Road to the Tevis Cup Post #26: Our longest ride yet

On Tuesday, January 12th, Fantazia and I had our longest ride yet: 20.5 miles (approximately: 20.42 2D distance, 20.62 3D distance; more on that in a later post).

It took us 4 hours and 55 minutes; 4:16:18 moving time, which including walking in the pond for nearly 20 minutes. She wouldn’t hold still. We were in the water a total of 30 minutes, but she stood still for about ten minutes.

The pond:

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Finding the pond was my initial goal. My boyfriend and I had come across it while hiking many times. We like to hike 11-12 miles home from the top of a ridge we drive to. I had never got to the pond from home, but I knew where it was, and had placed a Waypoint there on GAIA. The pond is exactly four miles from my living room, as the bird flies. As a person rides the most direct route along dirt roads (mainly), it is 6.5 miles from our training barn. Because Fantazia didn’t drink the first time we were at the pond, we looped back to it a second time.

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The nature of the trail

It was challenging even though we stuck to dirt roads most of the time, due to elevation changes.

(See my post about riding the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.)

According to Garmin, we had 4,226′ elevation gain. (Strava says 4,449… post on apps coming up.) We did a lot of up and down, but the toughest climb is towards the beginning (2 miles from the barn): ~1,513 feet in 2.5 miles (mean grade 11.5%). We did it in 48 minutes. I tailed the steepest section, for about half a mile. (We travelled the same trail in the fog two weeks previously, and I calculated the grade from different points: see my post about it here.)

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Once we get up above 2,500 feet, we cross a pass and drop down to around 2,100 feet. There the terrain level out (to a given–and limited–degree of “level”!). You can do a lot of trotting and cantering as the roads go up and down from ~2,000 to ~2,450. You see herds of feral pigs, some deer, a few coyotes, raptors (hawks, vultures, and the occasional eagle), and lots of cattle.

Our maximum speed for the ride was 13.4 mph. Average moving speed was only 4.8 mph (but see above, that includes walking in water). Fantazia’s easy cruising speed at the trot varies from 7-8 mph, depending on the terrain and whether we are pointed towards home. She always knows where home is as the bird flies and as the road winds. This ability has its pros and cons.

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As usual, I tailed up the steepest sections. I also led her down a long steep section of road: I jog, she trots along beside me. Amazingly, I even mounted from the off side once. I hate that (my right hip really hates it), but can see its usefulness.

Weather

It was a warm day for January. According to my Garmin, temperatures varied between 68.0F (20C) and 80.6F (27C), with an average of 71.6F (22C). It never felt like it was 80 degrees! In fact, it was an ideal temperature for the rider, a bit hot for a horse with full winter coat. Fortunately there was a breeze most of the time, and the pond water was very cold.

Fitness estimate after our longest ride yet?

Fantazia is definitely ready for a 50-mile ride. I need to clip her first, so she can cool efficiently (and dry after riding more quickly). She’s getting much better at going downhill as she gets stronger. Leading and jogging with her has really helped there. We are certainly ready for rugged terrain with cliffs and rocks and wildlife. But I need to complete a 50-mile endurance ride soon, so I can better judge where we are at vis a vis Tevis.

I also need to incorporate electrolytes into our routine. I wasn’t happy with her reluctance to drink at the pond. She ended up having to drink from a much nastier pond, nearly a mud puddle, because she finally got very thirsty, around 17 miles. (On the way home.) Next time, I will e-lyte in the morning, when she drinks after eating.

It was a beautiful day for a ride, and the last before my first classes of the semester!

We had beautiful views looking out towards the San Joaquin Valley, both coming and going.

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