Well, I think the picture above pretty much sums it all up! Yes, the race that has "haunted" me for some time now, whether I do the 24 hour solo or the 8 hour solo, is now officially a "ghost" that has been put to rest! Back in September, some of you may remember that I held the lead from the 4th hour into the race, all the way untill the last lap in which I managed to become OVERhydrated. Not this time......I kept things under control (which was easier since the weather was almost ideal.....not too hot, not too cold!), and ROCKED the race.After a really late night of driving to SoCal, mom and I woke up early to head to Idyllwild. I was a little freaked at the wind that was whipping things up down the hill in Banning, and was just praying that it wouldn't be that way up on the hill. It was a little chilly when we got there, but it ended up being ideal (especially since it made for a NICE tailwind across the infamous "meadow" on the course). I came across my friends Roger, Nate (in the pic above), and Steve Hasper before the race, all of whom I need to give a big "shout out" to for being completely responsible for sparking my interest in 24 hour racing. My very first 24 hour race ever, was on a 5 person team with them.......so everyone can blame them for my 24 our insanity! I was really excited to see them since it has been YEARS since we all last saw each other.
The race began with the traditional LeMans running start (not so bad when you have actually been running!), and we headed into the singletrack that always results in a "freight train" up the hill. I was positioned about 3 people behind Nate, and my goal was to stay with him no matter what. His goal was to ride the entire 8 hours, and not blow up. We went into the first singletrack, and hung together (yes, I even hung on the downhills!). My secret weapon for the race was my Pivot Mach 5, yes, the 5....not the 4. I decided to give it a go, especially since Jason (Pivot Demo Guy extraoridinaire..) had helped me set up the suspension on the Mach 5 the week before. I know the downhills on this course can really beat a person up, so that was the method to my madness. Did I mention I hung with the boys on the downhills??????? That was probably the highlight of my race, I LOVE that bike.
First lap went smoothly, and I managed to best my fastest lap time on this course from the race in September. Actually, most all of my laps were faster than my lap times in September, and they were definitely faster than my lap times from last April. Things were off to a good start.......I know they say "It's not about the bike", but really, it is. I came out of lap 1 with about 5 minutes up on 2nd place, and maintained the gap, and eventually extended it to 10 minutes going into my last lap. All in all, the race went REALLY smoothly....I felt great, I had no mechanicals, what more could you ask for? I also had a great partner along for the ride, my friend Nate and I pretty much cruised together the whole day. He had done this race several years ago, and went out too hard, so his strategy this day was to stay with me (what can I say, I can be the queen of consistency!), and heck, it gave me someone to occasionally chat with! In the end, all went well, Nate rode the entire 8 hours (which was his goal), and I ultimately put even more time on 2nd (22 minutes in the end!). However, even with the time gap on 2nd, all of us top 3 did end up with the same lap count, so things were still technically "close". It was so great to finally finish on top again, and it definitely gives me a boost of confidence going into my first 24 hour solo race of the season this coming weekend! Stay tuned for more!
