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Saturday, March 21, 2009CHARGE POND HOT BIKES We had our first IF/Lionette's Team outing this Saturday. 6 of us showed up for the second Charge Pond of the season. Bruno helped start the winning break early in the race, Robbie and Jerome joined up soon after and we stayed away. The three of us worked hard and well as a team. People yelled, cuz they were losers with no teammates. After 20 laps away, Robbie was setting up for the sprint and got boxed out to finish 5th. Kevin, Adam and Hanson controlled the pack while not feeling too hot due to sickness and bio-mechanical issues. Good race, good ride.  Robbie's not too mechanically inclined Kevin was cold. Eat some ice cream kid Hanson; so hot right now! Jerome, doing his famous Road Kill impersonation. Sunday, March 1, 2009An Englishman in the Desert: Ian's 24hrs in the Desert 24 Hours in The Old Pueblo.. trumped Tinker but still the bridesmaid! I needed a holiday and I also needed to start training in the winter instead if sitting it out. So I combined the two... a trip to Arizona would give me a holiday and the 24 Hours in The Old Pueblo would provide me with the incentive for some early season training so as not to get a kicking by the big guns. The lead up had been real good - two months of good training in the freezing English cold and also some respite in the Southern Mountains of Spain. Coupled with this my man Simon Turner set me up with a weights programme to gain me some power - the thing I have always lacked. So the holiday came and flying into Vegas I couldn't wait for the race that Sully had given top billing to for so long. I hooked up with an RV and headed south to pick up the singlespeed maestro in Phoenix. Alongside us top UK rider Anthony White who'd been second to Tinker at Temecula a few weeks previous.  It was great to see Sully again and we kicked off the day with the usual massive supermarket buying frenzy ensuring we were tooled up with everything we could need... and then within an hour there it was: an isolated desert spot with every imaginable type of cactus. In the UK 24 hour racing usually brings a wooded set up, maybe with a country house and most definitely some mud - this was going to be a cool change. The set up was great: a good sized event stacked with riders but with a rootsy feel. Sully and I popped off a quick lap and at first I was unsure as there wasn't much climbing but the singletrack had distinct sections and good flow and my legs felt pin sharp. The evening followed the usual course pasta, steak, bananas and a beer but with a massive concerned wait for my brother-in-law Matt: mobileless and never having been to the US he got in at midnight and we settled in. The start was frenetic a half mile run and I was out in the lead and on Trebon's wheel. Within five minutes solo dueling broke loose - The field was hot one, Evan Plews, Juarez, Kimo Seymour, Erik Tonkin and my man Ant White were all hunting for a fast one. Lap 1 saw me through battling with Ant and a minute down on Tinker. We'd popped in a 1.01 for the 16.5miles - it was going to be quick. I was pretty shocked at being as quick as I was - I'd never stayed with Ant before and certainly not been any where Juarez but I felt really strong. At 8 hours Ant and I took Kimo and continued our working together and attacking each other approach as we entered the night. Pitting with Ant was an eye opener, I always stop and eat for a minute a lap but Ant simply does not stop - its gels and pills on the fly! One thing I do know is that the night is always my time and on 13 hours and with eye problems unfortunately Ant was no more.. it was a solo battle with myself as I was a little unsure as to where I was placed and how I was going - all I did know was that Tinker hadn't lapped me and that the desert night was beautiful and also cold. Lap 13 was wobbly but Matt was there shoveling his fantastic mix of gels, nutella, banana and oats down me and I found my way back in. Come dawn and it transpired that I was pushing Tinker - after posters on my wall of the man when I was a kid, this was a crazy situation. I gritted in, hit up the eye drops and then on lap 17 Juarez folded and I went out for lap 18 which would seal my second place and make the total 300 miles. So there it was a 2nd at Pueblo - still the bridesmaid but it didn't matter as I had genuinely enjoyed almost all the race! Bruised feet and cactus throughout my skin from the scrapes but the rest of the holiday was tee'd up real good. As for Plews what a rider - I since read up on him and realised his class - he attacked Tinker early and held out great. To find out Sully had pulled through and bagged a second in the single speed was fantastic and we drank copius amounts of Mexican beer to seal the situation.  The rest of the trip was superb with great US scenery, mountain running and lots of eating and drinking in Vegas. Now back in the UK spring is coming and the season looks bright - the question beckons as to whether any IFer's will make it over and show the UK scene how it's done. Big thanks to IF for the bikes, Harlan for getting the Tifosi glasses and encouragment and Exposure for the new lights which owned the trail.
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