Good to find your site. Originally from VanBC as well and lived in Bellevue, WA since 97. Try the longer RBC GF next year to include Mt. Seymour. Your fit placing 330+. Will say hi when I see you around..
Thanks for the comment and welcome! Yes, we'll see: I've been meaning to do the triple crown on its own separately but schedule never worked out. Definitely say hi if you ever see me
Thanks for uploading you pass me twice! at 12:53 and 18:05 (I only made one stop). You breezed passed me and I was clearly laboring! must work on my cadence. Overall, It was a great day and given it was the first since 2019 due to covid, it is apparent the organizers hadn't fully planned for twice as many riders as they would have usually had.
Good eye and pleasure riding with you... I had a lot of random footage so that's a real good coincidence 🤣! Definitely wasn't an easy day out there so great work powering all the way through. Next time I'll definitely be prepared and well see if I decide to go for time on the fondo or do the forte!
The Sea to Sky Highway is definitely one to check out regardless on bike or not. Tons of things to explore, and so much for those adventuring folks: climbing, mtb, skiing etc.... Happy Riding!
I don’t know how my brother picked me out on your video but you passed me on Taylor Way at about 3:04! Hot pink socks, and purple tropical jersey. Nice ride! Rest stops were even worse for those of us behind you.
Hahaha, all of you have such great eyes. Good climbing with you, and for sure... fully understand that I was one of the fortunate ones. Hope you still had a good ride and keep on rolling! Let your kids know that they will be zooming up hills soon too :P
Thank you, luckily the course was more in my domain... uphill! Indeed, it's been so long since I've gone all the way up the Whistler and to experience it via bike is something else
Oh very good point, forgot to mention that! Definitely blessed that day, as Seattle was completely under smog on Saturday too.... so being able to ride with such nice conditions is awesome!
First time doing this ride and was super excited at the start. As I went on with the ride, first rest stop got me thinking, how on earth can they serve green bananas. So i decided to just refill my water and got some electrolytes, used the porta potty and then off i go. (that’s me on 7:38). At the second stop, i just refilled water and took off as there was a long line for food (green bananas, cookies). I was hoping for some gels/bars. Its a good thing i brought with me some provisions to last until the finish line. The last 2 stops I decided not to stop and continued on. Finished at 5hrs. 50 mins. And I am NOT doing it again after all the fiasco. Oh and by the way, your climbing was impressive!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience as well. Yeah, I was definitely one of the lucky ones able to at least get some feed from the rest stop. Glad you were able to finish though and good work powering through without the rest stops. Haha, I'm a featherweight so climbing is definitely my favorite thing to do on the bike!
just to note, if you’re under the age of 20 (maybe 22 from what I remember) you only pay 50 CAD for this race instead of 250 which is what I did for this year! It’s been like this for many years apparently, however the early registration for 2023 does not appear to show this discount. Maybe it will be back later when the early registration closes as it’s definitely a steal of a deal for 50CAD
I also did the fondo for the first time this year, and had a similar time at 5 hours and 2 minutes (850th~ place), but with a very different experience. I was one of the faster riders I saw all day during descents, aside from a guy I was riding with during the last 20 kms who had aero bars (We battled back and forth quite a bit). I made great time up to the Squamish rest stop, skipping the first rest stop, but then bonking a bit suddenly on the first climbs out of Squamish and struggling until the last rest stop. After the last stop, I got a second wind and was able to push pretty much until the finish line in Whistler. I also did my fair share of drafting and leading. The wind was tough. I'm primarily a downhill/enduro mountain biker, but have been dabbling in road riding for a while as cross training, and felt pretty fit this year. This was my first fondo, and my first organized road ride, and I had a great time. I hope to do more in the future!
Great work, really awesome how you worked through that and glad you had a good time! I'm definitely on the extreme end of the spectrum as someone who would prefer uphill and as steep as possible. Downhills and any sorts of wind are my bane as a featherweight (49kg) :P
Yeah definitely on the steep end, but the idea of riding a closed course for 75 miles with such scenic views is quite appealing. There may be ways to save via a team entry I'll be looking into later and might be option for those following this channel!
