MOM on tap

Been hard to focus on any mountain biking with the MOM cloud over the head. It's wrong to think of it as a bad thing cause it's a great thing to make me a better cyclist. It's just that typical reaction to something that is beyond your comfort level.

My wife, my friend and I have been working pretty hard towards this goal. The goal being to ride it well. Not just survive but to ride it steady and finish strong on the top and not as walking dead. We finished our last real training for it almost 2 weeks ago. There isn't much you can do from like 10 days out that is going to kick in for the event.

These last few days have consisted of tapering and ramping up a little to get the legs ready. It's always a weird time as any ache/pain seems magnified. I was climbing in and out of manholes yesterday and now my lower back feels weird. Why didn't I just wait till afterwards to do dumb things like that.

The course is pretty difficult. It notorius for some difficult climbs like John's Creek and the Backside of Mountain Lake. However there I think what really makes it killer is the small climbs that just eat away at you all day. Route 42 is a series of rollers which can really you down at the start. Especially when you're all amped up and people are slamming it in 25mph pacelines. The front runners can do that but those that get sucked into the frenzy often pay the price several hours later.

It always seems like a long time to get to New Castle. From there it is a long gradual climb back to 311. By this time the legs are starting to feel it but there is still much more to come. The heat starts to kick in and the steep rollers on the way to Maggie are very tough.

Johns Creek doesn't seem too bad to me, but the Clover Hollow steep hills are killers. They come at 85 miles into the ride and are just a slap in the face. And finally, the first 97 miles are part 1 and then the last 4 are part 2. The backside is an event unto itself especially when hit at the end. There is no daydreaming up this climb it takes serious focus to just get up it.