1 wannabe endo
1 pair of gloves forgotten
1 pair of gloves borrowed
1.5 Clif Bars
2 shirts
4 litres of water
6 hours, 30 minutes
7 Clif Shots
8 hours driving
9 water crossings
10 kilometres walked
20 mosquito bites
40 other racers
50 kilometres of trail
150 dismounts
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= One crowning achievement
I participated in my first ever bike race and it was a killer. 50km of the most grueling terrain I’ve ever seen in my relatively short life: climbs that seemed to stretch to heaven and then farther. But I finished. I finished 6:30 on my bike, of which an hour was probably walking up climbs. For me, finishing is all that counted.
I was plate number 200 and I felt like I finished in 200th place. Unfortunately there were only 166 riders. I was the very last rider to cross the finish line for both my own 50km race and the 100km race. But strangely I finished 3rd in my age category. So I finished 3rd place out of 3 riders aged 20-29 who finished the 50km race. I feel a bit relieved that a few people dropped out so I still beat them. Anyway, ranking or no ranking, I was so happy to get off my bike. I’ll be back in a few years with a better bike!
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