Nice work! Just under 700 starters and around four hundred finishers. From the feed back I got from other riders it was the most chewed up and rough course in many, many years. To get that little piece of wood is what you want. Congrats on both accounts!
Thanks! yeah I had a few people tell me it was pretty gnarly, I was feeling pretty down after the first day because of how beat up i was from it, but the 2nd day was much smoother afterwards and I just wanted that peice of wood more than a 'fast time' haha
Congrats on being a dad. Man you were going so much faster than I was on the Kove 450 Rally. Watching your video is like fast forwarding compared to how fast I was going. I managed to complete the entire day one orange course but houred out. Second day I made it to Miserable Lake trail and bailed. I was so wasted. Good job buddy. 😎
Thank you and to be fair, you were on a Kove Rally! That machine is designed to be pinned across a desert, not pottering through cord country haha. Its also quite a bit heavier than my bike! Next time I'll definitely try and ride faster as In hindsight riding at 70% meant i felt every bump and it was compounding the exhaustion. Gotta learn to skitter across the top like everyone else was.
Awesome video! Amazing news! Upgraded to fatherhood - CONGRATS! and finished Canada's Toughest Race. Well done Lewis! you come a long way since i started riding with you - Cheers buddy
Love the video! Congrats! I also went off to the side at that big mud hole on day 2, and it was crazy. I wish i had gummy tires, tho. I should never have done that on my really old tires, lol
haha yeah I remember you saying, i think you said you were the last to get through, and whilst i didn't know it was you going through, I think i saw you get through relatively easily, and decided to follow... terrible idea haha. I think if it was raining a gummy tyre would massively help, all my own errors it wouldn't have mattered what i was running. Next time id like to try a full gummy rather than an hybrid, but i was still very satisfied with the hybrid.
I rode the second day stuff with RC trail ride and agree this trail system is super tough. I do want to com back as well to practice. One question unanswered by anyone is what suspension setting were they running. How the F you setup for this terrain? Btw, caring for babies is way harder than this ride. LOL
I had it at pretty much mid settings for my forks and the same soft for my shock. I usually crank it up on my forks to make it harder for sommerville/racing, but softened it a bit for day 1 because i knew greens was gonna be rough, and that felt 'fine'. The second day was like smooth butter though, compared to the first day! I do have a minor upgrade from stock, valve change in the forks and a bladder kit in my shock. And I dont doubt that, haha, gotta get the training in now to prepare for the chaos to come.
Was kinda gutted we didnt get to the other two, i really enjoy the one that is full of steps going up! but alas it was a learning experience to see what happens when you break a rad!
@@woodlandwugui yep Manchester also a shit hole lol I’m never going back lol not this year my cyclinder needs re niklesealing and my gear leave shaft is bent from Chloe’s kingdom but next year I will for sure
@@PAYNO561 haha, ive never actually been to Manchester tbf so i'll take your word on that haha. Ah damn, next year it is in that case! maybe see you at the 6hr if i decide to send that this year. That was a blast last year, i'll see if its announced.
As someone fairly new to single track, stumps scare the crap out of me! Last time I fell I went face first into a fallen log. Didn't get hurt but scratched up my brand new tinting goggle lenses....Grrrrr. Enjoy your videos and can't believe how much faster you have gotten since I first started watching. Keep up the good work.
Maybe ill be scared of them now :P I just try to keep my toes in so I don't get backwards foot syndrome, I dont tend to worry about falling on them and this is the first time landing on one so honestly its kind of a fluke. 10 cms either way, id have missed it and maybe would be showing some berries i picked instead hahaa I know that feeling about scratching new goggle lenses too. 🤣 haha thank you, the racing really does help alot when youre surrounded by far faster people.
i think i'll be there the saturday! Im not sure if i'll do both days because ill just have landed back in Canada so jetlag and travel exhaustion could be pretty savage to race with 🤣
Glad you could make it out - had a fun day out riding with you, trying new things. Thanks for the encouragement. If anything, I know I need to back myself more, and keep trying again, and again. Doesn't Rich Larsen always go on about repetition?
@@woodlandwugui Ouch! I know I would have eaten it! I'm sidelined RN. Two weeks ago, I raced Sat, Sun, then practiced Tues, Thurs. Finally felt like I was beginning to ride loose and relaxed again... Sat, doing some work in my garage... shin started to hurt like shin splints.. No idea what triggered it. Hurts if I lift my foot suddenly (upshifting) and probably needs at least one more week of rest. Thinking of riding Walton part deux if the shin is good to go. Always a fun race, even if it's a bit tight for my bars in spots.
