A specialized Epic 2013 World Cup! I have never really ridden a full suspension bike so I was very worried I could really break this one. In fact I only got to ride the bike 5 miles before the race. I had to swap my pixie bars over, recharge the tubeless setup, and get the shocks sort of set up for my style of riding. Which after 5 laps / 35 miles I realized I need to adjust it more. The other challenge of the new ride was its equipped with Shimano and I am used to Sram for mountain. You should see the blisters on the inside of my palms. I will pass posting a photo of those for you!
I decided that I need to enlist some moral support for the race so I invited Cesar and Kevin to come suffer with me! The created Team Blueberry and signed up for the 12 hour two person team and took 4th place and landed in the money too!
The weather was perfect. You could not have asked for a better day. Overcast with a few sprinkles here and there but never a full out rain shower. The temperature was between 60 - 75 for the whole day. It was great day for 12 hours of saddle time. I was able to get off to a great start and maintained a 39 min to 49 min lap time for 11:15 mins. I took 2nd place!
My goal was 10 laps but the day and everything just came together and I was able to put in 15 laps. Kim Jennings and I were neck and neck and made a great race of it! The 1st lap was a log jam, the 2nd lap started to open up a bit, the 3rd and 4th laps were still bunches of people you would have to ride around, my 5th lap was blissful with me and the trees and no one in my way. I Loved the flow and started to really get to know the bike. Laps 6 to 13 blended into a flow and me thinking about the ride the divide and the hours I have to be in the saddle. I set myself an 11.5 mph pace and held it. Just watched my average speed and kept going.
When I hit lap 13/101.4 miles I wanted to stop and be done. My left forearm muscles were really giving me a sting and my left foot was feeling a blaze! My husband and Sonya (Cesar's wife) told me I had to keep going. Kim was only 11 min in front of me. I took the challenge, hit the Porty pod, and then jumped on the bike feeling somewhat better. I had reached a point where I couldn't really eat anymore. After completing lap 13 they told me I was still on her and she was starting to slow. Reluctantly, I set my music on my phone to some hard heavy death metal and launched into my 14th lap. As from whom the bell tolls blared in my right ear I cranked my pedals as hard as I could and pushed to catch her. About half way into the lap my stomach started to cramp and when I breathed deep or had to put out a hard effort I would feel that I was about to barf. After completing Gas Pass which is a technical high speed down hill I did leave it all on the course. The effort made me barf. Which I did while riding off the side of the bike to the right and kept going. It was dark and no one saw me thankfully :) Adds a whole new meaning to leaving it all on the course. After suffering the climb back to the check point and completing my 14th lap there was an 1:37 min left on the clock. I had to do another lap. I had to force her to complete a 16th lap. After all I felt better after my barf break. It was fun doing the last lap cause you could see the people really suffering and you could see those determined to race the clock riding hard next to you! Finally after 11:15 mins I got to get off the bike and walk. I immediately took a shower and drank some muscle milk. I was proud to ride that long and happy knowing that when the divide comes i can ride 12 hours and know what it will feel like. Today I feel sore but I know if I had to I could go ride!
Cesar, Kevin and I looking Refreshed after our 12 hours. I think we could have kept going!
Congratulation to Kim Topp, Ali Wilkerson 5th place 2 person 12 hour, Jessica Green 2nd place solo, and Kim Jennings 1st place solo.
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