Jason's Race
24 Hours Of Big Bear Report Day 1
For me Big Bear was one of those events that you plan to do, know it’s
coming up sometime in the distant future but fail to really plan properly for
ahead of time. Before I knew it the event had snuck right up on me , as a result
I found myself struggling to prepare things at the last minute. I’ll
be the first to admit I wasn’t nearly as organized as I should have been
and damn did I ever procrastanate but despite my organizational woes everything
worked out well in the end and I believe a good time was had by all the folks
I drug into this one.
I took Friday off as I both needed to get some last minute shopping done and to set out early enough to make the drive and get our camp set up well before dark. I awoke pretty early on Friday morning and the madness that was my day began. I was busier than.. . First off I had neglected to have my pickup truck emissions tested on time so my first order of business was to get that done before the damn MVA suspended the tags on it. After waiting in line and getting that done it was off to hit performance for some last minute odds and ends. Then it was on to Lone Star in order run an errand for Karrie. From there it was off to Walmart, Home Depot and finally Safeway in order to finish picking up all the necsasary supplies for the weekend.
I arrived back at home with roughly an hour to spare before David and Dad met me for the drive up. After a frantic morning of shopping packing and general preparions I was ready to hit the road around 2pm as planned. We had so much gear between the three of us that there was very little if any room left over once we packed up Dad’s expedition. After packing up and setting out we stopped to grab a quick bite to eat and then hit the highway. The drive up was certainly a pleasant one and took roughly a little over three hours or so. I must note I grealty prefered this drive to last years drive to Snowshoe. That’s not say the company was bad last year quit the opossite it’s just the the drive to big bear was far simpler and the places to stop for food and or gas seemed to be much more readily accesable. (I haven’t forgotten last years subway debacle and the lack of food there after). I’d even go as far as to say the drive to Big Bear was so easy that even someone as directionally challenged as myself could have done it with no problems.
We arrived at Big Bear late Friday afternoon in what we thought would be planty of time to get things in order easily. Much to our suprise and despite our relatively early arival we found the camping area was already rapidly filling up. In fact had we arrived any later we would have had an issue even finding a big enough spot to accomdate our two teams. As it was we still ended up way at the back of the camping area in a fairly overgrown portion of the field. We had to do some basic yard work in the process of getting everything setup so we found ourselves lamenting having left our weedeaters at home.
After staking claim to our spot it only took the three of us an hour or so of to errect both easy ups, setup our tents and situate our gear. We spread out best we could in order to save room for both the other members of Dad’s team in addtion to Chris and Pete who would arrive first thing Staurday monring. We had known ahead of time we would be the first to arrive so we planned to set up both my team’s (extreme sports punks) site and the other Kent Island Bike Doctor teams. The end result was one rather large campsite both teams used for the duration of the event. It ened up being damn cool having the two teams working and hanging out together throughout the weekend. For one it was fun having that many people to hang out with not to mention it was way cool being setup close enough to Dad that we could hang out together, being fathers day weekend and all it was nice to get some extra time in with Dad. Since Dad and I both went third in our teams rotations it was an added perk having him to head up to the start/finish area with when it came time for our laps. I figure not to many sons get the privelage of spending fathers day doing a mountain bike race with their pops.
After having finished our setup it was on to registration to get checked in. I had the team I was leading up checked in and ready to go in short order. There was however a snag when Dad tried to check in his team. The other Bike Doctor Team actually had a free ride thanks to Nite Rider cospondering the team via giving a free slot to Paul & Cory at the Kent Island Bike Doctor. The only hitch was that somehow made the registration a bit more complicated. We called Cory back at the shop and got the name of who Dad or Vince would need to talk to in order to get it worked out. Neither contact was at the Nite Rider booth so we opted to go out for dinner and check on it later. Dad’s team mates called while we were getting ready to head out so we brought them up to speed and they let us know they were still a couple hours out after being delayed by trafic.
For dinner we ended up driving about 20 or so miles up the road to Morganstown. We had hoped to find a local italian joint to grab a pasta dinner at but our attempts to find one were repeatedly dashed as we kept getting ourselves lost and found ourselves driving around in circles. To be honest we ended up doing a fare ammount of this during the course of the weekend. Luckily for us the race course was well marked because our sense of direction was apparently left at home this trip.
