Pick me, pick me!!!!
Maybe it's a bit like getting picked last in gym class, but I got asked to be on a 5 person team for The Burn 24 Hour Challenge with about a week and a half to spare. One of their team members had medical issues, so I'm getting the nod to replace him... wait a minute. I realized that this is less like getting picked last in gym class and more like being the odd child out who doesn't even get picked. Then one of the chubby children has a breathing problem on the dodgeball court, and the skinny boy watching from the bleachers gets reluctantly called in. Either way, what do I care? I get to play with the other kids.
I'm joining up with Team Inertia, and I am looking forward to racing with (and meeting) Mark, Danny, Will, and Sharon. I can't wait to go out on the course at full speed with no consequences. The idea of only putting in one lap at a time... priceless. As I understand it there will be some sleeping. How 'bout that?
The last time I raced on a team I swore it would be the last time I raced on a team. I saddled up with Bill Nye, Big Worm, Stabby, and The Wonderboy at the Burn in 2004. We had no specific goals, and we quickly found out that a bad plan would have been better than no plan at all. Bill Nye was our leadout rider, and he was very unaware of the nuances of 24 hour racing. He had just gotten back into mountain biking, and he broke his chain about a mile or two in. He didn't have a chain tool, and he didn't know that he could come back to the pits so he RAN THE COURSE back to the pits. We started the day in dead last, and things never looked up after that. While Stabby (our anchorman) was out on the course the rest of us decided we wanted to drink beer until the sun went down and then go back out. Stabby was a bit incensed when he got wind of our brilliant plan, and when he finished his lap he did not threaten us with physical violence. Instead he stated that he was staying out there until one of our lazy asses got back out on the course. "This is a 24 hour race, isn't it?!?!?" he exclaimed.
Our race never really got any better. Big Worm took a night shift and came off a lap singing in the pits letting us know he intended to go out for ONE MORE so somebody needed to get up. I got up and started riding next as we had no semblance of a rotation at this point. I went out for two laps which turned into three laps when I saw that nobody was awake after my second pass. Meh. I seem to remember us forcing The Wonderboy to slog out one final lap in the sweltering heat before we called it quits that day. Captain Dick and the Throbbing Members ended up 17th out of 22 teams with 31 laps. Funny thing was I went back to the solo class in 2005 and ended up with the same lap count, although the team effort was 22 minutes faster.
So now I'm back on a team, doing something I said I'd never do again. Imagine that. They do have goals and expectations, so at least I'll ride motivated by the fact that I might let some people down if I don't go fast. I think the Throbbing Members would have been happy if I woulda went out for a lap around 1:00am and just slept out on the course till sunrise. Maybe.
I have not missed the Burn yet. I was there back in 2001 when it was called the Prolyte 24 Hour Challenge for my first solo win, I have dropped out of the solo class THREE times since for a multitude of reasons, and I've done the team thing once. The win was nice, but getting third place in the solo class on a rigid single speed in 2005 was one of those eye opening moments for me. I've got a lot of good memories from past Burns, but I have almost an equal number of bad ones. Here's to putting another check in the positive experience column.
I have not asked my team how they feel about pajama laps. Is that the kinda thing you ask about up front, or do you just spring it on them when the time comes?
Public Service Announcement:
Elk and his girlfriend Samantha have organized an Ovarian Cancer Fundraiser in conjunction with the Escape from Granouge MTB race on May 24. Part of the fundraiser is a raffle with the grand prize being a custom IF fork. They also have a lot of other cool stuff, including some Maxxis Ignitor 29er tyres and a White Industries ENO freewheel. They are selling raffle tickets in advance via BikeReg. You do not need to be present to win. Here’s the link to Bike Reg:
I'm joining up with Team Inertia, and I am looking forward to racing with (and meeting) Mark, Danny, Will, and Sharon. I can't wait to go out on the course at full speed with no consequences. The idea of only putting in one lap at a time... priceless. As I understand it there will be some sleeping. How 'bout that?
The last time I raced on a team I swore it would be the last time I raced on a team. I saddled up with Bill Nye, Big Worm, Stabby, and The Wonderboy at the Burn in 2004. We had no specific goals, and we quickly found out that a bad plan would have been better than no plan at all. Bill Nye was our leadout rider, and he was very unaware of the nuances of 24 hour racing. He had just gotten back into mountain biking, and he broke his chain about a mile or two in. He didn't have a chain tool, and he didn't know that he could come back to the pits so he RAN THE COURSE back to the pits. We started the day in dead last, and things never looked up after that. While Stabby (our anchorman) was out on the course the rest of us decided we wanted to drink beer until the sun went down and then go back out. Stabby was a bit incensed when he got wind of our brilliant plan, and when he finished his lap he did not threaten us with physical violence. Instead he stated that he was staying out there until one of our lazy asses got back out on the course. "This is a 24 hour race, isn't it?!?!?" he exclaimed.
Our race never really got any better. Big Worm took a night shift and came off a lap singing in the pits letting us know he intended to go out for ONE MORE so somebody needed to get up. I got up and started riding next as we had no semblance of a rotation at this point. I went out for two laps which turned into three laps when I saw that nobody was awake after my second pass. Meh. I seem to remember us forcing The Wonderboy to slog out one final lap in the sweltering heat before we called it quits that day. Captain Dick and the Throbbing Members ended up 17th out of 22 teams with 31 laps. Funny thing was I went back to the solo class in 2005 and ended up with the same lap count, although the team effort was 22 minutes faster.
So now I'm back on a team, doing something I said I'd never do again. Imagine that. They do have goals and expectations, so at least I'll ride motivated by the fact that I might let some people down if I don't go fast. I think the Throbbing Members would have been happy if I woulda went out for a lap around 1:00am and just slept out on the course till sunrise. Maybe.
I have not missed the Burn yet. I was there back in 2001 when it was called the Prolyte 24 Hour Challenge for my first solo win, I have dropped out of the solo class THREE times since for a multitude of reasons, and I've done the team thing once. The win was nice, but getting third place in the solo class on a rigid single speed in 2005 was one of those eye opening moments for me. I've got a lot of good memories from past Burns, but I have almost an equal number of bad ones. Here's to putting another check in the positive experience column.
I have not asked my team how they feel about pajama laps. Is that the kinda thing you ask about up front, or do you just spring it on them when the time comes?
Public Service Announcement:
Elk and his girlfriend Samantha have organized an Ovarian Cancer Fundraiser in conjunction with the Escape from Granouge MTB race on May 24. Part of the fundraiser is a raffle with the grand prize being a custom IF fork. They also have a lot of other cool stuff, including some Maxxis Ignitor 29er tyres and a White Industries ENO freewheel. They are selling raffle tickets in advance via BikeReg. You do not need to be present to win. Here’s the link to Bike Reg:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6529
This is America folks. You know that you are going to piss some money away on something pointless today, so why not skip that purchase that will most likely be in a landfill by the end of the year (like the other 99% of goods purchased in the US) and put your money towards a good cause? One ticket is less than five bucks, so do yourselves a favor and skip that McDonald's value meal #7 and give till your arteries say "Thank you". I've got an IF fork already, and I'm still tossing my money at the chance to get another one just to cuddle with at night. They are that beautiful.
I'll agree to that!
I like solo races. (Comment this)
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-Mark (Comment this)