Finally, here is my official result from the Whistler Gran Fondo (courtesy official timers www.Sportstats.ca), and some pictures taken of me on course.

Incidentally, there’s a service that appears to be hired by many organized rides called Marathon Foto which plants photographers at key points along a ride route, they snap photos of you, line them up with your rider number, and then email you watermarked samples whose full-rez versions you are then offered to purchase for a not-insignificant sum. Wise business move, targeting people like me who didn’t have their own photographer on course and definitely wanted some keep-sake images from the ride.

Based on a couple of these photos one of my coaches instructed me that from now on I must always smile, and can’t look like I’m suffering so badly (for ego’s sake). My response: that’s impossible if they put a photographer at the top of Furry Creek hill!