I Bombed My First Marathon XC Race

[@KarynWillis-c9q]

Hi from new zealand , havent watched much of your content , but really enjoyed what ive watched , enjoy to watch content by real mtb riders like your self , keeping it real like most of are , i ride h/t and keep up the godd work , cheers adrian

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks Adrian! We’re just out there to have a good time 😊

[@conradchevalier]

I don't see how you can say you "bombed" this crazy XC race. You stuck in there and finished it. That's a huge success in my view. Kudos to you and your whole support crew. Nice to see your family all stoked there at the end....that was the cherry on top of an otherwise gruelling and punishingly long ride.

[@HardtailLife]

Thank you for your kind words! Maybe it didn’t show in the edit, but I was suffering bad and I feel like I spent much more time walking the bike the riding. It was incredible to see my family at the end though, no question about that 🥰

[@conradchevalier]

@@HardtailLife oh, the suffering was plain to see (as expected). But that's OK....that's your baseline....only UP from here!

[@dumpster_bear_goalie]

Yeah Steve!! Whistler is a different beast. Blind racing there is crazy!

[@HardtailLife]

I’m so glad and privileged to have the chance to ride in Whistler. Prior to that day, my imagination of Whistler just the bike park, so it’s amazing to experience the diversity of Whistler trails. 🥰

[@mbelfry]

Ken is a good friend! And how cute were those kids !?

[@HardtailLife]

Ken is the best friend, and those kids are pretty cute 🥰

[@michaeldevisser2751]

Congrats on completing! Looked like some serious XC terrain. Great effort for your first race.

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks Mike! Not going to lie: an electric motor would've helped 😂

[@DaleStone]

Nice work Steve, to many more safe and successful races! 🍻

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks Dale! That’s the plan!

[@bikerx]

Awesome job Steve!

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks!

[@eXaviar]

Congrats for pushing your limits! That finish party of you family was so touch. Made me shed a tear or two 😍 Nice dude, NICE!!! That was legit trail riding. Here in Germany that is not even XC anymore in a good way 💪🏾 Now i got a reason to go to Whistler: Riding that trails. The look awesome. My feet a tingling to ride ride it 🤩

[@HardtailLife]

Meg told me she’d be there at the end, but even then, I was surprised and overwhelmed. I’m such a lucky guy. 🥰 I hope you get a chance to ride in Whistler one day! I hope to ride there again as well 😜

[@threeohm]

Solid hardtailing.

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks! Just out there having a good time ✌️

[@pklfeedtheflame]

Just started following you. As someone who is in their first year back riding in foreverrr you’re so relatable and I love seeing your progress in the sport

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks for following along! I can’t believe how long it took for me to discover mountain biking, but I’m so glad I’m here now 😊

[@warrenhansen2143]

Great video! I’ve been in many XCM races and even organized the Coaster50 back before covid. I know what it’s like to race a steel hardtail, cramping and just trying to survive! I found myself cheering for you halfway through this video! Congratulations on completing your first XCM race and hopefully this won’t be your last! Well done! 🎉

[@HardtailLife]

Thank you so much! I was in way over my head, but I had great support, and I'm lucky to finish. If/when I do another longer race, I'll have to make sure I learn from this.

[@shirk15]

The part you have labelled as Suffering was torture at the end.

[@HardtailLife]

It was horrible, but I had a ton of support to keep going ❤️

[@lavishglittergun9017]

so cool to see you tackle these new challenges with a smile. we should all bring more of that energy for sure.

[@HardtailLife]

I just realized that, even when I’m suffering, I’m still glad to be mountain biking. 🥰

[@nicks2716]

Yeah, that’s definitely not “bombed”. Steve my guy, you finished! That was a BIG ride, and it was so relatable to see your fatigue at the end. I’ve only done a handful of thousand meter climbs in my short 3 year MTB career (at a hair and a half over age 50) and, when I have done them, I’ve felt wiped out… gassed. .. dead sore. And your ride was way bigger than a 1k metres, with the climbs on trails and not fire roads, so even harder yet. Own that ride with pride in your continuing journey of progression! 🤘👏

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks for the kind comment! I guess I naively assumed I would be able to stay on my bike the whole time - lesson learned! 😅

[@leokuo7127]

Congrats on finishing the race. I tend to cramp up easily on long rides too. I've found that walking it off helps a bit and to just take one step at a time.

[@HardtailLife]

When it's cramping like it did for me, there's nothing to do but to just take one step at a time 😅

[@JustJake77]

"Eating wins races" - Syd and Macky

[@HardtailLife]

That rings so true now that I've experienced it firsthand.

[@HUKIT.]

I’m in the Midwest and our “XC” races look drastically different, Lol.

[@HardtailLife]

I've never ridden in the Midwest - would love to try that one day!

[@HUKIT.]

@@HardtailLife Yours are way gnarlier and technical.

[@TheDanbulance]

If you finished the race you didn't bomb it. Good job man

[@HardtailLife]

I wonder if I spent more time riding or pushing 🤔😂

[@TheDanbulance]

@@HardtailLife I've got my first ever enduro coming up next week. I've only been back riding for 3, we'll see how that goes lol

[@maxpeter4171]

Awsome video. How long did the race take you?

[@HardtailLife]

Thanks! I finished just under 4 hours 34 minutes. I wonder how much of that was walking? 😅

[@maxpeter4171]

@@HardtailLife Insane. I guess you have been training cardio several times a week for al long time? Especially on a hardtail I think its easy to underestimate how exhauhsting the climbs can get as soon as roots, rock etc. enter the equation.

[@HardtailLife]

@@maxpeter4171 The reason I blew up was precisely because I didn't train properly. I've been focusing on technical bike skills and didn't put any meaningful work towards conditioning and nutrition. I learned my lesson the hard way, for sure.