Hi. 48 hours later and I'm just finishing unpacking the car and doing one of the foulest loads of laundry ever. Before I get into the details I want to say thanks to some folks:
John and Jake: for spending 24 hours setting up, tearing down, feeding, maintaining, and supporting. John for pacing me on some very difficult laps. Would have been impossible without those guys.
Courtney and Jared: for the moral support and for coming down to hang out only to drive back to CB at 1am.
Zach, Mallory, and Sarah: for seeing me off and the high fives
Rachel: for being at the finish line
The Alpineer crew: for helping with my last minute chainring bolt crisis and the encouragement
Kay Lynn and Trent: for the pop-up camper.
Ellen at Cateye: batteries!
All went very well. There was some weirdness but that's expected. I had some slow times on my night laps because of some serious light issues. My Cateye Double Shot was flawless. I was so grateful for it because my HID light from another company would not turn on. My backup light from that same manufacturer went dead after five minutes. I rode two laps with just the Double Shot and took my time on the descents. A guy in the campsite next to us graciously loaned me his helmet light. Thanks man! Having a second light took about 15 minutes off of my last night lap.
Jake and John took turns staying up to help me out between laps. Things get confusing in the middle of the night but those guys were there to keep things straight, keep my bike running, and make sure that I was eating and drinking. I started falling behind on food and decided to catch up by drinking an Ensure and eating pretzels, clif bloks, a turkey sandwich, and a banana in the span of 5 minutes. It was all I could do to keep all that stuff in my stomach on the first climb of the 4th lap. I had to get off and walk to keep myself from hurling. I got back to the start/finish and couldn't eat a thing. Miraculously I was able to drink some coca cola mixed 1:1 with water. I didn't eat much after that; I'd take some clifbloks every once in a while and let them dissolve in my mouth while riding. Not recommended unless absolutely necessary because it leaves a disgusting film on your teeth.
My bike hung in there. I blew a fork seal and my crankset came loose, but it didn't cause massive complications.
I was extremely tense and nervous in the hours leading up to the start. I tried to lay down, I tried to walk around. The only thing that worked was fiddling with gear and being kind of a butt-hole. As soon as I started riding I felt awesome....totally having fun, enjoying being on the trail, enjoying the people around me. The course was outstanding. The conditions were perfect. It had rained a bit the day before which kept the dust down and the trails from getting too loose, but not enough rain to allow the surface to get churned up. I was able to keep going through the whole race, getting off the bike to make some adjustments and eat a little. I spent a few minutes stretching before the final lap, but the time in the pits was minimal. I didn't have to stop to sleep!
The absolute highlight was watching the sky getting pink around 5:30. I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude and hope. Other fun stuff: threading my way through The Notch in the dark was a welcome diversion; getting a "good job" from the passing riders; long, steady climbs up The Luge with no one around; having John help me break the course down into sections; watching people having fun even though they were suffering; the volunteers and KOA staff giving high fives, staying up all night, yelling encouragement; for the first time in my adult life...not finishing last.
I'm pretty tired. My head hurts and I don't have much energy, but my legs actually feel fine. I don't feel the need to be on my bike for a while. I dropped it off at the Alpineer to get the fork seals fixed and told them to take their time; I'd rather have it there so I'm not lulled into riding it.
You can still donate to ERDF. Never too late. There's a link to the right of this post toward the top of the page.
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and support.
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