Yes, the fly season in Montana has arrived but that is not the buzz I am referring to.
You don’t have to search too far on the internet endurance blog world to feel the buzz. With the Tevis less than a week away, the ultimate in endurance races, lots of riders that are busy preparing to attend are experiencing pre-ride jitters. My heart jumps right along with them as I log on to the Tevis Cup website or Endurance.Net to stay up on the lastest pre ride happenings. There are various ride stories, recent trail updates, news bulletins or past footage of the ride that anyone can log on and read about. No, it's not like being there in person, I am certain, but at least it makes me feel like I am part of the excitement on some very small level. I can’t deny that part of me is wishing I was one of those getting ready to race, but on the other hand, I am not so sure if I have near enough sand to prepare for such a difficult race and I certainly don't think I have the horse for such a race at this point. All of that aside, someday I hope to try.
For now I will have to settle for logging on to the Webcast on August 1st to keep track of a few riders and living vicariously through them. The riders won’t be able to hear my "Echeers" from "Espace " but I hope they know I am riding every mile with them , along with thousands of other “hopefuls” and fans.
It's amazing how much goes into preparing for a ride of this caliber. Not only the years of preparations to get yourself and your horse into a fine tuned machine, but the mental preparedness, the organization to get yourself , your crew and your horse(s)to the race all in one piece. I logged on the Tevis site to see the map of the ride and where the vet checks and holds are. Just orchestrating a crew to get to the key meeting points is enough to makes one's head spin! The people that ride this ride are courageous determined and driven individuals and I hope to someday be so fortunate to be one of them. Good Luck to all of those attending and thanks for the inspiration to keep working at the endurance dream!
I 'll be watching!
4 comments:
I think by far that coordinating the crew logistics has been the most stressful part of planning to do the tevis.
BTW - if you want to follow me along, my rider number is #75.
What did you mean that you didn't have enough "sand" to train for this race? Not sure if it's a code word for something else - Tevis is mostly hills, heat, and rocks.
Mel
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Hi Mel- Thanks for your rider number, I will definitely keep an eye on your progress. Best of Luck out there. The "sand" comment is a phrase I have used and heard for years when referring to someone having enough toughness or guts to do something. I am not sure of it origins but I have heard it for years.
Jonna, I'm sure you have enough 'sand'... as my dad once told me you just have to 'dig deep' and youcan do anything you set your mind to!
Thanks for posting the info and links for the race, I am curios to follow along and see how they make out. Maybe one day I will have to give endurance riding a try. or maybe at least a mini-endurance :)
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