24 Hours of Grand Targhee: Quick Report

Wow. My first 24 Hour Solo race is in the books and I can't believe how it transpired. I am a bit brain dead at the moment but still on an emotional high from my best race ever. Here are a couple of highlights:

JayP, 1st place - 26 laps
Me, 2nd place - 25 laps
Forest Dramis, 3rd place - 23 laps

JayP and I shared an incredible support crew the entire race. They were busy!

Chris Erickson and my wife Michelle kept JayP and I rolling for 24.

For me, it was a very emotional race at times as I dealt with some very low moments and I couldn't have done it without the support of Michelle and Chris.

I will post a full report as soon as I can think straight. :)

Bring it.

That motto has a dual meaning right now.

Bring it; as in bring everything except the kitchen sink to the race because I live only 20 minutes from the starting line.

And then there is BRING IT; as in "let's get it on!"

Fall has landed

The leaves are starting to change and the temps are dropping here in Teton Valley, ID. After an unusually hot summer here, this weekend's riding in knickers, long sleeves, and even a vest has been a nice change.

Saturday's ride was a night ride up at the Ghee with fellow 24 hour racers JayP, TraceyP, Nate, and Matt. We did some laps on the 24 Hours of Targhee race course and got our lights dialed in. I think it is safe to say that we will all be bringing every piece of cold-weather cycling clothing we own to the race.

Sunday morning Michelle and I got up early to ride Mill Creek before she had to head off for a work function. It was 42 degrees when we started our ride in Teton Canyon! Now that the cows are gone, Mill Creek is in perfect condition.

Lots of pre-race stuff to work on now. Replacing shift cables & housing, bleeding brakes, changing tires and organizing the gear will occupy much of my free time this week. I am really looking forward my first 24!

24 Hours of Grand Targhee course

The shoulder is feeling much better but the ribs are still pretty tender and deep breaths hurt so I kept the riding on the mellow side this weekend. I was happy to be riding at all. However, I will absolutely be racing on Sept 15!

A few quick stats about the 24 Hours of Targhee course:

Distance - 7.08 mile counter-clockwise loop
Elevation gain per lap - 1072'
Terrain - 40/60 split of gravel service road and singletrack
Estimated Lap Times - 35 - 40 minutes for fast teams, 40-55 minutes for solos

Sweet singletrack through the aspesns on Quakie Ridge

Rolling singletrack on Rick's Basin

Big crash, bad timing

As I am walking out of the Hagan singletrack in a daze, while Chris E is pushing my bike, Fitzy says, "I can't believe I am watching you walk out of here on your own". I guess I should feel lucky. Fitzy had ridden down the "Hagan Staircase" before me and had stopped and turned to watch so he had a front row seat for my crash.

My left shoulder and left knee took the brunt of my crash and as I sit here this morning I have about 25% of normal range of motion in the shoulder and very little left arm or left hand strenth. Lifting a gallon of milk for cereal with my left hand was sobering this morning. 800mg of Ibuprofen are taking a bit of the edge off but I am not exactly comfortable. With 16 days until my first 24 hour solo race the timing is not bueno, but hey, shit happens and when it is your time to crash, it is your time to crash. All I can do now is ice it and hope that I heal fast.

I was not trying to be a free-ride super-hero last night. I simply did not know the trail and was going too fast at the top of the series of root drops (Hagan Staircase) and once you start down the series of root drops things only get faster, not slower. I knew 1/4 of the way down that I was going to crash and that is never a good feeling. It is amazing how instinct kicks in during moments of self-preservation and I can remember saying to myself "DO NOT TOUCH THE BRAKES".