I never would have guessed that I would be participating in a mountain bike race even so soon as a year ago, much less a 24 hour race, but there we were at the 24 Hours of Moab race venue Friday afternoon staring across at the landscape and mass of tents, campers and RVs.  We were in the middle of nowhere with thousands of other racers, support crews, vendors, race oragnizers, supporters and EMS with the wind howling and the fine Moab red dirt blowing.  While crunching the grit in our teeth, we successfully got our base camp set-up.  The canopy with tarp sides was no match for the dirt.  Dirt was up, down, into, and on everything.  We weren't quit prepared for this kind of challenge.  We managed to get some dinner and headed for the tent.  We tried to settle down for some much needed sleep but the wind continued to push the dirt up the tent fly, through the tent mesh and settle onto our sleeping bags and our exposed faces.  At about 2AM, we gave up, pushed the dirt aside and climbed out of the tent into the pick-up.  Our F350 has proven its worth several times, and this was one of them.  We got a couple of hours of light rest as the wind continued to tear apart the tent landscape outside. 

 

Saturday AM came too soon and the wind and dirt was worse.  A cold front was coming through along with cold temps and a chance for rain and snow during the wee AM hours of the race.  This was the 24 Hours of Moab and the show must go on.  It was crowned the year of the wind (luckily no rain or snow).  After much discussion, Brad decided to start for Team Billy Goats.  The start was a Le Mans start, which meant about 360 starters would run about 1/4 of mile to their bikes and then mount and start the first lap.  I had thought about starting but the thought of 365 riders on bikes battling for position was too intimidating for me.  Brad lined up with all of the other race starters and battled it out.  He kicked butt and posted the fastest lap of our group.

 

Our race order was Brad, Shirley, me, Lynn, Heather & Jeff.  I headed out on my first lap right before 4:30PM.  I was nervous but had a goal of a 2 hour lap.  The 24 Hours of Moab course was known to be sandy, technical and tough for a 24 hour course.  Since Brad and I had never rode it, we weren't sure how tough it would be.  It was definitely challenging and a little more technical than we had expected.  The course was protected from the winds and blowing dirt so it made it much nicer to be riding than waiting back at base camp.  I made it back to the finish in 2 hours and with a smile.

 

The other thing we weren't prepared for was trying to get ourself back up again to ride after the down time.  Brad started his second lap at about 12:30AM.  It was tought to get going, especially in the wind, dirt and cold.  Brad said it was much easier once he got started out on the course.  I started my second lap at about 4:30 AM.  It was really tough to drag myself out of the pick-up.  I was tired-- not so much from riding but more from the lack of sleep and the draining nature of the wind and dirt.  I headed out and wrecked in the sand within the first mile.  Nothing like the adrenaline of a wreck to wake you up.  The rest of the ride was calm-- there was something peaceful about riding at sunrise.  Plus, the other racers were much more friendlier towards one another.

 

So to to wrap things up, we finished 44th out of 61 "Just for Fun" teams and overall 278th out of 365 teams.  Not bad considering most of our riders were novice, two of our riders didn't ride a second lap and with the wind/dirt.  Althoough we were humbled by the other faster and better riders, we felt we were in OK shape.  We were not prepared for the wind and blowing dirt or the amount of mental effort to get ourselves back out for the second lap- all things we will be better prepared for next time.  It was an awesome experience and one that I will always remember.  Now if I can just get all of that Moab red dirt out of my nose and lungs, I will be content.

 

Billi