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24 Hrs of Pats Peak.

splat

Nam I am
Pats Peak , would be my First 24 Hr -Solo ! :eek:

First of All Props Go out to the Pats Peak Staff they put on One hell of an event. In 1 weekend , they put on a 24 Hr race ( 6, 12, 24 options ) , a Down Hill Race , and a XC race. and some kids races and Fun rides both Road and Mtn. and they Pull it off!

Second , boy did we get lucky with the weather ! while there were down pours happening all around , all we saw was a few sprinkles .

it is a Tough Course, were you go up , down , up down , etc ,there really is no Flat part of the course. and unlike prior yeas , the course was DRY , very little mud !

While I supposedly had a support crew of my Family they were really only there for about 4 hours from 3 -7 Pm on Staurday , the rest of it I was on my own . and I tried to follow Westies advice that Eating was almost as if not more important that Pedalling. I tired ! it was hard to swallow . I ate , ( and it really was not enough ) 2 Pounds of Fig bars , 6 Bagles , 2 Pounds of Macorni Salad , a dozen cliff BArs , lots of Gels , sports beans , chips , and Lots enduro lites . Drank over 3 gallons of Gatorade/ Cliff Shot /elixer and some other concotions I can't think of right now , and it still was not enough ! While it was not overly Hot , it was very Muggy and I was sweating like crazy the whole time

now lets get to the race . I started out , felt really good , but had force my self to slow down , which I still did a ( best for me ) 42 Minute first Lap, follwed by a 46 Minute 2nd lap . But As I finished my 2nd lap, the coulds looked really Bad. so I stoped and ate a bagel , and I talked with the race director who said a Weather cell was headed right for us . Now the policy is if it is raining no matter how hard the race goes on , but one flash of lightening and they clear the course and every one on the course lap doesn't count. Now I didn't fell like losing a lap so I hung back till it cleared , The cell just moved just North of Us , you could see about a Milke away was getting Dumped on. so I went out and did lap 3 , had a few cramps toward the end of the lap , and As I went through the Chute my Wife and Kids were just arriving .

So I stopped to talk with them , and try to work out the cramps , took some more endurolites , and lots of FLuid, had so Salty chips with My wife and kids , and spent almost an hour off the course. I went Back out leaving my Wife and Kids to eat and take Pics of me :) the next 2 laps went well in suscession, I was definatly slowing down the climbs were taking there toll, so I started walking the 2 really big ones , to conserv energy. toward the end of that lap I started feeling Hungry , so I stopped with the wife and ate a a bagel, some figs , some chex Mix , etc. Now my Support would leave me :) My next lap would be the worst lap i have ever had. I was in Cramp Hell!!! Both Hamstings cramped on ( causing me to crash once ) both Hands and Feet would cramp. that Lap took over an hour and a half , may be 2 I was really Hurting !

I stopped for an hour or so and Ate every thing salty I could find , ate half a pound of Mac salad , went out did another lap , took my lights but they were not needed , ( but it was pretty dark ). stoped again to eat some more , and salt up, next lap was A night lap. I was about a Mile in , when My Light went out !!! :eek: I wiggled all the connections and it lit up again! It flickereda couple of times but stayed lit till about a 1/4 from the end of the lap , it went out and Stayed out!! .I used my LED flash light to finishe the lap .

Then went to work to figure out what was wrong . This isa NIte Rider HID , my Backup Light is a Night Rider Trail Rat , which On friday as I got ready to go , it failed , the Cheap wire NR uses broke ( again ) , well upon further inspection of my HID it appeared the Extention cable has gone Bad ( cheap wire) . It will work , but it mean I only have about 12 inches of wire from the light to the battery. so i had to rig it up so My Battery was on the absolute top of my Camel Back. that took me about 45 minutes to get it all set up but it got done.

Did another lap and As I was doingthe monster down hill , I found my Self feeling really really tired ! and having trouble concentrating . so I get in it is 11:30 ( not quie half way ). when I check in I decide its Nap time. I slept for about 1 1/2 hours got up felt Good , went out and did 2 more laps , it is just shy of 4 Am when I get in , and My Battery is now Pretty much exhausted . and i am feeling Pretty Tired again. so I set up the charger in the base lodge and crawl into my Sleeping bag and get 1 hour of very solid sleep.

