24 Hours of 9 mile = sore

This weekend I was in Wausau, WI for the 24 Hour National Mountain Bike Championships. I was supposed to be competing on a four man team, but a last minute injury required us to race as a 3 man squad. This meant a couple additional hours of riding for me, and the rest of the team. Unlike last year the weather was perfect, and we were ready to roll. Adam Clark got the festivities going with a blazing first lap, and had us in a good placing to start the day. I was next to go, and my first lap would be my first lap on the course. A good portions was the same as last year, but with a couple of additional singletrack sections that made for some sweet riding, I was a little hesitant in some of the tech sections. A couple of the sections were really bumpy, and as the day wore on took a toll on everyones back and wrists. I took one fall on the first lap on a blind corner, banged my hip pretty hard, but was back up and riding fairly quickly. Right after falling, I was passed by this guy. He was flying and went on the a really impressive finish. After my lap I handed off to Adrian Redd and we were on our way to our first time through the rotation. Next time through we decided to double up and go out for two laps each of the 14 mile loop. This was seriously tough, but I think it worked for the best, as it gave us some extra rest inbetween race efforts. By my night laps I was definitely fresher than last year, probably due to the additional rest. Kelly was asking me, "what you do between laps?". I told her that you pretty much sit around, eat, stay hydrated, and relax. With the team format it is really hard to sleep, as the time between laps doesn't allow for much more than keeping the tank full. The night laps ended up being a ton of fun. Night riding is all about focusing on the perfect line, and the rocks that scared you during the day, disappear into the darkness. It is really an amazing experience. My last lap ended up finishing at 5:30 in the morning. At this point our team was worn out. Missing the fourth rider finally hit us. We took a couple hours off, and Adam went out for a final lap. Our placing wasn't great this year, but we rode hard, and along with the two other XXX Racing-AthletiCo teams, we represented the best that we could, and had fun doing it.