My niece and her friends rode the Fondo. They are not cyclists and were dependent on the support stations for replenishment. My niece is an endurance runner so she had enough food & fuel with her for the event. Unfortunately, her friends aren't endurance athletes so they couldn't get any replenishment at the stations as they ran out of supplies by the time the later riders came in. Worst of all when they finished Red Truck sold all their beer so they didn't get their beer at the end of the ride. They were pissed with the signs that had a countdown till their beer! Red Truck should have set aside enough for all the registered riders. Yes they were greedy in selling the beers before all the riders got in. It's a pricey entrance fee... nice to have a one of the most scenic & dedicated bicycle route., but make sure all the participants are taken care of! Ps I rode the WGF for the first time.. I brought enough fuel fo rmyself but I wanted to experience the pit stops as I've been told that the WGF has great support. My total on the bike time was just under 6 hours but total time was 8 hours which meant I was in line at the rest stops for almost 2 hours. 30mins for a rest stop to pee, refill water bottles and eat a green banana. WGF work on efficiency at the filling stations. BTW what's with the Lions Bay killer climb to get to first rest stop? WGF aside from catering to the racers , remember the philosophy of a Fondo: its a big group ride out for fun and the enjoyment of bicycling.
Sorry to hear that experience. Definitely resonated with all those points: I don't drink alcohol so I didn't even line up. I make it a big point in my videos that it's about getting new people onto bikes. Hopefully they'll fix the event going forward
Looks like an awesome ride! Hopefully it wasn't too smokey on the way up. Is there much to do in Whistler Village after the ride? Would it be worth it to spend a night up there?
Really lucked out on the air quality, as things turned for the worse on Sunday but was great for the ride! The Village is quite nice with good food/shopping options and I think definitely worth staying a night afterwards. During the summer months though, it's mainly: MTB, climbing, hiking but there are some nice hotels there with good amenities.
How long does it take you to put a video like this together? I just got a GoPro and I had it on my handlebars for most of the ride, but there is so much footage that it would take forever to weed through it all. Are you using hilight tagging during the ride? Do you have a remote? What mode do you record in?
For this video, maybe about 4-6 hours total? Most of the work is just going through all the footage, narrowing it down and then doing all the voice overs. I don't highlight tag in the middle, but try to keep a mental note of interesting things I want to be in the video. No remote but I do have two go pros, one chest mount and one free hand. I'm in 4k 30fps
I did the Gran Fondo too for the first time and the side wind was scary in some of the descents! I saw someone on a stretcher at the bottom of a hill and the cops asked everyone to slow down. I hope that person is ok.
Oh no, glad that you were okay and hope the best for those affected. In all my race photos, I looked dead serious in the descents... I think I was fearing for my life also
Did the Forte, you should try the descent from Cypress. Hit 74kph though the earlier riders did it faster. Make those sweeping turns descending is a great feeling and also cold in the early morning.
Awesome video. I did the ride. I had never done it before, and definitely got my nutrition wrong and bonked/cramped up around Alice Lake, so I have lots to do better on next year. I agree with your take away that you could bring your own food for the whole ride, and I think i'll do that next year. I guess they ran short on water towards the end of the day, so I hope they figure that out next year. Overall it was a great challenge and I'm excited to try it again. Do other people have best side cycling jerseys? I definitely saw someone (I thought it was multiple someones) in a best side jersey.
Oh man, I've heard sooo many stories of people cramping now.... definitely electrolytes / nutrition are a huge help in this regard but in my personal experience it's a lot to do with conditioning as well... upping my base miles helped a lot with some climbing cramps I used to get. You're going to kill it next year! :D Yes, haha there were at least two others! I've done a few print runs available to my subscribers but a lot of folks wearing them are in my own circles :)
@@BestSideCycling yeah, i definitely blamed it more on conditioning than anything. I'd done the miles, but my climbing training was not good enough, and my legs were not up to the continued strain. I'm excited to go back next year. Yeah I'm sure I saw 2 or 3 with those jerseys on. It's a cool logo you've got. I'll see you out there.