I woke up because my Bladder needed to be emtied ,and in that Hour the sn Had risen. I also Foud with the sleep I wasable to eat some food a little easier , So I ate 2 Bagels , a Breakfast BAr , a Quart anda Half of CLiff Shot , and off to the trail i went . I did 2 laps Both about an Hour ten Minutes , stopped ate a Little bit and off I went . wasreally feeling tired again around 9:30 , so I drank , a16 Oz. FUll throttle and off I went , and Prioceded to put in a 52 minute lap!! came in around 10:30am having done 14 laps , Hoping to do 16 now , go out , anda 1/4 ofthe way through this lap , my Legs just quit! I had nothing left! I walked up every thingjust before the Big climb, I walked up that with this cute girl who was on a Duo 24 on trek demo. we were talking and I bombed down the Down hill leaving her way behind ( only 2 people passed me on the big down hill the entire race ,while I passed a LOT of people on it ) but there was one final little climb, and she refusedto let me walk it ! she was yelling at Me to fishish strong. I finishe my 15th lap at 11:30 I could have gone out again , but choose not to. Turns out that wasa good choice ,m be cause As i was ridinghe bike down the hill to the car, My front brake pads started screecing that they were gone, Good timing !

Pics to Follow shortly
 

splat

Nam I am
Camp Splat , right next to the snowmaking tower.



I would meet River19 On corse during my 2nd lap , this is right tat teh tp ofthe Monster Downhill.



At the top of s Ski run



Now taken By Wifey ,

From the Sled Pub , Me on Course ( is this fair she is in a Pub While I ride ? )



Me on another section , also seen from the pub



These 2 were bad Ass I rode a Lap with them, quite a rig



Me




My Wife really liked that Tandem



Me





and Me in the chute just before teh S/F tent



The marker on the back of my Bike indicating that i was a Solo 24 rider , when all was said and done



Now some ramdom Photos

The start of one ofthe XC races ( whos that gut looking at the camera :) )



the XC expert Women Start



A nice one from around the Snowmaiking pond ( that is the Only Flat section of the course )

 

mogulskr

Monkey
Aug 28, 2002
642
1
NH
Nice job Splat. :thumb:On Saturday as we were getting hit with a couple of good storms just south of there. I was thinking how miserable it would be on the course. Glad it worked out for you.
 

splat

Nam I am
Nice job Splat. :thumb:On Saturday as we were getting hit with a couple of good storms just south of there. I was thinking how miserable it would be on the course. Glad it worked out for you.
yeah , even as I drove from New London ( my in-laws) , it was pouring . I got concered. But the Mountain did not see any of it . and it was amazing how dry the course was, I mean there were a couple of the traditional Mud holes , but Nothing too Bad. I didn't even wash off my Bike till after the whole race. also Next year the Race is Back to July
 

River19

Chimp
Jan 27, 2008
22
0
We are home and for the most part alive.

I can say that we thoroughly enjoyed our first experience in endurance MTB racing, however it is a world you have to experience to really understand. Our original goal was to enter the 24 Hours of Great Glenn in August; however we also noticed that due to a scheduling conflict with some other races the Pat’s Peak race was moved to the end of May from July. So we decided we might as well enter that one as well to get the feel for things and to get a barometer of what works and what doesn’t as well as figure out where we are from a training perspective.

Based on the difficulty of the course we are very pleased with our 13 laps. If we were within a couple laps of 2nd place we could have pushed out a few more, but it was getting dangerous to keep riding based on the sleep deprivation, course condition and overall difficulty of some of the sections on the mountain. I would say a huge portion of this type of event is metal preparation as well as finding a fueling strategy that works for your body. You can’t possibly bring too much food or too many clothes.

The camaraderie of the other racers was nice to experience as well. There is nothing like having someone to share your pain as you work your way up the mountain at midnight by the strength of your determination and your lights. I would have to say that anyone who was stopped along the course and stretching, resting, puking etc. was always offered at least some words of encouragement from passing riders if not outright support in the form of an energy bar etc.

The course was sick as it really wore on you. 5 miles that left us more tired and battered than after our 25 mile training rides.

I really did end up running into Splat right where I said I would………….top of a climb heaving next to a Cannondale………I look up and say “Are you Splat?” and sure enough there he was. He got into position for that picture of me due him dropping my ass on the downhill very quickly and being able to wait for me. Splat – It was great to meet you, I’m sorry we couldn’t shoot the crap more but we were both in our own personal hells. Awesome job on the 15 laps, I was looking for you but couldn’t find you again.

I took 2 spectacular crashes……..one at about 15mph coming off the first large climb/hike when I hit the mud and my rear tire wanted one rut and the front another, their indecision left me flying to another rut all-together. I do remember seeing my bike with blue sky behind it. The second crash was at 4:15am on the downhill, a 4”x10” log had made its way out into the course and I drilled it and took the dustiest landing of my life…….face and all……it was awesome but it sure took a lap or 2 out of my back.

Nancy my wife did great, she pulled a double in the night which was awesome, a trooper indeed.

Our biggest issue was the fueling………especially for the short recovery time of a 2 person team……….we screwed that up and I learned what amounts to body fueling rule #1 “Gu in, Gu out”. My stomach was a mess. The things we ate during the race that we might repeat again were chicken noodle soup, mini V8 juices (sodium and potassium) along with bananas. So this was a learning experience for us.

