Noon: The mass LeMans start was mayhem, there had to be 1000 people all trying to run in bike shoes. I got off to a comfortable start, cruising with a big group, until I misjudged a corner and ran my foot through a cactus. Oops. After the lap I changed shoes and went out again, and this time the winds started kicking up.
3pm: Winds hit 40 mph, out camp area blew down, and I started trying to find big dudes to ride behind. Fortunately, my husband Andy got the pits back together (mostly) and kept everything running smoothly.
6pm: Bike race turns into shitstorm. Winds are howling, rain is coming sideways, temperature is dropping fast. Somehow I am dumb enough to go back out in it.
9pm: Rain finally stops, and wind slows down. I'm suddenly an HOUR up on second place. Laps keep coming smoothly.
2am: All my technical skills desert me. I hit every rock within a foot of the trail. Kept it upright only because my bike knows how to ride better than I do.
4:30am: Things start getting weird. I start hallucinating rabbits, or at least I don't think they were real. I kept telling myself "don't swerve, they're not really there!"
6:45am: Sunrise lap! I felt sortof ok again, and put in a decently fast lap. Met up with a fellow solo rider named Phil who pulled me around the back half of the course. Thanks Phil, I would have been a lot slower without you!
10am: Made the decision to go out for another lap. I probably didn't have to, but I wanted 13 laps...that one hurt. A lot. I felt like I was going about 4 mph, but I still made it back in under 2 hours.
Noon: The finish! Finally! I have a photo from the end, but it's too awful. I couldn't bring myself to put it on the internet.
Final tally-24 hours, 212 miles, 15,600 feet of climbing, 27 dead kangaroo rats on the trail (yes, I counted), and 1 sweet first place trophy.
No comments:
Post a Comment