tucson 24 hours
- Thread starter junebug
- Start date
WOW! congratulations that's awesome!
Right on June!
I heard Bonnie did very well also.
I heard Bonnie did very well also.
Ok, here's my report.
We raced in the 5-person coed (150-199 age). We finished 17 laps in 24 hours, placed around 12th out of 36 teams. The winners of our class did more like 20 or 21 laps. For the record Tinker Juarez did 19 all by himself.
We arrived Friday afternoon in the rain, things looking bleak. Driving our rented 28 foot RV into that place was an adventure. I was doubting I would see our damage deposit again. Washboards, water crossings, gulleys, and moguls for 10+ miles. Not to mention mud. We quickly suited up and went for our pre-ride around 5:00 PM, rain had stopped. Here is some good news, the trail is damn fun. Tons of singletrack winding around turns, up and down hills, rollercoaster style. All lined with walls of cactus in all shapes and sizes. You have to use body english to get through without getting stabbed if you have any speed. Really, really fun. Anybody who says this trail isn't a blast either was not on the right trail or isn't a true mountain biker. It also has some fire road with rolling jumps and about 20 or 30 dry wash crossings. We get about 80% into the pre-ride and it starts to pour down rain. We are soaked, it is getting dark, the dry washes are flash-flooded, and we start getting worried. We finally came out at the entrance road and had to cut off the last 4 miles or so of the trail. We get back to camp wet, cold, bikes covered in sandy mud, rain still falling, pitch dark.
We get cleaned up (a motorhome rules for this event - we even had hot showers), start swilling beers and getting the camp set up. It finally clears up, the moon is out, and we are happy. We learn that there is an optional section of the course with a rock drop that we didn't get to ride. I wasn't sure what to think, I would be hitting it in the dark sight unseen. Middle of Friday night it starts to rain again. That bummed me out - I thought we had seen the last of it.
Saturday is cloudy but clearing. I wake up with a strange feeling in my digestive system, make multiple trips to the porta-potty, only to learn one of my teammates is in the same boat. He is worse, throwing up, not happy. Not clear whether he will be able to ride. I'm feeling a little better at the start. It is really exciting, 400+ people running up the road and jumping on their bikes. Our first rider got off fine. He was back in 1:15 (not bad considering he drank a case of beer the night before) and the sick rider headed out, determined to do his laps. He came back in 1:20 looking rather sick. He went straight to bed. Our female went next and did a 1:29. Then our fourth did a 1:20 or so. Then finally I was up. I was itching to ride, feeling much better, and chomping at the bit after spending the entire day watching everybody else ride. It was sunset, and I had a wicked fun lap. I passed a ton of people, and only a few went by me. 2nd half was dark but my lighting system was working great. I skipped the rock drop only because I came upon it so fast I missed the turn. The last section of the course is the most fun, and I came back in 1:17 and had a great time. Feeling good and happy. I dropped my Niterider battery at their tent and they charged it fast and for free.
We went through the rotation again for the night laps. I got a cramp in my side, and our female rider's helmet light failed. Our sick rider was still out there and feeling slightly better. My lap was at 12:30 PM. The only other night mishap was our female rider lost both lights on her second night lap. Our #1 rider went out on the course and brought her a battery. That slowed us down, but not too bad. We were hovering in 14th through the night.
Next morning I woke up sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine standing up, let along riding my bike. But my turn came up and I wanted to do my lap. I forced myself out on the course and couldn't decide if I should stop and puke or just keep going. I was really moving slowly and pissed off, because I could have done so much better if I wasn't sick. On the final climb after the entrance road I started feeling better and picked up the pace. I passed quite a few people and blazed the last section including the rock drop. Immediately felt like crap again when I stopped, but I was glad I did my lap. Came back in 1:29. Our last two riders busted out some fast laps and that was it. It was frustrating to be unable to find out our final position. The web site said the results will be posted this Friday. Here are our lessons:
1. Two lighting systems are a must. Helmet and bar, it takes the stress out if one fails, and you can ride faster. We rented lights from Jetlites and they worked great. It's a great deal. $35 including shipping both ways and two batteries.
2. Your fast rider should not drink a case of beer the day before the race if you want to do well.
3. Don't eat anything you wouldn't normally eat before the race. I don't know what made us sick, but I'm not taking any chances next time.
4. You have to have support people who aren't racing. We had two and it was a big help. You have less time than you think (Echo warned me of this), and you are always concentrating on your next lap, resting, and your bike, so you need somebody else to worry about food, and timing the rider on the track.
5. Get organized. We should have had a better timing system. We were constantly having to guess when to send the next rider, trying to remember what time the previous rider left. I'll have a laptop and a VB program ready for the next one.
6. The Motorola radios worked great. We had good communication with the riders and home base. This was open terrain, so that may not apply to other races.
7. Plan your meals ahead of time. We just went to the store and bought random things in mass quantities, spent a fortune, and brought most of it home. We could have saved money and ate better if we planned ahead.
8. We should have trained more than we did.
That's about it. We are looking at the 24 Hours of Temecula next. Check out grannygear.com. We are now experienced and ready to compete a little harder. We had a great time, good camaraderie, and it felt good to push ourselves, not to mention it is just plain fun to ride that course. My hat is off to any of the solo riders - that is some hard work!
We raced in the 5-person coed (150-199 age). We finished 17 laps in 24 hours, placed around 12th out of 36 teams. The winners of our class did more like 20 or 21 laps. For the record Tinker Juarez did 19 all by himself.
