A trio of cyclists from the Central Okanagan completed the momentous BC Epic bike race, finishing tired, chafed and at the top of the field.
On June 28, more than 100 riders lined up in downtown Merritt for the 'Grand Depart' of the race. Kitted out with packs and fuelled by a love of adventure, the riders set off on the 1046.2 km trek to Fernie. The route predominantly follows the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, the Trans Canada Trail and remote gravel roads up and down B.C.'s mountain ranges for a total elevation profile of more than 10,000 metres.
The event is a grassroots race that encompasses the 'spirit of gravel riding.' There is no registration fee, no prizes and no support. Each racer must carry a registered tracker to ensure they follow the route, along with all their own gear. There are no course markings, aid stations or race officials. City Hall marks the finish line in Fernie, and other than supportive family and friends who make the trip out, there is no fanfare or festivities for the finishers.
Brad Bickley of West Â鶹AV won the self-supported off-road event in two days, 16 hours and 48 minutes. Just under an hour behind him was his best friend Alex Senger of Â鶹AV.
The pair rode the last few hundred kilometres of the rugged journey looking over their shoulders for an encroaching headlamp, as Jason Block from Calgary was hot on their wheels, finishing in two days, 18 hours and 42 minutes.
Â鶹AV rider Stuart Mackey placed fourth in his second BC Epic finish, after three days and three hours, besting his 2024 effort by two days.
"What brought me to the BC Epic the first time was a love of doing hard things and finding my limits. Going back to it again I was chasing the same feeling from the first time," said Mackey.
"The simple existence of only needing to worry about riding your bike and eating is pretty great."
The first woman, Alex Burk rolled into Fernie in a time of three days and seven hours.
The rules of the BC Epic state that riders cannot accept any aid that is not available to all racers and cannot draft off of each other, meaning they cannot ride directly behind one another for a break from the wind. Since the race is intended to be self-supported, riders are also only permitted to access food, water and shelter that is publicly available, like from gas stations and motels.
Some athletes race the event at full speed on an ultra-light setup, while others spend more time on-course to enjoy the journey.
The race's top riders typically sleep for short periods of time in emergency bivouac sacks on the side of the road and fuel their Herculean effort with pre-packaged food, pop and candy from convenience stores and gas stations.
While Bickley, Senger and Mackey are friends and ride together in their spare time, they certainly did not expect that their training would result in a Â鶹AV dominance of the race.
Bickley comes from an elite road biking background and is known for his speed, competitive spirit and ability to push big watts while Senger is predominantly an off-road rider who loves technical terrain, adventuring and working on bikes. Mackey is known for his long, hard training rides in all weather, which often involve an aspect of misadventure.
The first 300 km of the race were fast and furious. Both Bickley and elite Vancouver-based rider Owen Vermeulen crashed and sustained significant injuries on the first day of the race. Vermeulen later dropped out due to a crash-related mechanical issue.
As the sun set on the first night of competition, the front of the race had become strung out as Vermeulen and Kai Seifert – who later dropped out due to a knee injury – set a blistering pace and pulled away from the rest of the pack.
Tired, cold and alone, somewhere near Hydraulic Lake, Senger filled up his bottle in a creek and was preparing to set off into the dark night, when he saw his best friend in the forest.
At the time, Bickley and Senger were well behind the leaders and decided to ride side-by-side through the night, with every intention to separate in the morning.
From their meet-up near Chute Lake Lodge until the last 100km of the race, the Â鶹AV-based best friends stuck close together, with their opposing yet complementary riding styles making them a near-perfect match.
One would extend a gap when the terrain suited their strength, only to be passed and encouraged by the other hours later. Bickley, who has raced for years as an elite road cyclist would plow ahead when the trail opened up. Senger thrives in challenging terrain and made comparatively quick work of single-track sections.
When the path would open up, the best buds were able to ride side-by-side and would chat, complain and support each other through the inevitable emotional and physical lows of the race. Impressively, they report having just one brief spat over the 65-hour race. The argument was short-lived, as they were both too tired to put any energy into arguing.
During the 1046 km race, Senger was sprayed by a skunk, suffered extreme nausea, knee pain, and ran over a rattlesnake. In addition to the early crash that ripped his bib shorts and tore his skin, Bickley was charged by a moose and ended his race by riding with dim, dying lights through technical terrain while delirious with exhaustion. On the second day of riding his Achilles tendon became painful and a desperate, unsuccessful, sleep-deprived attempt to adjust his cleats meant he was unable to properly clip in for the last 200 km of the race. All riders who finish an event like the BC Epic must push through extreme discomfort and pain. Mackey roasted in the heat and suffered from extreme exhaustion, nearly falling asleep while riding his bike.
All of the riders experienced saddle sores, chafing, sunburns, canker sores from sugar overconsumption and exhaustion. The BC Epic is known as a race of attrition, with a large proportion of the field each year dropping out due to illness, injury, fatigue and mechanical issues.
As Bickley and Senger approached the 800 km mark of the race, having slept only three hours in the last two days, they learned that the race leaders had dropped out, meaning they were in a position to finish on the non-existent BC Epic podium. The only thing that stood in their way was Block, who seemingly never needed to stop.
The Calgary-based rider was never far away, but he amazed and scared the two Okanagan pals with his ability to ride without sleep or proper food.
For hours, the trio rode close together, leap-frogging and pushing one another, with at times less than a kilometre separating first from third place. Eventually, as the sun set for the third time since they set off in Merritt, Bickley broke away, leaving Senger and Block to battle for second place.
After racing for nearly three days with little sleep and surviving on a diet of gas station food, the delirious riders finally arrived at the route's endpoint at Fernie's City Hall in the middle of the night.
Mackey finished the following morning, amidst Canada Day festivities in the mountain town's downtown core.
While there is no award ceremony or formal celebration for the race finishers, the newly acquired bragging rights are enough for the event which exemplifies the 'spirit of gravel'.
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