Race Report 24hrs of Adrenalin/Hurkey Creek (Merged threads)

For those that made it out this race, here's a few "lessons learned".

http://donsbikesraceteam.blogspot.com

AL

www.bikeforbender.com

 

That's an awesome story....totally relateable..... And great job! You deserved the beer!

 

Great job! And, important lessons. Next time, you should do the 24 hour-they have bacon and beer in the early morning hours at that same stop.

 

Awesome Al. and to think you looked so calm and smooth rollling by our camp (end of the pavement) every lap. Who knew there was chaos going on inside of you.

Was that your tube half way down Exfoliator in lap one?

 

He was off the Tunnel of Love (I think that's what the trail is called, second big downhill, the one before the beer guys).

Also, very crazy how it was so hot during the day and people were sweating like crazy, then at 6am when I finished a lap I had someone tell me they had 33°F as the lowest temp of the night at the timing tent and it had to have been 15-20 degrees cooler on the other side of the course.

 

Very typical of Hurkey Creek.....very warm to hot during the day, then bitter cold at night. Not unusual for it to be 95+ during the mid day and drop to freezing overnight.

Those that race out there know to be prepared for the major fluctuations in temps.

 

I thought I was prepared. I had like 3 base layers on (1 short sleeve 2 long sleeve), 2 pairs of arm warmers on, and a jacket. Then on my legs I have a pair of leg warmers on and I put another pair of underarmour pants on. My feet were covered by 2 pairs of thick wool socks and my head was covered with 2 beans and I have a balaclava on and I was still cold. For some reason I was just not able to keep my body temperature up.

 

Probably not enough body fat

Does anyone know who killed the bunny?

 

....and the 7 field mice.

 

haha, that is classic! A full two weeks before the race I asked the guys on my 5 man team to dial their setup in (tires, shifters, etc.) and then ride it but DON'T F WITH IT!!

I think Stan's saved us a few flats on this course. A couple of us had the mysterious pressure drop that is a tell tale sign of Stan doing his thing. I found a nasty sharp goat head in my tire at one point too.

I swung by for a sip of beer on my first night lap, gotta love it, beer and a movie!! :bang:

 

24 Hours At Hurkey Creek - From a Volunteer's Eyes

Congrats to Mykyta (Nekit) for winning the 24 hr solo! 16 laps..insane!

 

That wasn't a bunny, it was a stick; no dead bunnies, no dead bunnies, no dead bunnies...and the mice were just sleeping.

Did anyone stop for bacon? It took me a minute to process what the meat that was being dangled in front of me was; by then, it was a tad too late to stop (and I feared that our competition was close behind). After I rounded the corner, I smelled the bacon--yummmmm! I thought about turning around for a second.

 

24 Hours At Hurkey Creek - From a Volunteer's Eyes

This weekend I had the opportunity to be the volunteer for Troupe Racing Co. http://trouperacingco.com/about Women's and Men's 24 Hour teams.
Since Willie was part of their women's team, and Pat and Dan were racing the 8 Hour Solo race, I though it would be fun to hang out on the course, and help out.

It ended up being one of the best weekends I'd ever spent at a cycling event!

I got to hang out at check point #1 from 11:30PM until 8AM! Eight hours of pure fun!

I got to hang with some of my best friends, saw some old friends that I don't see often enough, and meet a bunch of new friends! Weekends like this make me realize how lucky I've been over the years. I've met a lot of great folks by just ridimg my bike, and hanging out at The Path. I'm a lucky man!

I also came away this weekend with a new hero. His name is Mykyta. He's a tall, skinny Russian kid, with a BIG smile, a the heart of a thousand pound gorilla!

So, thanks guys for having this old dawg along for the ride! I'll never forget it!

I took a lot of pictures, so here's a slide show link; http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/pp339/crashmax/Hurkey%20Creek%2024%20Hour%20Race%209-18-10/?albumview=slideshow

And some of my favorites from the weekend......



Mario is still just as friendly and fast as he's always been. He and Heidi used the 8 Hour Duo as training for Moab. They won their race!


Some of Troupe Racing's best.....

Jeff(?)


The women's team captain, Laura.


Mykyta heading out on his 24 Hour odyssey.