After throwing in the towel on our search for a local retaurant we ended up at Ruby Tuesdays. Not quit what we were hoping for but it was more than adequate considering how hungry we had become during our extensive search for sustanance. Knowing this was to be our last “real” meal for the next 24 hours or so we made pigs of ourselves and left more than a little stuffed.
Upon our return we found Vince, Dan and Jade had not only arrived but had also squared away the team’s registration. Having everything in order upon our return was a pleasant and very welcome suprise. With the arrival of the other team and their gear we had some additional setup work to do in order to finish setting up. We ended up with 3 large easy ups wich we used to create a both a work /staging area for the bikes and a nice big living room style area to hang out in. The end result was pretty damn nice if I do say so myself. I must confess I learned alot from racing on Joe’s team last year at SnowShoe and hence we put that knowledge to good use this year. The little detials such as having a bike stand to keep the bikes nicely organized really makes life easier and I would have never known to put those types of things together had I not learned from last years expirence. I think one of the biggest things I brought to the table for both teams was my having done this style race before, Pete was the only other team member with any expirence doing an event like this.
After a hell of a lot of work an exhausting day soon drew to a close. It was time to get some rest and prepare ourselves for the race to come. Pete and Chris would be joining us in the morning and there are always last minute details to attend to so we would need our rest. I sacked out in Dad’s truck rather than my tend which I primarly just used to change in. The truck was more spacious and definately nice and warm. Everyone else retired to their tents for the evening. Knowing sleep was going to be in short supply this weekend I was eager to get what little I could as quickly as possible.
Now you may be wondering why I’ve taken so much time detailing the mundain events leading up to the race. After all you probaly just want to read the good stuff regarding the actual race iteslf. For those of you that have never done an event such as this it’s important to realize just how much prep work is involved in order to get the whole picture and get a better idea of the whole expirence. Granted I greatly agrivated things by waiting until the last minute on my planning and prep work but I do believe no matter how much you prepare ahead of time it’s always going to be a hectic day leading up to the event and that’s just as much a part of the event as any of it is.
24 Hours Of Big Bear Report Day 2
I’ve come to realize that the night before a race or big event no matter
how much I need it I just can’t get a good nights sleep. I always end
up tossing and turning and being up most of the night in nervous anticipation.
This event proved to be no exception to the rule. After a rather restless night
I awoke early to start passing the time before the big start. I ate the first
of what would be many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and just kinda mulled
around camp waiting for Pete and Chris to arrive. Dave ended up cooking up
some eggs and sausage for breakfast and was eager to share the goodies. I couldn’t
resist partaking of a few links myself. I figured I had enough time before
race time to digest it safely so I treated myself. I have to admit it was mighty
tasty and probably the best grub I had until after the race. A steady diet
of PB&J, Yogurt and Bananas are no substitute for real food. Next year
I’m going to reexamine and improve my meals during the race. There’s
only so much PB&J a man can take before burning out. As it stands it’s
gonna be a while before I can eat one.
After eating I passed the time by lubing my chain, organizing my gear and so on. Just as I was beginning to run out of idle things to do to pass the time Pete and Chris rolled into camp. As is always the case with Pete I heard him long before I saw him. This due largely to the bells on his jingle-speed mounted up on his roof rack. Chatting with Pete & Chris as they got setup and ready killed some more time and before I knew it, it was time for our pre-race meeting / opening festivities. During the opening both Pete and I had the distinct honor of being tagged with postal stickers from our pals on the postal team. Well come to think of it, it probably wasn’t such an honor as there sure were alot of those damn stickers on various bikes, cars and even people by the end of the day. I repositioned mine but did keep it on the bike for the race. Who knows maybe it brought me some luck.
After Laird plugged all the race sponsors and ran over the procedures for the race it was time to head back and get David ready for his big start. Granny Gear always using a Lemans style start and well since I really hate Lemans starts I nominated David to do it when he wasn’t around to argue the point. For those unfamiliar with this style of start it goes something like this. All the racers first place there bikes in a common staging area. Next everyone lines up at a starting point a good distance away from the staging area and the bikes. When the race officially starts the entire race field has to complete a chaotic mad dash to retrieve their bikes and start the ride. These things are chaos at best, you have to witness one to understand the full concept.
