4+ hours of Single Track

Yesterday was a "rites of passage" for me. I attempted my first xc ride, all on single-track, that was greater than 2.5 hours. I have never attempted this feat before. And with Lumberjack 100 looming in the near future, it was a necessary threshold to cross.

The plan: 4+ hours of single track riding with minimal stops. A friend of mine met me at the half way point for the last 2-hours of riding.

I had several concerns going into the ride:

1. Will I be comfortable on the bike? Sore bottom, knee (which has been giving me fits), sore back, chaffing, numb feet, numb hands--all areas of concern for me.
2. Nutrition. I'm trying to avoid packaged gus and gels which I have used in the past. I've noticed that on xc rides that I experience moments of fogginess or lack of focus. I believe this is caused by a sugar crash. My goal is to come up with several food choices that I can easily eat on the trail and that will help maintain an even level of sugar in my system.
3. Overall fitness. XC riding is very demanding and requires the rider to be standing and out of the saddle frequently to maneuver tight turns, technical sections, attack punchy climbs, etc. Four hours into a ride am I still going to be able to attack a tricky section of trail? I didn't know.

Preparing for the ride

1) To address my concerns about being sore on the bike I:

• Used lots of Bag Balm
• Used the Stick to roll my It-Band and leg muscles, working out any knots and giving them a good stretch. That should help alleviate the pain I've been experiencing on the side of my knee and up my quad during rides.
• Wore a good pair of gloves with minimal padding. I've found gloves that are too padded do not work well for me and cause all sorts of numbness and trigger points.

2) Nutrition

• 1 heaping scoop of Endura in a water bottle for every 2 hours
• 30 ounces of water in my camel bak for every 2 hours
• Homemade Lara Bars (dates, nuts, cinnamon all mashed together in a food processor)
• Savory Sweet Potato Energy Balls

My sanctuary.

The Ride
The weather turned out to be a cool 50 degrees and sunny. Knickers and a jersey with arm warmers were the perfect option for clothing.

It was only my second time riding single-track this year and it showed during the first 8-miles. I was timid and slow. Approaching a wide and sweeping descent a magnificent owl swooped out onto the trail in front of me and landed on a branch to watch me pass. It was amazing. I had encountered my spirit guide which renewed my confidence and gave me strength. After that point my riding skills improved dramatically.

After 45 minutes I ate my first Savory Sweet Potato Ball. It was surprisingly moist and easy going down. So far so good.

After 2 hours of riding I was tired, but appropriately so. I was still standing and attacking all the technical sections and my confidence was high—I bombed down the descents and kept a steady pace on the flats and hills.

It was really nice to see my friend when I went back to the parking lot to restock my food supplies. I was excited to have company for the remaining two hours. She was all ready to go so I quick refilled my water bottles and we were back on the trail!

The trail we were on was demanding. There are very few sections where a rider will experience "flow." There are a lot of rough and bumpy miles and some technical areas as well. It was a challenging ride, physically and mentally. By the third hour of riding my low back was becoming sore. This motivated me to get out of the saddle even more and to rely more heavily on my legs to take the impact.

The fourth hour was mentally challenging. It was good to have a friend to offer encouragement and motivation. Physically, however, I felt pretty good. My legs were cranking along and I was still riding aggressively.

When we finally emerged from the woods and into the parking lot, my mileage was 1/4 of a mile short of being even and so we rode a giant circle around—must have a whole number on that odometer! I was glad to be done and overall felt good: a sure sign to me that my nutrition plan worked well.

I experienced no noticeable numbness in my hands or feet. I didn't feel a twinge of pain in my leg. My low back was sore, fatigued from the demanding ride. But this morning my back feels good. In fact, I feel great today!

Recipe for Savory Sweet Potato Energy Balls.

Have a good weekend everyone!