First solo endurance event – done!

Last weekend, the Boy and I went to St. Felicien, Quebec, to participate in the 12-Heures Clorophylle. This will, no doubt, remain a regular even for us despite the distance, because it is really, really fun and low key. Also, the race is great value - $35 for 8 hours of racing! Yes, please! Great way to end the season.

This year we decided to do it up properly for the trip (read: no 12-hr drive from Toronto Friday after work, no signing up for the 12-hr but dropping out at dark due to lack of lights (the Boy, not me!), no driving back to Toronto via Ottawa, returning in time for a few hours of sleep before work on Monday). We flew to Quebec City, spent the morning wandering around a bit, and drove a relatively short 4-hrs to St Felicien. Much better!

We ended up going up to the race course at Tobo-Ski on Friday night for a social visit with Eric and his buddies. The Boy got to know Eric well when he was in La Belle Province for Nationals last year, and really got to like the riding at Tobo-Ski.

On Saturday morning, we returned to get registered, put the bikes together from travel and set up for the day. I had to go to the riders meeting, which was in French, and relay any information back to the Boy… pretty sure I understood and passed on all the major details! Back to the car to get ready, and before we knew it, the start gun went… just as I was on my way to the start line! No worries – 8hrs is a long race, and I’m not about to sweat 30 seconds off the start.

Lap 1 – It seems that the mysterious “extra” spacer belongs in my headset stack!

Lap 2 – Much better without the additional bounce from the errant spacer. This course is really fun!

Lap 3 – Big crash – evidently, I didn’t tighten up my headset and stem appropriately after I “fixed” it. Wheel turns one way, handlebars turn the other, Briana goes down.

Break time, to get changed, relax, fuel up, and get ready for two more laps.

Lap 4 – Got into a good pace on the course. A climbing-heavy first half, followed by a pretty bumpy, root and rocky second half.

Lap 5 – A bit hungry, forgot to grab a Larabar before heading out. The first half is starting to feel bumpier, and I’m understanding why I haven’t seen any other rigid bikes.

Break time, another clothing change, warm up by the fire, and ready for another double. Bonus: overlap with the Boy taking a break, so I actually get to see him today!

Lap 6 – The start suddenly seems way more bumpy… my forearms are actually sore and bruised from riding over the roots – and I haven’t even hit the “rough” sections yet! Definitely calling it when I finish this one, and I’m looking for the smoothest lines for the rest of the course. That, and I’m getting suspension next year!

I came in with about 15 minutes before the cut off, 45 minutes before the race ended. I had only managed one sub-50min lap the whole race (on lap 1), and the beating of the rigid has taken enough of a toll, I know I can’t do it again now.

Results – 8^th solo, 1^st (and only) woman. I’ll let you guess how big the solo field was! Definitely satisfied with my ride. I don’t ride in new places very often, nor do I try to ride new terrain at speed, so a good chance to do both. They had a photo guy with an awesome set up to print posters and photos that look like trading cards, too. As a side note, notice how very differently we take the exact same corner!

The rest of the weekend was also great, though less bike-y. We drove to L'Anse-Saint-Jean, following the Routes des Fjords. We, completely lacking any foresight, had pre-booked a 3-hr kayak on the Saguenay on the Sunday afternoon. Yes - the day after an 8-hr mountain bike race, we thought we'd be able to go kayaking. Funny, eh? Neither of us could lift our arms long enough to even get near a kayak, so that wasn't happening. Instead we did a short & easy hike to a waterfall to keep from getting too stiff, and had an amazing dinner at the Auberge de la Fjordelaise, where we were staying.