What?!?!
You A & B riders are amazing! I am a "C" rider & I thought this was the unquestionably the hardest event I've ever done. This was the 3rd national I've participated in, and even though it had some relatively easy & long transfer sections, I had to throttle-walk my bike thru the special test areas. I am from the 100 degree/90% humidity/nearly sea-level stae of Texas and I didn't have any more problems breathing than I do in the muggy, soupy atmospheres of Louisiana & TX. However, I made a conscious effort to train for this event & it paid off. I believe my physical tolerance for hot climates made it possible for me to complete the spode course, but my lack of riding skills in the tests caused me to spend an inordinate amount of time pushing, pulling, & picking up my (& many other riders') bike. I have never spent so much time out of the saddle at any event before. To me, the tests were VERY hard! But it's because I've never encountered that many rocks in my entire racing experience. But hey! I finished the thing & didn't get last place, and somehow didn't damage my machine, so I'm thrilled about that! All in all, I'd have to conclude that I actually had FUN! Pretty good considering I almost decided not to race it because of all the horror stories I heard -- by the way, most of them turned out to be true. Boy, I'm glad to be back in the lowlands with the heat and the sand whoops and the rooty trees though!!!!