It was Matt Staneland and Victor Vassallo’s first time taking on the TransRockies Challenge, and after 400 gruelling kilometres, they survived. 

“It went great, it was a really fun event,” Staneland said. 

Their team, Bear’s Paw Bakery, were hoping for a top 20 finish – and they achieved that goal, finishing 15th overall. 

Staneland said it was a total team effort. Both of them rode together and helped out when things got a little rough. 

“We were together the whole time,” Staneland said. “Everything was team oriented.”

When one rider got tired and had to eat, the other would carry both the bikes. 

The team attitude got Vassallo and Staneland through some tough moments on the steep 400-kilometre course. 

“There were some really, really hard days,” Staneland said. “It rained almost every day.”

The rain caused more problems the day after, caking the trails in mud. At some points the mountain bikers were sharing the trail with cows, which caused quite a mess. 

“You can’t ride through it,” Staneland said. 

When teams came across rivers along the way, they would dunk their bikes in to clean off the mud and get the gears working again. 

Staneland said the toughest leg was the sixth, when he got soaking wet from the rain. 

“I shivered uncontrollably for two hours,” he said. Continuing on his bike is the only thing that kept him from freezing. 

That portion was the Jumping Pound Ridge. The race was later redirected for the further-back cyclists due to the weather. 

“It was just miserable up there,” Staneland said. 

They had never been on any of the trails, except for a few surrounding the Nordic centre in Canmore, but they enjoyed the surprises along the way, Staneland said. 

“You’re basically flying by the seat of your pants the whole way,” he said. It was both his and Vassallo’s first time on the TransRockies. 

A few mechanical failures threatened, but never stopped the Bear’s Paw Bakery team. At the start of Stage Three leaving Elkford, B.C., an inexperienced rider swerved, shoving riders over and into Vassallo’s path. He tumbled into the ditch and his bike broke in half. 

“We were only a couple kilometres from the start,” Staneland said. They were able to exchange the bike for a new one without much trouble. 

Further on in the race, Vassallo’s seat broke. The pair tied it on with a strap from one of their Camel Paks, but it was still unusable. 

“He rode on a broken seat for probably 10 k,” Staneland said. He later traded his partner to share the burden until they arrived at the end of the stage. They also experienced a flat tire, but compared to some of the other teams, they did well. 

“We were pretty clean for the most part,” Staneland said. “Riding that far and that hard, you expect something to go wrong.”

Teams carried patching tools like duct tape. Staneland said many teams had to “MacGyver” parts to get back on the trail. 

Other than the cold on the sixth stage and a few muddy stretches, Staneland said he had a great time, and hopes to return. 

Part of that experience was riding with people with similar skill levels as the race separated into packs. Staneland said they got together after the race to toast their ride together. 

The challenging passes the TransRockies followed may have been tough for some riders, but Staneland said he had the perfect playground to train in. 

“Jasper’s almost one of the most ideal places to train for something like that,” he said, adding that he could easily see a similar race start in Jasper. 

Staneland trained in all weather conditions so the rain that caused many racers to drop out didn’t hurt him as badly. 

“I’m not afraid of riding in the rain,” he said. 

Training in Jasper allowed Staneland the best opportunities, he said. He knew starting it that he would be able to get through most situations. 

“No matter what you get into, you can still ride through it and achieve your goals,” he said.

The support the team received was tremendous, Staneland said. Each day after a tough stage they updated on the Bear Paw Bakery’s Facebook page, and got a huge response from well-wishers. 

“The support we had from the community was just unreal,” Staneland said. Their secondary sponsor was the Jasper Tramway. 

“They just made everything a lot easier,” he said of the sponsors. 

Vassallo and Staneland also enjoyed a support team that helped clean and repairs their bikes, organize sleeping arrangements and meals. 

“They took care of a ton of stuff,” Staneland said. 

The TransRockies followed 400 kilometres from Fernie, B.C. to Canmore climbing 12,000 metres altogether over seven days.