Wilderness Traverse Sanity Hack

More advice from our own Pete Dobos:

For those of you new to racing in central Ontario in the summer, let me give you some idea of what to expect.

1. It will be stupidly hot. Yes, welcome to the “Great White North”.

2. You will get cold, like properly borderline hypothermic, especially during the almost inevitable night paddles that have become a Bob Miller signature.

3. You will get wet, whether from rain or a route choice that involves swimming or simply falling off a beaver dam.

Preparing for all of those is pretty straightforward: clothing, hydration, and waterproof bags. Well Dobby, if they’re so easily dealt with then why bother writing this? I’m glad you asked. Whilst milling around with your fellow racers prior to the start, ask them if they were at the Canadian AR Championships in Timmins. This will both give you valuable information and possibly eliminate some of your competitors as the trauma of race-ending black flies rears its head.

Alternatively, you could type “sudbury bug report” into a search bar. Deerflies are the most annoying biting insects known to humans. They are big and beefy, like horseflies, so they laugh at your attempts to swat them away from your head. Unlike horseflies, deerflies are seriously fast fliers. You cannot outrun them. You can’t even out-ride them. Watch a team of hapless adventure racers screaming down a descent on a bike leg and you’ll see a small swarm of deerflies around the head of each one, like Tie fighters buzzing around a Star Destroyer.

Here is a simple, cheap, and most of all effective and satisfying way to cope with them and save your sanity. I present the double-sided sticky tape. Deerflies will always buzz around the back of your head, battering your bike helmet and getting caught in your hair. Simply apply some strips of the tape to your helmet. Bring a baseball cap or equivalent and do the same for the hiking and paddling legs.Don’t believe me? Check these out.

You’re welcome.