The 10th running of the 24hrs in the Old Pueblo brought out some heavy
hitters in all solo divisions,despite some bone chilling temps the U>K
invasion kept it heated up. Ant White, UK #1 24hr guy was on hand - I had
enticed IF's Ian Leitch to make the journey for the early season test. Tinker
and Evan Plews were on hand as were Eric Tonkin, Kimo Seymour. The solo single
division was fairly loaded with Dejay Birtch , Il Freako from Chico, Dave
Harris,amongst other local stalwarts.
The course was just over 16 mils per lap, most of which drifts around the
desert winding through cactus and riverbeds with incredible mountain views on
all sides. The course has gone through some upgrades since I began racing here
-it now boasts over 85% singletrack.
Friday was a feeding frenzy as Ian grabbed me at the Phoenix Airport and We
made our way down to Oracle. We did a 1hr 12min lap so that Ian and Ant would
be familiar with the course and then began eating again. Our plan was to have
Ian's brother in law,Matt head up the pit but when I inquired how Matt might
find us amongst all the other Rv's and riders- Ian had no answer. Matt had no
directions ,had never been to America,never driven on the "right side" of the
road and no cell phone. I chuckled as Ian said that he had given Matt my cell
# as his sole contact to the event.About 10:30pm We begin to really worry
about Matt but food coma had set in and neither one of us wanted to bare the
chill to wander looking for him. 11pm or so the phone awakes us - It is Matt
and he is on sight -somehow- and of all camps to wonder into- he is chillin at
Tinker's camp warming by the fire as Rose warmed him some tea. Matt slurped
his tea quickly then quipped to Rose that Tinker would have to settle for the
minor placings this year as Ian was about to polish his ego with Tink's lycra-
he was quickly ushered to his rental car and sent down the hill to our RV.
All joking aside Matt was stellar come Saturday- he knew little about bikes
but kept us topped off with positive attitude, fluids and energy. The gods of
Flagstaff were
looking out for me when they sent Big Randy down without an entry- Randy and I
go way back and he beat me here last season but decided he wanted to wrench
this year and informed me he would be up all night and would take care of the
bike if anything happened.We were also joined in the pits by Ant White and his
sole pit Stephanie Vogel -they were clock work (Ant Does not really pit)and
Matt picked up secrets of the trade from them.
We stacked the front of the run and off we went with Ian leading the charge- I
stayed back with Tinker still in the top 20 or so, once I grabbed my bike and
swung a leg over I began to pedal and then i see a handlebar come up from
behind me -it hooks my ergon barend -next thing I know I'm swallowing dirt. I
pick myself up quickly only to see shoair colors underneath me- some duo rider
amped on test thinkin the first lap wins the race. My shoulder had popped and
my ribs hurt but I tried to find a zone and enjoy myself but it was not
happening,near the end of lap 2 I ended up in a cactus after over cooking a
riverbed. Matt and Leslie(Solo Ryan's Wife) plucked the thorns out of my arm
and leg - I used this stop to make my only chamios change of the race. I
suffered through until the night- my nutrition had slipped as I was focusing
on not being injured- I had not eaten and had barely drank- Matt forced water
down as I began to see the demons early. Once again the sugars in the sports
drinks wreaked havoc on my
system so I was relegated to water and handfuls of whole grain cheerios Matt
was pouring into my pockets . The latenight brought a calm for me- I
knew I was in last place (actually 20th) but the thought of not finishing made
me sick...as I had left Ely and Tina alone for the first time since his birth.
I pictured them and thought how worked my wife would be if I had gone all that
way to dnf.... I ate some cookies and some electolytes and never really stopped
again less the flat tire that Randy fixed for me sometime during the midnight
hour. My legs had come around and were feeling full- I broke out the ipod some
"bon Iver" and "brett Dennan" to forget all that had happened up to this
point. I made up my mind that the final 12hrs would be my race and I'd go as
hard as I could hoping someone or everyone would falter. I must have listened
to Zimmerman 's Idiot Wind 10 times- the song lays it down for ya - just ride
I thought and the smile reappeared on my face. My pace was quickening and the
fun was back - Matt had made a special Gulosh -it was nutella, mashed
banana,gu, peanut butter and oats- he was shoveling it in as I tried to drink
more water. I kept riding and not pitting for more then 30 seconds and I was
pulling people back, so Randy and Matt started giving me insight to other
riders and their postions- come sunlight they told me it was just me and
Dejay- I did not believe them but the emotions were fantastic- I had reeled
them in but more importantly for me was the way it was done - with a smile ,
no pressure, and no pitting. Another highlight was doing a portion of my last lap With Steve Fassbinder...x IF rider and 24hr World Champ and getting to share a barley pop afterward. Cheers to Ian for stepping up and handing Tinker a lower step on the podium-just a shame he never showed for awards.