@@BestSideCycling Thank you. Good to know at least there are a few people riding flat bar road bike for the event. I am just trying to evaluate the feasibility of me riding my flat bar road bike for the event. I would love to do some riding events in Seattle too!
To be honest I didn't train for this ride in particular but I'm a daily rider and had ridden multiple 10+ hour rides that season (all you can check out on the channel) Compared to those this would be easier: what made it difficult was the lack of full support. I'd give the course a difficulty of 6/10!
Thanks for the quick response. I am a weekend warrior and ride about 3 times a week. I only did 4800 km last year, but I think I should be good to go...LOL I am definitely going to try this sooner than later.
I thought it was a great event. It was my first time doing it.Didnt notice the problems with the food as I brought my own.Already signed up for next year.Hopefully no headwinds like this year.They were brutal
@@hooge308 I had a great time as well! Having such a long closed course with beautiful views is such a novel concept to me and I thought the finisher medal was super awesome :)
I did the forte and stopped once at Alice lake rest stop. I didn’t experience any food or water supply issues. The head wind and heat kicked my but and made my 3 bottles and 3 bars not enough for the trip. I burned some matches early as I fell off the back of the front bunch taking pictures and caught back up on Taylor way. I paid for a few more matches up Cypress Mountain and then settled into a pace. I started cramping up at about 60 km in out of 152 due to a bit of dehydration starting the night before. I managed to find some groups to ride with. It was a great course with awesome riders and volunteers. I would have to think hard about riding it another time when the price is double or more of other events.
@@blairdrader5490 with the heat and nutrition shortage.... Lots of my friends also had issues with cramps. Big kudos! Yeah, I'd love to keep doing this route and ride but the cost really is quite prohibiting so we'll see!
I did the ride in the 6+ hr group, all I saw was green banana on the first stop. I skipped the second stop and depend on my own gel. By the time I got to the Salt shed, EVERYTHING was out except water, also my own supply was out. I don't think I'll do this again given the experience.
Lol, the organizer must have spent all the money on the 🏅? Still get the kick out of watching you passing everyone climbing up the hills. Hope I can do this event one of these days…
Hahaha *shrugs* but imagine STP closing down highway 30 for all of us... Wonder how much that would cost. Yeah this was definitely a fun one in that regard, then getting dropped on all the hills
Haha I was planning to do the triple crown separately so thought I would just focus on the main route. Smoke got in the ways of those plans but I really do need to make it up Cypress soon
For those interested in 2024, sign up using my discount code BSC25 for $25 off!
Good effort and video!
Thank you I will be back for the forte
First WGF for me and it was awesome (aside from the green bananas)! Nicely filmed and narrated.
Great work and glad you had a good ride. Thanks so much, it was all in all a lot of fun for me too
Good to find your site. Originally from VanBC as well and lived in Bellevue, WA since 97. Try the longer RBC GF next year to include Mt. Seymour. Your fit placing 330+. Will say hi when I see you around..
Thanks for the comment and welcome! Yes, we'll see: I've been meaning to do the triple crown on its own separately but schedule never worked out. Definitely say hi if you ever see me
Amazing!
Thanks for uploading you pass me twice! at 12:53 and 18:05 (I only made one stop). You breezed passed me and I was clearly laboring! must work on my cadence. Overall, It was a great day and given it was the first since 2019 due to covid, it is apparent the organizers hadn't fully planned for twice as many riders as they would have usually had.
Good eye and pleasure riding with you... I had a lot of random footage so that's a real good coincidence 🤣! Definitely wasn't an easy day out there so great work powering all the way through. Next time I'll definitely be prepared and well see if I decide to go for time on the fondo or do the forte!
Nice Video! I've always been wanting to ride this
Great video. Thank for sharing the ride.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video recap thanks!
