Summer Epic 8

Saturday was the Summer Epic 8-Hour, at Hardwood. Or, as the 8-hour races are sometimes referred to in our house - training camp. The Boy and I signed up as tag-team, but decided to use it as a training opportunity, rather than chasing a podium placing - although I not-so-secretly wanted to do both.

My training goals were to get some practice riding in a big group, and get in a longer stint of over 2 hours. To achieve both of these in one go, we decided that I should do the first lap, and stay out for a 4-lap stint. The first lap was a bit congested, but definitely good practice for staying with a train in the single trap, and racing blind. Lap 2 probably felt the best - I knew how to pace myself around the course, and I managed to ride all of the sections where I'd had trouble the first time through. Lap 3 also felt great - I knew the course, and even though the first part was a slog, the last half was lots of single track, and felt like it had more downhill. The course definitely ended on a more fun note! By my last lap, I was definitely ready for a break!

I had a 4-lap break while the Boy was out there, and then I headed out intending to do a double lap. My front tire slid out on a rooty corner, and before I even knew what happened, I was lying on the trail, trying to get unclipped! I was mostly winded, so got moving to finish the lap, but my singletrack mojo was gone. I decided to call it a lap, and passed the baton back to the Boy so I could recuperate. In the end, I was too sore to go out again, so after The Boy finished up a few more laps, we decided to call it a day. We later realized that we *were* in second at that point, but since we stopped with about an hour and a half left, didn't get enough laps in to stay there. But it was still a fun day and we got lots of riding in!