2021 Everesting Fundraiser
Thanks to everyone that donated and participated in the 2021 Everesting fundraiser! This has raised $3,500 which will go towards WORCA's work to maintain the trail network in Whistler to a high standard.
Many thanks to Karsten Madsen for organizing this fundraiser. He has secured a lot of prizes from his sponsors which means that everyone that donated will receive a prize!
Patrick McNeely was the biggest fundraiser and completed an incredible ride of 7.2 laps of the LOTS route! Scroll down to read the story about how he achieved this!
Prizes awarded:
Patrick McNeely - Top fundraiser
Oakley Luggage wheel bag
Oakley Sutro Lite
Oakley Latch
Oakley Airbreak goggles
Clif Bars for a Quarter year
Nita Lake 1x night stay in a Studio Lake View suite and 1x 60-minute Deep Tissue Massage per person. The approximate value of this package $700.
ilabb 1x 100 dollar gift card
CushCore of his choice
Enve Bar of his choice
Rico 'n Lalo Prize pack of 25 all natural popsicles
lululemon Clothing pack
Clif Bar
Clif Bars for a quarter year: Scott Robertson
9 x Clif prize pack of 1x blocks, 1x nut butter, 1x builders: Vanilla Sun, Marc Ruch, Kris Duncan, James/Crystal Dean, Alex Wilkie, Carolynn and David Robertson, Madison Wallinger, Marc Dyer, Doug Paeth.
Oakley
Oakley Sutro Lite: Karen Hudson
Oakley Latch: Simon Gravel
Oakley Airbrake: Daniel Kerrigan
ilabb
2 x $100 gift card: Matt Parker, Kris & Valerie Duncan
lululemon
6 x Item of clothing: Bill & Kathy Klein, Tori McNeely, Pauline Lysaght, Chad Keaty, Kyle & Barrie Rutledge, Ryan & Alicia Hemphill.
Cushcore
2 x CushCore set up of your choice: Paul Fleming, Mark Hazlett
Gibbons
An Apres Lager prize pack that includes a flat, a t-shirt, and hat: Joans Carua
$100 Gibbons GC: KC Hallett
Swag Tee's and hats: Sam Kinally
CIBC
Lift ticket for Whistler Blackcomb Bike Park: Karoline Madsen
ENVE
Enve Handlebar of Choice: Lauren Robinson
Rico ‘n Lalo
Prize pack of 25 all natural popsicles: Jocelyn Parker
Bucha Brew
Case of Bucha Brew (12 cans): Robert Coppinger
Patrick McNeely’s story about Everesting LOTS
Click here to see his Strava log
Why I chose to do it
There were definitely many factors that led to my decision to do this ride. Here are three that come to mind:
First off, the upper loop of this course is probably one of my favorite loops to ride and play tour guide on when friends and family come to visit me in Squamish. I find the beauty of this part of creation to be absolutely stunning. And the trail builders did exceptional work. So there couldn't have been a better loop to catch my attention. And there couldn't have been a better trail network for which to fundraise, especially since funding was hindered by the pandemic.
Second, maybe it's because I'm wired a bit differently. As soon as I heard from Karsten's film that he had planned one of the hardest Everesting routes, a little neuron fired in my head that basically shouted - "That's the one! Gotta do it!" This wasn't to prove anything to anyone else but myself. I wanted to find where my limit might be in terms of endurance, focus, and resilience on the mountain bike. I also made a significant diet change just over a year ago, following my wife's whole-food, plant based nutrition coaching program. With events and races pretty much nonexistent over the last year, I really wanted to see if my feeling better every day also meant performing better on the big day. I think I got my answer. Anyways, I knew I had to at least try it once I saw Karsten's film, even if I didn't finish it. As a single guy in my 20's, I would have died trying. Now in my late 30's, the only promise I made was to my wife that I wouldn't be a deadbeat husband, dad, or pastor for any length of time after my attempt. I think that promise was kept, but my wife would be the best source for verification!
