Wednesday: work in the morning, then over to the Sea Otter venue for registration and pre-riding the open enduro stages. I like to get to athlete reg pretty much the second it opens, as there are hundreds of riders in the Enduro alone, add in XC, Road Races, grand fondo, cx races, gravel grinder, eMtb, downhill, slalom, etc.. etc.. it all ads up to thousands of athletes, all of them have to get through reg - the lines shoot out the door and down the road pretty much straight away. It also helps that I have an annual license - as there are 8 USA cycling reps processing new licenses, and have reg'd online (there are only 2 cashiers!). There is a bunch of waivers to fill out and lines to get through, and I'm out of there in less than 40mins - which is pretty darn good.
Then off to stage 2 (stage 1 & 4 are the downhill course & the dual slalom course - both of which are closed and only open for practice runs at 7:30 & 8am before the race on Thursday (at 9am) which basically means there is only a slim chance of getting more than one run in on one of those stages.
Stage 2 is a long, pedally and pretty smooth stage. I'm still feeling a bit rusty with trail riding - but it's getting better. The trails are a TON OF FUN - so fast, so flowy. Only concern is some of the sharper corners are soft/chewed up sand. zero technical riding. Stage 3 is easier to session, so I ran that one 3x. first run all the way through, then a lap session some of the sketchier corners (super sandy & soft), and a couple sections of super rutted hard clay - catching a wheel in a rut will mean sudden death -especially at speed. Then one more run trying to stitch the lines together. Then a LOOOONNNNGGGG road pedal back to the car . I contemplated sessioning both stages again, but it's a delicate balance of getting to know the trail vs wearing yourself out...
Back to the hotel to do laundry, Facetime the family and squeeze in a little more work.
Simple goals for tomorrow, staying relaxed, looking WAY ahead, and hammering the crap out of the pedally sections. That and keeping the rubber side down and I'll be a happy camper.