24 Hours of MOAB

Moab was awesome! Two words: windy and cold. We arrived Friday with something like 20-30 mile an hour winds kicking sand up and blowing it around everywhere. This did not let up until the wee hours on Sunday morning! And of course, it was cold. 30ish at night. So, how was it all? Well....

We arrive on Friday in a number of cars forming a little village of our own in the desert fields. Rich and his brother, Brian, me Tam and Kathy, Tammy's husband and his family (visiting from MI), Libba and Camine (my teammies) and Zach (Rich's Teammie) and his wife, Kate. This was actually the way it was all around, villages of teams setting up for the event, settling in and trying to tolerate the sand blowing all around. It was like a big city plopped down in the middle of the desert. We went into town and had dinner that night, came back and hit the sack, trying to get some sleep, but managing little, mostly due to the wind buffeting the van to and fro. Saturday morning finally came and after loading up on carbs, proteins and coffee we began our preparations for the 24 hours ahead.

A quick rider meeting at 10:30, in the blustering wind with sand and dust blowing like crazy, sometimes nearly blowing Laird around the stage.
THE START: Tammy started for our team. They do a LeMans style start with everyone running down the field, around a pinyon pine tree and back, I suppose to spread people out. Off they went kicking up a good dusting in their wake. Tammy is a super strong rider and finished her first lap in 1:42. Camine took off next, then me, then Libba. We were all under 2 hours our first lap, all is well. Rich and Zach were riding 1:25s - very very fast!

Rich and his partner, Zach, were racing a Duo Pro team. Meaning; only two members, racing against pro teams. The kicker? They were racing on Single Speeds (meaning only one gear!) against the others with geared bikes! These guys are nuts! (Awesome, but nuts!) :-)
THE NIGHT COMES
Then, the night time came, the cold set in and questions of how to dress runs through our heads. Will our lights last? Will I get a flat in the dark? Are there mountain lions in the desert? (haha). I love riding at night. Peaceful, quiet, a little creepy at times... I had issues with what I was wearing and found myself over dressed for the long climb in the beginning, which made me very cold for the rest of the lap due to being sweaty, but I made it. I lost some time stopping and adjusting my clothing along the way. We all finished in about 2.5 hours at night, except for Tam who did 1:52 - and get this - with a regular back up LED camping headlamp - her other light died ONE MILE into her lap! She's a rock star! Rich also had some issues with his lights; his headlight went out and his bar light was pointing strangely off to the right making it quite the challenge to see straight down the trail!

ON my third lap, I was doing really well, time wise, then coming down one gnarly stretch of trail, a steep, rocky, loose descent, this guy passed me, totally out of control and crashed, HARD, right in front of me. Well, of course, I stopped and stayed with him til the EMTs got there. He was pretty messed up. Finally, I'm on my way. With adjusted time I finished my last lap in about 2 hours, same with Libba. Camine, had to bail on her third lap due to a knee injury. Rich and Zach decided to slow down a little (to 2 hours on a couple of laps) to allow themselves more time to recover. Keep in mind, they were taking turns going out approximately every hour and a half! After six laps and some fork issues, Zach called it done, Rich slept for a few hours and did a final lap as well. Then ended up 8th out of 18 pro teams! A job VERY well done!!

THE WRENCH

Brian flew out from the east coast to be both teams mechanic. This is something that is essential, especially for the teo person team. To eat, change, sleep and work on your own bike is not possible in an hour and 20 minutes. He did an awesome job, sticking it out until 4:30am, when everyone else tired out as well. Indispensable!

The Support
And special thanks to Kathy as well. She was our "support" crew. Kathy fixed us food, cleaned up for us, made sure we were drinking, met us after every lap with a warm coat, but most importantly, her enthusiasm and spirit were hugely valuable. Always cheering and encouraging. Also, indispensable!

Well, it was a great experience all in all, I had the best team you could ever imagine and a lot of fun. We all came home tired and happy, ready for a hot shower and a warm bed!