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Saturday, February 21, 20092009 Old Pueblo
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.
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