February 14-16 2014 will go down in my endurance racing life
as the first time I camped comfortably and raced in pain (back pain). But overall
a great racing weekend and ignited my love of 24 hour racing.
Our 5 person team contributed to many good times. Rudy
secured a campsite on Friday morning that would be home for the weekend.
We lived on NiteRider Rd for three days:
We all knew it was going to be a warm weekend with
temperatures reaching high 80s so we were prepared with water and sunblock.
For some of our team it was a racing challenge for a personal
best and some it was to enjoy the outdoors and race well. For me, this was my
second year racing and I my goal was to complete four loops.
I opted for being the 5th rider and my first loop
started in the daylight and half way through I had to turn on my bike light. My
first loop was great. I love riding in the dark.
My second loops started 2:47am. I actually felt good at the
start but suffered back pain the entire 1:39 loop. I knew I was done racing about half way
through this loop.
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| Rudy off on the bike on the first lap of the day. |
The weekend was great despite only finishing two loops and I
know I’m hooked on being outdoors, mountain biking, and maybe, just maybe will
do more camping.
Highlights:
- Actually enjoying sleeping in a tent
- Hanging out with awesome friends
- Fastest Loop to Date: 1:27
- Cheering on the fast riders, silly dressed-up riders - all day long
- Dunkin Donuts coffee each morning by the food vendor
- Riding with the “Be Nice” crowd, there were so many nice riders out there
- Free beer from Sierra Nevada at the end by the Rock
- Listening to the spectators encouraging everyone to “rock jump” after the Big Rock
- My favorite swag bag item: Free Loaf of Bread from Beyond Bread
- I really love riding “the bitches” in daylight and in the dark. They make you breathless but you recover fast if you’re in shape.
- Sitting at camp chatting with Rudy and Pam; talking about our lives and the next adventure
- Our Team completed 17 Laps!
Low-Lights:
- Back Pain
- Seeing the Naked Rider
- Seeing the guy with Cholla covering him towards the finish; why didn’t he stop and remove it?
I can't wait until next time.
I took much more pictures. If you would like to see them, friend me on Facebook.
Here is a great video I found on YouTube from the weekend:
Here is a great video I found on YouTube from the weekend:
