The flyer for this race promised a relatively flat course for this years 4 hour enduro. I have learnt (from bitter experience) that unless you are riding around a basketball court, nothing in mountain biking is flat (otherwise the roadies would be there in droves - "sarc").
The name of the "4hr enduro" game is simple - ride as many laps of a 6km loop as possible, in 4 hours. I really like the 4 hour format, because it is short enough to do it solo, which is a great test of my mental and physical fitness (all of which were lacking on race day, seeing as I did next to no training for this event, and I was beginning to seccumb to a lurgy that my young son kindly brought home from the viral incubator, AKA school).
The start was manic as usual, with 100+ riders taking to the pedals at once, and all having to ride across a narrow bridge within 500 metres of the start. The field quickly spanned out from this point, and I was off for my "recce" lap of the course. Having never ridden this track before, my race plan was pretty simple. Lap number 1 would be my reconnaissance lap, showing me where the fastest parts of the course are, so I could gain time in these areas. Anything that involves an up-hill is always my slowest point (I am not ashamed to engage super-granny gear to get to the top). My plan was to then come into the transition area, get a heap of carbohydrates into me, then hit the track for 2 fast laps. This would mean that, barring a mechanical or biological failure, I would be set to reach my target of 7 laps in 4 hours (I was counting on 30 minutes laps, with about 30 minutes of rest stops throughout the race).
The first lap went off without a hitch, and there were plenty of nice downhill sections where I could lay off the brakes and pick up some serious speed (~50 km/h) while catching my breath for the next uphill bit. My second lap I went out pretty hard (in hindsight a bit too hard) and knocked out a 23 minute lap. The third lap was significantly slower at 27 minutes. I then stopped at transition for about 10 minutes and took in some more fuel, then went back out for laps 4 and 5, both around the 28 minute mark.
A few quick calculation in my head, and I was thinking "if I pull my finger out on lap 6 and 7, I might have enough time left for an 8th lap". While the mind was willing, the body was not, and laps 6 and 7 were my slowest, at around 29 minutes each (I would have had to do 25 minute laps to have the time up my sleeve to complete lap 8). I was feeling pretty rooted after I finished lap 7, and I was stoked that I had reached my goal - and was really only about 10 minutes away from exceeding my target.
On the mental side of things, the thing that I am most proud of myself for is not walking ANY sections of the track. There were at least 3 sections that were difficult uphill "pinch climbs" (1 was especially tough), but every time I came to them I made a decision to "ride not walk" - my lowest gear had a pretty good workout on these sections, but I'm personally stoked that I didn't get off the bike.
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