Labor Day
weekend we (the mt. bike team) headed back to Seven Springs for the 24hr Challange. Like last year, doing
the 24hr Challange provides the team a chance at bonus points for
the end of season team championship in the Mid-Atlantic
Superseries. Friday morning Ben and I packed up my
truck and made our way west to the venue. Unfortunately hurricane
Ernesto was doing the
same.
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We arrived and set up our
camp/pit area in a slow drizzle. The hurricane, or what was
left of it, wasn't supposed to hit until early Saturday
morning.
Since we'd be asleep when the worst of it (wind and rain) hit, we
had to make sure everything was secure. We had 2' rebar stakes
and five gallon buckets of water holding things down. Ben
brought a civil war era tent from his dad. It was awsome. The wind
and rain would
be pounding outside, while the inside was dry and
peacful.
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Eventually the rest of the
team started to show
up.
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Nobody was quite prepared for the weather. As
it got colder and wetter, most people were wearing everything they
had to stay warm. Of
course sitting around drinking beer helped
keep things a little
warmer.
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Ryan showed up and insisted he get a little
spin in. So he sat on his trainer while we watched and
drank.
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Here's Chris and
Ryan in the war tent. Ryan was miserable because his stuff had
gotten wet in his tent in the few hours he set it up before
going to bed. Sleeping was tough as the wind and rain
pounded our stuff outside. With every gust, I thought something
would blow away.
Eventually it died down and we got some
sleep.
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After surviving the storm, we
still had a 24 hour race to compete in. We had four teams
representing this year - two expert teams, one sport
male, and
one expert female team. The weather was everything but
favorable.
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Like last year, the
start was a run, though a lot shorter this
year.
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Here's Ryan (team
Magical Fruit) and Kevin (team Baked Beans) waiting to head out for
their first laps.
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Ben back from
his first lap. The trails were horrendous
- muddy, wet, slick and rocky (my favorite). And
that was during the day. At night
they got muddier and slicker.
The fog also rolled into the woods, which rendered our HID lights nearly useless. In most places you
could
only see five feet in front of you.
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Heather
back from her first lap, while Wendy, Kristen and Chris watch her
wash her bike. With all the mud, it was imperative to have a clean
functioning bike for your next lap. Unless of course you were
smart and road a single speed.
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DeCarlo back from his first
lap. This was his first 24hr race. What a way to start things
out.
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