Wildcat Epic Day Two: Success

Waking up this morning was rough. It poured all night long and was pouring when I woke up at 4:30 am. Hello stiffness. Thought about getting back into bed and calling it a day. I knew that would be a mistake and I'd regret it so I packed up in the pouring rain. It poured the whole way up until I got within 10 miles of New Paltz. It looked like it had rained but it wasn't pouring. I'm fine racing in the rain. There's just something about getting ready in the rain that pisses me off. Happy I didn't have to do that.

These girls are trouble

When I got on the bike I was shocked that I didn't feel that bad. I was tired and sore but it was a good tired and sore, not a sick tired and sore. I could work with that. The start also included the one day 50 milers. I knew we were going to rail trail and I knew these guys would push the pace. I told myself not to get caught up in it. At one point I looked behind me and realized I was hanging on to the back of the lead group. I dropped off the back and into a more realistic position. I had no idea what was coming and if I had to go into a climb my legs would have been toast.

We turned into an orchard and everyone was moaning and groaning about how horrible it was going to be. It wasn't easy riding. The ground was chattery and it was grassy and wet so it sucked the energy out of the legs. However, it was kind of cool weaving through the orchards. I will say my only almost crash all weekend was on an apple. Can't say that's ever happened before. I went through a blind corner and there were apples and I rode over them and slid on one sideways about 5 feet. Deadly fruit.

At the end of two days and approximately 80 miles into my journey I finally got to experience Williams Lake. I have always been sick for this race and never have gotten a chance to ride there. It was pretty cool. Slippery, rooty and rocky. Three of my favorites. Also got to ride through the cave and experience what all the cool kids are always talking about. It was quite foggy and dark in there today and it was a little scary. I wasn't sure which way to turn. The photo guy at the entrance was not paying attention because he was talking and I screamed, "Which way?". Nothing. I heard brakes to the left and I went to the left. Then I heard "Left". A little too late. Thank God I chose correctly. Webb later told me that to the right there is a cliff. Good to know.

Bike made it out unscathed. Too bad my hubcap didn't.

I finished. So happy. I may have even gotten a little teary eyed at the end for a second. Never thought I would be able to do this. Never thought my body would let me do this. I think I could have actually pushed a little harder. I was conservative because I didn't want to crack. That's good. Never done anything like this before so I didn't know what to expect.

Dark Horse represented. 1st and 2nd in the one-day 50 miler (Yay, Webb!!) I ended up second in the very small women's 100 field. T-shirt, homemade medal , 50% off my entry for next year and whiskey for the pain I'll be feeling tomorrow.

It was a fun event with a good vibe. I really enjoyed it. The promoter and volunteers were cool. It would be nice to see a local two-day endurance race grow.