Treeshaker 3/6 Hour Mountain Bike Challenge '22: Pre-dumble

Unless you're living under a rock, you've already heard that the Shenandoah Mountain 100/100k that was supposed to happen last weekend was canceled on Wednesday (the day after my last post talking about going).

People asked me on Facebook why the race was canceled.  My succinct answer:

Poop.

Despite my frustrating recent bout with Covid and no clue as to what my body was ready to do, I decided to go ahead and register Friday for the somewhat local Treeshaker 6 Hour Race on Saturday. I mean, I was planning on being on a bike for six or so hours anyways, albeit the terrain couldn't be much more different.  Even if it wasn't going to be a big mountain experience like I'd been expecting, I decided I'd go ahead and race on the monstrosity that is/was my Epic EVO single speed squishy bike...

Although I swapped the crisp 19 tooth cog out for an older 18 tooth cog... and never bothered to give it a test spin... because... burrito.

It's a six hour race.  What could proper preparation matter?  Some bottles, a few gels, a clean kit... simple stuff.  

This race had been kinda hanging over my head anyways.  I'd entered it kinda last minute three years ago, and this was the event that made me realize I really needed to start doing some kind of exercises to strengthen my lower back.  I bailed after only two laps due to some flaming hot pain in my lower back.  While I consider it a valuable life experience that has changed how I approach keeping my body moving, I was never really stoked on the idea that I quit a six hour race not even a fourth of the way in.  I coulda finished, but it woulda been awful... but I don't like having my last time doing any event ending in a DNF.

So entering the race was a two-fold purpose decision.  I wanted to end my time with the Treeshaker solo event (it used to be a 12 hour race back in the day) with a finish I felt good about, and I also wanted to see how my post-Covid health is currently doing.  I hadn't really tested my body out since Breck Epic, so why not?

Although I don't really want the answer to that question.