100 mile mntn bike race--who's done one?

[Catrin]

No advice, the longest I've been on the bike since my whiplash injury in October was 90 minutes and that was on the road. I do, however, want to wish you good luck and have fun while training!

I found that, for me, when riding longer than two hours was to have liquid nutrition in the form of Accelerade and something like a broken up Cliff bar or two and some shot blocs ready for me to consume. That was for very long road rides though, mountain biking uses more energy...

[Anelia]

limewave, it's good to have company for the longer rides but if there's nobody, we have a saying in Bulgarian: "The only soldier is still a soldier". So, don't worry about it and hit the road and trails. Two weekends ago I did a 6-hour ride only on trails alone, too.
This weekend I did a looong ride on road. It was a 130-mile brevet and it took me about 10 hours and 8 of them were on the saddle. Here I am . I did them on my bike with 1,9" tires. There was a strong head wind in the last 50 miles but we had to get back anyway. The last 5 miles I had issues with my gears and I was really upset because I had a XC race on Sunday and I didn't know what the problem was. Happily, my husband found out a crooked part in my chain and removed it. So I was ready for the Sunday's race.
On Sunday I was OK. The race was XCO and it was only 5 miles. I sprinted them in less than 30 min. I am happy with my training this week.

[limewave]

Anelia, you will be my new inspiration. 6 hours alone on the trail--I'm impressed! I need to get over it and get out there as well.

I'm building up to the long trail-only rides. Right now I'm doing about 1/2 on the road and 1/2 on the trail. In two weeks I'll be doing a 50-60 mile completely on single track. Fortunately, DH is coming along for the day

Last night someone from the club came up to me and was a little sarcastic and undermining, saying something along the lines of "oh, you're doing that 100 mile race, huh. Well, let's just all hope that you're able to accomplish something I wasn't." Little does he know, he just sealed the deal for me. I don't respond to nay-sayers. I'll be finishing this race now no matter what the cost

[Anelia]

limewave,
Sooo, last week I decided that the brevet would be my last long long ride but yesterday I was tempted by a friend of mine and we did something like 65 miles, most of it on trails. It took us the whole day but we stopped for a meal at a restaurant and also waited for some other guys who joined us for one part of the trip. About 7 hours on the saddle. It was awsome! The weather was perfect and the places were beautiful. I rode for the first time in short sleeves and now I am a little sun burnt but not severely.
Today I will also hit the trails but only for an hour or two.

[Wahine]

Thanks an awesome training ride limewave!!! Exactly the kind of riding you need to do to get ready for a 100.

[limewave]

51 miles all on Single Track yesterday with DH. Riding time was 5:20. That does not include our stop for lunch.

We parked at a trail head and rode south for 10 miles and then looped back. Ate lunch. Then rode north on the trail for 15 miles and then rode back. This way we were never too far out from the truck and we didn't have to pack as much food.

DH and I had very different ideas about what a "lunch break" was going to be. I thought I would quick grab my snack, eat it by the truck and ride off. DH wanted to sit in the truck, read a book, eat chips and salsa for 20 or so minutes. I complied as we rarely get a nice day to spend together like that. However, my body did not like taking that long of a break mid-ride! The longer I sat the more my body wanted to take a nap. Not to mention the longer we sat the more I ate. I know I took in too much food for a mid-ride break

The first 40 minutes into the second half of the ride was horrible. Eventually my system went back to work and I was feeling good again. Overall I felt really good! My pace was about 0.75 mile/hour average slower than I'm hoping to do on race day.

The time on the bike went much faster than I anticipated. My didn't start tightening up until the last 4 miles. That last section was rough, but I made it

55 days to the 100 mile race . . . .

Food: trail mix, homemade lara bars, Clif Kids Organic Fruit Rope, and Endura. Lunch was a Sweet Potato Quinoa Burger (just the pattie).

[Anelia]

limewave, very good ride with excellent average speed!
I did a 20 miles race on Sunday. I started with a technical: my chain broke but I was so lucky to have this problem at the start. My coach fixed the chain and I started only about 10 minutes later. I made up for the lost time and finished first, the other girls finished 30 min after me, I had already taken a shower. The track of the race was perfect! I had so much fun! Most of it on single track. The ascent was 4 000 m but it was not difficult for me. I felt weekness on the flats...I don't know how to ride on the flats and I either mash or ride too slow. Whatever...
My countdown: 5 (FIVE!) days until the long race!