My first 100
was Pacific Crest in So. Oregon and I dozed off in the saddle a few times near
the end. Before then I never really believed that anyone could do that and
not fall off. It seemed like a very long 100 miles but I survived to do a
few more. The Oregon 100 I felt like Nancy, that maybe I couldn't make it
altho the horse was doing fine. It's the sameness of that terrain on the
Oregon 100 that gets riders. You seem to be always using the same
muscles. Likewise the old Horse Ridge ride in central Oregon
was tough for the same reason. I never wanted so much to pull from a ride
as on that one. We rode all but the first loop alone. Finished
well before dark and I was exhausted from the heat. Dez was fine but
lonely out there with no other horse in sight. Yes, the 50s are much
easier after a 100 and I found them enough easier that I only did 4 or 5
hundreds. I enjoyed 75s and 80s but that extra 20-25 miles was more than
my back could handle.
In following
the thread about 100s and why more people don't do them I can't help but wonder
if it isn't because many riders have a body condition that makes it more painful
than fun. And that's something that most of us don't want to own up to
either. Some riders make it look so easy to race in off a 100, jump out of
the saddle and hit the ground running. We can't all do it and it's
embarrassing to be creeping out of the saddle and easing to the ground trying to
look "together" and casual when you want to scream but can't because all your
friends are watching. There are probably many other riders like myself who
refuse to do it on pain meds. So that's one theory about 100s
FWIW.
