Pre-riding the Course
After the single track fun at Bootleg, I needed to get on to the race course and check it out. Thursday got rained out, so Friday morning we headed to Lake Las Vegas. There were a few changes in the course from last year, but I was most concerned about the rain. How had a heavy downpour affected the trails?
I started riding pretty early - wanting to stay out of the heat as much as possible. My plan was for two laps on the bike course, then to run one lap of the run course. My first lap was pretty quiet - not many people were out pre-riding yet. Still had to hike up the monster hill, then discovered there was a new steep hill that I could not ride up. The downs were very loose, with deep sand and hidden rocks. The first bad down already had evidence of people wiping out, with skid marks and deep grooves in the sand. The second steep down - it's like riding off a wall - was much worse then last year with the sand. The wash was firm this time, thanks to the rain, but there were some deep drainage grooves making the approach tricky. All things to watch out for come race day. The back third along the lake shore was fast and tight - fun riding. No major issues for the rest of the loop. Before my second loop, I adjusted tire pressure and headed back into the desert. This time there were more people out and about. I stopped a few times to talk, but even with the breaks, had a good time for the pre-ride.
Mom was back at the car, so I was able to make a fast transtion to run. She would stay and watch my bike. The run course was the same as last year - straight up and straight down, with a few tricky single track decents that needed monitoring. I felt really good running this time - much better then last year. Hopefully, that will be a good indication for what Sunday will bring!
I started riding pretty early - wanting to stay out of the heat as much as possible. My plan was for two laps on the bike course, then to run one lap of the run course. My first lap was pretty quiet - not many people were out pre-riding yet. Still had to hike up the monster hill, then discovered there was a new steep hill that I could not ride up. The downs were very loose, with deep sand and hidden rocks. The first bad down already had evidence of people wiping out, with skid marks and deep grooves in the sand. The second steep down - it's like riding off a wall - was much worse then last year with the sand. The wash was firm this time, thanks to the rain, but there were some deep drainage grooves making the approach tricky. All things to watch out for come race day. The back third along the lake shore was fast and tight - fun riding. No major issues for the rest of the loop. Before my second loop, I adjusted tire pressure and headed back into the desert. This time there were more people out and about. I stopped a few times to talk, but even with the breaks, had a good time for the pre-ride.
Mom was back at the car, so I was able to make a fast transtion to run. She would stay and watch my bike. The run course was the same as last year - straight up and straight down, with a few tricky single track decents that needed monitoring. I felt really good running this time - much better then last year. Hopefully, that will be a good indication for what Sunday will bring!
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