T Minus

Battenkill is eight days away.

This year I have the pleasure of doing the 82-mile Category 2 race, which includes the standard 100K loop plus an additional 18-mile loop at the beginning of the race.

I always imagined that the extra loop at the beginning was a flat to rolling stroll through the countryside taken at a conversational pace that allowed the higher level racers to talk about how much better they are than the lowly chumps who only race 100K.

Then I recently read the updated website that shows this loop consists of the first 16 miles or so of the 100K loop, after which we then head back towards town and then do the entire regular 100K loop. This means that we get to do the 18% Juniper Swamp climb at mile 11 not once, but twice.

It's good thing that I climb well for a guy with a beard.