300 miles in the forest of Oregon, from the California Border to Oakridge. This was my first proper bikepacking race, far from civilization: just one resupply point in route, at miles 200. No cozy gas stations every 60 miles, this was really in the backcountry!
I ended up scratching (DNF) because of time, but I ended up biking to Oakridge on my own, while doing most of the trails. See what happened :)
The race follows the Oregon Timber Trail, for the most part. Several trails were inaccessible because of fallen trees, so we were re-routed on forest roads on those section. We still have about half of the miles on singletrack!
The lesson learned is really how slow progress can be on rough terrain. I had estimates and spreadsheet on how far I would go, based on riding on my local trails, and I had to throw everything away. The trails were so steep (at least with a loaded bike) that walk-a-bike was a routine.
I had to scratch from the race as I had to cut short, because of the unexpected "slowness" I didn't give myself enough time to do this, and I had to get back home to take care of the cats. I still got to bike to Oakridge, but I skipped two singletracks.
Overall, an amazing experience! I'll do more bikepacking races from now on.
#bikepacking #oregon #timbertrail #mtb #ultraracing #ultracycling
30 сен 2024
