TR 2007 - Stage #7
August 18, 2007

Sparwood BC to Fernie BC
48 Kilometers
Elevation gain - 800 meters.

You could feel the adrenaline fill your legs. We took a quick glimps down at our cyclo-computers and confirmed there was only 4 kilometers left. An emerald tunnel lay ahead, single track, the last of the day. "Please, no more climbing." A thought that I'm sure passed through many a mind as we hit the TransRockies last section of single track for 2007. We snaked our way down the technical descent, gathering speed, dust clinging to our faces. The aches and pains seemed to fade away enough to focus on one thing - the finish line.

"Two kilometers to go!" yelled the women stationed at the bottom of the trail. We were deposited from our canopied course onto a wide section of jeep track that ran through rolling fields. Energy seemed to rise from somewhere deep within as riders all around me picked up the speed significantly. We caught faint echos of Drew Bragg, calling us home, his voice drifted on the wind like the succulent scent of a barbeque on a mid summers evening. Five hundred meters to go! We hit the pavement flying and rolled into a stunning crowd of supporters cheering us on through the final few hundred meters. The roar of the crowd was almost felt as a resistance, a strong wind, as we rolled into the finishers shoot, but it was overpowered by the magnetizim of the finish line.

It was over! Seven days, 550+ kilometers, and tens of thousands of meters of climbing - this is what its all about - the joy, the jubilation, the tears. Emotions poured as out as riders crossed the line, received their finishers medals, and shared their triumph with friends and family. Smiles broke through the thickly dust incrusted faces of everyone who came in under the finishers clock today, no matter what time it read. We were home, we were in Fernie, we were all champions.

The main street of Fernie was full of colour and celebrations. The starting point for the TR for the last five years was now the finish line and it was a sweet destination to end it in. A huge beer garden helped take the pain away and champagne sprayed like fountains from overjoyed TransRockers. The celebrations when on for hours.

As the crowds began to dwindle, our energy finally falling victim to the beer and heat that flowed as volumous as the emotions and stories of the week, we all knew we had one more stage to prepare for. We had the awards dinner, the video highlights presentation, and the coveted TransRockies finishers shirts to receive. We would find the reserves.

The largest crowds in TransRockies history gathered under a tent that could house and army. Over 1,400 people gathered to wine and dine and celebrate this incredible journey. Leaders received their awards and congratulations, but only 48 people out of 600 who tackled this event would stand upon the podium. Regardless, everyone who crossed that line today and everyday over the last seven is a winner - hundreds of riders of all calibers, multiple nationalities, all with their own story to tell of the 2007 TransRockies.

We hope you enjoyed ours.

Paul Newitt