Friday was all about camp set up, meeting up with friends, and pre-riding the course.The course consisted of a long dirt road climb. It had varying grades and oscillated a bit. I never really minded it. Then we jumped on the Jem single track and let it fly. It rolled and flowed and is delightful. Another short road section spit us on the Virgin Trail head. From here we jumped on Hurricane Rim and back to the Jem. The course was crazy fun.
Both Erica and I were vying a bit for the fastest lap. I am not as conniving as Erica is though. She asked specifically not to do the first lap because she thought it would hurt her knee...and she knew that running adds time to your lap. She is a punk. I said I would not mind running because really could it be worse 24 Hours of Moab? The answer is no. In the end (and as I expected) Lynda got the fastest female lap.
So I took the first lap and I think I ran pretty well. The dirt was hard packed which made the run interesting with my choice of foot wear (cycling shoes). I was able to pass some guys on the road climb. I think I needed to let a guy or two by on the Jem. I did get beat by a cheer leader. I have some issues with that, but as was pointed out he was not likely a real cheerleader. (The event encouraged costumes.)
My first three laps were in the daylight. I was pretty consistent around 55 minutes. I had light issues on the first night lap. I had my lights all set up and went to turn them on, but nothing. My brand new (only used twice in Moab) light was not working. Jill would be back at any minute. Chris was on his way out for his lap. So thankfully Shannon, helped me do a quick switch. I was late meeting Jill by only a minute or so, but Chris let her know I was coming. My next two laps were also in the dark, but less eventful. These were a bit slower. I scrubbed some speed on the Jem for safety's sake and obviously my legs were a limiting factor on the climb.
It looked as if I would get a final lap in just before the cut off time. I was tired, my gut was upset, and there was no reason to go out. We had each done six laps a piece and we were a bit up on the competition. I did not want to leave time remaining though. When I told Erica that I was for sure going out and that it would be a parade lap, she offered to join me. So we brought cameras and snacks. We stopped for pictures and had a bite on the course.
I can't find official results yet, but we definitely had a good showing. And Phast Dan was there racing with (Uncle) Larry, Mark and (his Dad) Kevin. It was fun to hang out and see them. Dan was a bit disappointed in my team's results. I promised him we would be better next time.
2 comments:
What a party. Im with dan tho, I think you should have at least gone out on fixed gears and church clothes to make it look hard, cause it's not hard enough. It was such a girl fight, nicely done.
Conniving? mmm, I hope we can make it through this. OK, I just made it through and we are still friends:)
I think that's what makes us a good team, we are both ultra competitive but very nice to each other and other riders. Thanks for running that lap for us.
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