24-9 recap.

This was my 2nd attempt at a 24 hour race. I pre-rode the course with Jeff Kerkove on Friday and was able to tap into his vast knowledge of endurance racing. He pitted along side me so Sarah was able to chat with his parents during the race. The race started with a .25 mile run where I was almost passed by a guy in a pink pig costume. I was mid pack and had to wait at the first single track for like 5 minutes completely stopped before everyone funneled in. I did 3 laps with short breaks in between then I took longer breaks between laps 4 and 5. My 6th lap was at night and I was able to ride with Jeff for a short time as he was feeling sick and going at a slower pace. I ended up sleeping for a few hours during the night and did one more lap in the morning to finish after 10am. The highlight of my 7th lap occurred with about 1/4 lap left when the carbon seatpost on my Trek broke at the clamp. I had to ride the remainder of the lap standing up. I finished in 7th place with 7 laps. Had I ridden all night, even at a slow pace, I may have finished on the podium as everyone 3rd down took a break during the night. Jeff is right when he says you always want to keep moving forward even if your only going 2 mph. It becomes a mental battle as well as a physical one. Hopefully I can improve with each 24 hour effort. We are staying at the Holiday Inn tonight and will be heading home Monday am. I will post a few pictures then. Beware of purple horses.

pre 24-9 post

Arrived in Wausau around 3:00 today, Thursday. Checked into the hotel and headed to the race site to set up a tent for melissa and the EZ-up. It started raining as we were finishing with the tent and has continued to rain ever since. I was going to pre-ride one lap today and another tomorrow but with the rain, I decided against it today.

The plan for tomorrow is to sleep in as late as possible. Go over and check on the pit area and make sure nothing blew away then relax until meeting up with Jeff at 3:00. Hes raced here a couple times, taking 2nd a couple years back so he should be a wealth of knowledge. Hopefully its not muddy! After the pre-ride I need to register for the Solo Single Speed class and then Jeff and I will head back to the hotel to eat and chill.

WORS Cup Recap.

I was having trouble finding someone to go with me to this race so I was either gonna go solo or not at all. Scott Cave called Friday afternoon around 4:00 and said lets go. I was on the way home from seeing the new Willy Wonka movie with the family. I got home, changed the gearing on my Trek SS for the time trial and packed the van with both SS and my gear. Scott wasnt racing but brought his SS along to get a little riding in. We arrived at Devil's Head Resort around 2am. Since it was already Saturday we asked if we could check-in early for Saturday night. She said OK and we basicly got 2 nights for $75.00. We went directly to bed for the 7am wake up call. Scott slept in while I got up and did one practice run. The downhillers got rides up the hill while us doing the time trial had to ride up. I ended up 2nd in the time rial for my first ever podium at a WORS event. Sunday was HOT for the cross country race. Scott and I got up, had breakfast and I got ready for the race. Scott gave me hand-ups during the race. I didnt have a very good run and ended up 10th. Alot of riders DNFd because of the heat. The left side of my seat rails broke off during the second lap so I had to ride the last 1.5 laps standing up. I need a new Bontrager Race Lite Seat! I was lucky enough to take 2nd in the Sport Single Speed Omnium (for my second WORS podium). All in all Scott and I had a nice weekend away and hopefully his shoulder will heal soon. After doing a couple cross country races the past few weekends, I now more than ever prefer the endurance events!

12 Hours of Winter Recap.

Sarah, Melissa and I along with Kraig and his boys headed out for the race this weekend Friday AM. The new trailer worked great and we had more than enough room. Kraig and I were able to sneak a preride in friday afternoon while everyone else went swimming at the hotel. We had a suite so we ate our meals at the room most of the time. The course at Winter Park was tough, very hilly with technical downhills so you couldnt rest much. My hips are sore today from getting on and off the bike so much. I had a good run, everything felt good although my energy level dropped off after the 4th lap. I took a break and did 2 more laps for 2nd place. Kraig wasnt feeling 100% and finished 3rd.

Although not as impressive as Jeff, here are the stats from my Trek wireless computer:

Total run time on the bike: 7:44:36
Average speed: 5.3
Max speed: 22.3
Total distance: 41.4

Next up is either the WORS Cup this weekend or the 24 hours of 9 Mile in 3 weeks.

Chippewa Valley Firecracker Recap.

Kraig and I decided to check out the WORS/MNSCS combo race this weekend in Eau Claire, Wi. We headed out Sunday around 7am in a rain storm towards Eau Claire. It was still raining when we got there and continued for about another hour and then it was great the rest of the day. We entered the Sport SS class. I ended up being way under geared for this course and had no top speed which was necessary for this course. The SS class was in the first wave of many. I ended up being caught by the next waves which sucked because I would lose time having to move over or stop and finished in 13th out of 19. Kraig had another fine run and took 11th. This type of racing is definitely not my strength but it was a fun event - all out sprint for 15 miles.

I had a trailer hitch installed on the mini van last week. I also bought a used enclosed trailer this weekend so we will be traveling in style from now on. Next weekend the trailer will get its first use on the way to the next WEMS race in Kewaunee, WI. Word is that this is the hardest course on the WEMS schedule.