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Anybody here think the Enchilada Buffet is to easy?


CBaron

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This year marks the 10 yr anniversary of the EB.  I was digging through the original EB thread (and a few that lead up to it) recently.  I was impressed and inspired by how people jumped at the chance to challenge themselves.  At the time it seemed nearly herculean!  But here we are 10 yrs later and its very common knowledge that the EB is COMPLETELY doable by most mortals.  So now I have to ask..."Does the 10th anniversary warrant a step up in challenge?"  When I direct that question to my self, I have to say that they answer may just be..."YES".  

Gimme your thoughts?

 

Thanks
CJB 

Edited by CBaron
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That's a good question.  I don't think it was easy, by any stretch (I've only done it once), and it certainly requires that you do some training in advance, unless you're already at the peak of fitness.  I'm not sure I would consider it doable by most mortals, but certainly doable by a good percentage of the people who make the effort to try.  I'm not sure how I feel about making it more difficult.  I'm curious what you have in mind.  🙂 

 ..Al

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The EB is accessible.  Many of us dream of doing the Tour Divide or some big stage race in British Columbia.  However, those are generally just dreams like a super model (or super goat for some).  The EB is like the cute girl next door who might be out of your league but occasionally gives you a smile.  The EB is like a gateway drug to endurance mountain biking.  At first you don't think you can do it, then you do it and fail or succeed, you find out if it's right for you.  If only the ballers could do it, you'd end up with things like 1/2 marathons or 'EB light'.

I think that instead of making the EB harder, we need additional challenges.  The EB used to seem crazy but now it feels more like a fun ride with the gang.  The Dragon Slayer still seems crazy but it delivers a different kind of challenge.   Maybe throw out an event called the "Grand Fijian" and do parts of the EB, parts of SATAN, and Brushy.  Keep it around 100 miles, minimize road miles, and maximize fun.  

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I would consider trying the EB. It is usually the same weekend or nearly the same weekend as my annual fall bike trip so I have always passed on it. Plus I'm never in the sort of condition that I'd like to be if I were to attempt something like that. But one big objection that I have, that I totally understand if no one else has, is riding up CP road. That has always seemed like a really bad idea to me. Maybe it's not as bad as it looks. but that is a really tight road, bikers are crawling while cars are gunning it up the hill, and zero shoulder at many points.

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I don't mind City Park Road too much, usually there's enough visibility, and there are only a few sketchy turns.  The one road I really do not like at all is Spicewood Springs.  Lots of traffic, many people haul ass on it, lots of turns, and pretty much no or little shoulder for most of it.  

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One thing I realized after reading BlahBlah's ride report one year, it's that it's hard for everyone no matter how fast or how slow you finish it.  Those guys doing it in less than 8 hours suffered as much as those of us that do it in 10 hours or 12 hours.  

When I was in better shape, I was excited about the idea of starting at a certain trail at midnight then doing the EB.  Now...not so much. 🙂

 

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I'd be down for a harder version, although I'd like to minimize road if that's possible. I'm all for hurting myself on a trail, but getting drug to my death under some milf's SUV b/c she was sending emojis to the dude she's dinking at work isn't high on my list of things I wanna do on a bike (or on a milf)

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Not sure if you're serious, but that certainly is not the case. 

just my experience but year i rode it, my group of three finished dead last. we had passed one group of 4 (we went in Thumper and they were behind) saw them next at finish line already there for a while. there were also several individuals we passed that were at finish line before us. another year i cheered from HOL and saw group in lead that didn’t look like elite riders. i asked and they had skipped Rudy’s loop - let them know but they were non concerned. checked later on strava and saw they skipped another mile in City Park.

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While I'm sure there are some people who "cheat" by claiming they rode the entire route when they didn't, I wouldn't say "a ton of them" do this.  You could solve this by having volunteers at each trail recording each rider's entry and exit times, but this requires a bit more organization and if riders bunch up it could slow things down at each checkpoint.  If riders had number plates that would be a bit easier than having to ask people what their name is.  I'm not sure how much the organizers really care about that, though. 

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I passed a few people on easy up and saw them next when I rode across the finish and they were already done.  I passed a couple dudes in CP twice.  Passed several people at Thumper and they were all hanging out at the aid station when I got done... it was pretty endemic.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, I know it's just a big friendly ride, but that was my experience.

