Well, I suppose the speculation was true after all. I drove to Austin with my best friend Laura, her 2 dogs, my dog, 2 bikes, and a lot of gear last week to compete in yet another edition of 24 Hours of Rocky Hill. Considering the circumstances, it was a trip I shouldn’t have made, but I had some stuff in the basement at Rocky Hill and this little voice inside my head told me I needed to get it out, or at least run myself into the ground trying. No matter how much I tried to reason with myself, myself simply refused to not make this trip.

I was still hungover from Colorado Springs. That race was only 3 weeks prior, and that is pushing it as far as recovery time goes. Mentally, I was still a little stuck on losing that national jersey. I didn’t have much riding time in between races, and that really worried me. I was also sick with a cold for about 8 days leading up to the day we left for Austin. I was busting ass at work and didn’t feel very rested. The drive to Austin was tiring and I didn’t get good sleep Thursday or Friday night before the race. There were some really big dogs signed up this year, and I knew deep inside I didn’t have what it would take to beat them. There were also a few new names on the roster that I haven’t raced with before but sensed they might bring a good fight. And there are people like me who don’t pre-reg and just show up. I knew the Texas heat would likely give me problems again.  To top it all off, my main go to bike had developed a crack in the frame and was un-rideable. Just 6 days before the race, I had to pull Proud Mary out of the shed, dust her off, and swap all the parts out. I hadn’t ridden this bike for ages. It’s a different feel, and although I got the fit close to the other bike, it wasn’t a perfect match. I knew this would probably cause some fatigue problems in weird areas, not to mention just mess with my game.

So yeah, I knew going in things weren’t looking too bright. However, the only thing that bothers me more than losing is not trying in the first place and wishing you had.

We drove up a little later on Saturday morning than I would have liked, but I’d done the 90 minute setup scramble many times before so it didn’t phase me too much. I cut it real close, making it to the LeMan’s start right as the gun went off. A quick jaunt around the pond and the race was on.

The Players: Shaun Taylor, a 24 hour world’s champ from Rossland, Canada and also the guy that finished 2nd to me in the 2007 race was here. He was the man to beat, especially since he was rocking the Singlespeed. With him was Dave Frank’s, last years 2nd place finisher, and also a world’s podium finisher. They came down from Canada since this years 24 Hour Worlds at Canmore was cancelled, and they were well trained for it. John Russell, last years champ, was not racing this year, but running pit for these two. I setup my tent next to theirs and John was able to help me out a lot throughout the race too. I considered Dave a very strong threat, but still considered Sean the man to beat. Man is just a beast. Also in attendance was Jamon Whitehead from Utah. I’ve raced with him before and he is a very strong rider. The usuals Ray Porter and Marshall Bell were also here. I wasn’t too concerned with them, but was aware they could put up a good fight and make the race that much more tougher.

The Race: fearing total body shut down from heat exhaustion like last year, I paced myself early on. I just wanted to get in some smooth moderate laps and stay out of trouble with the heat. I felt like I gauged my efforts just right, but still, the heat was killer. It warmed up somewhere between 85 and 90 with lots of humidity and my Colorado acclimatization was not liking it one bit. I was feeling sluggish from all the factors I mentioned above. If I got too close to threshhold, I could feel nausea begin to creep up and I just had to back off. I couldn’t wait for nightfall and some cooler temps to set in.

The sun eventually did set, but the temps didn’t drop much. That nasty heat refused to leave the woods. My jersey was fully unzipped and I was still dousing myself with water. I felt like I had good legs and good lungs. Even though I was riding rigid singlespeed, I didn’t feel like the course was taxing me that much. Instead, the heat was driving my heart rate and blood pressure through the roof. There came a very low point where I finally had to stop and cool off. I dropped from 3rd down to about 6th. The win was definitely out of the question now, but I had to keep my hopes up and gun for a podium finish. I was not going to quit this time.

I slowly got up, got back on my bike, and headed off into the night. It was comeback time. The break did me well, and very methodically, I began to pull riders back in throughout the night. At some point, the lead changed and Dave was now the man to beat with Sean taking a long break in the middle of the night. I had just caught Jamon who had been in third and kept the gas on to take his spot. Eventually, I caught up to Sean and moved back into 2nd, but only for a brief while. I don’t remember what lap it was, but it was my last full night lap. I got a slash in my sidewall and had to stop twice to fix it, setting me back probably 15 minutes. Later in that lap, my helmet battery died, leaving me with the handlebar mount. I stopped to switch the the two so I could have better control over where I pointed the light, setting me back another 5 minutes. I was still in 2nd, but let me tell you, having Sean Taylor chase your ass is one of the most uncomfortable feelings in the racing world. He is a mighty wolf, I a wounded rabbit, and he can smell blood from miles away. I limped into the transition zone, sat down for a mental break and a battery change, and sure enough, Sean rolls in, refuels, and heads back out to regain 2nd place.

For a brief moment, I think maybe I can hang with him, but this dream is abruptly crushed when my helmet light again dies about 10 min into the ensuing lap. I try to ride it out with the handlebar mount but begin scraping trees and missing turns, so I have to stop and switch batteries again. At this point, I am very frustrated with batteries and my motivation to get 2nd is gone. Now I just want to try and finish in third. My paced slowed down, but remained consistent up until the 22 1/2 hour mark. The top overalls had been locked up with Dave, Jamon, and Sean. I was holding steady at 4th, and 2nd in SS behind Sean. Ray was in 5th/3rd SS a lap back, and as soon as I found out he had thrown in the towel, I decided I was happy with my 19 lap effort and 2nd place SS and followed suit. That’s how it ended.

In some ways, it was the battle royale I expected, in others, it wasn’t. Nonetheless, I feel it was the toughest 24 I’ve ever done and I was able to take away a lot of good things from the race despite not getting the win. Yeah, maybe I am the Caveman, maybe I do live in the coolest mountain bike city in the US, but I just haven’t had the time to train like I would like to win something as grueling as this. When I think back to about a year ago, I remember saying I wasn’t going to race at all this year and basically took to skiing and drinking a lot of beer.  Lost a lot of fitness and even gained 10 lbs. Then that San Juan Hut race popped up in June, then nationals, then this. So, all in all, I’m happy again. Next year is going to be freaking epic. I have some very big races on the calendar. I think I really will take a break from Rocky Hill finally, but there will be some new and exciting races to take its place. I’ve got some new gear that will allow me to ride throughout the winter so I won’t have to start completely over come March.

Shout Outs: I would like to thank the following people who had a helping hand in my race:

Laura Faubion for providing good pit assistance and being an awesome road trip buddy

Bud, Spaz, and Rocco, for being cool dogs and providing face salt removal services

John Russell for wrenching and also helping out in pit. Love you man, even though you didn’t do anything to slow down Dave and Shaun (j/k)

Zoe Nance of Zoefitness title sponsor

Bobcat13 Photography for race photos. Joel also completed his 2nd 24 hour race!

Terra Firma Racing for putting on yet another awesome race and cool awards

Sam from Ska Brewing for hooking me up with free Ska beer in the Austin Whole Foods parking lot. what a coincidence…

Proud Mary, the bike that I continue to downplay, yet the one that keeps on cranking out the miles.

 

As for the rest of 2012, my cross bike should be here soon and I hope to tool around a little in the local CX scene. MTB season is now completely over as the snow will be here shortly and there aren’t any more races to do in this neck of the woods.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the cooler weather.

Caveman