Awesome time.

Solo Mens winner =32 laps……the guy was a freakin Billygoat 160 miles 27,000 feet of vertical.

Steve
 
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River19

Chimp
Jan 27, 2008
22
0
Thanks Splat I couldn’t find the “edit” feature. 160 miles total and at the awards ceremony the dude just walked up like he wasn’t even tired. I just shook my head.

The team next to us with Angela and Matt (great people by the way) also rode in the 24 2 Person co-ed and posted 29 laps……Angela could have won the female solo with what she alone rode…….pretty impressive. They were riding triple laps at times…..nutts.
 

splat

Nam I am
Thanks Splat I couldn’t find the “edit” feature. 160 miles total and at the awards ceremony the dude just walked up like he wasn’t even tired. I just shook my head.

The team next to us with Angela and Matt (great people by the way) also rode in the 24 2 Person co-ed and posted 29 laps……Angela could have won the female solo with what she alone rode…….pretty impressive. They were riding triple laps at times…..nutts.
Yeah they both passed me a bunch times .
 

splat

Nam I am
Reults Oh well I got last in the 24 solo men :(

http://www.patspeak.com/summer/bike_results.php


24 Hour Women Solo

1 83 Littleton Bike & Fitness 15


24 Hour Men Solo
1 78 Gregory Jancaitis 32
2 81 William McFadden 29
3 79 Brett Walker 26
4 77 David Harkless 21
5 75 David Stiles 20
6 82 Rob Hartson 17
7 80 David Diamond 15
8 85 John Goeller 15
9 84 Jeff Godin 12

24 Hour 4 Person Men

1 7 Back Bay Bicycles 43
2 8 Merchant 41
3 6 Violaters 40

24 Hour 2 Person Men

1 16 Islanders 33


24 Hour 2 Person Co-Ed

1 13 Delmonte & Rice 29
2 14 Chinese Left When Sober 18
3 12 Gotta Start Somewhere 13


24 Hour 5 Person Co-Ed

1 1 Nuts "N" Honey 36
2 2 Fat Tires 31
3 3 Ramrod and the Moustache Riders 24



Holy crap look at the Number of 6 hr solo riders!!! no wonder the trails got less crowede after the 6 hr race ended

EDIT: something is wrong , because there were the top 6 Solo riders listed on a white board at the S/F and I was not on there and I know one other rider did 15 laps. because they told me at the table at 8am that he had turned in his batton. Also when I turned in my Batton some one else had 16 laps.
 
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I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,382
9,286
MTB New England
EDIT: something is wrong , because there were the top 6 Solo riders listed on a white board at the S/F and I was not on there and I know one other rider did 15 laps. because they told me at the table at 8am that he had turned in his batton. Also when I turned in my Batton some one else had 16 laps.
Demand a refund.
 

River19

Chimp
Jan 27, 2008
22
0
Splat - the real question is did you ride the "teeter totter of death" or the "ramp of doom"? I did each once because I needed to hear a cheer......

Steve
 

splat

Nam I am
Splat - the real question is did you ride the "teeter totter of death" or the "ramp of doom"? I did each once because I needed to hear a cheer......

Steve
If there were people there did both! and would get a Cheer from them for "doing the Double"


I think I yelled at you to double that wooden thing down by the base.
At me ?? I didn't hear any one yelling that . it actually would not be an easy double because you came at an angle.
 

fortenndu

Turbo Monkey
Apr 22, 2008
1,573
0
Boone, NC
You didn't double it. I was upset, I saw a ridemonkey jersey and thought he might give me something to cheer about but nope. What a let down.
 

splat

Nam I am
You didn't double it. I was upset, I saw a ridemonkey jersey and thought he might give me something to cheer about but nope. What a let down.
that was me then I was the only one wearing an Ridemonkey Jersey. sorry to let you down. But you need to ride with me and see how getting air is usally an accident :D

what a low turnout overall. Any reason why the turnout for the 24 hours was so low splat?
My guess would be early season , lots of graduations going on, plus there were a lot more in the 6 hr catagory then usual. There were a lot of people for the Braveheart run!
 

douglas

Chocolate Milk Doug
May 15, 2002
9,887
6
Shut up and Ride
Splat, did you see a dude in a bikeman.com kit? That's my killington 24 teammate / looks like he made the podium in the 6 hour!




note: yes! I recruited me a ringer for killington!! :D
 

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
Awesome job splat!! Check into a product called "Elete". I was introduced to it at the 24 hours in Old Pueblo a few years ago. I have not cramped even once since I started using that instead of Endurolytes.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Awesome job splat!! Check into a product called "Elete". I was introduced to it at the 24 hours in Old Pueblo a few years ago. I have not cramped even once since I started using that instead of Endurolytes.
If I don't see you before then, I can give you some samples at Kendafest or Monkeyfest. Elete definitely works!