RBC Gran Fondo 2022 Vlog: Green Bananas, Headwinds, and a Climber's Dream 

For those interested in 2024, sign up using my discount code BSC25 for $25 off!

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..

Good effort and video!

First WGF for me and it was awesome (aside from the green bananas)! Nicely filmed and narrated.

Amazing!

Nice Video! I've always been wanting to ride this

Great video recap thanks!

Gorgeous views!

Great video. Thank for sharing the ride.

It looks so fun-incredible views. Thank you for another great and inspiring video.

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.

Really cool breakdown

Nice video.Best one so far on this years Fondo.U take the Oscar

Congrats again and you were on fire! So beautiful a course, very nice!

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

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.

Great video! Crazy to think that just the next day the air quality in Vancouver was the worst on the planet due to wildfires!

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!

Looks like a fun event. A little steep on the entry $$ even after converting from CAD to USD.

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.

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.

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!

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?

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

Check out The Last Drop Cycling Club, we're in Vancouver too!

Nice video!... I really like to ride that GF in the future... is there transportation to get you back to Vancouver?

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~

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?

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.

cool recap. is this considered crowded?

What did you think of the event? Would you be interested in riding it again or for the first time?

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

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…

I think the Forte is a better fit for you!