Bare Bones – A new ride for us, with new challenges

So the truth is I don't have as much of a definite plan for this ride as I usually do. Mostly because this will be my first time doing this ride and secondly because I'm not sure how my mare will handle humidity and there is suppose to be quite a bit of that.

First off, I did some asking around about this ride. I've heard that it's steep, hot and humid. Most of the ride is in the woods so that will help and the rest, well we'll see...

I figure this ride will be a good time to practice taking it nice and easy 7mph, or slower if needed, from the very beginning. It will be good practice for our 100 miler we hope to do later this year. We will also work on taking good care of ourselves through the whole thing.

I decided to clip Bunny's neck and chest. I figured she could use all the help she can get keeping cool. I've trace clipped before she sheds out but this is the first time I've clipped a summer coat. I took Bunny for a little ride after I did my clip job and was impressed at how much better evaporation worked on the clipped section versus the un clipped section.

I'm going to electrolyte a LOT. Bunny tends to need a lot of electrolytes anyway so in the heat and humidity I know she will definitely need a lot. I'm planning to not only give her more overall but to electrolyte more often as well.

For myself I'm excited to have my Nuun electrolyte tablets that I can put in my camel pack so that I can keep myself hydrated and electrolyted as well.

Another thing I do, just to feed my curiosity and to get an idea of how hard the ride is, is look up the ride results for the last couple years. The winning times for the last two years have been six and a half to seven hours. If I knew nothing else about those rides I would know that it's harder than most.

So that's it for now. Wish us luck, send up a prayer for our safety and I'll give you an update when I get back!