Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Mountain Bikes?? 2-21-11

Wow, what a last week it has been! Last week I was invited to do a 24 hr 4 person team mountain bike race. I met with my new teammates and they informed me they were doing it solely for fun and their only goal was to finish, easy enough. I decided to keep the streak alive and not miss a day of training (day 61) over an event that was "just for fun". The guys on the team were all really cool and anxious to get to Tucson and have some fun.... all night long.

Getting there was going to be an issue for me because I had scheduling conflicts from the get go. Luckily, my bro Danny and his beautiful wife, Misha were headed to Phoenix for the Desert Classic Duathlon. After a feildtrip to El Paso and a ride back with a parent, I was packing my last minute supplies, getting picked up by Danny, crawling in the back of his E-250 cargo van, and headed for Sahuarita, AZ! We arrived at Danny's parents house and the place smelled like HEAVEN! Enchiladas, sopapillas, re fried beans, and tamales. Misha and I quickly changed into our running attire and proceeded to run around the town lake a few times to make room for the enormous amount of home cooked Mexican food in which we were about to consume:) Totally worth it! We then left on Friday morning for the next part of the journey.

After a quick fuel filter change we were on our way to drop me off with JB and Sam then Danny and Misha were headed to their race in Phoenix. The 24 hr race site was about an hour outside of Tucson, tucked in the mountains of Oracle. We arrived to the camp site unloaded our gear and went for a pre ride to test out the course, after all we were going to have to ride it when it was pitch black outside (with the use of a lighting system). Pre ride went well the course was almost the same as when I did the same race in 2002. We rode, drank some beers, ate some pork loins, and had a shot of Jack for good luck and good sleep the night before.

Race day: Now for anyone who has never raced or been to a 24 hr mtn. bike race before, it is chaotic at best (over 3000 people camping together)! There must be one team member who starts the race for the team. The start consists of going down the dirt road about a half mile (500 mtn bikers running in their cleats) run, find your bike, hop on, and blast off to try create some sort of space before the single track starts. I was lined up with some of the best in the business. I had secretly always wanted to start this race, but was a little nervous about that many bikes being on the trail at the same time. I hauled ass to my bike jumped on and was immediately passing as many riders as possible to give myself the best position heading into the dreaded 7 bitches ( a series of 7 steep rolling hills with deep ruts and only a single track through), job well done...until 4 minutes before the exchange tent, that's where the guy right in front of me wiped out pretty hard. So, naturally, I follow suite! F###, I was having a killer lap too! My first lap time was right around an hour and 8 minutes (18 mile loop) when I entered the tent so I figured the wreck cost me about 2-3 minutes. I bent my  rear derailleur, got the chain sucked into my wheel, and had to run it the rest of the way. The pros were right at an hour and was about 7 minutes after them... I was pleased, but my back was killing me and my bike was toast! The race did provide 24 hr mechanic services and the got my bike back to decent running order. I made my way to the massage tent, then the beer tent, then back up to the campsite. The weather did not cooperate at all until my very last lap of the race which was going to be right around 23.75 hours after I had begun:)

Lap 2 was the coldest, most miserable, hypodermic time I have ever spent on a bike. Sam, our fourth leg, wrecked and tore his ACL....OUT! Damn, I am no mathematical genius, but now I was pretty sure that made us a three person team for the rest of the race. I felt the wind moving the camper, but the wind advisory was supposed to lift at 7 (it was 6:30) so I dressed a little light to say the least. About half way around the course it started pouring rain, the wind was blowing 30 mph, and it was hovering around 36 degrees....not a happy camper. Between the rain, the foggy glasses, and pitch black skies, made it almost impossible to see the course; which is littered with sequoia, barrel, and prickly cactus! I made it around and finally back to the camper only to be helped out of my clothing, handed a cold beer, immediately followed by hot broth, vigorously rubbed, and tucked under every blanket we had! I finally warmed up enough for my next night lap and was having an awesome ride, but it was at night (1 am) and my brake pads had just been disintegrated from all the grime, water, and my improper braking technique. I thought I had still managed to nail the lap (who needs brakes) then, WHAMMO! about 3-4 minutes before my lap was done I smashed my front wheel straight into a boulder. I never even saw the thing, but it hurled me through the air and right onto the other side, the one was not injured in the first wreck. This one really hurt... A LOT! People came out of their tents and helped me to my feet, but my poor bike was really jacked this time. I popped the front tire, ripped my seat cushion in half, and jacked up my brake calipers even worst! Once again I ran into the tent and straight to the mechanic tent. I really didn't want to do another night lap and it was a struggle to get back to the camper.

After another massage, ibuprofen number 8, and about 3 hours of pretty sound sleep I was ready to make my way back down to the mechanic tent, get my bike, and head out for the really really cold sunrise lap. The mechanic did an excellent job. New brake pads, cables and housing, duck tape for the seat, wheel truing, and total over haul of my rear brake/shifter control had my baby rolling like a champ. Great morning lap and the course was tight and fast from the rain, plus I had really good working brakes (what a difference)! I finished the lap and went to try to warm up in my sleeping bag. The other two riders, Jeff and JB did their laps and I realized I could actually get a 5th and final lap in. After stewing over the situation for about 5 seconds I told JB to haul ass and I would be there ready for last lap! What a great decision. See, I couldn't leave those mountains without a winning record in the wipe out department. Currently, I was 2 clean runs and 2 Mike going over the bars laps. The final lap was a little emotional for me when I thought back on all the unique challenges the race threw at us as a team and me personally. I haven't wrecked that hard in years and never two times in the same race, but I guess that when you find out what you're made of huh?

I was very proud of the guys on my team, they had never raced mountain bikes before and those conditions were horrid, yet they consistently turned in good lap after good lap. Coupled with the fact that the laughs were plentiful and the race ended just as it began, with a shot of Jack made this one one of the most memorable on record!!  Salud!!

Almost forgot, special thanks to Danny and Misha who picked me up on Ina and Oracle after stellar races on their behalf!! What would this world be like without such friends and family?? I for one am very thankful for the people who matter most in my life!

Now, SALUD!!!