I have to give Dave credit he never once complained about doing the first lap and he turned in a very respectable lap in the process. While David was out I started to get really eager, nervous even. My nerves were no where near as bad as last year but I had the normal prerequisite butterflies. As my time to go out grew closer and closer it increased exponentially. Before I knew it the time flew by and David came in and Chris was out on the course. I have Chris about an hour and then started getting dressed and ready for my lap. Dad and I ended up making our way to the start area together. Vince came in a bit ahead of Chris so Pop got to hit the course first. The short time I waited for Chris to come in felt like an eternity. By the time Chris came cruising in I was full of nervous energy and ready to ride.
My first hand off went smoothly as would everyone there after. I scanned in, grabbed the baton and was off and running to my bike. Having prerode the trail was a huge advantage. Having confidence in my ability to handle the course and knowing what was to come was a major help. The hours spent to and from the preride were certainly well spent.
I was feeling good at the start so I pushed myself hard. The trail was a little slick in some spots but still an improvement over the condition they were in when we prerode. The Intense was proving to be a great choice for this trail and event. It handled extremely well, climbing like a champ and eating up all the rocky sections with ease. The my favorite section by far was the pine tree section about 4 or 5 miles in and this was where the event photographer happened to be setup this year. I was keeping an eye on my polar and seeing I was keeping a pretty good pace I continued to push hard. Despite a 20 minute head start I still tried very hard to catch pops. It just wasn’t to be as I was pushing hard to find him I think he was pushing hard to not get caught I hit the really fun down hill and blasted down as fast as I could safely. I ended up passing alot of folks on the downhills. The Intense really shines on that section and really allowed me to pick up some time. A little over the halfway point I could feel the effort of keeping the pace taking a toll. I continued pushing through the pain and kept my pace up. By the time I hit the biggest climb that comes right near the end my legs were burning. After what seemed like an eternity I was at the top and I knew I was home free. I went to the big ring and pushed through the last section of fun twisty singletrack. I hit the last technical challenge via a nice little rock step down and I was off to the bridge. I had witnessed alot of folks slowing for the bridge and coming in pretty casually, I was determined to come in hot. I kicked it up barrelling towards the bridge, up and over and then down I went. As I was taking the first turn Pete screamed EXTREME with such vigor I about jumped out of my skin. I maintained control and came in to make the hand off to Pete. That first lap ended up being my best at 1:30 and change. It also proved to be the fastest lap from both our teams. Dad also turned a great first lap for his team. I was pretty proud of him when I looked up his time, he was doing awesome in his first race!
Now there is nothing quit like the relief of hitting the finish and knowing you get to take a break. I stopped by the tent with the computers to check my lap time and see how we were doing. I left feeling very good about our performance so far and went to get some food. After getting out of my riding clothes and getting my gear in order it was time for food. I had a powerbar recovery drink, PB&J, Yogurt and a Banana. This was pretty much my routine for the whole race. I tried to get a nap but there was no having it. No real rest for the weary just yet. Pete ended up turning a great lap tearing up the course on his SS. So there we were back at the top of our rotation with Dave heading out.
Laps were taking a bit longer than originally planned so it became clear early on my 2nd lap was going to be a night lap. Knowing this I spent time getting my light up and ready for the lap. Dad and I once again headed up to the start area together and waited for our riders to come in. I started my 2nd lap around 10:30 again a bit after pop was already out and riding. The night lap was by far the hardest technically of the 3 I ended up doing. It wasn’t the darkness alone that proved challenging but instead the combo of the dark with the slippery rocks and roots the night time condensation/dew produced. Sections that were once just a bit technical were suddenly much more challenging. It was also a good bit cooler than it had been during the day. I was still able to get away with wearing shorts and short sleeve jersey but it took me some time to warm up properly. I had to carry a jacket to the start area and send it back with Jade before going out in an effort to keep somewhat warm. I’m just thankful it wasn’t nearly as cold as snowshoe had been the previous year.
