MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2019

31 BACKYARD CRANKING THE SHIELD The return of Ontario’s burliest mountain bike stage race Mountain bike event organizer Sean Ruppel had been dreaming of a multi-day stage race in the Algoma Highlands north of Sault Ste. Marie for close to a decade. No doubt the inspiration came even longer ago; Ruppel, the owner of Uxbridge, Ontario–based Superfly Racing, spent his youth exploring the rugged Algoma wilderness from a family cottage on Lake Superior. Finally, Ruppel’s vision took shape last summer in a grassroots event that combines Ontario’s best backcountry terrain with an emerging bike community that’s poised to make Sault Ste. Marie a cycling hotspot. With 180 participants, the three-day, 230-kilometre Crank the Shield exceeded Ruppel’s expectations and brought over $200,000 to the local economy. Ruppel’s original Crank the Shield race was held in Haliburton between 2008 and 2015. The Soo-based sequel promised a more epic experience. Ruppel made arrangements with the Agawa Canyon Tour Train to transport participants by rail to a wilderness whistle stop amidst some of Ontario’s highest hills. Day One was a killer with over 2,000 metres of climbing, multiple river crossings and technical downhills, ending at Stokely Creek Lodge, a backcountry nordic skiing destination. “Make no mistake—this is as ‘real’ as mountain biking gets”, Ruppel wrote in the race prospectus. Day Two was more of the same, linking singletrack, logging roads and obscure trails all the way to Searchmont, a ski resort. The route’s only paved road crossing came on Day Three, while riders made the connection from Searchmont to Sault Ste. Marie’s 30-kilometre network of singletrack at Hiawatha Highlands. Of the 180 racers, 117 completed all three stages, with the winner finishing in just over 11 hours of cycling. COURTESY TOURISM SAULT STE. MARIE words :: Conor Mihell