IF's grassroots team has a long history of being spread far and wide. While this is great for racers' independence (ha) there has been a lack of team camaraderie in recent years. Maybe that's because we are curmudgeony types, or maybe none of have jobs that can afford us cars.

Whatever the reason I figured an investigation beyond phone conversations was due. Sure on paper and on the phone everyone sounds like a golden child, but it was time to lift the veil and see what we were committed to for the year.

I'm a fan of killing three birds with one stone, so instead of driving to Dalton GA just for the second Snake Creek Gap TT, I took the opportunity of being in the area to see if anyone wanted to meet in Asheville at the home of our latest Pro Female, Kylie Krauss, for a couple of days of Pisgah riding. The third bird was my continuation of the trip south to stay in FL and race the following week.

Showing up for the gun show was Charlotsville IF newbie Kyle Rodland and vetern Steve Gissleman from Chaple Hill. Steve was only able to stay for Sunday's ride, but Kyle and I hung out on Kylie's couch till Tuesday.

Lots of food was made, good riding happened and a bunch of racing and training ideas were passed around.

Steve is the strength training coach for UNC and had a pelethora of good info and ideas about how to get stronger and stay injury free for a race season.

On Monday Kylie, Kyle and I made a trip to our sponsor Industry Nine's factory, which is located in Asheville. We got to play in the bins of alluminum while Jeff Baucomb showed us around. Super cool!I Nine does all annodization in house now. These are spokes ready to get dipped.

Over all it was a great time to get to know a little more about each other and see how diverse and passionate the IF riders are. It made me excited to be a part of this program. Now the challenge is to see if the CO crew can bring it..!
Chedder was kylie's house mascot

Congrats to Ian Leitch and Sean (Sully) Sullivan for taking 2nd places in the Open Solo men and solo single speed divisions.

Results
Can't wait to see pics

I'm sure we'll get a full report soon, but I watched as Ian stayed steady and strong through the night then turn it up as the sun was coming up to put Tinker in a world of hurt.

Sully matched laps with Hairy strong man Dejay Birtch to take 2nd right behind him!

Congrats for opening the season in high fashion!

We'll be looking forward to the stories.

Harlan

Feeling lonely because of the long wet winter? Don't be.
You are all invited to IF Racing and IBC's TOC group rides this weekend.

IF Racing/ Lionette's Elite team will be leading rides from both IBC locations, Boston and Newton. After the ride we will be watching the opening stages of the Tour of California, Live.

The ride will return return to the Boston store to take part in some complemetary grub and free beer from Harpoon and the Tour, Live.
Please come and join us for the ride and or the viewing. Viewing starts at 6pm Saturday and 5pm Sunday. The rides will split according to fitness levels if needed, so don't be afriad to show your weak legs.

Here is the schedule:

Saturday and Sunday
1 pm - Leave Boston Shop
2 pm - leave Newton Shop
4 pm - return to Newton
5 pm - Return to Boston

www.ifracing.org
www.internationalbike.com

We hope you can join us