Its strange having a bit of extra time on my hands. I almost don't know what to do with myself. This is the first time in a few months that I'm not on the bike on a Thursday night.It's kinda nice. A couple extra days of rest is not going to hurt my fitness level. I know it but I do have to keep reminding myself that. I feel guilty for not being on the bike. WIth no really training reports its back to picking at my brain for training. I've put some posts up on Mountain Bike Review helping some riders get ready for 8 and 12 hour races. Time to lay out some stratgey guide lines. 8 hours races are probably tougher physically than a 24. Everyone says pace. Sure pacing is great if you just want to finish. If your looking to place well its basiclly a sprint from the start. Spend as little time as possible in the pits. I've ssen the top 5 guys all be with in 15 minutes of one another,Thats pretty close when you figure that is over 8 hours. Minor mistakes can me not making the cut off time also.

Now the tough thing is figuring out how hard can you go. This comes with time The first race, just look at finishing it. From there you can pick up the pace. I personally love 8 hours,they suit my riding style. Food is a minor thing in an 8 hour. I've food that I pretty much live on gel packs and bananas. Eat big the night before. You really don't have time to eat much more. Gear is the other issue. If you have any type of mechanical on the course you better fix it quick. I had my bars come loose on me and lost time because I didn't have the tools to fix it. You do not want this to happen. Even though I caught the riders that had passed me I did waste alot of energy doing it. Having a 2nd bike is a bonus.

Preriding a 24 hour race is important but preride an 8 hour is a must. Setting up lap times is important for both you and your support crew. The more you know about the course the better. Ok thats all my brain can deal with for tonight.

The tour is on and is pulling me away from the computer. Lets go Vino!!!