The trip started with a quick jaunt to Santa Monica to pick up team mate Josh Wiggin's better half (and our official team cook), Heather. A painless drive up the coast and into Santa Ynez put us at the race venue before 11pm, where the fire was already a-ragin', and the beers were a-coolin'. Good way to kick things off.
The race started Saturday morning at 11am with a typical Le Mans start - but the catch was that all riders had to run with to their bikes with their front wheel, install it amidst a chaotic scramble for the hole shot, and hope that no one squeezed their front brake in the last 5 minutes.
I rode in 3rd (despite stopping to scope out a sliced sidewall... thank's Stan's), just a few moments back from a Helen's / Subaru-Gary Fisher geared rider, Adan.
By early afternoon, the sky started to cloud over and the sprinkles began to fall. It didn't seem like a big deal, as the dirt was dry and the rain was relatively light.
Wrong! The next lap out was the most frustrating ride, errrr, walk of my life! I could not ride my bike because of the constantly packing mud and grit between my tires and the fork arch. What's more, my shoes turned into disco-Stu platforms, ruling out the slightest possibility of clipping in to my pedals. I had to walk up damn near every climb, then (even more depressing) walk down the following descent. Agh!!
Thankfully, race promoter Mike Hecker was taking his obligatory 'hot lap' during this sticky, unrideable 2 hour stretch and decided to cut the original 11 mile lap down to a more ridable 4 mile loop.
After that, the night laps were a haze (literally AND figuratively) of diminished visibility, stomach distress, and ever-increasing fatigue.
Oddly enough, my legs felt fresh with each turn i took out on the course, but the lack of sleep and attempt to shovel 1000's of calories into my body in the wee hours of the morning did not jive with my system.
By 7am i was barely able to get motivated enough to kit up and take my final leg on the course. I was cold, exhausted, and felt like i had just ate 10 thanksgiving dinners (despite undoubtedly being in a severe caloric deficit). But i did my duty to the team and rode in circles for another short bit, trying to soak in the beautiful sunrise.
A trip to the shower, followed by awards (we rode the most laps of ANY team: SS, geared, 4-man, 5-man, etc.) and camp tear-down, and i was back on the road to Altadena.
By the time i got home, i felt like i had been hit by a bus. I though i was going to have a heart attack just unpacking my duffel bag, so i literally dropped my crap on the floor with no regard for anything other than my exhausted body. I hit the bed at 5pm on sunday and didnt wake up until 8am the following morning. Yep - that's 15 hours of solid, uninterrupted sleep.
In hindsight, i'm glad that i took part in the 24 Hours of Chamberlain Ranch. It's races like this that allow you to see your true character, and push you to give'r more than any cross country race ever will. Most importantly, i was stoked to spend time with Dave, Wiggy, Jeff and the rest of the Helen's / Subaru-Gary Fisher crew whilst doing the thing we love most: riding our bikes.
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