We arrived Friday afternoon in the rain, things looking bleak. Driving our rented 28 foot RV into that place was an adventure. I was doubting I would see our damage deposit again. Washboards, water crossings, gulleys, and moguls for 10+ miles. Not to mention mud. We quickly suited up and went for our pre-ride around 5:00 PM, rain had stopped. Here is some good news, the trail is damn fun. Tons of singletrack winding around turns, up and down hills, rollercoaster style. All lined with walls of cactus in all shapes and sizes. You have to use body english to get through without getting stabbed if you have any speed. Really, really fun. Anybody who says this trail isn't a blast either was not on the right trail or isn't a true mountain biker. It also has some fire road with rolling jumps and about 20 or 30 dry wash crossings. We get about 80% into the pre-ride and it starts to pour down rain. We are soaked, it is getting dark, the dry washes are flash-flooded, and we start getting worried. We finally came out at the entrance road and had to cut off the last 4 miles or so of the trail. We get back to camp wet, cold, bikes covered in sandy mud, rain still falling, pitch dark.
We get cleaned up (a motorhome rules for this event - we even had hot showers), start swilling beers and getting the camp set up. It finally clears up, the moon is out, and we are happy. We learn that there is an optional section of the course with a rock drop that we didn't get to ride. I wasn't sure what to think, I would be hitting it in the dark sight unseen. Middle of Friday night it starts to rain again. That bummed me out - I thought we had seen the last of it.
Saturday is cloudy but clearing. I wake up with a strange feeling in my digestive system, make multiple trips to the porta-potty, only to learn one of my teammates is in the same boat. He is worse, throwing up, not happy. Not clear whether he will be able to ride. I'm feeling a little better at the start. It is really exciting, 400+ people running up the road and jumping on their bikes. Our first rider got off fine. He was back in 1:15 (not bad considering he drank a case of beer the night before) and the sick rider headed out, determined to do his laps. He came back in 1:20 looking rather sick. He went straight to bed. Our female went next and did a 1:29. Then our fourth did a 1:20 or so. Then finally I was up. I was itching to ride, feeling much better, and chomping at the bit after spending the entire day watching everybody else ride. It was sunset, and I had a wicked fun lap. I passed a ton of people, and only a few went by me. 2nd half was dark but my lighting system was working great. I skipped the rock drop only because I came upon it so fast I missed the turn. The last section of the course is the most fun, and I came back in 1:17 and had a great time. Feeling good and happy. I dropped my Niterider battery at their tent and they charged it fast and for free.
We went through the rotation again for the night laps. I got a cramp in my side, and our female rider's helmet light failed. Our sick rider was still out there and feeling slightly better. My lap was at 12:30 PM. The only other night mishap was our female rider lost both lights on her second night lap. Our #1 rider went out on the course and brought her a battery. That slowed us down, but not too bad. We were hovering in 14th through the night.
Next morning I woke up sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine standing up, let along riding my bike. But my turn came up and I wanted to do my lap. I forced myself out on the course and couldn't decide if I should stop and puke or just keep going. I was really moving slowly and pissed off, because I could have done so much better if I wasn't sick. On the final climb after the entrance road I started feeling better and picked up the pace. I passed quite a few people and blazed the last section including the rock drop. Immediately felt like crap again when I stopped, but I was glad I did my lap. Came back in 1:29. Our last two riders busted out some fast laps and that was it. It was frustrating to be unable to find out our final position. The web site said the results will be posted this Friday. Here are our lessons:
1. Two lighting systems are a must. Helmet and bar, it takes the stress out if one fails, and you can ride faster. We rented lights from Jetlites and they worked great. It's a great deal. $35 including shipping both ways and two batteries.
2. Your fast rider should not drink a case of beer the day before the race if you want to do well.
3. Don't eat anything you wouldn't normally eat before the race. I don't know what made us sick, but I'm not taking any chances next time.
4. You have to have support people who aren't racing. We had two and it was a big help. You have less time than you think (Echo warned me of this), and you are always concentrating on your next lap, resting, and your bike, so you need somebody else to worry about food, and timing the rider on the track.
5. Get organized. We should have had a better timing system. We were constantly having to guess when to send the next rider, trying to remember what time the previous rider left. I'll have a laptop and a VB program ready for the next one.
6. The Motorola radios worked great. We had good communication with the riders and home base. This was open terrain, so that may not apply to other races.
7. Plan your meals ahead of time. We just went to the store and bought random things in mass quantities, spent a fortune, and brought most of it home. We could have saved money and ate better if we planned ahead.
8. We should have trained more than we did.
That's about it. We are looking at the 24 Hours of Temecula next. Check out grannygear.com. We are now experienced and ready to compete a little harder. We had a great time, good camaraderie, and it felt good to push ourselves, not to mention it is just plain fun to ride that course. My hat is off to any of the solo riders - that is some hard work!
Thanks for the write-up and congratulations dude!
All your points are things I have said in the past. The most important one being:
You need support people who aren't racing. You just don't want to have to worry about stuff.
Good luck at Temecula - the course will be shorter so maybe you guys could double up on laps???
All your points are things I have said in the past. The most important one being:
You need support people who aren't racing. You just don't want to have to worry about stuff.
Good luck at Temecula - the course will be shorter so maybe you guys could double up on laps???
Sounds like a blast man! Too bad about the stomach thing... you need to find someplace that sells luck 
Echo, you should start looking at a plan to do the Temecula race. No teams are finalized yet, and a lot of people are interested. We might be able to put together more than one team.
Hmm, maybe I can talk Gee Spot into going. I'll check the website and stuff.
I'll be bringing the fam this time, so I don't want to be captain again. See if you can find anybody who wants to come just for sh!ts and grins to help support us. Or, if there are any local Monkeys out there? It pays in beer.