This weekend I tackled my first eight-hour and was part of a two-gal tag-team with the fabulous Mari Evans. Given I still think an OCup length race borders on endurance racing, I will admit to being a tad nervous about how the laps and legs were going to feel as the day progressed. With words of encouragement from Coach Eva regarding my fitness ringing in my ears (ok, ok – I trust the walking and my base and build so far … but 4 hours of racing is still more mountain bike riding than I have ever done in one day!)

By the end of the day, Mari and I had each ridden 6 laps and I was amazed at how good I was still feeling. Lap 1 was my fastest of the day, but lap 5 easily felt the best: I had hit the groove, was flowing through the twists and turns and came out of the woods past the True North cheering squad with a huge smile on my face; thanks Jasmin, Richard, Crystal and all the riders who were off their bikes while I was on and yelled out encouragement .

The highlights of the day for me were (i) the great course and feeling better in my riding skills and bike handling with each new lap (ii) that my lap times were pretty consistent – all were within 90 seconds of each other and (iii) how good I was still feeling by the end. Admittedly, it was also nice to hear them call our team to the podium and to know we had pulled out a solid standing! Hmm … Mari’s avocado rolls were also a major highlight, but that was post-race!

I had a great time at the race – thanks to all who were there that made it such a fun day and the True North tent-zone such a great place to chill between laps. Perhaps this whole ‘endurance’ thing isn’t quite as evil as I might have originally thought!

Before signing off, I would like to dedicate a few lines to the mid-race loss of a dear friend: my gel-bot water bottle. This clever device allows storage of gel inside the water bottle and one can easily take in gel only, gel + fluid or fluid only. I struggle taking in gels without getting gut rot so this is a great way for me to nurse back a serving without having to worry about what to do with a stick wrapper or where to put a partially used gel. About midway through lap three my brilliant companion was thrown from its cage and rolled into the dense forest. In a split second decision I knew I had to leave my fallen comrade … sometimes tough decisions need to be made for the greater good. Despite my very best efforts to locate my darling bot, I was unable to do so.

In memoriam, may I present an ode to the gel bot:

cleverest bottle
carbs needed, sucked back, relished
faster on i go