Let’s clear something up first and foremost: Though this ride is called the Butter Tart 700 Bikepacking, it is actually 800km long. Yes, you read that right, an eight. hundred. kilometer. loop.
Ok let’s move on now. Ethan was asked by one of his good friends, Theo, who was hosting this ride, to capture a few moments of the grand depart of the race when everyone was taking off. After spending a few hours driving around Ethan had so much fun that he wanted to go back for more, so we made an overnight trip of it shooting days 1, 2, & 3! Photographing take off was easy as everyone started together and spent the beginning part of the ride in close enough proximity to each other. When we came back the next morning, some riders pushed through the night and were further along than others, some fell behind for one reason or another, and overall everyone was scattered so it was hard to choose where to go. The other issue was that the app that tracked riders had a bit of a time delay to it so more than a few times we would be waiting cameras in hand, only to find out that we just missed them. To add to it: there was a huge heat wave wracking Southern Ontario all week so while we ourselves felt gross sitting in an older car with not the best AC all day. We reallllly empathized with cyclists riding in pure heat and humidity for 4-5 days straight, but fortunately we were able to bribe some riders with fresh, cool, water in exchange for a brief check in to see how they’re holding up, and for a quick photo.
Ethan described this experience as storm chasing and that is an incredibly accurate sentiment. Ethan’s responsibilities were: sitting in the passenger seat trying to piece together data from the time delayed app tracking riders, alongside Google Maps for more precise directions, yelling at Stef to last second turn this way or that way, and mainly shooting when we eventually found someone. Stef’s responsibilities were: driving, complaining about the heat and repeatedly say “I don’t know how these riders are doing this”, and occasionally shooting when we were stationary for longer periods of time. Also wasting a roll of 120mm shooting portraits of riders but not realizing my medium format was broken and being really bummed about it afterwards!! Overall it was the most ‘go go go’ we have been on a shoot ever, even more than wedding days!
From the BT 700 site: “Born out of a curiosity to explore Southwester Ontario’s lesser known nooks and crannies, the BT 700 (now about 800 km, but who’s counting) is a grand, multi-day jaunt that makes use of a combination of gravel roads, rail trail, bounding two-track, forest singletrack, rugged unserviced roads and just a whisper of tarmac to take riders through varied landscapes and the rugged beauty of this chunk of Ontario. […] There is no registration fee, no support and no prize money or trophies.” You can find more information and details about the BT 700 here: http://www.bt700.ca/
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