7 things I learned racing a 1999 mountian bike for a week

When Singletrack 6 announced its 20th anniversary route would follow, basically, the path set out by the original TransRockies two decades earlier, my first thought was “I want to do that.” TransRockies captured my imagination when I read about it on the pages of magazines decades ago. SingleTrack 6, the event TransRockies evolved into, had been a bucket list race for years. My second thought was “I should do it on a bike from 20 years ago.”

That was something I happened to have lying around. E-mails were sent. The crew from TransRockies were keen to see it happen (or to see if I survived, maybe). And I was on my way to Fernie. Then I started to get nervous. This was a great idea, but was it a good idea? Could I actually ride these trails on a bike that old, never mind race?

Rose-tinted glasses and a reality check

The bike I planned to ride was my first “real” bike. A 2001-ish Jamis Durango XC from Hardcore Bikes in Edmonton. It was the first bike I raced, it was, unfortunately, the first bike I learned to drop to flat on, the first bike that carried me into Vancouver’s North Shore on as part of a family vacation, a bar bike in college, the bike that got me back into riding as a modified (mangled) “manual two-speed” (don’t ask).

It was also, as I found out after a moment of panic led me to drop it of at Broad Street Cycles in Victoria for a quick once-over before I sprinted off the start-line, cracked at the head tube. Matt at Fort Street Cycles stepped up at the last minute and offered his 1999 Rocky Mountain Blizzard. So I would be racing ST6 on a bike older than TransRockies.

Start line jitters .. and rattles

A few days later, I was rolling through downtown Fernie, B.C., past the local’s bar-bikes that were mostly newer than what I’d be racing, towards the start line of Stage 1.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous. This was either a great story or a really bad idea. Singletrack 6 built its reputation on delivering really good trails strung together into really challenging stages, day after day. It’s a challenge on any bike, let alone one only sort of suited for singletrack adventures.

What was I doing lining up for a race in the middle of a huge group of people on this relic? I was sort of fine with the idea of riding trails on my own, but in a group, especially at the start of an XC race, there can be four to five people back-to-back in front and behind you. If I fall on my own, I hurt myself. But the thought of possibly derailing someone else’s race after they’d put the work in to train for this race made me nervous. What if someone slowed down and I couldn’t stop? What if I crashed and took someone else out in the process. What if I was just really slow and held up faster riders?

Then the start gun fired, and there was nothing left to do but find out.

Lessons learned riding a 90s mountain bike at Singletrack 6

I did not, as it turned out, perish immediately. Or take anyone else out, thank the powers that be. Instead, I had a fantastic time on the trails, even if some body parts were more sore than I’d expect. Here are a few takeaways from what ended up being a fantastic week on the Blizzard.

1. It’s just a bike

As long as everything is in working order (which… lets pretend it was), you can in enjoy singletrack on basically any bike. Within the bike’s limits, of course. After a few close calls getting the feel for how the Blizzard, with its outrageously long stem and tiny wheels, cornered, it was game on. There were more lessons learned on the first few drops and corners. But, in the broad strokes, it’s still a bike. You still need to keep your eyes up and look through corners. I just needed to start braking earlier. Much, much earlier.

2. Modern bikes are marvels of engineering

When I rolled up to the start line on Day 1, I was surprised to line up next to someone on a Rocky Mountain of a similar vintage. A guy on an old ETS-X excitedly waved me over. We wished each other good luck and hit the course. I didn’t see him again for days, or at least I didn’t think so. He approached me in the beer garden after the third stage to admit, a little sheepishly and very excitedly, that he’d taken advantage of a clearance sale in Fernie to upgrade to a brand new bike. And was absolutely loving it.

Modern bikes, it turns out, make riding a bike so much easier. You have so much more control braking. Which mean, when you’re racing blind on unfamiliar trails, you can carry speed without worrying that much about what’s around the next corner. Suspension is smooth, tubeless tires hold air much better, 29″ wheels roll smoother, not just faster, and hardtails, well, hardtails are hard.

3. Dropper posts are amazing

Having the functional opposite of a dropper post, a weird suspension post that was at its highest when you were out of the saddle trying to descent, reminded me just how accustomed I’d become to the freedom of a dropper post.

4. Mountain bikers are amazing

More than anything about the bike, I was reminded how amazing our community is. No one looked at me like I was crazy. Or, if they did, they were stoked on the crazy. Most people were thrilled to see a classic bike. And keen to see me out racing it. Everyone was patient waiting to get by on the downhills. And forgiving when I wanted to pass back when a lack of functional gearing left me attacking the climbs far harder than I wanted to. The stoke was high. That helped keep me going when the Blizzard started really beating me up on the trails.

5. 29″ wheels are amazing

Day 2 of TransRockies Singletrack 6 was a long, rolling singletrack traverse between Fernie and Sparwood. Old-school trails, no fast descents, I was sure the Blizzard and I would be in our element.

This was the furthest thing from true. Over three hours of being rattled to oblivion by roots and washboard gravel, I watched countless 29″ cross country bikes glide effortlessly as I bounced over every minor bump in the road. 26″ was great for getting around tight switchbacks, but terrible absolutely everywhere else.

6. Mountain biking is amazing

As beat up as I was after days on the Blizzard, I was still having a blast. Any day spent in the woods riding bikes with awesome people is better than a day spent, well, anywhere else. So, no matter what bike you’re on, get out there and have fun.

7. Just show up

On that note, just get out there. No matter how unprepared you, or your bike feels, showing up to the start line is always going to be more fun than sitting on the couch at home. You can always be better prepared, sure, so there’s no point in waiting for the perfect moment. Just get out there and have fun!

TransRockies Singletrack 6

Over TransRockies decades-long history, what a mountain bike looks like has changed considerably. The moves from 26″ wheels to 29″, hardtails to full suspension, rim brakes to disc and metal frames to carbon fibre are just some of the changes.

TransRockies has continued to change its events to reflect the ways in which people ride mountain bikes. The original TransRockies Classic looked as much like an adventure race as it did an XCO. The week-long race was basically point-to-point, with racers often camping in remote locations along the way. Singletrack 6, in contrast, focuses on delivering a choice selection of trails in, and around each host community.

Singletrack 6 runs from July 11 to 16 in 2024 and, this year, is roaming though the classic trails in the West Kootenay Rockies. Whatever bike you’re riding, you should try be there when it starts. And, if that’s to far, you should try do some kind of event this summer, no matter what bike you’re riding.

Correction: This article was updated on July 4, 2024 to reflect the fact that, even after an entire week on the bike, I only managed to learn seven things. Not 10. Counting was not one of the lessons learned.