Words and photos by: Danielle Baker
The sun came out for the North Shore Bike Fest, but racers couldn't escape the reminders of our long, wet winter on trail during the Marathon XC, part of the Return of the Ripper series. Racers were pushed to the limits on yet another unforgiving course designed by James Wilson, owner of Obsession:Bikes and one of the main figures behind the North Shore Rippers and the North Shore Bike Fest. James has become infamous for his 'unique' races including backwards starts, the hiding of bikes and more often than not, going up when you think you should be going down.
The website for the race claimed that the course would dispel "the myth that there is no XC riding on the Shore", sending racers to conquer classic trails including Circuit 8, Bridle Path, Sticks and Stones, Old Buck and Severed D. Reaching the top of Sticks and Stones most racers were already looking exhausted, pushing their bikes and stringing together long streams of expletives directed at both the trail and James. Racers pushed on to climb Bridal Path before getting some downhill in on Severed D. A few racers took some impressive tumbles on the technical downhill as their arms and legs were giving out on them.
Not even the finish line was a reprieve, as racers climbed to the finish. The course had an expected winning time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. Ricky Federau, riding for Nativo Concept/Devinci did not disappoint, coming in with the fastest time overall; 1 hour and 58 minutes.
Post race, as racers exchanged their war stories and compared mud and injuries, you could tell those who have been to a Ripper event before, from those who still had a bewildered look as they were trying to figure out what they'd just been through. James takes great pride in how much people hate him after a race and with that comes a certain amount of pride for racers who have completed a Ripper designed by him.
