It’s been almost a month, but it’s time to catch up the Lee-Side.
24 Hours of Moab was Jo’s A race, her most important race of the year and her first Solo 24 hour race. She had been training all season, logging miles and hours. Beyond training there were the logistics of supporting a Solo 24 hour racer; lights that would last all night, nutrition, mechanical support, clothing changes, body maintenance, etc. Jackie offered to let us use her VW Westfalia camper as a support base and to be Jo’s main support person assisted by Patti and Maggie. I was doing a 5 person just for fun team, but was there mostly to support Jo.
Jo's A Race
Jo's Support Crew
We left on Thursday afternoon caravanning with Jacki, Eric, and Chris in his Syncro Westfalia. Jo and I had been considering a Westfalia for our next vehicle and it would be a good opportunity for a thorough test drive / camp. I used to own a ’73 VW Westfalia bubble window bus. It was air cooled, had no heat, would go 0-60 in 60 seconds, needed a new engine every two years, and I loved it! Jacki’s Westy was like a Cadillac compared to my bus, but it still had a few quirks. We topped out at 33mph at the Eisenhower Tunnel, but at least it had heat!
The Superfly on the Westy
Caravaning with Chris's Syncro
33 MPH Over the Pass
When we rolled into our Moab campsite late Thursday night we simply popped the top, and went to bed. Our heads were on the pillow within 15 minutes, no unloading the truck, no pitching tents, just pop the top and go to sleep – bliss!
Pop the Top and Go to Sleep
In the Morning
Molly Eating Chips for Breakfast
We spent all day Friday prepping for the race. At the tent city we met up with the rest of the Phoenix Multisport crew and made a wall with the Westy’s completing the Phoenix pit. I had dislocated a rib the week before and was still in too much pain to pre-ride the course, but pedaling my bike around seemed to ease my pain. Jo and I slept sound in the Westy that night. I took the upstairs bed, while she enjoyed the downstairs one!
The Phoenix Pits
The Calm Before the Storm
In morning the pit was bristling with activity right up to the noon start time. The Phoenix teams consisted of Jo and Scott doing Solo, Griff and Rife doing Duo Pro, and three 5 person Just for Fun teams which ended up being a 5, a 4, and a 3 person team. Jo was all nerves leading up to the start, but it was only skin deep, underneath I knew she was filled with cold determination.
The Teams
24 Hours of Moab is a festival as much as a bike race and this year was no different. There were plenty of costumes and characters lined up at the start. When the gun went off I lost sight of the Phoenix jersey’s, but caught a few glimpses as the racers ran back to the bikes and on the road out of the tent city.
The Start
I haven’t raced Moab seriously since 2005, but have done the race every year since regardless of my state of injury. I usually ride the start lap, but thought Rourke should so he could get the experience. I never saw him, but Hero Cam footage later revealed an epic battle he had for most of the lap with a husky Midwesterner. The battle ended when he flatted and later broke his chain. Two years ago I had a perfect start and worked my way close to the leaders only to get a flat 8 miles in. I knew his frustration well. He soldiered on and finished the lap in just over 2.5 hours.
Rourke
Jo finished her first lap in 1:44, a fast pace, but she felt strong. After a brief pit she was off again. Eric originally came to do body work on the solo and duo pro riders, but we roped him into racing. He went second on my team and turned out to be a ringer, riding a 1:26. Jo settled into her pace on the second lap riding a 1:52.
Jo
Eric
I went third on my team. My cycling season has been fraught with injury and disaster this year. I literally had touched my bike once in the month of October and maybe a half dozen times in September. I knew I’d have no long term speed, so I decided to crack myself on the first fast lap. I blazed out of the start and hammered the first climb. My heart rate was ridiculously high, but I let it soar into the stratosphere riding on the verge of cracking. I passed Scott about half way through the lap. His cheering was some of the best I’ve ever had and it invigorated me to ride even harder. Before long I was past the slick rock section blazing down the back descent. At the base of the last climb Griff caught me, so I pulled him into the finish line. It was cool having a greater purpose than just riding my lap and I rode harder for Griff than I ever would have just for myself. I finished with a 1:19, not too shabby for literally racing “off the couch”!
Scott
Nick and Molly
When I got back the light was starting to fade and Jo had already gone out on her dusk lap. Jacki gave me a full report that she was riding strong and holding second place (although we didn’t tell her that). As the light faded I hung out at the campsite and enjoyed not taking the race too seriously. Jonny V went after me riding a 1:42 on his Superfly followed by Matt who rode a 1:53. I had spent myself one my first lap and rode a less than stellar 1:37 in the dark on my second lap. After the lap I was done, my knee had given all it could give.
Sending Jo Back Out
Matt Going Out at Sunset
As darkness set in Jo kept trucking along, riding six solid laps through midnight. Then disaster struck! We were planning on getting her nutrition from a friend, but it didn’t pan out. Instead, I drove back into town on Friday to pick up some Hammer Gel Sustained Energy. You’re not supposed to eat anything else when using it and Jo didn’t have a chance to test it out before the race. A golden rule of racing is to never try anything new on race day, but we had no choice. Her support crew, including myself, didn’t understand how important it was not to eat and forced her to eat solid foods between laps. It caught up to her at midnight. When she rolled in from her sixth lap she looked rough. She collapsed in the Westy in severe stomach pain then the vomiting began. She spent the next seven hours in a vomit induced Hell, it was horrible.
Nick's First Night Lap
Scott Dancing
Light Trails
As dawn approached the worst of her sickness had passed and she dragged herself out of bed and back onto the bike. I couldn’t believe it! I’d like to think I’m a pretty tough guy, but I don’t know if would have had the heart to get back on the bike after 7 hours of vomiting. She pedaled out of the pit just after 8am and rode two more solid laps on an empty stomach, literally! The rest of the day I was bristling with pride about how tough my Fiancée is!
Ben At Dawn
Jo and Her Crew After the Sickness
With the Other Crew Memeber
After a total of eight laps Jo shut it down. It was a wise decision as the cumulative effect of the race and the night’s illness were putting her safety at risk. She finished 3rd with 8 laps including a 7 hour break! I have no doubt she would have been higher on the podium if we had the nutrition issue dialed. No race ever goes perfect and the real measure of success is not how high you land on the podium, but how well you overcome adversity. In this perspective I think Jo won the race. I’m still bragging to everyone I can about how tough my Fiancée is!
Ben Sending Griff Out
Then Scott
In the end Jo rode 8 laps to finish 3rd in both the Women’s Solo Singlespeed and the National Women’s Solo Singlespeed Championships. That’s two medals for the mantel! Scott rode 10 laps in Solo. Griff and Rife rode 17 laps finishing 4th in Duo Pro. And everyone on the Just for Fun teams had plenty of Fun!
Jo on the Podium
After 24 Hours