Thanks so much for watching and all your comments
It looks so fun-incredible views. Thank you for another great and inspiring video.
The Sea to Sky Highway is definitely one to check out regardless on bike or not. Tons of things to explore, and so much for those adventuring folks: climbing, mtb, skiing etc.... Happy Riding!
Nice video.Best one so far on this years Fondo.U take the Oscar
Thank you so much for watching and glad you enjoyed it! :)
Gorgeous views!
It really is!
I was suppose to be here. But family emergency.. but I can't wait to accomplish this fondo. Seattle to Portland is on my list this year2023 also
You got this!
Really cool breakdown
Thanks so much for the comment and for watching!
I don’t know how my brother picked me out on your video but you passed me on Taylor Way at about 3:04! Hot pink socks, and purple tropical jersey.
Nice ride! Rest stops were even worse for those of us behind you.
My kids are wondering why everyone else is so slow as you pass us all haha
Hahaha, all of you have such great eyes. Good climbing with you, and for sure... fully understand that I was one of the fortunate ones. Hope you still had a good ride and keep on rolling! Let your kids know that they will be zooming up hills soon too :P
Congrats again and you were on fire! So beautiful a course, very nice!
Thank you, luckily the course was more in my domain... uphill! Indeed, it's been so long since I've gone all the way up the Whistler and to experience it via bike is something else
@@BestSideCycling Also, it seems your editing and camera skills have jumped up a notch and congrats!
Great video! Crazy to think that just the next day the air quality in Vancouver was the worst on the planet due to wildfires!
Oh very good point, forgot to mention that! Definitely blessed that day, as Seattle was completely under smog on Saturday too.... so being able to ride with such nice conditions is awesome!
First time doing this ride and was super excited at the start. As I went on with the ride, first rest stop got me thinking, how on earth can they serve green bananas. So i decided to just refill my water and got some electrolytes, used the porta potty and then off i go. (that’s me on 7:38). At the second stop, i just refilled water and took off as there was a long line for food (green bananas, cookies). I was hoping for some gels/bars. Its a good thing i brought with me some provisions to last until the finish line. The last 2 stops I decided not to stop and continued on. Finished at 5hrs. 50 mins. And I am NOT doing it again after all the fiasco. Oh and by the way, your climbing was impressive!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience as well. Yeah, I was definitely one of the lucky ones able to at least get some feed from the rest stop. Glad you were able to finish though and good work powering through without the rest stops. Haha, I'm a featherweight so climbing is definitely my favorite thing to do on the bike!
Ive done some video footage as well and currently editing it. Hopefully its done by the end of the week.
just to note, if you’re under the age of 20 (maybe 22 from what I remember) you only pay 50 CAD for this race instead of 250 which is what I did for this year! It’s been like this for many years apparently, however the early registration for 2023 does not appear to show this discount. Maybe it will be back later when the early registration closes as it’s definitely a steal of a deal for 50CAD
Awesome tip, definitely should be taken advantage of! Too bad I'm well past that age now but hope you had a fantastic ride :) 🚲
I also did the fondo for the first time this year, and had a similar time at 5 hours and 2 minutes (850th~ place), but with a very different experience.
I was one of the faster riders I saw all day during descents, aside from a guy I was riding with during the last 20 kms who had aero bars (We battled back and forth quite a bit).
I made great time up to the Squamish rest stop, skipping the first rest stop, but then bonking a bit suddenly on the first climbs out of Squamish and struggling until the last rest stop.
After the last stop, I got a second wind and was able to push pretty much until the finish line in Whistler.
I also did my fair share of drafting and leading. The wind was tough.
I'm primarily a downhill/enduro mountain biker, but have been dabbling in road riding for a while as cross training, and felt pretty fit this year. This was my first fondo, and my first organized road ride, and I had a great time. I hope to do more in the future!
