That was a fun one. LOTS of singletrack and I do think it was mellower than the Coolest 24 hour (I think Cool has more climbing overall)...however, the HEAT made this one more brutal for me.
8 hour solo single speed for me.
Started out at a decent pace trading places with eventual category winner, and 8-hour solo single speed jedi master, Jared Franzoia. We passed each other several times over the course of the first lap and a half, and then when we hit the fireroad climb on the 2nd lap, I slowly pulled away and put a small gap on for the next few laps. Lap 3 I think was my fastest at about a 47:11 or thereabouts and my 4th lap wasn't too far behind timewise, but then the HEAT really started to take its toll on me. My 5th lap was slowed way down and it was here that Jared caught me again and passed me for the last time. Took a longer pit between my 5th lap and 6th lap to put on my secret weapon...one of those Camelback base layers with the integrated hydration. I had the hydration bladder on ice all day so I was saving it for a case like this in the hopes that it would help get my core temperature back down. So out on lap 6 I go, and man that ice cold water on my back was definitely a luxury, but it was too little too late as far as hydration goes and my 6th lap wasn't any better than my 5th.
So I ended my 6th lap still sitting in 2nd overall in solo SS (8 hour), but when I got back to the pits before my 7th I had nothing. I did the unthinkable (sat down!) and I didn't want to get back up. I eventually sat there for about 30 minutes (!!). As I sat there I thought about quitting and I see the 3rd place single speeder going zipping on by which moved him into 2nd. I didn't get up. Then a few moments later the next place single speeder came by dropping me to 4th and I still didn't find the motivation to get back out there. It was here I downed a Red Bull, popped a few Ibuprofens and my awesome wife came rolling in and was like "what the hell are you doing sitting there get back out there!"
It was 5 PM, and with 2-hours left to go, I went out for lap 7 and as soon as I started pedaling I thought, "holy **** I feel pretty good!". I guess it was some combination of the rest, the Red Bull and the drugs (Vitamin I) but that lap felt the best out of all of them for me. And I began to entertain the idea of catching back up to the two single speeders that passed me while I was sitting out. I hit the fireroad climb and actually cleaned it which I wasn't able to do on prior laps 4, 5, and 6. Then I hit the short, but steep, burst climbs after the fireroad and cleaned those too which I also hadn't been able to do on laps 4, 5, or 6. Encourage by that, I put my head down and pedaled all the way to the top of High Point without dismounting, and cruised all the way into the start/finish area. It was about 5:45...more than enough time to get an 8th lap in and maaybe catch one of those two single speeders to get onto the podium in 3rd.
So at my pit, I stop briefly to pick up one last bottle for the last lap and head back out. Still feeling good and trying to charge the last lap, I reach down for my bottle after about a mile and take a swig...and nearly hurl. PICKLE JUICE! ARGGGHHH!! I grabbed my freaking bottle of pickle juice!! I usually keep a small water bottle filled with pickle juice on hand as an emergency if the cramps set in, and I mistakenly grabbed this sucker on my last pit. DOH! Oh well, pickle juice for the last lap it is!! At least it was better than nothing and I felt good that I could go as hard as possible on the last lap and hopefully not worry about cramping!
So the 8th lap went well enough. Cleaned the fireroad climb again and the short steep bits after that, but had to dismount on the single track climb up to High Point this time which slowed me down again. Descent back in on Gails for the last time was a blast in the cooling temperatures and softening light. I think my 8th lap time was around 52 minutes, however, I could never catch back up to the 3rd place single speeder and i ended up in 4th.
Think my overall time was 8 laps in 7:40 which was about 4 - 5 minutes behind 3rd and about 7 - 8 behind 2nd. DOH! That extended break killed me and cost me a podium...but if I hadn't taken that break, I'd probably still be out there lost and out of my mind somewhere. haha.
Super fun. Major props to everyone who endured 24 hours. I don't think I will ever ever ever feel the need to a 24 hour solo (a team sure, but solo no way).
Congrats to all who raced and met their goals and rode with a smile. See ya out there next time.
