So it looks like you’ll be joining the bibs/jersey only crew 
1 Like
There’s still time! But it seems unlikely I’ll remember to deal with it, so whatever! 
Do you guys know if they’re doing packet pick up from 12-6 on Saturday as well? I just had a change in plans and won’t make it until Saturday morning. I really don’t want to deal with Sunday morning early packet pick up.
The email says packet pick up on Saturday after 10am. Rider meeting at 2pm. Too bad parking isn’t free 
Ah…great eye. I was just looking at the schedule. The schedule itself doesn’t show that.
Thanks for pointing that out. And yes, paying for parking is lame. I may park at like a grocery story parking lot and ride in lol
1 Like
I hope so as I’m doing the packet handout from 13:30-18:00!
3 Likes
Woof … the new dirt has some bite to it! Glad I prerode that, now I know how it’ll sting. A couple absolutely massive drops, and some ridiculous short climbs.
What’s the consensus on hike vs. water? Walked the rocks today, definitely slow and slick. Water is deep at the start. The hike is steep AF, but it cuts down one climb. Though not being a runner/hiker, I suspect it’ll suck leading into the three steep pitches …
Drops? Do tell..
There is one near the beginning, you gain quite a bit of speed but it is mostly open. And another near the end, wide single track just after the switchbacks. I hit 37kmh and was scrubbing as much speed as I could. Came up out of nowhere yesterday and surprised me, but better today. Stay loose and you’ll be fine.
Those switchbacks are a mental killer, 5 minutes of back and forth. The hills after the big river crossing (or hike a bike) are going to sting too. They made the race shorter, but I think it is a more difficult course than last 3 years. May be tied with 2022, that gravel climb after Ramona and the truck trail were brutal is 35C.
Thanks for the heads up!
I’m thinking to ride through the creek crossing instead to f the hike a bike, but it depends too. If I’m having a good ride I’ll ride it, if I think I’m not competitive I’ll keep my feet dry and hike it.
1 Like
Stetina said he was able to ride through it. It’s only 6 miles to the finish after that…what’s a little wet feet at that point?
It’s definitely rideable, I see tracks in/out. I’m more concerned about fully submerging my drivetrain! It’ll be a decision I make when I show up I figure .. hiking is faster, but it’ll burn.
Really, you thinking hiking is faster? I suppose if you can hike a bike without cramping, that seems like a good option! 
It is a bit of a detour and then you have to climb, albeit at a 12% instead of 35% - you can see I took a slight peek at it from the top. But 150km into the day I may not be thinking “yeah let’s hike”
You can ride basically from where my line stops, or just before there.
Well, that was brutal.
Yeah, I remember seeing the lead group going the opposite direction of me like 40 miles in and they were already roughly 50 minutes in front of me. It made no sense. They’re not human.
4 Likes
At long last I had clean run at this event on my third attempt in three years. I as mostly fresh, I had tapered a bit, did the carb loading thing and just had my bike dialed, nutrition dialed, etc. My only snafu was underestimating the number of people lining up for the start. Rolling up 30 minutes before that start was probably 30 minutes too late as there were hundreds - maybe 200 hundred riders in front of me…ugh.
It took about 10 seconds to get past the start line which meant that I could see riders on the road before making it out of the parking lot, so I just rode as hard enough to keep moving up groups up on the road, drafting, moving up until I finally settled into a group of strong riders that I could stay with until the dirt. I was feeling strong on the road climbs, comfortable on the dirt, and made up more places everytime there was a climb. The second part of the dirt climb that was technical and rocky had us all walking a conga line - but once past that I was able to past some people on the fast descents. I had a good flow going through Hodges, and kept moving up little by little, on the section out to bridge I just rolled away from a group and to my surprise nobody cared - they must have been doing the full waffle. On the way back from Hodges I was able to mostly ride away from others on the climbs, no doubt from the fact that I did a good job drafting them and conserving my energy. Finally on the way back one person passed me around the dirt along the eastern part of Hodges. I kept him in sight and was able to get back to him and we had formed a group of 6, then a group of 4 as a couple of folks dropped back. At this point I was feeling pretty decent - I hadn’t burned many matches but we were about 2:45 in so I wasn’t fresh and snappy. We hit a climb out towards Lusardi, and the mustard kit guy put in another strong dig and I followed with a steady surge. The two others stayed steady and fell back. I was on chase mode but I knew that I wouldn’t catch him immediately. We hit the swithcbacks and I had him in sight, and there was a young rider in between us. I lost sight of the mustard guy and was riding with the kid until we had the creek crossing or hike a bike. Thinking the crossing was faster I did that only to see the kid way up the road. Bummer! I eventually catch the kid on the road after the brutal final climbs, the last which I had to walk because my rear tire slipped. He wanted me to pull through but I declined instead sitting on his wheel as he took the brunt of the massive headwind. As we approach the turn to venue I push the kid forward so he can take a clean run at the finish, and I can get a clear photo of myself crossing the line.
Unbelievably, I finish in just over 3-1/2 hours for 13th place overall, 1st in age group which I didn’t expect or even think about. First place was about 15 minutes faster and he was also in the age group above me. Second place was a young kid from the east coast I believe…
Overall I was so stoked on the event. I enjoyed the different course, even though it was shorter it was still very tough.
Photo of me, photo of Michael Marx, @sasa and myself.
4 Likes
Congrats, man! That’s amazing! I finished 140th overall and 17th age group for the waffle. 7hrs13min. I was back by the expo entrance at the start. This led to, what I wanted to avoid, which was a bottle neck and a 10 minute hike a bike. Overall, I was happy with how I did. Next year I might have to give the wafer a go!
4 Likes