Arduum (Gnar-Doom)

So this past weekend saw the 3^rd BC Cup DH of the year, the Arduum Challenge, go down just outside of Mission. The track is located directly across the valley from the Bear Mountain Challenge course, but Arduum is surely Bear’s taller, meaner and much more evil sister. Three years ago when I first attended the event the course was rich and loamy, but the steep terrain combined with increased traffic sent all the soil packing in short order. Unbeknownst to our innocence then, beneath the rich till was evil, slimy roots of death holding together a boulder field. Fast forward to the track now, steep, turny, physical, highly technical and requiring an extreme level of both commitment and trail knowledge. The erosion has left a large portion of the track on off-camber rock with a maze of cross roots everywhere. Combine all of the above with heavy rain the night before practice and you had the perfect recipe for slime covered roots and a busy paramedic team.

Coming into the weekend I came down with the plague, so instead of resting for the two nights prior, I practiced staying up all night, curling up in a ball and sweating as much as possible. I can’t remember being so sick or afflicted by fever but I was determined to race so I spent most of Friday in a daze working on my bike and trying to get prepped. Due to logistical challenges I arrived in Mission on Saturday with all the pieces to my bike with me but the wheels still to be built. It took forever in my state, but after a trip back into Mission for spoke nipples and gracious help from Buckwheat and the Bryson Racing Clan I got everything together and was on my way up. Once on track I was taken off guard by how much the track had changed, so I took my time to figure out the course, memorize sections, take a soil sample, befriend a trackside cedar and get a little too intimate with a boulder. My bike felt amazing with my new Hayes Stroker brakes on and it helped me to overlook the fact that I didn’t have my normal strength or precision with me. Near the bottom there was a large new hip who’s crucial and extremely tricky run in took a few tries to master. Just before I hit it the last time I asked the time and realized it was two minutes before the last shuttle went up, so I had to settle for one run on training day.

After training Dunbar held their 16” BMX dual slalom which was an absolute hoot. Picture grown men racing 2 at a time down a mini-ds course on 16” bikes, trying to pin it around berms and over jumps but mostly falling on their faces or into each other while drawing loud cheers from the crowd of drinking hooligans. I will post a quick edit of the event shortly. After 4 advancements I lost in the semi-finals to Tyler Gorz, and then lost in the loser-finals by a hair to Jeff Hunter to take 4^th. Dunbar had some pretty sick prizes on tap, including a frame for Tyler who won. My prize was a big smile and lasting stoke at sharing so much fun with the best of friends.