There was a 500 rider limit for the ride, but I bet there were just 100 people at the start line. The course was quick with one long gradual hill and one short hill. I started off on the Softride with my Zipp wheels and felt wicked fast. Every 10 laps, I'd pull into the camping area and take a break. After 30 laps, I changed into dry clothes and took a 3 hour sleep break. The rain was too much for the tents and by 9pm, they were both leaking. Both Q and I were getting dripped on as we slept. ABL had taken the other two kids to a hotel for the night and my parents slept in their car. I then went back out on to the course and did another 10 laps. There might have been a half dozen riders on the course at that time of night. The rain was still coming down hard, the camping area was one big mudpit. I changed into another set of dry clothes and went back to sleep. In the morning, the rain had slowed to a mist. I knocked out another 10 laps and took a break. Then my dad offered to break down our campsite while I rode, so I knocked out another 10 laps. About halfway through these last ten laps, the sun came out and the course started to dry out.

My knee was hurting, but it wasn't a showstopper. I was using Assos Chamois Creme for the first time and it was working great. I ran out of dry clothes though and I wasn't sure how much fluid I had gained, so I decided to call it quits. I was a bit disappointed with the mileage, but I think it's a great start considering it's been 2 years since I've done any serious ultra events and I've only been training for 6 weeks.