Third, everything just came together. The border opened up and my parents were able to come up from the States with their camping trailer. They have always been eager to support any endeavor in my life over several decades, and they were enthused to be a part of this effort. Long-awaited bike parts came in right beforehand and my trusty mechanic at Corsa Cycles was able to torque them on just in time. My neighbors and friends also offered up their lighting systems which worked flawlessly on my one night training ride, which gave me the confidence that I could safely undertake several night laps if needed.
How I planned it
I gleaned from many. Karsten's film was invaluable in seeing what the effort would entail. My big takeaways from him were: start way before sunrise, have a good pit crew (my parents were top notch), change the gearing on my bikes, bring a spare bike (preferably longer travel than 120mm), and pack wrist wraps for the pounding descents on the XC bike. A friend (and 24 hour mountain bike world champ) counseled me to protect my vision from the elements to reduce eye fatigue and strain, use ergonomic hand grips, pace at 60% max effort - even walk sections I could normally clear rather than "burn any matches," and don't sit down to relax between laps. All of these were great pearls of wisdom I strung together for my plan. And the ancient Proverb proved true, "Without counsel, plans go awry. But in the multitude of counselors they are established."
Lastly, I had to get my mindset right. I hadn't intentionally trained for this kind of ride, since I chose to do this somewhat last minute (maybe 2 weeks prior). My training volume was quite low for this kind of event and I knew I couldn't cram before the test. So I just tapered off and looked at my entire life as preparation for this ride, rather than just the last few months or year. I think that helped me go into the ride fresh and confident I could go the distance in the time allotted.
How I executed it
It wasn't just me. It was a team effort for sure. I have photo evidence that even my 18 month old son got involved, stripping the lube off the chain with rubbing alcohol and greasing my rotors with the grunge brush! But seriously, the epic ride wouldn't have been executed without the contributions of others.
Here's basically how the execution played out:
I left around 1:30AM for lap 1, with the idea that I would do the bulk of my dark riding while fresh. I used my big bike (150mm/160mm travel) with grippier tires for laps 1 & 2 since my legs were fresh, I hadn't ridden the upper trails in awhile, and it was fairly wet on some parts from recent rain and then morning dew. The sunrise was so spectacular up in the alpine!
Laps 3 & 4 I went to my lighter and more efficient XC bike (100mm/120mm travel). On the descent of lap 4, one of my shift levers stopped working, leaving me in a heavy gear to stand and pedal all the way back up to my basecamp on Stonebridge Place. I switched back to the big bike for lap 5, which just seemed to further sap my legs after standing up so much on lap 4. This was definitely my low point.
Thankfully, my dad was able to get my shift lever fixed by the fine folks at Fine Line Bike Shop in Function. That was a huge boost for me and enabled me to get some legs back, and get on pace for the remaining laps. I rode every lap solo, except for the start of lap 6, where two friends joined me for about the first 25 minutes. I did most of lap 7 & then the final .2 in the dark in order to finish just before 1AM the next day. While riding in the hours of darkness, I played music from my phone as my bear repellant. I think it just attracted bunny rabbits that would zig zag in front of my wheel and almost make me crash...pranksters! Maybe they feel left out for not having a long trail named after them? Maybe the chipmunks are a bad influence and there's a rabbit uprising brewing in the forest?
Some key aspects of my execution were changing clothes, shoes, and gloves frequently. When I would wear something on back to back laps, I could feel the seam, thread pattern, or chamois contours begin to cause hotspots and tenderness. For nutrition, I used handlebar and stem mounted feed bags lined with food grade brown paper bags. This allowed me to eat fresh food almost constantly on the climbs without having to dig through pockets or deal with wrappers. Sandwiches of sprouted-grain everything bagels with plant-based cream cheese or sourdough with avocado were my main go-to fuel sources after some experimentation on the earlier laps. I often ate morsels of frozen fruit between the hotter daytime laps. I wore a hydration pack each lap in order to drink as much as I wanted, even on the technical descents. All my transitions were between 10 and 20 minutes.
And lastly, I just really enjoyed my time in the saddle on one of my favorite trails. I enjoyed starting a new lap as much as I enjoyed finishing a lap to see my family and friends. That enjoyment was crucial. But most importantly, getting a kiss from my wife and son between laps hit the reset button on any building fatigue. Their love gave me wings.