@@rondaniels9974 my guess is riding 4 days in one week haha, but hopefully you can recover for the Walton, the trails are really wide in that race there's nothing to worry about! Chloe's will be the one with the bar/tree bumpers!
@@rondaniels9974 run tubes for the last 3 races there! Having said that, not an MX bike and my last time i went with MX tyres and that was an extremely terrible choice. haha
There’s hard enduro, and then there’s “stupid” hard enduro. There has to be a nice balance for the majority of us average riders to feel challenged but also satisfied and enjoy the experience. Oh, and also not to have our bikes destroyed by sadistic course designers
yeah I think its more like a 'normal' hard enduro after watching peoples videos like rustynut and Vanessa's. Its no romaniacs haha. Maybe i'll give it a go next year if i can succeed at the cord!
@@woodlandwuguiAh yes, the Corduroy. What makes the Corduroy hard is its length, unless you’re a “pro” and as such you have to do some extra technical stuff. I did it a few years ago when there were these biblical rains the week leading up to it. It was an absolutely, unbelievably, chaotic spectacle. I did have a lot of fun helping some of the more hopelessly stuck newbs. Unfortunately I timed out and did not get the hallowed finishers nub of wood. I was going to sign up this year but saw they were allowing 700 registrants and decided at 65 I don’t need that piece of wood that bad. I may still do the trail ride on Saturday which utilizes the Sunday course as the tracks are just so much fun. If it’s dry, and dusty bring an extra pre-oiled air filter. Good luck, and may the Force be with you!
@@TheKitchenTechnician Thanks for the tip! and I pray for hero dirt, but kind of expect it to biblically rain for a week prior based on how this seasons rain has gone so far.
It was so much fun, you should have come out to the BDHE. It was definitely hard but everything was do-able, at least the morning class loop. Only regret was the way they timed it. Like most riders I got the checkered flag with only the (part) starting lap and 1 full lap. I was just getting warmed up after only 61 minutes of riding!
Wait they checker flagged you after 61 minutes?! I was watching your videos and whilst it looked extremely difficult, it did make me think the morning looked easier than the afternoon. I also liked how in your video the map tricked me at first thinking the red was hardest, but red is actually fastest haha.
It's interesting to hear how your frame sits on your bike is so important, and how it's relative to your time. Every little details matters! Deadlifts must be getting easier! :)
haha, I havnt really improved my deadlift after I hit 182kg. That's 250% my body weight so its by far enough. I just rep140kg now for an easy day without any risks to keep fit.
haha yeah ive dabbled with computers once or twice. It doesn't take long to make a video, less than an hour to cut, voice over, render and upload. And with my job im surrounded by some pretty beefy equipment so that speeds everything up even more. Takes longer to drive across Barrie to the trails at the weekend 😭
I should note that Horseshoe does have a reputation for sandy, deep ruts, which is why I typically don't ride there much. Drury is a little better. Personally I enjoy Orr Lake and Wildman the most, followed by Relentless up north of Orillia.
Enjoying the vids, what Beta are you riding? We rode Hendrie last weekend and it was magical, even came across 3 black bears in the trail..2 cubs and mama..gave them all the space they needed..lol..Cheers mate.
Wow surprised to hear of bears at Hendrie!! I didnt expect them to get so close to the cities!! I'm on a Beta 250 rr, bit hard to tell now ive swapped all the graphics out haha.
uhhhh its across the road, you come out of the carpark and go up about 1km and on the right you enter into a fireroad trail there, follow it along there are signs until you get to the start. The OFTR map with some gps should let you know you've started the right place! Don't go alone even if you're competent, as you can get stuck in mud real easy when not paying attention
Which of the KatVA trails do you prefer? Been meaning to get up there but not interested in drowning my bike..lol...enjoying the common man commentary! Thanks..
Out of these two? Honestly its hard to say, but i personally wouldn't do millennium without a buddy as there's wayyyy to much to easily get stuck in if you go the wrong way in a puddle. If i was told to pick one, i guess it would be somersville as there is so much in there that i've yet to ride as its just too difficult for my current skillset.
Damn, sounds like a day I could actually keep up with you, if you were a Woogui that day 😉 I love Orr Lake and was ripping there the other week - and I ate dirt in a similar corner as you at 2:10 like you.. lol! Hope you get yourself sorted and look forward to riding with you soon..
haha you'd have crushed me this day. But long as you come back to help pick me up when i fall then ya know haha :D Orr lake is definitely one of my favourite places and that's another reason i was disappointed as i wasn't able to rip around like I really enjoy here. Ah well!
