WildBettys posted on May 24, 2010 16:23
THE MAY 24 WEEKEND!! finally as it should be: the holiday on THE day, no, MAY 24 doesn't stand for a case o'beer....hope everyone is enjoying this glorious day...I personally have been hanging out in my garden resting after the Lifestyles of the R$ch and Famous 24 Hour Race over the weekend...maybe you noticed our podium shot on the home page. This was the 11th and last time for W.O.W. to host this luxurious event at the Mansfield Outdoor Centre....true luxury; hot meals, our own cabin with hot showers, soft bunk beds to rest between laps and a wonderful 11 km course in the sandy single track woods of Dufferin County....
We had two very experienced riders, Becky doing her 7th lifestyles event, me my 4th, and two new racers; Sarah and Julie...really a very good effort on all the Bettys' parts, we had some very respectable lap times and completed a total of 25 laps... we are sad that Mike and Natalie won't be doing this event again...but we are stocked up on lights and batteries now so the Bettys will be looking for another 24 hour event somewhere for the future.
Speaking of the hot meals...what to eat for these mountain bike events or even group rides can be a real quandary...our coach Steve has started a nutrition thread in our general forum...check it out....I have been working very hard on staying hydrated and judging by my trips to the washroom, even accounting for a healthy sympathetic nervous system at race events, I think I have a handle on how much fluid to take in, before, during and even afterward to stay hydrated....but it's the calories and the source of those calories that can still be a challenge...for example yesterday on my morning lap between 9 and 10 when the fuzziness of the night riding had dissipated because of the beautiful dappling sunshine in the woods and the tweeting birds, I was in mountain bike heaven, pedaling rhythm, as it were, when I crested a rooty climb only to be jolted by the sight of another rider in all his post-emetic pallor coming out of the bushes saying....'oh, that pancake breakfast didn't sit too well' YA THINK!?! I mean really, mountain biking, esp mountain bike racing is hard work...why oh why would you put a pancake breakfast anywhere near your mouth before your next lap in a 24 hour race??? I really felt for the guy....but seriously...he looked like a grown up but had the common sense of a child. I too had a pancake breakfast, blueberry in fact, complete with a little treat of a sausage link...thankyou Mike...but I ate that after my lap, and two hours before my next lap, timed just right to be fuel and not heartburn. Check out the forum....tell us your thoughts, or ask any questions you might have.
In addition this weekend two of our team were at the Canada cup #2 in Tremblant...please see the race results page for some photos and details. Great job you girls..travelling adds another whole dimension to the challenge of racing...and nutrition...especially Tremblant where the Beaver Tails, and La Savoie not to mention Microbrasserie La Diable all beckon on the way to the race course. It is hard to stay focussed on good food when there are convenient treats all around, but that's a good thing about a Saturday race, I guess, on a long weekend...there's time to celebrate, I mean pig-out afterwards before you have to travel back to your day job...
Ahh yes that day job, I am neither rich nor famous and do have to go to work, but man these mountain bike events and races make it all worthwhile.
Melinda.