view from solo row

backstory
I'm behind on my blogging. Work is still kicking my ass and my days are mostly spent - eating, sleeping and working 12 - 16 hour days.

I did sneak away for 2 days to ride in New Mexico and then I had the pleasure of crewing for Lynda Wallenfels and Dave Harris at the 24 hours of moab with my "partner in crime" - Jeny Jo. I love that girl - we have had plenty of good times together and it was so wonderful to road trip with her.

The only reason I'm not working tonight is I've given up for the evening...a little too much wine while working has rendered me very ineffective - i better stop before I mess something up...so might as well blog, eh?

well...so there so much to say about the 24 hours of moab....here it goes...
the "buzz on solo row"
There is a buzz on solo row before the race. All the racers checking out the competition...the speculation of who will do what and to who. Who will fizzle in the night and who will remain strong. And I had a front row seat to all the action - 4th tent from the transition area.

Being Jeny Jo's sidekick for the Wallenfels/Harris pit was an experience. These two have the respect and admiration of all the racers. It was interesting as people came by to (the only I way I have to describe it) is to pay homage to these guys. and after watching them race - I can see why.

One of the "buzz factors" was the Solo women's race. (all this is hearsay on my part - just stuff I heard throughout the weekend - so take it with a grain of salt) Pua Sawicki and Jari Kirkland were generating the most buzz. Lynda said "Pua is super strong when she is on" and it was obvious that Lynda has respect for Pua's ability. Also all along "solo row" was the talk about Pua's attempt to set a record for the Guinness Book of World Records. She had publicized it on her website and it was well known that she was gunning for the 'stars and stripes' jersey and the record. She had been in Moab training for this race for 5 weeks.

the "how to" clinic

Lynda and Dave put on a "how to win at 24 hour race" clinic.

final result - Lynda and Dave won the stars and stripes jerseys.

Lynda had a plan.

She was going to pull "slow" laps of 1:30 during the day and then pace herself throughout the night.

She had her nutrition all setup and a plan for lights. It was amazing (and an honor) to watch Lynda race. She was so calm and so consistent. She was "on the dot" with her lap times. Seriously - I couldn't believe it - you could set your watch by her lap times. The first 3 laps were all right at 1:30 splits. She would come in - eat, change camelbacks, and off she'd go. Somewhere around the 4 lap - she lapped her competition. She took it in stride and never wavered from her plan. The only break she took was ~3am where she took a nap. The she was off again. In the morning when she saw she had the 'stars and stripes' jersey wrapped up - she called it good. Lynda was always cheerful and upbeat and I liked how she respected her competition.

lynda and dave - sometime in the middle of the night

Dave's race was a slightly different story - it was just a strong but a little more hyper. He is a definitely a bit more hyper when racing than Lynda is. On the first lap - he buzzed in at around 1:15 or so and said "I have no front brake". Then he threw his arm around, Kong(the mechanic) and said "I have the goods to win this thing - I'll just need a front brake sometime soon...be ready on the next lap to change it out". So off he went on his second lap with no front brake. The top 3 SS guys were within seconds of each other. On lap 3 - Kong did an amazing job of changing out the brake in less than 2 minutes and then off Dave was again.

Dave was consistent in his lap times too and as the race progressed - we watched his competition fall further and further behind. He was strong throughout the night but somewhere around the 10 lap - the course started taking it's toll. But he always remind confident and upbeat. He had a strong lead but he keep on pushing and he 'sealed the deal' for the stars and stripes jersey.

dave resting for a bit before he headed out again -even tho he had the race wrapped up at 10am - he rode until 12noon. he's one tough dude.


the ultimate pit bitch

Jeny Jo worked her ass off during the race. On Friday - she helped Lynda and Dave setup the pit (I stayed behind at the hotel and put in a solid day at work). The through-out the race she kept on top of things. She was truly amazing.

but then pix speak louder than words.







then in this video you can see Jeny working her ass off - while I'm just yapping in the background. Jeny Jo did all the work - I just stood around chatting with everyone and tried to keep warm. ;)

the "e-factor"

pic stolen off Eszter's blog
(hope you don't mind - but I love this photo)

So the Women's solo race was interesting. Local Boulder racer, Eszter Horanyi was in this category. She's been winning pretty much everything she's entered this year - excelling in the high-altitude, gnarly singletrack races...putting many a man to shame.

I've watched Eszter at the Boulder Short Track races and always have admired her quiet confidence. To me that's so much more appealing than someone that's always bragging about their accomplishments - she let's her riding do the talking.

Eszter and Jeny have been riding a fair bit this season - so Jeny was keeping tabs on Eszter during the race.

As expected Pua started off strong - busting out a 1:11 lap time on the first lap. Sadly, Jari crashed out on the 2nd lap and Eszter and Sarah Kaufmann ( a 4'11" dynamo - yay for short people) were *very* close in lap times. Eszter would roll in then then less than a minute later Sarah rolled in. By lap 4 it looked like it would be a race for 2nd.

Pua busted out a really fast 2nd and 3rd lap too. The announcer was really talking her up - saying "we can call the women's solo race now". Pua was super strong the her first 7 laps. By the 6 lap she had put 40 minutes on Eszter and Sarah.

But as the night wore on - Pua lap times started fading and we saw Eszter and Sarah putting time into her. The 40 minute gap dwindled to 30 minutes and then 20 minutes. When the gap got down to 20 minutes - Pua pulled the plug on her race.

So at 4am the race was on for 1st as Eszter and Sarah remained close. Eszter always looked pretty good when she rolled in while it was dark. The only time I saw her look worked over was when the sun had come up and the 11 laps she did looked like they were taking their toll. Slowly in the early morning hours Eszter finally put a gap on Sarah and after discussion amongst their camps - they called it good at 13 laps - with Eszter being the 24 hour champ with a Stars and Stripes jersey.

Here's Eszter's story. I'm really impressed on how she respects her competitors and gives them credit. She is a true champion and a real class act.

I was wondering how Pua would portray her race - the only thing I've seen on the web is "Both Eatough and Sawicki were suffering from flu-like symptoms and were unable to defend their solo national titles of 2008"

It's girls like Eszter and Sarah give me hope for this sport of mtn bike racing. As Jeny Jo would say "yay team!"

the men's race.

this video says it all. From my personal view point - Josh looked like a broken man the last 3 laps. I can't believe he kept riding - he's one tough dude. big congrats to the 2nd place guy too. hardcore.