I’m now 70% committed on going to the Mark Twain National Forest South of St. Louis and race a 56 mile MTB race. It’s called the Berryman Epic Challenge. It’s a great prize list. Plus I hear it’s unbelievable singletrack. Rocky and challenging. The winning time last year was 4:42. That is a lot of singletrack riding. This will be the longest MTB race I’ve done in both time and distance. Catherine and Bill are racing too. The winning women’s time last year was nearly 6 hours. That is a really long time to be riding challenging singletrack.

For the last two days I’ve been going out and riding my MTB during the day and then trying to make it work right at night. Yesterday it rained most of the day, so the singletrack riding was pretty treacherous. Kind of reminded me of the Mt. Snow Vermont Norba National/World Cup. Wet roots and rocks. The main issue was the wet leaves covering everything. It’s full on fall here, so it is beautiful out. But, for cycling when it’s wet, that is not good. Now I’m pretty tweaked everywhere from all those minute movements needed to stay upright. I was pleasantly surprised that I came back with all the blood I left the house with. That normally wouldn’t have been the case in these conditions. I did see two huge wild turkeys walking across the street just a few houses down in my neighborhood. Maybe that is good luck?

MTB racing is nearly as energy consuming as cyclocross when you’re not riding. There is so much stuff to do. Sealing tires. Making sure you have all the extra stuff you’re most likely going to need for the weekend. It’s endless.

So, I’m driving there tomorrow to pre-ride whatever I can of the course and try to get a feel for the terrain. Tonight I’m going to do my most serious training and watch the movie Race Across the Sky here in Topeka. It’s a film on this years Leadville 100. Starring Lance and Dave Wiens. It’s a long race. But not mostly singletrack. They should come out this weekend and see what midwest MTB racing is like.

Looking down my street on the way back from a ride. The leaves are beautiful, but treacherous when they're wet.

Bill riding through maple leaf carpet.

I drove to the Ozarks to pre-ride some of the Berryman trail today. It was a reality check. It rained inches last night and the area is saturated. The low water crossings on the roads are chest deep. The trail is a running stream on all downhill sections. I drove out to the Berryman Campground, which is a check point, and did about 10 miles of the course. The whole trail is totally covered with leaves. But it is great traction. That is because it is nearly all small sharp rocks. We crossed 4 or 5 foot deep streams in just a few miles. This 56 mile race on Sunday is going to take a pretty long time. ( My butt is going to hate me.) Luckily I watched the Leadville 100 movie last night and was refreshed to how humbling MTB racing can be.

With all the water spraying off my wheels I couldn’t really see much of the course. Plus, a couple days ago, I got some sort of eye infection, so I’m not having the easiest time seeing anyway. Somewhere on our hour ride I blew my fork seals. And Bill pitched his rear tire. So, I’m trying to locate a new shock fork and Bill is going to put the fattest, heaviest tires on we have. I think we might of rode some of the most technical sections of the course. Maybe not. I’m not sure. If it is all that technical, I better pack a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.

We’ve driven through some pretty “backward” areas down here in southern Missouri. Lots of smoke coming from chimneys. Very much like West Virginia or rural North Carolina. The area is self titled “the float capitol” of Missouri. The are a lot of nice rivers in the area, so I’d guess it’s pretty great. Route 66 comes right through the area. Plus, a ton of other touristy stuff.

Okay. I still haven’t located a fork. I might have to drive up to St. Louis, 100 miles, if I don’t hear anything soon. I’m now 75% committed to racing on Sunday.

This is the road only a mile into the race. It is about 6 feet deep 100 meters up.

A trailer back in the woods. These guys had rabbit cages, chickens, goat and donkeys running free too. And, they need to rake their yard.