Father's Day for one Cochranite was a particularly punishing family affair as he and his children grinded out more than 100 gruelling kilometres at the annual Ghost of the Gravel cycling race.
Father's Day for one Cochranite was a particularly punishing family affair as he and his children grinded out more than 100 gruelling kilometres at the annual Ghost of the Gravel cycling race.
“It is a family Father's Day ritual, ” said Dean Kendell, who rode with his 17-year-old son, Mason, and 24-year-old daughter, Janelle, through the Water Valley area on Sunday. “It is a smackdown right from the get-go. We don't really pull any punches on each other when it comes to something like that. I get cut no slack. ”
Billed as “118 kilometres of crushingly hard terrain, ” Ghost of the Gravel is Alberta's premier gravel cycling event and was conceived a few years ago by a group of Calgary riders looking for a fresh challenge.
“We used to stare at maps trying to find new and interesting roads to ride on, ” said Shawn Bunnin, one of the original riders and organizers of the race. “That led us to gravel roads and someone found Water Valley on a map … it just really blew our minds. When you're back there, you're in the rolling hills, you're in the forest - it's really scenic. It's just riding that you never get exposure to otherwise.
“That's what got us hooked and coming back for more. ”
After putting together a plan and giving the event the Ghost name, the group hooked other adventurers, too, and this weekend as many as 175 riders from as far away as Saskatoon, Regina and Montana took to the hills.
While beautiful, Bunnin said the race is not for the faint at heart, with more than 6,800 feet of climbing on the full “scary ghost ” route. Those looking for a more palatable ride participated in still-difficult 78-km “friendly ghost. ”
“It's an event that's not for everyone. Some people get a little scared away, ” Bunnin said. “It's someone who's looking for something different … that gives them a challenge to ride a course that's really hard. ”
Kendell said this year's course was one of the smoother ones, although “there were a couple sections that were pretty rough - gnarly boulders sticking out where you had to be on your toes. ”
Son Mason said being in the same race category as his dad helped inspire him to propel forward through the hard parts - and try to beat his pop, even on Father's Day.
“Doing it with him I find that it pushes me further - there's always the challenge of competition within the same family, ” said the teen. “It's a lot of fun. ”
One of the Kendell's favourite stations of the race was near the end, where volunteers cooked up a bacon and perogy snack for riders to re-load before hitting the finish line.
“There's a climb - the last really big climb on the course - there's a bacon and perogy feed station at the top of it. You get there and you know you're going to be good, ” he said. “It's icing on the cake. When you get to that point, you know you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. That bacon tastes so good after all you've been through. ”
“That was actually another motivation for me … to get to that mile maker just so I could get the bacon, ” said Mason with a laugh.
At the end of the day, it took Kendell nearly five hours to conquer this year’s Ghost.
While his kids showed him no Father’s Day mercy and both beat him to the finish line, Kendell said it was the greatest Father’s Day gift just being together with them.
“It's full on. We kind of relish it, ” he said. “It's a really good thing - it's pretty rewarding when your kids embrace what you love so much. ”
