I spent the past weekend racing at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin @ Hurkey Creek. I got invited to join a 5-man team in the middle-age category (combined ages 200+) that formed just a week or two before the event - thus the team name “Just In Time”.
So basically what you’re supposed to do is to ride as many laps as you can in a span of 24 hours. We started on Saturday at noon and ended at noon on Sunday. Each lap was about 9.5 miles long with about 1300 ft of elevation gain. Since I was part of a team, we took turns going out.
Our team decided to double up on the night laps so we could get more sleep. But it sure is hard to fall asleep under these conditions. And a few guys on our team had light mechanicals, so I couldn’t sleep with them yelling “I need a light!!” and “How come this isn’t working??”.
Lap 1 - 0:56
First lap felt good. Course was in great shape, and it was a bit warm, but not too hot. I was actually surprised at my time, as my pre-ride times were a bit slower. I guess the “adrenalin” takes over.
Lap 2 - 1:02
Lights on! I picked up a Dinotte 400L to use as a helmet light and I couldn’t be more pleased. I actually ended up running the light at 50% due to a lot of weird particles in the air.
Lap 3 - 1:05
Early early morning lap. I can’t believe how cold it was. Someone said it was 30 degrees. I won’t argue that. Just standing there waiting for my team to come in…brrrrrr. I don’t think I ever quite warmed-up for this lap. I kept asking the volunteers at the checkpoints for hot chocolate or coffee, but all they had was water and gu.
Lap 4 - 1:07
Second of a back-to-back lap. Sun was finally up and the cold was quickly going away. I thought I would finish a bit quicker, but I guess the little break I took to drop off my lights cost me a minute or two.
Lap 5 - 1:03
Based on the time I finished my last lap, I didn’t think I was going to go out again. But back at camp after my 4th lap, I saw my teammate pulling manzanita thorns out of his face with needle nose pliers. Since he was in need of stitches, we decided it’d be best that I take his place. Knowing that you’re on your last lap is always the best feeling, but I just wish I had more gas left in me.
We ended up doing 22 laps in 24:30 or something like that, good for 5th out of 13 in our class I initially didn’t think we’d be competitive since we got the team together at the last moment, but we didn’t do too badly. We probably lost about 1:15-1:30 due to light mechanicals and meetings with manzanita bushes, but I guess that’s the kind of stuff that just happens at these races. Something is always bound to go wrong.
Tags: 24 hour, endurance race, hurkey creek, mountain bike race
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