Dan, all amped up, and excited going out for his first lap.


Pat, going out for an 8 Hour Tour.........


and showing he can climb with the best of them!


The Queen heading out for her first lap.


Dan and Willie having some fun!




Roy speeding past! (my favorite picture of the weekend)


Michelle hitting the trails at dusk.


Here comes the night!


Dan, on his way out for #6.


Michelle coming in from the night.


And Dan get's in just in time for #6 to count!


Nice job my friend!


Rachel, aka Gerogiaofthejungle, aka one fast woman! What a big smile!


My hero Mykyta. Still smiling at 3:30 in the morning!


One of the best benifits of being out there all night. Seeing both, the moon and the sun rise!


Who and what do you see in this picture?


I see a kid that went out hard with a goal. He crashed, and hit the ground hard early in the evening, and wasn't even sure he could finish the race. He got back on, and continued to move up durring the long hours of the night, always smiling and cheerfull as he came through my check point. He dug down deep, not only to finish the race......

But to WIN it!!


So, once again, thanks guys and gals for letting me come along for the ride!

I hope you that raced will share your experiences from out on the course with me hear. I'd love to read about your ride!

See you all on the trails! (or at The Path :wave

 

I still need some sleep...had to work today (8 1/2 hours without a lunch break), then run out to get a consent for a project, then the velodrome, still need to write a paper. Oh man, I miss the 24 HOA already!!!

We did have a bit of fun with our team. We started our women's team for fun, but the more we rode together, the more we realized how strong everyone was. By the time the race came around, we were all nervous as heck. We then starting talking about how scared we were to let each other down--turns out, we were making ourselves nervous, because everyone was just out to have a good time--no expectations (except for a few personal ones, and to live up to our name at least once--"You got Chicked" ). After our chat, we all felt SO MUCH better!

My first lap, on the first hill, my first thought was "Oh my, what did I get myself into? Why didn't I train more? I'm just not sure I can do this....how can I tell the girls?" Then I got to the downhill, thank God for ADD, cause my next thought was "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! This is fun, I want to do it again!" Which is pretty much how the rest of my laps went. I was lucky, though I wouldn't admit it until now for fear of the 24HOA jinx, I didn't have any issues on my laps (save a few, WTF was I thinking going on that line at night).

A few of my teammates weren't so lucky--Angela dropped her chain after a nifty little run, just after passing our competition roadie style (she learned her karmic lesson and vowed to be more social throughout the next day); LeeAnn had her front brake start rubbing and squealing on the climb, luckily during Crash's time at checkpoint 1 (you saved her sanity); Deya's light stopped working, intermittently; finally, Therese, who opted out of the LeMans run because she hasn't been running much, had a mechanical that jammed her derailer, making her bike a SS, so she had to run most of her lap. Luckily, we had enough mechanical support at the tents to fix the issues and keep the whole team running. Even better, no one let these issues stand in their way; they were all able to complete each and every one of the laps they set out to do. Talk about perseverence! I'm in awe of how amazing these women are!

Willie was absolutely on fire the whole time out there. Her team was solid, performing like a well-oiled machine, having fun and totally supporting each other. You girls are a bit intimidating out there; you all know what you're doing and are strong enough to do it. Congrats to you for accomplishing your lap goals and pounding out another 24Hrs.

I only saw Mykyta a few times, but he was always cheerful, even at the end. Way to rock it!!!!

Pat, you rocked! I'm sure you're looking forward to the next one, too.

Congrats to everyone who rode, just taking the initiative to sign up and show up exhibits a strength that few know.

 

I could be wrong, but I think he finished with 17 laps. Either way, it's freak'n amazing!!

 

Thanks again Maxwell for your help! Not many people want to volunteer for 1 shift but you were up for two at the latest (earliest) time slots! Great to have you with us and cheering for every one all through the night!

 

Racing the Clock and My Goal

I signed up for the event after riding the course a couple of weeks ago with Pat and Willie. I rode the two 50 milers in the spring, but had pretty much spent my summer riding with friends and doing the OTH Series. Not exactly endurance training, oh well...ride on and have fun!

