Confidence, Camaraderie & Community

Confidence, Camaraderie
& Community

Words by Moriah Lee

 

Trans BC won my heart. Ever since I started riding bikes I had been hearing about this event. It’d often been described to me as “the best week of your life”, so as you can imagine expectations were high. However, racing the Trans BC seemed like goal that was always on the horizon, far off on the horizon, but as my riding progressed, so did my group of riding friends and as fate would have it, a couple of them have, and still do, work as support crew for the race. As you can imagine, it didn’t take much convincing from them and then the next thing I knew, I was signed up for the 2024 Trans BC race…

Unsure of what the next week would bring, I packed up my truck and headed North. My excitement grew, as did my nerves, and my mind raced uncontrollably as I passed through some of the most beautiful terrain the US has to offer. Would it truly be the best week of my life? Could I even complete it? The stats promised the most elevation gain I’d have ever attempted in one week, and despite my extensive training I still had doubts about my abilities.  

Mo mid jump, preparing her bike

I split the 17-hour drive into two days, driving 15 hours the first day through scenic Montana, and ending the day at a secluded camping spot found by traveling to the end of a dirt road which overlooked a vast lake, the surface was still, but filled with reflections of the 4th of July fireworks. The next morning, I continued North to the Canadian border, the nerves were still present, but the excitement seemed to drown them out as I crossed customs and neared Fernie, the first stop of the event. There’s a couple of different ways to experience this race, one is an all-inclusive option which they take care of all the accommodations, food, and transport to the start of each day’s riding, the other, which I opted for, was the self-supported "dirtbag package," living out of my truck - a built-out 2003 Lexus GX with over 300k miles on the clock.

Trans BC is a six-day blind enduro race, with the organizers changing up the locations each year, providing returning racers with a new experience to file in their memory banks. This year it was Fernie, Crowsnest, Panorama, and Toby Creek.

Finally, the first day of racing was upon us, I woke up to a stomach filled with jitters and a head filled with nerves. I had camped next to a river the night before, so I took some time in the morning to make a coffee while I listened to the fast, flowing snowmelt, and forced a steak and egg burrito down, despite my anxiety telling me that the burrito was a terrible idea.

The organizers send the racers off in three waves, and all the self-supported racers are scheduled to drop in the third wave – this meant that I got to watch the first two waves depart, which did nothing but build the anticipation and the anxiety. Before I knew it, we were pedaling up the first transfer, a dirt road which gave us a sneak peek to some of the upcoming stages as they intersected the road.

All we could see from the road was how steep and intimidating the trails were, which immediately had me questioning my abilities, again. Poised at the top of the first stage of the day, I reminded myself to focus on body position, keep my eyes up, and breathe. In my head I kept replaying a piece of advice from one of my buddies’, "Mo, EVERYTHING goes. You can trust it. If you can't see the ending, there WILL BE a catch berm at the bottom. Trust it." Pushing my doubts aside, I dropped in. The second I rolled across the finish line of the first stage of the week, I screamed, "THAT WAS THE SICKEST TRAIL I’VE EVER RIDDEN,", and with every stage that followed, the stoke grew. With every new challenge and feature that I conquered, my confidence grew - I wasn’t perfect, I made mistakes, and I certainly hit the ground a couple of times, hard, but overall, it was an absolute blast.

As the days rolled on, I found my way more and more, as soon as one stage finished, I was chomping at the bit for the next to start, that was until the second stage of day 5. I took a nasty crash, and to say it rattled my confidence would be an understatement. Once I gathered myself and my bike, I took a second on the trailside to reset my mind and refocus, reminding myself of everything I had already accomplished that week, and how proud I should be of those accomplishments – I threw my leg back over my bike and finished the stage. 

Over the six days we covered 106 miles, about 26k feet of elevation gain and over 35k feet of descending through some of the most epic trails I’ve ever ridden. The race offered a wide variety of terrain, high alpine descents, freshly cut steep loam, and true downhill chunk. Another perk of racing the Trans BC is that the event organizers secure exclusive access to closed zones that add a rare element to the race. For the first time in my life I found myself riding axle deep loam on the steepest of trails that I have ever seen, the true meaning of “dirt surfing” became apparent that day and it’s something that I’ll never forget.

There’s no denying that every day was special, but the sixth day was something extra. The first transfer of the day led us to the top of the ski mountain at Panorama, and then we continued to hike-a-bike to the top of Mount Goldie. As I reached the top, I took my bike off my back, and I was rewarded with a 360 view of never-ending mountain ridges and peaks, views that no photo would ever do justice. It was fucking epic, standing on the summit with the other racers, reminiscing of the last week and just making it to this day, but we had a race to finish. Rolling up to the start line, I felt the nerves and jitters that had become as familiar to me as the way my grips felt to my hands, but now, they were accompanied by something more, a bold confidence that I had discovered in myself over the last five days. I clipped in, I tapped my chip, and my time started on the final first stage of the race. Descending that high-speed scree field, with views that were something out of a Nat Geo documentary, we dipped into the high alpine trees, and I felt something that words will never describe. This stage was one of my favorite race-runs I have ever experienced.

Although I had my breath taken away countless times thanks to the incredible trails, and stunning views, what stood out most to me was the camaraderie and community based around this event. Even as a first timer, I was overwhelmed and blown away by how welcoming everyone was, from the crew and volunteers to the other athletes, and even the communities we passed through – at no point did I ever feel alone during my week with these incredible people. They weren’t lying when they talk about the Trans BC family.

Up to this point, there has never been a week in my life where I have been so deeply humbled, yet, built so much confidence regarding my capabilities on two wheels. Trans BC has stoked a fire in me that has left me hungry for more, a lot more. As I share this, I am getting chills reliving the week that was in fact, the best week of my year.

Mo rides...

HUNT Proven Carbon Race XC 29 Wheelset

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