24 Hours of Dirt
Rocky Hill Ranch
Smithville, TX
October 18th & 19th (Noon 'til Noon)
This was my first 24-hour event...so I was entering into some unknown territory. I've always enjoyed endurance events on my mountain bike - but I typically like to ride hard and be done with it. This was going to be different...
The 24-hour concept first got my interest when my friend Joshua, (Pure Austin Spinning Instructor), asked me if I'd ever want to be on a team and compete in a race after class one day. At first I thought to myself - No. Then I thought - Well maybe... Then I thought - Why not!
Rocky Hill Ranch is a great place to ride a mountain bike. The park is located about an hour away from Austin heading west towards Houston. The area is called "Lost Pines" because of the rolling hills and abundant large standing pine trees.
The course was marked and made up of 10 miles of the ranch's favorite singletrack trails. The goal was to log as many laps as you could around the course within a 24 hour time period. We had 4 people on our team and we entered the 4-Person Senior Sport class as "Rapido y Facile." (Senior Sport = 35 and under average age...)
The race started with a "Le Mans" style start. The first racer had a mad dash out and around a pond before they could pick up their bike at the start riding. Fortunately, this part of the race was done by one of my teammates - Brandon.
Brandon had a quick start and got a great time on his first lap despite the chaotic beginning of the race.
Next up was Joshua. He's a speed demon and sure enough he finished his first lap (and most of the subsequent laps) in sub 1-hour pace.
My friend, teammate, and neighbor James did his part too. He cranked out lap after lap at a very fast pace. We knew we were doing well when when we realized that we were in first place going into the evening. Time to get the lights out and keep up the effort!
I put a lot of thought into what I was going to eat during this event. We were all pretty much on the same page. I drank a Mix1 after every lap I completed. Drinking a Mix1 is a great way to get vitamins and minerals back into your system quickly. When I had a short break between laps I ate one or two PB&J's and drank water - some of which had a Nuun tablet added to it. For the longer breaks - I was lucky that James brought cooked brown rice, tortillas, grilled chicken, and fresh salsa. This really hit the spot at 2am! Coffee was flowing - and chocolate covered espresso beans kept us alert. Of course, bananas and apples were on the menu too.
We kept up our pace all night. We figured that a race could be won or lost in the dark because most people slow down. My new Ay Up! lights helped me get through the night without any trouble at a great pace. The lights are incredible - very small, lightweight and extremely bright!
My last lap finished around 11:15am. It was the 22nd lap that was logged by the team. The timing enabled James to go out for another lap. They let you start a new lap before the 12 noon cut off and will count the lap if you finish it within 1.5 hours.
Later that afternoon during the award ceremony, we found out that we won!
We took first place in our class - and logged 23 laps in 24hrs:31min:42sec.
It was by far the most exhilarating event that I have ever participated in. The race preparation and then the test of strength, endurance, and mind over matter were very addicting. I can't wait for the next one!!