There was one section that had a very rooty portion within the first few miles that was kinda trick to roll over during the daylight and when dry. This same portion of trail was no longer simply tricky it was treacherous. If I’ve learned anything in the small number of races I’ve done it’s this. The potential danger of a section of trail can best be judged by observing the number of folks in lawn chairs in close proximity to the trail. The more lawn chairs nearby the more likely you are to land on your ass. So as I came into this section there were probably close to 10 folks maybe more gathered to watch. To their credit they tried to warn me to slow down and go easy and around the roots. Well being a true EXTREME sports punk I said to hell with it and accelerated in an attempt to blast through. Well as I’m sure you guessed that didn’t go so well. In an instant I was doing a nice superman over the bars. Luckily I fall well and was uninjured as was my bike. On a brighter note I did get lots of applause and cheers for my effort and the ensuing wreck. As I picked myself up and got back on the bike when asked if I was ok by the gathered crowd I said yup and mentioned what a great spot they had picked to watch. There reply was “yup” and a poorly restrained snicker.
As luck would have it that was the worst any mistakes I made on that lap. The section of trail through the pine trees was once again my favorite. It was still in great shape and very fast to roll through. The downhill section was terrifying at night when taken with any kind of speed but damn it was fun. I think on more than once my 5.5 saved my sorry arse on that particular run. I don’t know how the guys like Pete or my other buds rode it on fully rigid bikes. I’d have killed myself for sure. As it was I nearly ate it several times on my 5.5? travel bike. I did pass quit a few folks on this section at night as there were very few risking any real speed down it at least as I came through. I think most folks were taking the cautious approach. I wasn’t quit as fast as I had been during the day but I as far from conservative.
The big climb at the end really hurt on my night lap. I was still able to ride it all again but I had to granny gear the really steep section. By the time I came out of the woods and was headed to the bridge I was badly in need of sleep. Throughout my night lap I kept saying to myself as soon as I’m done this lap I get to sleep. That was my mantra that got me through. I again hit the bridge with speed but this time nearly wrecked and nicked my handlebar on the bridge at the turn at the top of the hill. After producing a nice metallic gong sound and recovering I was over and down the bridge. Once again greeted to an EXTREME yell from Pete. Another smooth hand off and Pete was out and doing his night lap.
Again I stopped by the tent to check our lap times etc. I ended up doing 1:46 on my second lap. I wasn’t thrilled with the time but figured it was ok for a night lap. I then made my way back to camp and towards the promise of a few hours of much needed sleep. I changed clothes as quickly as humanly possible and got my gear ready to go for my next lap. Dad had been kind enough to mix me up a recovery drink which I sucked down while eating well you guessed it more PB&J’s. Did I mention it’ll be a while before I can stomach a PB&J again?
I wasn’t sure if it’d be dark or not when I next went out so I swapped over my batteries and then headed off to sack out in the truck. Cory called for an update which I was more than happy to provide before sacking out. Exhaustion was taking a fairly solid hold at that point so I had little to no trouble getting to sleep. Since I had handed off to Pete at 12:25 am. Day two was officially over and the race was more than half way done.
24 Hours Of Big Bear Report Day 3
When David woke me up as I had requested after coming in from his lap that
pretty much made him about my least favorite person in camp at that moment.
I did manage to get some sleep during the night but not nearly enough to
have me feeling good when I awoke. I have this weird thing that if I get
up to early after not having ha enough sleep, I awake with a very upset stomach.
Well since I got no where close to a good nights sleep my stomach was wicked
upset and just plain giving me hell. As a result I wasn’t really able
to eat anything before my final lap. It was kinda a dammed if you do dammed
if you don’t deal. I knew I needed the fuel but at the same time I
also knew I wasn’t very likely to keep any food down I tried to eat.
The other little bit of joy I awoke to was the damn cold. Anyone who rides
with me regularly knows I don’t fair so well in the cold. For some
reason that morning I just could not get warm no matter what I did. Not wanting
to face the cold I delayed my exit from the truck as long as humanly possible.
When I did venture out is was to run to my tent to grab my riding clothes
and then to hop right back in the warm truck. Being as cold I was I ended
up opting for a long sleeve jersey I had brought and a set of tights.
