I have been so busy training and working that I have been neglecting my blog spot. It's hard to balance all of the training, work, sleep, eating, and family items. I spent the last three weekends I had off traveling to Rocky Hill Ranch http://www.rockyhillranch.com/. Here is a little recap!
Weekend 1. Rained on the way up. Attempt 1 of course failed miserably. The mud and rocks were so bad that Scottie and I couldn't ride our bikes. Got about 1/2 mile in and had to carry our bikes out. We sprayed them off with the hoses they provided and opted for a road mountain night ride. Strapped the lights on and headed out for 38 miles of night riding in the hills. We got back to the camp site and got some rest. Then we attempted the course again in the AM. We were hoping the trails would have dried up a bit. Sadly, it was a hike and bike with lots of Mud mud mud... The good thing is we got to see the route and start to get our heads around the race course. We came home and went for a nice urban mountain bike ride the next day logging ourselves 3 1/2 hours in the saddle and some great memories. I had a flat about 5 miles into the ride that took 25 mins to fix. My spare tube had more holes in it than a slice of Swiss cheese. I had to patch the 1st hose and ride on it. Thankfully it held air all the way home. Next day at work I converted my set up to tubeless.
Weekend 2 at the Ranch was a huge success! Three night laps! Course was dry and the temperature was perfect. There were a few others at the Ranch and I got to hit some laps with Krisit Kees. Super strong Single speed rider. She and I tore it up. In the morning we hit the course again with three days laps. Great success and really built up my race day confidence.
Weekend 3 was last night and today. Perfect night lap. Minus the humidity and my light bouncing on my helmet. Having a light on your helmet is annoying. The rain was all around the ranch Saturday Night but never on the Ranch. After enjoy a night ride Scottie and I were lucky enough to have our better halves with us. My Husband Nathanael and Kevin made us some steaks and potatoes for after ride snacking. We had a nice night by the fire and then hit the hay. Sadly around 1am the rain started and I mean monsoon rain. Lightning, thunder, and heavy showers. No morning ride. My four - five hour training ride down the toilet. This storm came out of nothing. When I went to bed last night there was nothing on the radar. This morning - full on the size of Texas storm. No joking. We packed up everything in the pouring rain and came home with our tails tucked. Opted for a Road Bike ride in the rain this afternoon. Better than Naught!
So, here I am five days away from my 24 hour mountain bike race. Eager to give it a go but feeling a bit overwhelmed by the knowledge of the pain my body will be in when it is all said and done. Next time you hear from me I will be giving a delightful spin on my race report.
Happy Riding!
Jessica
