TSE Prologue: Bible, Prep, Stages, and Jitters

The Trans-Sylvania Epic stage race is now a mere 3 days away.  My bikes are ready, and there’s nothing more that I can do to prepare myself physically besides get sleep, stay hydrated, and try not to panic. 

Of course, reading the race bible doesn’t really help to quell my nerves.  While I want to be prepared so I know what to expect, knowing what to expect is also pretty scary. I think I’ll feel better once I’ve got the car all packed up and checked everything off my TSE packing list spreadsheet (maybe not). 

You might be wondering what exactly this “stage race thing” entails.  I'll try to break it down to the basics...

...each day there’s a new and totally different MTB race event.

Day 1 – Sunday:

12:15pm - 15 mile time trial (1,600ft of climbing)

Day 2 – Monday:

9:30am – 41 mile endurance cross-country (5,892ft)

Day 3 – Tuesday

10:00am – 22 miles with 5-timed enduro sections (3,553ft)

Day 4 – Wednesday

9:30am – 40 mile endurance cross-country (4,396ft)

Day 5 – Thursday

10:30am – 31 mile primitive cross-country (3,957ft)

Day 6 – Friday

9:30am – 42 mile endurance cross-country (4,883ft)

Day 7 – Satruday

9:30am – 26 mile endurance cross-country (2,455ft)

Interspersed throughout each day of racing are enduro segments – some are downhill enduros and others are sections of rock garden.  Basically, you swipe some sort of fob at the start and finish of each section, and your times go towards those either the enduro or “east coast rocks” category. 

The most important part of the race is finishing each day before the time cut-off.  If you don’t make it, you’re no longer in the running for the overall race.  You can still line-up and race, but you automatically get a DNF in the grand scheme of things. 

If you want to get more details about each stage, or maybe follow along on the race news all week, hit up the site. I’m going to try to post a short personal update daily here on the blog. 

My plan for the week?  Ride smooth, avoid getting sucked into race mode, and do my own thing so that I can finish each day without any major problems.

Tonight I trade my Mini for  Jesse Q’s Honda Element so I can spend tomorrow filling it with all of the random bits I might and might not need.  Tomorrow I will also purchase copious amounts of food, ride my bike for a bit, and raid DAS for CO2 cartridges, tubes, and lube.  And Saturday, I will pickup Gary, watch while he attempts to fit his stuff in the already overloaded car, and make my way down to PA for a week of adult MTB sleep-away race camp. 

It’s going to be epic; thus the name.