and around the Sutton Ontario area), the course led us onto it’s 2^nd off road section titled “The Trench”.  The Trench is a 13 kilometer stretch that is entirely Rail Trail.  Although the majority of this section was very nicely groomed, there were a few parts that forced riders through mud puddles that brought the water up and over my front gearset.  This was probably my favorite part of the race, but it was taxing.  Not only was I pretty well spent once I exited the Trench onto Zepher Rd, but now I was also soaked… and unfortunately I still had 40 kilometers to go!

For the next hour I found myself climbing hill after hill; it got to the point that I was laughing out loud as there wasn’t any reprieve!  I don’t know how but I was doing way more ascents than descents, and my legs were screaming at me!  Once I made it up one climb, there was another just waiting over the crest!  With about an hour to go I hit the wall pretty hard…. I was out of Gatorade and had blasted through all my gels. I was clearly in a world of hurt and trouble for that matter!  There were three more off road sections after the Trench, and each was challenging in it’s own specific way.  From grassy knolls to large rocky technical sections, your bike handling skills were certainly tested in every possible way.

I ended up making it to the finish in just over 3 and a half hours… and man it was a tough one.  When I got back to my truck I loaded my bike up and laid down in the back for 10 minutes – I was exhausted.  Going through the race in my head afterwards I couldn’t believe how well organized and laid out it was.  Somehow the organizers must have sought out every hill in York Region when designing this course.  Most races I enter generally cater to cyclists of all abilities making them challenging – but somewhat easy.  This particular race catered to those looking for a early season challenge and was by far the toughest course I’ve ever ridden.  Nothing was held back when making this what they claim to be one of the most aggressive and challenging races in the GTA.  In speaking with the other riders, pretty well everyone suffered and left everything they had out on the race course.

Although extremely difficult, I already plan to do this race again next year.  It’s certainly one of Ontario’s hidden gems with regards to bike rides, and is a great gauge to see where your cycling is at come spring.  So for all of you über-cyclists out there, mark this one down on the calendar… it truly is a hell of a race.