Xterra Lory Pre-Ride

Went to pre-ride the Xterra Lory course today and wow, Horsetooth Reservoir is high.  Crazy high.

Eltuck Bay, swim course site for Xterra Lory

And this is what it looked like in August, 2012

Don't think they'll have to worry about making the swim too short this year.  But they may be pressed for transition area space.  At least it won't be a very long walk from the road/parking down to transition this year.

But the water.  Oh so cold.  Wonder if I can somehow squeeze into 2 wetsuits.  It's going to warm up by next week.  Sure it is.

I love thinking of the lines in mountain biking similar to the lines in dog agility.  In general I'm more a fan of letting the dog keep his speed and jump a little wide rather than trying to crank him down for a tight turn.  Especially when that dog is Strummer.  Sometimes you need a tight turn but if I can get away with wide and speedy I'll opt for that. 

Here's a video showing 2 lines for a tight switchback at Lory.  It's not super technical but it is a little trickier than it looks and plenty of people get off to walk it.  And a woman was seriously hurt on this switchback one year.  I saw her lying on the ground and it looked like she had missed it entirely.  Paramedics had to carry her out.  But if you know it's coming and how to handle it it's not bad.

Video showing the tighter inside line and wider outside line.



The outside line felt faster and more comfortable, at least for me.  I actually took the inside line by accident on my second lap.  When I tried to take it on purpose on my first lap I couldn't even do it.  The big difference between agility and mountain biking is that in the case of this race the time is inconsequential and in dog agility it's huge, could mean the difference between winning the class and being in 5th place.  Not that I care all that much about times but I do like to think about the fastest, most efficient line.  And sometimes you take whatever line happens in the moment whether it's agility or mountain biking.

And here's a video of some random footage.  I shot so many clips, the editing task seemed daunting so instead of a choppy montage I just put two of the longer clips that I liked together.  So green and lush, it was an amazing day on the trails.