Chase the Sun #2. 5 hour MTB XC.

Last moment entry in Solo. Loading up the car on the morning of the event it was if I was just setting out on a casual ride, the difference being the stocked esky, running a seat bag with tube/levers/multi-tool mounting a small pump to the frame. I was bringing the hydration pack, but really felt that biddons would be the better alternative, so I brought both.
It was a clear, but cool morning, heaps of fog on the drive up. The start/finish was up at Trailmix next to the lake. The ‘pit area’ for solo was actually along the course at the top of the carpark near the park’s entry point.
The 9:30-ish start was, as what I seem to find, a disorganized FGP affair. Sure the start/prologue may only be a small part of the event, but as it’s the ‘off’, all the riders are anxious & would really like to make the best of the start. We all gather behind the dam wall, then off we went, back to wards the carpark area & then back around behind the dam wall into the course proper.
The course was pretty straight forward & a joy for first timers & many in the solo. The climbs were all do-able & there was a lot of pretty fast & smooth singletrack to blow out any tiredness a rider may be feeling after a few hours of slog.
But the first lap was pretty much a conga-line for me as I rolled out in the back half, hoping not to blow myself out tying for a blistering first lap. 13kms, it felt flowy for me & I was happy to hold back on the climbs & awkward stuff because I could make time on the singletrack & some techy stuff.
I ticked off 3x laps & rolled in for a 20minute banana just after 12pm. Funny thing was when I roll off again for me on my fourth lap I start to cramp up on just about every climb. Sure I change my cadence, I try spinning & then grinding & nothing really works. It was getting worse & I stop to walk a climb on at the last 3rd of the course & I cramp up even worse. By the time I’m approaching the solo pit area I’m all down about it & pull in & go home.
Alot of this sort of thing going on lately, but hey: There is fun & then there is success. Sometimes they're mutially exclusive.