It’s not everyday that you get to meet the prime minister of a foreign country, but if you’re Cory Wallace it’s all in a day's work.
The local Jasperite and mountain biking legend, recently won the Tour of the Dragon in the tiny Asian country of Bhutan, located in the Himalayas.
“It’s one of those races where the whole country was behind it,” said Wallace, while preparing for his next race in northern India.
“It’s on T.V. and the front page of the newspaper.”
Going into the event, Wallace knew the 225 km race, which included three 10,000 feet passes, would be hard enough on a good day, but he had no idea just what was in store for him until he got on his bike.
With a 2 a.m. start time, racers spent the first three hours of the race relying on their headlamps to navigate Bhutan’s less than stellar roads.
After cresting a pass, a rainstorm came in just as racers hit a horrendous 30 km descent.Â
“The whole road was just torn up with six to 10 inches of mud. You actually had to get off and walk in places,” recalled Wallace.
To minimize the chance of a catastrophic crash the prince of Bhutan had asked volunteers to illuminate the course for the racers.
“Every pothole had a volunteer with a flashlight telling us to slow down. It was almost like a dream, it was so weird,” said Wallace, adding they also had to avoid black cows lying on the road.Â
“It was pretty rough because it was five degrees out, raining and the bike was just getting destroyed from the mud so I just went into survival mode just to get down the descent safely.”Â
As daylight broke the racers hit the bottom of the descent before climbing up a narrow winding mountain road snaking through jungle vegetation with cliffs on either side.Â
“The next climb was 80 kms off and on and again the mud was so bad we had to walk in sections,” said Wallace. “There was still 180 km to go and all of our breaks were going so it was hard to think about.”
Eventually the road conditions improved allowing Wallace to catch up with the lead pack.
But just as quickly as the road improved, it quickly deteriorated again with patches of the road looking more like a flooded river bed than a road.
“I was concerned the race might be cancelled because it looked like the road would give way at any moment,” said Wallace, describing it as more of a glorified goat trail than a national highway.
Despite the muddy conditions, on the next 50 km climb Wallace dug in to take the lead, which he would ultimately hold onto for the next nine hours until the finish line.
Riding solo, he described the rest of the race as one of the most memorable experiences of his life.
“The whole country looks like a national park,” recalled Wallace. “There’s very little logging and not many people outside of the valleys.”Â
Heading over the second big mountain pass of the race Wallace opted to run semi slick tires down a 75 km descent, a decision he would later regret.
Hanging on for dear life, he managed to get down most of the descent before being thrown over his handlebars as his front wheel sunk into some thick mud.
After straightening out his handlebars and checking he was still in one piece, he jumped back on his bike to begin the final 40 km ascent.
But with four hours to go until he crossed the finish line, his body had other plans.
“Mid-race my stomach went sideways I think from all the mud that we ate,” said Wallace, who had to pull over and relieve himself on the side of the road.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever had to take a crap when I was biking. My stomach was just starting to explode. I tried to fight it off, but I had to run to the ditch.”
By the time he got back to his bike, local children had already started wiping mud off his bike and encouraged him not to give up.Â
Fighting an upset stomach and general fatigue, the next 40 km was a struggle but Wallace persevered.
After completing the final ascent, he cruised down the final 30 km descent to Bhutan’s capital city of Thimpu, where he crossed the finish line 13 hours and two minutes after he started.
Greeting him in the finish area was the prime minister of Bhutan who has personally finished the race three times, once with a 12:48 finish.
Two days after the race, Wallace was invited to the prime minister’s residence for a few hours to talk about mountain biking and different ways to increase the popularity of the sport in Bhutan.
“It was pretty awesome,” said Wallace. “He’s an avid mountain biker himself, so he was really interested in hearing my racing stories and finding out ways to develop mountain biking in Bhutan.”
Wallace’s visa was also extended so he could stick around to host some clinics for locals and see more of the country.
“I’d say Bhutan is my favourite country I’ve been to,” said Wallace, reflecting on his experience. “They put the environment and gross national happiness ahead of the economy. Everybody is very laid back—no one is running around chasing money. They just enjoy life.”
Without hesitation Wallace said he would return to Bhutan to defend his title next year.
“If I was offered to go back, I’d go back in a second. I’ll never pass an opportunity to go to Bhutan,” said Wallace.
“It was an amazing culture to be part of for the two weeks I was there.”
Paul Clarke [email protected]