Let me start off by saying it was hotter than Hades out there, mix in a little bit of altitude and crank down the humidity. The race is just as much about what is going on inside your body as it is about what you do on the bike. Figuring out nutrition and hydration are a challenge.

I had so much fun pushing myself and racing the clock final lap. Finished lap five at 7:10, hit campsite mount to up lights and change my jersey. I head out to the cheers of friends, but wait...I forgot my pack and would certainly need water. Circle back and grab it, then head out one more time. Checkpoint 1, time 7:38. Checkpoint 2, time 7:58, lady says don't know if you can make it but give it your all. Take all kinds of crazy risks trying make time on the technical sections. Heading through the Rage of the Sage section I start talking out loud to myself, "You can do this", "Hammer it out". Dropping down Tunnel of Love still hucking and rolling the fun stuff. I can begin to hear the party going on at Team Sofa Pit. Come around the corner and it is like a full on rave going off...20, 30, 40 people all cheering me on. Head back towards the campground and towards the hill called the Demoralizer. There is a bunch of sand right before this short but punchy climb. Lap five I spun out and dismounting my legs both locked up with cramps. My legs were fine on the bike but would not work if straight and walking. I cleaned all the other climbs on lap six, but couldn't muster enough reserves to clean the Demoralizer one more time. Having learned the previous lap, I dismounted and went to an immediate crouch. I could trot up the hill as long as I keep my legs bent. I got to the top and hopped on my bike for the final section to the finish line. Through the sandy wash and up onto the grass, I sprint to the finish line and see the finish line clock as I approach. I hit the line to the cheering of my friends, I was beyond stoked and so happy they were there to share the moment. I dug way deep for that one and it felt so good!!!

Six laps with plenty of time to spare, I had at least a good 31 more seconds . End up in 12th place with about 57.93 miles according to my Cateye, furthest distance I have ever done on a mountain bike. Seven or eight laps would be a good goal for next year. Or there is always the 24 solo...#-o

 

Shoot man, you've got a great bunch of folks racing with you! And besides that, you guys provided me with Michelle's mighty tastey cookies, and the means to get my Peet's fix!! It was my pleasure to lend a hand!

 

When I first found out Willie was going to do the 24 hour race with the Troupe ladies I thought it would be fun to try the 8 hour solo as well. Although I haven't been doing long rides often I have been riding so how hard can it be, right. WRONG!

My day started with my body giving me issues that I won't go into details about from being on antibiotics for a month after getting a staph infection in my knee from a crash about six weeks prior to this event. I had some stomach cramping issues but not that bad. Once the time came to run I thought OK, here we go. The run wasn't as bad as I thought and I made it to my bike without falling in the middle of the pack.

The first lap was a blast and I cleaned all the climbs and was having fun on the downhill too. I was wearing my pack with about 70 ounces of water so I blew through the camp for my second lap and still felt OK until about half way through when I went to drink and NOTHING. I thought to myself, SHIT, it's 95ish and this is NOT a good time to run out of water. I made it back to camp and was starting to cramp everywhere including my stomach so I took a break to refill the water and eat something.

I hung out for a while and with the help and encouragement from Willie and Darin I went for another lap. I hobbled up the first climb fighting cramps and feeling nauseous but pushed on. I thought by drinking more water it would have saved me but I was wrong. My stomach was in knots and I felt like I was going to yack the entire time. I finally finished the third lap feeling like complete crap and plopped down in a chair at the camp and was done. I finally felt human again at about 6:45 but said screw it and called it.

All in all it was a great weekend and I had a blast even with not meeting my expectations. The Troupe team has a great vibe and I really enjoy hanging with all of them. I'll be back next year better prepared for another attempt.

Congratulations to Willie, Laura, Michelle, Monica and Mary for a hard fought battle! A HUGE congratulations to Mykyta on the win, you are an inspiration! And Congratulations to Dan for digging deep to get that sixth lap in!

I also want to thank Darin for the help. He is what mountain biking is all about and makes it all the more F.U.N.!



See everyone next year!

 

Great reading everyone's experiences in the recent 24HOA race. Brings back fond memories (no, really!). That race we did in April of '08 was one of the best experiences ever, even if the Demoralizer did figure largely into it...

Well done, everyone! Congrats to all the Troupe riders!!!

- shud