I mulled around camp getting things together and rechecking everything in order to kill time before I needed to head up. The best part of the morning was the sun was rapidly rising so it was clear I wouldn’t be doing even part of my lap in the dark. I was able to leave the extra weight of the light set back at camp for this one. Dad and I got our stuff together and eventually headed up to the start/finish area together one last time. Dan came in a bit before Chris as had been the norm so I was left shivering alone in the cold morning waiting on Chris to get in. I was very eager to finish get started so I could warm up and even more eager to finish up as I felt horrible.
Chris and I had another smooth hand off and I was off and running. I was feeling pretty run down for the whole lap. I know the lack of food and rest just wreaked havoc on my performance. I could tell by my heart rate alone I hadn’t gotten enough rest. The biggest discomfort for me wasn’t the fatigue so much as the cold. For some reason I never really did warm up on that lap. I was pretty much cold for the duration of the lap. Even tired and cold I still enjoyed riding my favorite parts of that trail. The pine tree section was once again awesome. I was so tired by the time I hit the downhill that I probably had my fastest run down it since I was too tired to keep on the breaks and pick through it. The Intense saved my bacon here for sure as I was able to pretty much point and shoot my way down the hill. My Blur might have handled this nearly as well but if I had tried that with my Scalpel I would have ate it big time for sure.
Just past the halfway mark I had to take a pee so bad I could taste it so I had to make a pit stop. This sure didn’t help my time but damn when you’re cold and tired and trying to hold a pee… well that’s just too much suffering to take. I may be hard headed but even I have to draw the line somewhere. I also ended stopping for five minutes or so a little further up the trail when I came upon someone in need of a chain tool. I fished mine out of my pack handed it over and was back on my way after I confirmed the rider had everything he needed. I figured if I ended up needing the chain tool in the course of the lap then he would pass me and I could get it back.
The long climb up was miserable for me the last time. I still rode a fair amount but I did it in the Granny Gear this time around. Somewhere along the climb near the top Joe F. rolled by looking much better than I was feeling. I think that ended up being his best lap out. I couldn’t’ say the same about mine When I finally crested the hill I felt a bit better. I looked at my polar and saw my lap time was creeping into the 1:40 mark. Then and there I resolved that I would under no circumstances turn a 1:50+ lap. I dug deep and hammered with all I had left to finish off the course to come in under that time. Somewhere down that last stretch a fellow rider jumped on my wheel and we sorta helped each other out. I pulled him along and he in turn helped motivate me to keep it moving.
When I finally popped out of the woods and saw the bridge I was elated. I was up over and down through the turns and handing off to Pete. I came in at 1:49 I had just met my goal of staying under 1:50. As I was mulling around the finish area the guy that I had gave my chain tool met up with me to return it which was very cool. The guy that came in with me also thanked me for pulling him into the finish which was equally cool. If he had only known just how tired I was..
After checking my lap time and placement on the computers Chris who was there to meet me and I walked back to camp. It’s always kinda a cool pick me up when one of your team mates is at the finish waiting for you. I tried to do it at least a couple times for my buds and they reciprocated. Chris and I chatted about our last laps as we made out way down the camping area to the back and our site.
I had previously took a look at the make shift shower area and turned my nose up at it. I’m kinda weird about personal space etc and the showers didn’t look to appealing to me at that time. After finishing my last lap I felt so nasty and just generally disgusting that I quickly changed my mind. When I hit that hot shower I instantly began to feel better. It was almost as if the hot water was washing away the fatigue as well as the mud. By the time I finished I was singing the praises of those showers I had previously turned my nose up at. I am now of the belief that hot showers at races like this should be required by law!
After cleaning up and getting back Dad, Chris and I began to break down the camp. We took our time and got everyone ready for loading into the truck. When we were close to done we took a break and made our way up the the start/finish area and the nearby food stands. The three of us were more than ready for a hot meal and I wanted to check out the team pictures. Dad met up with Vince who was coming in from a lap and stopped to chat. I took the chance to check the results and head to the photo stand. Dad joined me shortly there after. The photos all turned out great. They even had a good pic of Pete cheesing for the camera which you just don’t see everyday. They were offering a deal if the team bought all the photos so I whipped out the plastic and purchased them for my team. I drug these guys into this and was kinda the ring leader of our little circus so I figured it was the least I could. It was Chris’s first race ever so he for one had to have the picture. Dad’s photo was pretty damn cool as well and I talked him into spending the 20 bucks and picking his up as well. It was Dad’s first race as well so again how cool is that to have such a great photo of it.