Great work, really awesome how you worked through that and glad you had a good time! I'm definitely on the extreme end of the spectrum as someone who would prefer uphill and as steep as possible. Downhills and any sorts of wind are my bane as a featherweight (49kg) :P
@@BestSideCycling really impressed with your time given how little drafting you did on your ride. The wind was brutal.
Looks like a fun event. A little steep on the entry $$ even after converting from CAD to USD.
Yeah definitely on the steep end, but the idea of riding a closed course for 75 miles with such scenic views is quite appealing. There may be ways to save via a team entry I'll be looking into later and might be option for those following this channel!
My niece and her friends rode the Fondo. They are not cyclists and were dependent on the support stations for replenishment. My niece is an endurance runner so she had enough food & fuel with her for the event. Unfortunately, her friends aren't endurance athletes so they couldn't get any replenishment at the stations as they ran out of supplies by the time the later riders came in. Worst of all when they finished Red Truck sold all their beer so they didn't get their beer at the end of the ride. They were pissed with the signs that had a countdown till their beer! Red Truck should have set aside enough for all the registered riders. Yes they were greedy in selling the beers before all the riders got in. It's a pricey entrance fee... nice to have a one of the most scenic & dedicated bicycle route., but make sure all the participants are taken care of!
Ps
I rode the WGF for the first time.. I brought enough fuel fo rmyself but I wanted to experience the pit stops as I've been told that the WGF has great support. My total on the bike time was just under 6 hours but total time was 8 hours which meant I was in line at the rest stops for almost 2 hours. 30mins for a rest stop to pee, refill water bottles and eat a green banana. WGF work on efficiency at the filling stations. BTW what's with the Lions Bay killer climb to get to first rest stop?
WGF aside from catering to the racers , remember the philosophy of a Fondo: its a big group ride out for fun and the enjoyment of bicycling.
Sorry to hear that experience. Definitely resonated with all those points: I don't drink alcohol so I didn't even line up. I make it a big point in my videos that it's about getting new people onto bikes. Hopefully they'll fix the event going forward
Looks like an awesome ride! Hopefully it wasn't too smokey on the way up. Is there much to do in Whistler Village after the ride? Would it be worth it to spend a night up there?
Really lucked out on the air quality, as things turned for the worse on Sunday but was great for the ride! The Village is quite nice with good food/shopping options and I think definitely worth staying a night afterwards. During the summer months though, it's mainly: MTB, climbing, hiking but there are some nice hotels there with good amenities.
How long does it take you to put a video like this together? I just got a GoPro and I had it on my handlebars for most of the ride, but there is so much footage that it would take forever to weed through it all. Are you using hilight tagging during the ride? Do you have a remote? What mode do you record in?
For this video, maybe about 4-6 hours total? Most of the work is just going through all the footage, narrowing it down and then doing all the voice overs. I don't highlight tag in the middle, but try to keep a mental note of interesting things I want to be in the video. No remote but I do have two go pros, one chest mount and one free hand. I'm in 4k 30fps
Nice video!... I really like to ride that GF in the future... is there transportation to get you back to Vancouver?
There is by the organizers though I am from Vancouver so I had folks come meet in Whistler before heading back together
@@BestSideCycling Thank you!
I did the Gran Fondo too for the first time and the side wind was scary in some of the descents! I saw someone on a stretcher at the bottom of a hill and the cops asked everyone to slow down. I hope that person is ok.
Oh no, glad that you were okay and hope the best for those affected. In all my race photos, I looked dead serious in the descents... I think I was fearing for my life also
Did the Forte, you should try the descent from Cypress. Hit 74kph though the earlier riders did it faster. Make those sweeping turns descending is a great feeling and also cold in the early morning.
Check out The Last Drop Cycling Club, we're in Vancouver too!
Cool, I've heard of y'all and think I know a couple members! Hopefully the timing will work out sometime :)
Awesome video. I did the ride. I had never done it before, and definitely got my nutrition wrong and bonked/cramped up around Alice Lake, so I have lots to do better on next year. I agree with your take away that you could bring your own food for the whole ride, and I think i'll do that next year. I guess they ran short on water towards the end of the day, so I hope they figure that out next year. Overall it was a great challenge and I'm excited to try it again.
