Riding 100k? Off road?  Well, as mentioned in 100K For My Wife, I signed up for just such an undertaking after my buddy Barry offered to ride Paul’s Dirty Enduro with me. In all reality when one looks at it riding a 100k on road is a bit daunting. Now take that 100k and put it in the woods on dirt single and double track, and it is easy to start over analyzing it all when you consider it will be about 8 hours plus of ride time. It’s kind of like making your own homebrew beer – it’s easy to start reading too much and over think it all. Not including any training, one has to think of gearing, tires, type of Chamois, and other clothes.

Czech Pilsner

For me the biggest challenge will be fueling during the eight hour ride. In this area there are many factors that will effect energy during any event that exceeds four hours, which, according to exercise scientists, is the point where we enter the realm of Ultra Endurance. As I have learned from running 50K trail running Ultras and of course watching the legendary Hawaii Ironman, fueling while in motion during these types of events is important.
I could talk on endlessly about osmolality, stomach wall, and muscular cellular hydration. Again, this can lead to over thinking. The simplest solution is to see what foods I can stomach. Though one thing I do know from Ultra running is that I have a good stomach for on-the-move digestion. Now that I am older Power and Cliff Bars are about as appetizing as eating ground up particle board … oops I meant Granola.
To avoid this means time for some experimentation with menu items such as baked eggs, griddle cakes, and similar items found in Feedzone Portables. This all matches a direction I started going in back in 2005 in using real food for fuel. Back then my options were basically potatoes and perogies, but I now have other options.

Baked eggs with salty bacon.

After thinking of food comes the gear. Do I run a 34 or 36T chain ring? Light XC tires or not worry about weight? Again, it’s so easy to over analyze. Of course, spending time grinding Hydro Line track to get in mileage leaves lots of time to think about it all. I then also consider my ride plan. Ride every hill or walk most to save energy for the end?  Use drop bags? What should go in the drop bag? A beer in each one?

Let’s Go Thattaway

I guess that is the downside to not having an Ipod Shuffle to listen to while riding – it makes it way too easy to over analyze. Hmm … should I raise the bar height for the 100k? Sometimes, as I mentioned, long rides allow one way too much time to think. Maybe I need to invest in a new IPod mini for long rides.

No beer truck?

Yep, there is a lot to think about before a 100k ride – everything from parts to what to eat and drink. It is not as easy as doing a 20-30k race that may only be two hours. One big plus with this is that I have have been scouring Google Earth for any hydro line that has a rideable track, because one can only ride the same trails some many times before it becomes mind numbing.