Let me start by mentioning that a group really has to have a collective interest to successfully pull off the organization of a 24-hour race. Finding volunteers to sit at a scoring table all day & night could prove to be quite a task. Yet, Ron and every other director of this event were so gracious to talk to and gave you a sense that they didn't want you leaving unsatisfied! Well, the Duluthians made the drive north feeling like it was a trip we'd return for!!
After Jen and I rolled on site we pitched our tent and went out for a little preride of the course. Poor girl, she'd been actual mountain biking only a few times prior to this but that didn't deter her initially. Seven Oaks Recreation Center is a little ski resort about the size of Buck Hill for those familiar w/Burnsville, MN. Trail conditions were very ridden in smooth but technical w/many switchbacks throughout bench cut over a traversing hillside all around. Plus, they have some hellacious thorny vines crawling up & down their trees. We got a couple miles in w/my love crashing and near misses before turning back @ some bridges on a roller coaster section to give it flow. I was concerned she wouldn't keep a pace to complete the lap while there was still daylight. After cleaning up, we took in some Friday after Five in the lodge as they called it. Testing some local beers, eating good BBQ, listening to live music, and enjoying the camaraderie until moving out to the sleeping bags.
Race day morning commenced w/a not so great breakfast at the Tic Toc Restuarant on Main Street in Boone. The place just opened we heard that week and was the only one serving on the holiday weekend which gave us no other choices. Following the prerace meeting everyone lined up for the la mans dash to your bikes to hit it. Weather was in the 80s and nothing but sun and blue sky. This meant the usual for me, just survive to enjoy the night. Already by the second lap I quickly developed a plan to preserve my strength for the whole duration. It is hard to force yourself to dismount
and hike a bike over pieces of trail that are ridable but you have to keep in mind that 17...18...19 hours from now they could take their toll. I wish I wore a GPS to see the total elevation gain and loss. Like I said earlier, "it wasn't a high summit but we went up & down a lot each time." Nutrition during the day continues to be a tough spot for me as nothing sounds tasty and I may have to try an all liquid diet for the next one until sunset. Thank you to my friend Erik back home for selling me a CamelBak which was crucial and I will always use it. With darkness falling I noticed a reprieve but it seemed to have come too late. My emotions were mixed and almost began to cry while out on course. Jen is so instrumental to me in these races and for me to be lacking motivation as we enter the night was disturbing as she knows this is when I shine. I recall it was 8:03 PM when I turning my lights on but that button didn't ignite my morale too. Reflections of a broken man were eminent on Jen's face as I stared at her each lap up to midnight. By this moment, the dewiness that covered everything including my gal was on my mind while I rode as I knew she was freezing. On that lap, I had come off a steep descent, over a dried up creek bed and carrying momentum up the other side to see a bike leaning up against a tree. As I proceeded to make the sharp right hand turn my beam of light caught what appeared to be a body lying down in the woods. I stopped to ask, "are you OK?" He replied, "yeah, just taking a nap...Dave is that you?" I was past the midway point in the race to have my first encounter w/Charlie Farrow. He assured me that this course was a brute and that the effects were destroying him. Plus, I got encouragement related to the same idea as everyone else at the venue to how I was riding a fully rigid single speed. Physically, I was tired but had figured out a strategy to at least keep moving and the heat of the day finally had left my core temp to normal again. Another fun part to the event was that Toyota sponsored a halfway party w/pasta and chairlift rides. Jen got me to take a timeout and join her which really helped. I got right back on the bike and my head was locked in the game permanently.......or so I thought! A lap later I was on the lower part of the trail coming off the slope when a frantic racer exclaimed, "hey, you got a multi-tool?!?" Yes, it was Charlie once more and I did have one to his delight in my saddle bag. He had snapped his seatpost clean off just underneath where it clamps to the rails. We had to remove this before he gave himself a colonoscopy procedure while riding! I waited for him to catch up as he was pedaling w/o a seat for the remainder of the loop and this is when the gear ratio in my head turned faster than the one on my bike. There come situations in life when a guy has to set his own personal ambitions aside to evaluate the big picture. Currently, my chances to make a podium spot were looking grim. Charlie was already in podium status and in contention to win the entire thing. So, not knowing whether he'd find a post that would fit and since we both ride steel frames I was certain mine would and insisted that he take it upon arrival in the stadium. To get onto someone else's machine, the comfort just wouldn't be there and he admitted worrying about wrecking his/her donated bike. That was at 4:34 AM my race ceased and I can say that it turned out perfectly. Deciding to do this was easy for two reasons: A) Charlie is a great friend and B) he's got an incredibly tough character and I was 100% positive he'd make the most of this opportunity and my offer would not go to waste!!! In the end, there were people that crumbled and as expected Charlie didn't and finished 2nd on the day. For myself, 7th out of 15 soloists w/only racing for a little more than 2/3 of the duration covering 155.4 kilometers. I'm very happy w/my result and how I was physically and mentally. In addition, all my equipment(bike parts, lights, etc) were flawless. Analyzing the board when it was all done confirmed I had good judgment. I know I could have finished 5th, maybe even 4th before the blazing hot conditions returned but no shot at bronze.
Lastly, sorry babe for ruining your surprise for going all noble. I liked the banner you made using crayola markers & only made for an even more Happy Birthday!!!!!
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