Do other people have best side cycling jerseys? I definitely saw someone (I thought it was multiple someones) in a best side jersey.
Oh man, I've heard sooo many stories of people cramping now.... definitely electrolytes / nutrition are a huge help in this regard but in my personal experience it's a lot to do with conditioning as well... upping my base miles helped a lot with some climbing cramps I used to get. You're going to kill it next year! :D
Yes, haha there were at least two others! I've done a few print runs available to my subscribers but a lot of folks wearing them are in my own circles :)
@@BestSideCycling yeah, i definitely blamed it more on conditioning than anything. I'd done the miles, but my climbing training was not good enough, and my legs were not up to the continued strain. I'm excited to go back next year.
Yeah I'm sure I saw 2 or 3 with those jerseys on. It's a cool logo you've got. I'll see you out there.
Thanks for your wonderful video. Just curious did you notice any riders with flat bar bikes? (because I ride a flat bar road bike). Thanks~
I saw a couple but generally there aren't too many due to much fewer of them being made.
@@BestSideCycling Thank you. Good to know at least there are a few people riding flat bar road bike for the event. I am just trying to evaluate the feasibility of me riding my flat bar road bike for the event. I would love to do some riding events in Seattle too!
Nice video. On a scale of 1 to 10 how difficult was this and how hard did you train? This is definitely on my bucket list
To be honest I didn't train for this ride in particular but I'm a daily rider and had ridden multiple 10+ hour rides that season (all you can check out on the channel) Compared to those this would be easier: what made it difficult was the lack of full support. I'd give the course a difficulty of 6/10!
Thanks for the quick response. I am a weekend warrior and ride about 3 times a week. I only did 4800 km last year, but I think I should be good to go...LOL I am definitely going to try this sooner than later.
cool recap. is this considered crowded?
Hahaha I'd definitely say so especially at the start and first
What did you think of the event? Would you be interested in riding it again or for the first time?
I thought it was a great event. It was my first time doing it.Didnt notice the problems with the food as I brought my own.Already signed up for next year.Hopefully no headwinds like this year.They were brutal
@@hooge308 I had a great time as well! Having such a long closed course with beautiful views is such a novel concept to me and I thought the finisher medal was super awesome :)
I did the forte and stopped once at Alice lake rest stop. I didn’t experience any food or water supply issues. The head wind and heat kicked my but and made my 3 bottles and 3 bars not enough for the trip. I burned some matches early as I fell off the back of the front bunch taking pictures and caught back up on Taylor way. I paid for a few more matches up Cypress Mountain and then settled into a pace. I started cramping up at about 60 km in out of 152 due to a bit of dehydration starting the night before. I managed to find some groups to ride with. It was a great course with awesome riders and volunteers. I would have to think hard about riding it another time when the price is double or more of other events.
@@blairdrader5490 with the heat and nutrition shortage.... Lots of my friends also had issues with cramps. Big kudos! Yeah, I'd love to keep doing this route and ride but the cost really is quite prohibiting so we'll see!
I did the ride in the 6+ hr group, all I saw was green banana on the first stop. I skipped the second stop and depend on my own gel. By the time I got to the Salt shed, EVERYTHING was out except water, also my own supply was out. I don't think I'll do this again given the experience.
Lol, the organizer must have spent all the money on the 🏅? Still get the kick out of watching you passing everyone climbing up the hills. Hope I can do this event one of these days…
Hahaha *shrugs* but imagine STP closing down highway 30 for all of us... Wonder how much that would cost. Yeah this was definitely a fun one in that regard, then getting dropped on all the hills
I think the Forte is a better fit for you!
Haha I was planning to do the triple crown separately so thought I would just focus on the main route. Smoke got in the ways of those plans but I really do need to make it up Cypress soon
@@BestSideCycling I got hit by torrential rain the day I went up Triple Crown. Did only Seymour. Sad but it's another bucket list to complete!