I knew if I ever did a 24 I wanted it to be 24 hours of fury. I love the McDowell race course, if I am going to ride for that long I want it to be on something good! I went into the event with a pretty chill attitude. I was just transitioning out of my off season break, so I didn't really have any expectations for myself. My only goal was just to keep pedaling.
We arrived the day before the race to set up everything, making sure my pit and bike were dialed. As I laid everything out it became real to me what I was about to do. Although it was just going to be for fun, I had one BIG, LONG race against the legend Tinker Juarez and other really strong riders. At that point there was nothing I could do except make sure I had enough food, which I did.
The race didn't start until 10 so I slept in a bit till 8. I had a pretty big breakfast, I wasn't really concerned with feeling heavy or a little sluggish at the start. I just wanted to put in some calories, which I would really need. I didn't really do much or a warm up, just spun around the venue a bit.
The start line was full of different emotions. The solo riders were starting with all of the teams so some people were amped, ready to throw down, while others just wanted to cruise. I feel like I was somewhere in the middle. I didn't want to blow up early, but I knew I should take advantage of some of the riders doing teams by letting them pull me around the course. I put in a solid sprint off the line and funneled into the single track second wheel behind my teammate Nick Thomas. He settled into a solid tempo, it was nice to start the race on a familiar wheel that I knew I could trust to take good lines.
About half way through the lap I felt like picking up the pace a bit so Tinker and I took off and had some fun before returning to the venue. Everything felt good going into the second lap. We were only 40 minutes in, kind of scary to think about at the time, but I can usually tell that early if I am going to ride well.
The next three of four laps preceded pretty uneventfully. Tinker and I rode together, we didn't talk much but it was nice to have someone to ride with. The first separation that occurred between us was going into what I believe was the 5th lap. One of my pivot bolts came loose and we had to tighten it up. Being the gentleman that he is, Tinker waited up for me. Cool thing of him to do, so I had no problem leading him through the next couple laps. As the Sun started to set I decided to put in a bit of a push. I didn't look behind me until I got to the venue, where I realized I had dropped Tinker.
I kept a steady pace and learned that after the next lap I had put about 15 minutes into him. After completing my last day lap I was told that the gap had grown even more because Tinker had chilled in his pit for a while. As my amazing support crew which consisted of my parents, Marty Coplea, Chuck Bruni, my girlfriend Shea, her parents Tonya and Eric, the Wards, Jay Suarez of Team Winded, and many other AZ Devo Parents (it was awesome to feel the love from everyone, I seriously thank each and every one of you!) got my lights and other night supplies ready I hit a wall. The fast riding at the beginning of the race along with the three lap push before sunset really had taken it out of me. I had to take a few moments to compose myself and dig deep to go out for another. I am extremely glad I did!
Night saved me. I was able to drift away and just peddle. Laps just blurred into each other. The only thing that I really remember were the stops in between where I got to see everyone. This gave me huge bursts of energy to see everyone that was helping me and to get a hug from Shea! Although these early night laps were tough, I look back at them now as some of the greatest hours spent on my bike. Just pedaling, suffering a bit, but knowing that I accomplishing something big.
Every time I came into the pits I would get updates on the other racers. I know the heat of the day before had really hurt Tinker, who had taken a few hour break, and that Jon Pettit had moved into second but was a few laps down. I got some needed inspiration at some point in the early morning that I only had to do a couple more laps and then I could stop, with there being no way the others could catch me.
The second to the last lap was really hard but coming into the pit knowing I only had one more to go was pretty awesome. I got pretty excited going into the last lap and even attacked a few of the hills and descents. Pretty much just gave it anything I had left. I peddled through the venue that last time, feeling pretty awesome. I sprinted into my pit, did a little drift and a stoppie, before handing off my bike to my dad and promptly sitting on the ground. It was over, I had not only rode 215 miles in 20 hours but I had won!! Couldn't really comprehend what happened at that point, just wanted to take a shower and crawl into my bed.
I passed out, and awoke to a beautiful morning with about an hour left in the race. It felt weird for the race to be still going on and not to be on the bike. Sure, I could have kept going and done more miles, but to be honest I just pretty much didn't want to. I had my fill, for sure. Awards were soon after the race so I just hung out with all the people that had helped me. I was still pretty out of it, but conscious enough to feel stoked about the race.
Awards were cool. Great to see all the racers who had pushed it hard for an entire day. Team 24's are crazy, so hard!! I was very honored to shake Tinker and Jon's hands, two very tough and accomplished men.
My first 24 hour solo race was a good one. Everything went pretty much as smooth as it could have, considering the amount of riding that I did. Even though a lot of suffering was involved, I did really have fun. I truly appreciate all the help from my sponsors along with my support crew. Also Cameron Chambers at Carmichael Training Systems provided me with some great pre-race advice that really paid off. Always good to learn from the National Champ! Couldn't have done it without you guys!!
