Sneak Peak

Just when I was ready to settle in and wait to hit the trails in Temecula this weekend , Monique and I got to sneak away today for a peak at the course. Wow, I have ridden some of the trails in the 12hour course before when racing the Xterra Triathlon and California Mulitsport races but I have never seen some of the trails we rode on today. . . rocky, tight switchbacks on loose sand and technical! A few long hours of this in the heat and then into the night will be quite the adventure...

We pulled up to the Vail Lake campground and there was still a chill in the air. I even put a jacket on to start things off. . . Perfect weather after a short warmup but by Saturday it is going to be cookin!! As we started our loop we met a local, Kyle who lives just down the street and has done about 4 of the races in the past. He was kind enough to hang with us on the loop and give us some insight into what Jason the RD is planning for the future of the “12 hours” and other races in Temecula. That place has huge potential and after seeing a bit more of the trails today we are sure to make some regular rounds out to the area.

As we made our way up the dam climb I really started thinking about what made me want to sign up for this thing SOLO…. Aghh.. It is going to hurt. The "survival" is going to be about having the discipline not to blow up on that first climb/lap(s) and easing into it. The "Damn climb" is by far the longest sustained climb. I am just rounding the corner on my sinus infection but the climb had cleared me all up. I had multicolor snot rockets blasting out every direction. Wamup complete. After the first major climb comes a plethora of tight switchbacks down steep loose sections with tons of rollers and fun turns.... There is bound to be some pileups out there and good times to be had!

Monique was cranking up the hills with her cute little red face glowing and letting it rip on the downhill’s. I am so stoked she has no gravity fear on the trail! This felt like "real" mountian biking with the majority of the course on single track and a full body workout. I am sure I will be seeing the rocks in my dreams after it all goes down Saturday...

The lap ended up being exactly 10 miles and about 1800 feet of elevation gain. Sounds like a bunch but I think that most of it is from the "Damn climb" and all those little whoops. The big question is how many of these laps can you crank out in 12 hours?

Just when we started getting warmed up we had to head out but we got to grab a quick lunch with Christy (moniques cousin) that lives just down the street before we headed home. Let the resting begin until we met again.