Team bratwurst! and the 24 of afton

Team bratwurst!

Where to begin? First and foremost this couldn’t have happened with my support team. There is so much to do and all the time saved really helped keep me at the top. Damn you guys rule shout outs go to my sister! Ben and kara or aka ken and bara, and al on the wrenchn. They were awesome and I was a bear to deal with at some points! Sorry guys I wasn’t trying to be a dick at those points I was just being a focused robot which I found is what you have to do to win one of these. It’s weird when you get in a zone like this. You only deal in simple short strings of communication, and thought. Anything else is pushed aside.

The day began with me and al setting up camp. Stacy arrived next and then ben and kara. Joel dropped by from on a solo ride and stayed for at least the start. We were there for so long that I kinda didn’t realize it was like 20 muinets to go and I had only gotten my clothing on. So after getting my food and ipod strung up I went to the start line having no warm up and being out the night before way to late and drinken far too much. This made me a little worried about my first lap and overall staying power.

They did there usual lemans start and we all ran up a short hill. I had a good run and got back with the first group of about 15 or so. I intended to take all my laps at an easy pace with a little more kick on the first two but I seemed to be in xc race mode since I put in a 46 min lap for the first and im not sure on the sec. I honestly felt I didn’t go at max output, but the course was almost the same as last year and I think my fastest lap was like 54 min or so. Sheesh.

I had a set food plan of 24 oz of water with two scoops of perpetuam and electrolyte mix for every lap excluding the first two which would be just water and goo. Well I came around on my sec lap and I had a water bottle with perpetuam waiting. Oops. Not too big of a woop it just saved some goo packets. I also brought oatmeal and mashed p for hot real food. Oh and my secret weapon the mighty bratwurst which I will share all further on in this missive.

By the 4^th lap I was feeling a little need for a break so I switched bikes and rested for 15 min. this was the next big mistake of the race. Note do not ride a fully rigid single speed mountain bike with way top much gearing (36-21) as you alternate bike! Note2 exp if you have had a serious hand injury 3 weeks ago. Holy shit that lap sucked I mean in the manageable hills it kicked ass like a ss does but anything serious was a bloody bear and I had to walk it. ARG well lesson learned I suppose. I let my team know at the halfway point that the redline was being decommissioned for the rest o the race and we were going to just have to make the dual suspension happen.

The night time:

That was fun up until I woke up J The moon was large but it didn’t nearly cast as much light as past years so I wasn’t able to turn of my lights completely on the up hills. I did however make one handlebar light at half illumination and 2 headlights work for the whole night. I just turned of my headlight as much as possible and I was able too do 2 laps easy with one unit. By my 10^th lap I was told I was up by a full lap so I waited till about 1 am I think to cal it sleep time. The team was ready for me to dock and I went right into bed after a hot meal. 45 min later I hear my sister ask if I am up I realize I am and somehow dressing myself. Heheh very funky time but I snapped right up when my cell alarm went of and got right to work.

I read a little bit about how much this point in a 24 hr race can realllllllly suck. Yes it does. I totally concur! On lap 11 I started out slow it took me a bit to get my legs back which at this point just felt a little stiff not sore, also the focused mindset I was in before going to sleep. I really started to pick up steam and had an ok lap and most importantly felt like I was back into the groove I was on before I went to sleep. Then came bloody lap 12 this was my purgatory. This is the lap where I had a total body bonk I mean it was everything I started to get the twitches and I felt like I was crawling. I then proceeded to go thru my bike competing life as a whole and pick every point where I had failed to decide to stop. I also tried to decide which injury to use to break it to the team was the clincher in not going on. Hmm the hand well that would be the expected one? The legs, they just haven’t got anything left. I just kept imagining sleeping.

But as with anything there’s always a point where you go thru and can come out the other side total different. I sat there on the first large climb and I thought ok I can either stay in this and take half hour break and eat some real food, or I can pretty much take myself out of the race and sleep for two hours get up and either ride a few more laps or sit on my 12 done. Either way I decided id be totally satisfied with what I had accomplished at this point which was currently being in first since the second lap.

By the end of the climb I had decided it. It was on. Nothing was going to stop me from going on and I was going finish the race and I was going to win it. Im not saying I knew I had it at this point only I was determined to do everything I could to hold on to first and win.

I got sepulturas “kowanais” (--- prob spelled wrong) on my ipod thought of my mom and grandpa my crew helping me and I got a big bloody smile on my face and finished that lap.

Bratwurst salvation:

I had asked to have a brautwurst ready for me and that Id take a ½ hour off after this lap when I saw ben and kara at the half way point. Everything was there for me I wolfed a full braut and some mashed p and slept for 25 min in my lawn chair wrapped in a sleeping bag. Got up warmed up by the fire gave my sister a hug cuz I had been suck a bear to her up to this point in the race and blasted out of there. That braut somehow helped me post a 46 min lap 13 laps into the race and right after my bonk lap. Damn! Hence the team name as coined by kara. Team bratwurst!!

After this I simply grinned and bore the pain which was climbing every lap. The right knee was not happy my wrists were exploding on the down hills. My hand was still trouble but manageable and the muscle above the inside of the knee was screaming. If I hadn’t had a steady dose of aleve and ibuprofen id have been way worse off.

My crew monitored second place and if he took a half hour rest between laps then I did. Everything was going swell how nice of him to take these breaks, and then he had to go and take a 5 min break. Jerkface!! So on lap 18 I had to just get right out there. My only mechanical came on that lap and it was my left cleat coming loose. Luckily it clipped out without staying in the pedal. I tightened her up and was on my way.

Other than that it seemed we could not get my front shifting on from 10 or 11 on. It was weird. So shifting kinda sucked and I had to have al change my chain on one stop cuz id locked the chain up so many times in the front derailleur. Im surprised I didn’t break that chain.

I finished 18 at about 2:45 and was ready to go if I had to. The team let me know he was in plain cloths and sandals and no one else was even close. Hell ya I had done it I bloody won 24 hours of afton. I had to sit there and wait and see if anyone snuck back in but by 4 it was official.

I heard last year a guy who is a sponsored 24 hour solo rider did 20 laps. I could have done 2 more. It was cool to realize that. I didn’t care to worry about matching that I mean this was now and I didn’t need anymore laps to win but shit my first solo 24 and I could have been competitive with a big gun. Just an added bonus to the whole fo the event.

What I learned from this whole shebang that at the end of the day its more mental than anything. Which was my goal for the year was to work on my mental side of racing the most. It payed of for me!

During the race I got lots of complements and queries as to if I was that guy leading the solo group. Wow ive never experienced that and it was so rad to hear people telling me to keep going and cheering me on. That helps so much.

Day after:

The muscles around my knees are on fire. I feel like I have permanent light prickly sensation in both hands fingertips, and I think I have some pretty good bruising to the palms of both hands . Seems they got the worst punishing.

So there ya have it. And if anyone ever tells ya that bratwursts cant save the day tell em sean ‘o’ says they are a liar!

Over and out