After picking up our “Glamour Shots” we were off to check out the hot food. None of us had much in the way of actual cash on us so we had to pool our resources to get some grub. We all ended up with chicken fajitas and curly fries. Holy crap that was some of the best food ever! We must have been some site sitting there on the ground three drooling grinning idiots sucking down these huge fajitas and shoving hand-fulls of curly fries into our mouths. Did I mention that was like one of my most memorable meals ever?
After gorging on hot food it was back to finish packing up. We wanted Dave to have as little to do as possible when he came in so he could just relax. During the course of the packing we discovered we had run the truck battery dead. DOLT! We were going to need jumper cables. Now one of the cooler things for me that I haven’t touched on was the fact that I had so many friends also racing this weekend. Last year when I did Snowshoe I barely knew anyone and those I did know I didn’t know well. This year I knew a ton of folks and many of them I’ve been riding with off and on the past year. We have a pretty tight knit crew of riders in our area and it really makes events like this all the better. In the instance of needing a set of jumper cables it also made it easier to find assistance. In fact the first group of guys that I came to in the way of DT and his Big Meats team hooked me up. Spearmint had a set of cables he pulled from the back of his truck in effect saving the day. From here the story only gets funnier. Having the jumper cables in hand we now needed a vehicle to give us the jump. Vince and crew had headed off for a bit so we couldn’t use his truck. Just as we were pondering what to do one of the many folks in golf carts rolled up to our camp. Now I hadn’t mentioned yet but golf carts are apparently all the rage at the big bear camp grounds. There were folks coming and going in these things all weekend long. They were all locals who owned sites and were curious to see just what was going on. As we learned from one couple the area where the race was being held was normally closed off so I think many of them just wanted to see what was up there in addition to seeing what we crazy mtb folks were up to. Anyhow I digress.. When that golf cart rode by Dad actually asked them for a jump. These things have a 12 volt battery and a gas motor that charges them so Dad knew it was technically possible. It was silly as hell but possible. I couldn’t help but snicker to myself as the cables were hooked up. The really funny thing is it actually worked. So here you have this tiny golf cart giving a jump start to a huge SUV. I think that gulf cart would have damn near fit in the back of Dad’s truck actually. Kinda reminds me of the time we ran the Expedition off the road buried it in mud up the axles and ended up being pulled out by a little Honda CRV Anyhow thanks to those very nice folks in their little golf cart that could we had the truck running. I enjoyed sharing that little gem of a story as I returned the jumper cables.
Once David came in from his lap it was after 12 and we were officially done. We packed up the rest of camp and were ready to hit the road. Chris and Pete as well as Vince, Jade and Dan were also ready to roll in short order and were actually first to roll out. The rest of us made one last rounds around the campsites to check in with our friends before hitting the road. A few stories and short time later we were all loaded up and headed home.
Dad, David and I stopped off in Cumberland for a great meal at a local restaurant on the way home. We all needed a good meal after a hard weekend of racing. It gave us a chance to swap race stories and compare notes. After a long tiring drive we were finally home and the weekend had come to a close. We unloaded our gear said our goodbyes and went home having had an awesome weekend.
Upon checking the race results when we got home our two teams finished 22 & 23 out of 48 teams. I’m damn happy with the result especially having had so much fun in the process. My team, the Extreme Sports Punks actually managed to close the gap and pull ahead of our fell Bike Doctor Team by around 30 seconds or so. Pretty cool that we actually placed that close to one another. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to share this experience with. Both teams did great and had a blast in the process. I was proud of each and every team member. Dad and Chris should be particularly proud for their great performances at their first races. Pete made an awesome return to 24 hour racing with some awesome lap times. David continued to ride and push hard in only his 2nd ever race. Again I can’t say enough how proud I was to race with this team and how even more proud I am to call each of these guys friends.
On a final not I am more than happy to report that every single member of my team has since already mentioned doing the event next year. This is a sure fire sign that we did something right! I can’t wait to do it again. I also need to thank Paul and Cory from Kent Island Bike Doctor for taking such great care of our teams and helping to make this experience so great.
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