Commonwealth Games Pre ride

Chris Clark (fellow team El Toreo member) and I pre-rode a portion of the XC course in preparation for the Commonwealth Games Cross Country race at Carvin's Cove this Sunday. I wanted to see how bad the 1000' climb to Hemlock Tunnel (of death...aka..Clownhead) would be on the Single. The climb itself wasn't so bad.. We got to the top of Hemlock Tunnel in 25 minutes..that's moving for me. The top of the trail is very sketchy. In past years I have been able to ride it..this year..I'm gonna walk it. The trail is very washed out with lots of loose, big rocks. I'd be quicker running it than trying to kill myself staying on the bike. I was able to do the rest of Hemlock Tunnel no problem...we then ventured on to Comet...I forgot about a couple of the tough climbs on this trail. I walked those as well. We went back up 1000' climb to the Connector trail (Four Gorge)..this trail is a ton of fun running from the 1000' climb. I'll be able to make up time at the end given the flow of the trail. It wasn't too bad of a ride..but it helped me finalize my decision about the Omnium in the Commonwealth games...I'm only doing 1 of the 2 races. I'm gonna try the singlespeed on the XC course. There's no way I could climb for 30 minutes the first day, then ride 18+ miles the second on the Single. Today I'm exhausted and my legs feel like rubber. I think the heat also played a factor in my fatigue today. It was around 90 yesterday & high humidity when we rode. Hubby is going to race too..but he's doing the hill climb on his Single...So I guess it will be "team Schimizzi" on Singlespeeds..just different days. Stay tuned for results.....