St. George to Ancaster Bike Race

I participated in my first bike race yesterday. My brother, Tony and I decided to try our luck in the 17th annual Paris to Ancaster race. We opted to try the half distance for our first race, which was 35 kms from St. George to Ancaster. The course consisted of 11kms of gravel and dirt roads, 8 kms of rail trail, 6 km of single track (1-3 km sections), and 10 km of paved trails, which basically meant that this was a mountain bike race.

This race kicked our asses. We finished 372, 373, and 374 out of 512 racers. Not bad though for our first time. You can see all the results here.

Loading up the bikes and Colin making sure that his bike doesn't get scratched.

Race numbers attached to the bikes.

Ready to rock!

Nice bib buddy!

Getting bused to the start. Biking Bono makes an appearance.

Lined up at the start line, waiting to go.And we are off -- race start.

Rolling down the highway getting settled in.
It was a pretty fast start and we quickly got passed and ended up somewhere mid-pack.
Through the farmers fields.
Starting to feel it.
Really starting to feel the burn now.At least the sun came out to make the pain more enjoyable.
Riding the rail trails.

Stuck in mud hell.

The final few kilometres of course, were all up hill.Finish line in sight!!
Crossed the line with a final time: 2:20:12The end results...