24 of 9 recap

Driving routes 53 and 29 to the heart of America's dairyland made it hard for Jen to believe that this would be the grounds where the greatest ultra endurance MTB racers do battle! There isn't much glamour to the outskirts of Wausau but that is part of the allure to many towns involved like this. After paying our campsite fees at the gate and receiving our glow in the dark bracelets she knew then that we arrived to shindig!

Kudos to Kevin Eccles and his staff for making this event the very basis of what the 24-hour racing culture is all about. This form of competition has people experience a sense of accomplishment far greater than any tangible award gotten from winning some other race. A person suffers so much during one of these that nobody does it for the money but rather the intrinsic value. Of course, the obvious shouldn't be overlooked.....you do it because you love it!! It is no surprise to me that this venue has won the bid to host U.S. Nationals for the third year in a row.

The course included ~2/3 singletrack with the remaining ~1/3 consisting of ski trail and fire roads. With rock gardens and tangled roots all over there was much abuse taken by the body and machine. However, it didn't come so absurd to cross that fine line where you'd think this is ridiculous.

Friday night is all about mingling w/those you planned on seeing and others that came from long great distances. For the second year I camped w/my old neighbor Josh Roeser and a group of his friends that came along(some to race and others to drink beer). Twin Ports natives were amongst the crowds as well. I had a beer w/Charlie Farrow while he struggled to pitch a tent. While roaming the area I would also bump in Ross Fraboni and Adam Sundberg. Once the lines calmed down over at registration I got my packet and made sure I had organization in my pit for tomorrow. The biggest discussion of the evening surrounded the Real Time System that was on loan from Granny Gear Productions which is used during the World 24 Hours of Adrenaline Championships. Each individual had an ID card to scan over one of three plates at the start and end of every lap. Some had lanyards and others just put them in their jersey pockets or under their bib lycra. The program keeps athletes from missing a lap countwhich is a serious bummer.

Eager to leave the camping situation behind as Jen forgot her sleeping bag and so we opened up Josh's huge Cabela's one as he borrowed mine for the night. It could have been worse...for her...haha. No, the truth is it was the dudes hosing out the portable shitters at 7 AM that got me jump started. Once I ate my breakfast of peanut butter, banana, & bread and suited up in my kit it was over for staging. The le mans start is always crazy w/a run down along the fencing to hairpin the opposite direction, through the forest a little and back to get in the saddle for an epic day. I'll definitely run faster next time to avoid the bottlenecks that everyone besides the lead pack encountered. I didn't want to get to my bike to soon as my 34X20 ratio would surely hold up some of the ambitious geared riders. My first two laps were right to the minute. On the third I decided to press a bit and found that to be a mistake during the hottest time of the day. My lovely pit chief(Jen Bergum) was excellent in seeing that I got everything I asked for and even made a trip to WalMart for some extra items she thought I might crave and she was right on. By lap #4, the first of two caveats revealed itself. I decided to try these Ergon Grips that everyone had been boasting about and knew that I hadn't dialed them in aftering trying all spring and summer but went w/this equipment choice anyway. My hamds had a stabbing pain in the palms and my thumb, index, & middle digits were tingling. I was forced to slow the pace as this helped in picking better lines through technical trail. Otherwise, all is well until sunset. When I headed out after mounting my lights I told Jen to go enjoy the party on Red Bud Road. Every year the course crosses this gravel road twice in near passes. In between there are generators powering booming stereos, disco balls hanging in the trees, Christmas lights, bogartbonfires, E-Z Up canopies, and many kegs of beer. A place like this only jolts the moral everytime you approach. The music was so loud it was deceiving since the trail doubles back on itself so frequently as you could hear this long before you were even there. Some find night right to be terrifying and describe the trail as completely different than during the day. I noticed just the opposite as my senses were much more attuned possibly because of my second caveat. I went into this race knowing that my primary light source would only last 4hr 40min and my secondary had a longer battery life but was questionable as for brightness. To conserve my primary source for the singletrack I rode the secondary light on all ski trail and forest road sections. I would bogart lumens from other riders when I felt I wasn't holding them back and even had the chance to help a struggling Stacey La Presta(eventually placing fifth in the national category) around for a large portion of a lap. She was very thankful for me lifting her spirits and baby sitting her around as she told me, "I'm fucked up." She mentioned she had the Nite Rider Trinewt and from my vantage point I could appreciate the quality with her shining from behind me. It was a great break for me too as the night gets a little lonely so listening to her ramble on about working in a shop from Missouri building up this '03 Gary Fisher Xcaliber 29er made for good company. I'm surprised she continued and must have gotten her paws on some needed calories. Following this lap, Jen greeted me w/an espresso from the Muddy Cup trailer in the expo. We knew this was going to be the sunrise lap and heard that many people fall apart at this moment. For myself, I wanted to pin this lap but couldn't as my hands were cooked. I would turn another and signal to my supporters that I was calling it a day. I had time to potentially do two more as the rule states a rider may go out on course as long as he/she begins the lap before the 24-hour mark. No tears were shed though as I felt this rookie attempt was a success. I'm not sure whether I raced too conservatively or I just played my cards right but I wasn't really that tired. With a couple adjustments to my steed I'm certain it'll go better next time around. Results: 8th in the singlespeed solo, 170.4 miles, 12 laps, & 6960 feet elevation gain...