Lake Sonoma 50

After being off but completing Gold Country 30 (AERC), Mouse finished a two-day 50 mile NATRC ride (Silver Spurs) with little apparent difficulty. That ride was followed by a fast and hard 30+ mile NATRC ride in 102°F heat and based on her performance at those rides, I decided it was time for her to try a 50. We picked Lake Sonoma because I was told it was a short ride with good footing and few climbs and a popular "First 50" for many. However, it didn't quite work out as expected. Once we got past the running backwards phase right at the start (she seems to get in a tizzy and not know what to do, so opts for going backwards), she settled in really well and was trolling along quite happily. We stuck in behind a guy who was going a nice pace and stayed with him throughout the day.
	Here's us in the morning, after about ten miles. It was chilly in the morning, but warmed up nicely, but was never baking.
	On our way back past the photographer, Diane Garland, again. I held Mouse back to make sure Diane had a chance to get ready for us. Miss Mouse objected to slowing down (and being separated from her friend) and put in a bucking fit at this point, which caused much laughter.
There was a first vet check at about 12 miles and she was fine for this. We set off on the next leg and didn't exactly scuttle, just trolled along at an easy pace. The ride basically goes around the lake, mostly on singletrack. The views are absolutely gorgeous and I took a zillion pictures. When we came into lunch, the vet spotted that she was slight off during her trot out. After a flexion test that revealed nothing and some discussion, I opted to continue and take it easy. We had another 14 miles to go but had plenty of time. I was curious about what was going on - was this related to her being off at Gold Country or something else? (a far as I knew, she'd been sound after the two NATRC rides) I didn't want to be chasing elusive lamenesses, so figured she'd either stay the same, or it would develop into something more tangible. It did. About four miles from the end, I started to feel something and ended up getting off and hand-walking her in the last few miles. I was bummed, but pleased that she'd managed to do the distance without pooping out on me (which is what I feared she'd do). Despite the fact that she was totally off, the rest of her faired well and she stayed cheerful.
	Mouse wondering what we're doing (I was trying to eat my lunch as we walked in the last few miles).
The ride finished a few miles from the camp and ride management trailered you back. Here we are waiting for our lift. When we finally got back in, she was very lame and obviously not "fit to continue", so we didn't get a completion, but I was still proud of her. But never mind, eh? I still had bunches of pictures to admire and think back on the good time we had. Not. For reasons I still haven't understood, the camera chose that day to completely wipe out 100 photos stored in one particular directory (it automatically divides them up into groups of 100), so I was left with the last dozen or so pics that I took right at the end. :( Subsequent ultrasound revealed Mouse to have pulled her suspensory ligament and digital flexor tendon, resulting in her having to be confined and walked daily, gradually building up to gentle riding for the next 'n' months. <grrr> So Lake Sonoma wasn't exactly a great success, but it was a lovely ride and I'd go again. Maybe Mouse'll just be coming back to fitness for it next year?