Edited by Kyle
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I’ve done it 2.3 times. Right now for me the idea of doing it this fall seems even more impossible than it did my first time in ‘10.

I would be interested to see what route could be created that involved less road miles. But, to me the cool thing about the EB was that I can say that I’ve ridden Walnut, a good chunk of BCGB, Emma Long, St. Ed’s, and Thumper (well, kinda) all in one day and I never drove a car. Throw on top of that the claim that I also road up HOL, Courtyard, City Park Rd, Jester, and Youpon in between the trails and I still feel like that’s a pretty awesome achievement. My wife still can’t wrap her head around the fact that I’ve done it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I've done it twice.  The first time I was intimidated by it and I did specific training and made sure to hit all the trails to know what I was up against.  The second time, I decided the weekend before and really just took it as a fun ride.  If you're not trying to go fast, then it's not too difficult and I think any serious rider can finish.  If you want to go fast, then it gets a lot tougher.

To the point of people cutting the route short - on both of my experiences I saw the same thing, people that I KNEW I had left behind sitting there enjoying a beer at the end when I crossed the line.  Really, what's the big deal?  I do the ride for personal satisfaction and for a the T-shirt (yes, the T-shirt is actually a huge motivator for me).  It's not like it's a race with prize money or even much in the way of standings.  So let everyone have their enjoyment and sit there with your beer knowing you're better than them :)

 

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There will be rider numbers this year, largely to assist the Thumper Trail Angels in counting riders in and out - most people exiting Thumper can't remember their own name, or manage to give a different name than the one they gave going in.

While it's true that not everyone manages the full route - although most do - anyone vying for a Top Twenty position has to show the correct mileage on their GPS when they cross the finish line, and any subsequent protests are taken seriously (and conducted in private). A couple of positions were changed last year alone, based on protests and Strava tracks. If everyone uses a GPS and posts the track, it should be obvious if anyone missed a portion of  the route.

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On 8/23/2018 at 1:08 PM, CBaron said:

This year marks the 10 yr anniversary of the EB.  I was digging through the original EB thread (and a few that lead up to it) recently.  I was impressed and inspired by how people jumped at the chance to challenge themselves.  At the time it seemed nearly herculean!  But here we are 10 yrs later and its very common knowledge that the EB is COMPLETELY doable by most mortals.  So now I have to ask..."Does the 10th anniversary warrant a step up in challenge?"  When I direct that question to my self, I have to say that they answer may just be..."YES".  

Gimme your thoughts?

 

Thanks
CJB 

 

For almost 6-7 yrs Travis (SherpaXC) and I have been teasing with the concept of adding in LGT (and now more recently Deception) to the EB.  But know this: I AM NO LONGER AFFILIATED WITH THE EB AND THUS HAVE ZERO INFLUENCE WITH THE OFFICIAL ROUTE.  

The general themes for the genesis of the EB were to create an event that introduces "epic" back country type riding inside the safe-zone of a city limits.  Many people can't, or have not been able to, get away to epic riding locales that test their resolve and endurance.  The EB was designed as that introduction for them.  Additionally, a theme was to attempt something that you were not 100% sure that you could complete.  I publicly stated, in the lead up to the 1st EB, that I had some reservations if we'd actually have finishers.  In the end 17 ppl showed up and 14 ppl finished.  I was flat-out wrong.  The next year we extended the route through BCGB, added in St Eds park, included the nasty road climbs of Courtyard & Jester.  That year we had 60 ppl show up and 52 finish.  Once again, it was obviously not tough enough.  Therefore in the following year(s) Travis and I began to discuss what could be next?  In the end we ended up handing the EB over before we could implement some of these adjustments and these questions have been rolling around in my head ever since...

Thanks -CJB

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7 hours ago, csmceuen said:

Having never even done it once, but having had it on my bucket list for 4 years now I would like it to not get harder yet lol. 

Since the EB is something I'd like to eventually do as well, I share this sentiment... unfortunately my current physical condition and the timing of my cyclical tendonitis issues are probably going to delay it another year...

What about keeping the traditional "buffet", then adding a "dessert" option for the superhumans? EB gets a shirt, dessert gets a hat... or something...

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