Thanks! Helpful. Any recommendations on what I should scout tomorrow?
It depends on how much time and effort you want to dedicate. I would definitely recommend checking out Questhaven and Twistenweg, but they’re a short ride that you can do Saturday. I’m going to do the entire loop from like Hodges to raptor ridge and back. Basically 80% of dirt that matters!
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Let us know what Raptor ridge is like. haven’t done that section and it’s out of the way for me to hit come Saturday afternoon.
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Will do for sure, I’ll try to do a detailed report. So far as I said, trails are more challenging due to wash out.
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Raptor Ridge is a completely different experience on your own with a clear trail compared to BWR with a 1000 people trying to get up it. Once one person stops, everyone stops
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I experienced that last year. It was a nightmare getting through Raptor Ridge. I suspect it won’t be any different this year. I’m trying to change my mentality though and not get so stressed about it…really nothing I can control to make that section go faster. I pure luck of the draw of who’s in front of you.
That’s interesting. I wouldn’t have figured 40 miles into the race it would still be that tightly packed. Good to know.
All it takes is one rider to unclip while going up one of those very short steep pitches. Quickly the little kicker that should have taken 10 seconds takes 2 minutes lol. And there are multiple sharp pitches on Raptor Ridge.
Also, I’m not sure if it’s falling at the same point this year as it did last. Maybe it is later in the race this year? That would be great if it is.
I think it’s technically earlier as the dirt section around double peak is skipped at the beginning and Lemontwistenberg is out, right? Last year I hit RR with maybe 15 ppl and we all got jammed up. I’m not saying I would have cleared it riding solo, but a jam can still happen in a smallish group. In general ppl were good about pulling to the side (when possible) if a rider had momentum.
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Yup that’s right. I think two factors that will come in to play is roadies in that first 25 miles of pavement on 28-32 slicks on gonna put a lot of time on the rest of the field but by the time they get to technical sections there’s gonna be some log jamming.
That and with both waffle and wafer starting at the same time there’s gonna be double carnage with the fast wafer riders trying to cut through the slower waffle riders.
I didn’t even consider the idea of the wafer riders pushing through the waffler’s. Should be…interesting.
Yeah, Vegemite is nowhere near as good as Marmite.
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Also need to factor that two riders of equal fitness will have the wafer rider pushing quite a bit harder than the waffle rider as the wafer event is significantly shorter. Sprint bs marathon type thing. Not that 5-6 hours is a sprint. 
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Yes, I’m expecting Raptor ridge to be even more crowded than last year due to both races being held on Sunday. The good news is that if you’re just calm and patient, there’s still plenty of time to pass afterwards. It was funny to watch dudes racing for 200th place yelling and trying to pass the conga line but it’ll happen 
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How was everyone’s BWR? This about sums it up for me.
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I’m satisfied with my ride and the event. I will say that I self-sabotaged myself a bit by enjoying the camaraderie of friends with a few more beers than I was planning the day before. That led to a late start the next morning and less than ideal rest the night before. When I got to the venue I was near the very back of the wafer/wanna starting wave and that alone must have set me back 5-10 minutes on the road as I had to play catch up to the never ending stream of riders ahead of me.
Nonetheless, I rode very solidly and had a good pace for about 80% of the event. I managed to dodge some gravel rookie crashes ahead of me when going through lake Hodges, Raptor Ridge was a nice climb with just a short dis-mount as it slowed down around some boulders.
Nutrition and hydration wise I was all set with my two liter bottles loaded with 400 grams sugar and salt, and my camelbak. In hindsight I think I will ditch the camel back in future and use the water stops. I think the weight wasn’t worth the time saved during this course.
Pacing was good and I faded a little coming back up from Elfin Forest to Questhaven, but I was able ride fairly well the rest of the way up Double Peak.
No punctures, no serious mechanicalse except for some chain suck that I had to stop and fix.
Overall the course conditions were pretty ideal, weather was great, and I enjoyed haning out at the venue on both Saturday and Sunday. My final time was 5’20" and I made my goal of being top 10% in my age/group.
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Congrats! And awesome recap of the day. I stalked you in the race results and it seems like we both know Thomas. I races with him at a bunch of fondo’s last year. Good guy.
How did the course compare to last year. I heard it was more technical this year?
Cool, Thomas is a very good guy, one of the first people I met in SD last year.
I didn’t do the race last year so I can’t compare it - as for my take on the course I would say that there were some technical sections, mostly on the dirt climb up Raptor Ridge - other than that the trails around the lake were pretty fast but bumpy. There were some spots that could get you into trouble if you were carrying too much speed or weren’t ready for the direction changes, mostly on the dirt sections on Lake Drive.
Would love to read you recap if you get a chance. 
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Arrived at start line a bit later than I wanted to so I was a bit further back. Paced the entire race just about perfect. Spent 5 hours in Z3 and basically nothing above threshold, which was my killer last year.
No mechanicals, no crashes. Dirt from Lake Hodges to just after Raptor was a continuous log jam. I wish I lined up earlier as it would have saved a bunch of time, but on the other hand may have blown myself up trying to go too hard.
Stopped at Sandy Bandy, Ramona twice and Questhaven. Total stop time was 5 minutes. Tire choice and pressure was on point. Always wished for more gears, but managed fine. Will have to sort out chain lube, it washed out with the water and had to top off twice.
Finish time was 7:57 for fill Waffle, good enough for 143rd overall. Huge improvement over 201st from last year and 9:20.
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Getting there very early is probably the best thing to do to save time on the course. I couldn’t believe how deep the start was, just about that whole city block. When you stopped, did you stop for food and water? I stopped once for lube - my chain was okay but I could hear it getting a little dry. I didn’t properly clean and lube with my SSS like had done before.
Congrats on you ride and your improvement over last year.
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