|   24 hours at Laguna Seca (sorta long) | Yeti_Rider
May 20, 2002 9:07 AM | | Things got going easy enough as we loaded up the vehicles for our journey from San Diego to Monterey for the race this weekend. We decided to load up Thursday morning and just get there whenever so we would have all day Friday to set up camp, pre-ride and just relax. We finally get rolling around 10:30 in the morning so we're looking golden at getting through L.A. without hitting any traffic.
After about 50 minutes of driving or so, Miles and I begin discussing the whole NiteRider-Tri-Life squabble. After about 30 seconds of conversation or so I let out an extremely loud "OH SH!T" as I quickly remember where my two Digital Pro 12-E,s and my Digital Headtrip are currently stored. Yes, that's right. I left my lights and batteries charging at home and forgot to throw them in my equipment bag on my way out! After panicking for a few seconds, Miles convinces me that between his BlowTorch and Bill's Blowtorch and the addition of my brother-in-law's automobile power inverter, we can get by on the night laps by sharing the BlowTorch. I'm still not sure, but we quickly do a lap schedule for the night laps and we're reasonably certain that there will be just under 9 hours of darkness so with four hour burn times on the Torches all we'd need to do is quick charge the battery for about an hour between use and we'd be okay.
The rest of the drive up was pretty uneventful and we were making good time up the 101 so we decided to veer off to PCH in San Luis Obispo to drive through Big Sur. Although it took us considerably longer to arrive at our final destination, this detour was well worth it.
We pull into Laguna Seca at 7:00 and were debating whether we wanted to camp somewhere on the property (the technically weren't allowing riders to set up there camps until the following morning) and it took all of about 5 seconds to decide that we were getting a cheap motel room in Salinas for the night. There was a wind blowing that felt like it was straight out of the North! It was darn cold and would only get colder when the sun finally went down so we decided the best thing was a warm bed for the night.
The next morning we left the motel and headed to the race track so we could set up camp. Miles, Bill and myself got our stuff together and awaited the arrival of our fourth member so we could pre-ride the course. Kurt shows up just before noon, quickly sets up his stuff and we're off.
Bill is the only rider of our team who hasn't ridden here before. Kurt and myself have done the Sea Otter (myself four times, Kurt twice) and we all raced the 24-hour race last year so we had numerous laps under our belts and knew what to expect. We had originally planned on running a 5-man team but our fifth rider bailed out a few weeks ago so we decided to change categories and move to the 4 man team. To further complicate the issue, this event was also going to be the NORBA national championships so we decided to enter that category. As we found out on our pre-ride, the NORBA competitors were treated to what I think was a far better race course with the addition of a 2 mile side loop, but more on that later.
We start our pre-ride with a quick how-to ride down stairs lesson for Bill since you go up and over the Bosch bridge twice each lap and it's faster to ride down the bridge than walk it. We then begin riding along and everything seems fin until we get to the first long singletrack descent through the valley (those of you familiar with the Sea Otter course know the area). This trail runs along the ridgeline and through the valley so it's pretty fast. Well, this trail is just absolutely full of bumps. Think potholes every 2 feet. You skip off them the whole way down the hill. You can still get going pretty well, but man do you and your bike take a beating.
Anyway, we do all the singletrack, climb hurl hill and rail the fast fireroad on the other side on our way to what we call upper outhouse trail (because at the top of this trail is an old outhouse). Even the fireroad descent, which you can get up to 40 mph on, is covered with bumps and washboard so there hasn't been a smooth part of the course yet.
We descend lower outhouse, which is where we see the two courses diverge. The typical Adrenaline course veers left onto a fun trail called Ewok that joins up to the Long Road Home while we turn right onto a trail called the Goat trail. This is a pretty fast singletrack for about a mile and then it starts to ascend just a bit. You get spit out onto a paved road for about ½ mile or so and then back onto the trail for a run up The Three Bitches. None of the three are very long, but they are quite steep and they come pretty much one after another so collectively they're hard. We know those will be hurting after a few laps. After the third bitch, we hook back up with Ewok trail and rail a fun singletrack to the Long Road Home. The long road home is just a long 3 mile fireroad climb that isn't too hard, but is just hard enough to let you know your in pain. To add insult to injury, once you crest the long road home, you have just a short time to recover before there's a very short, steep, and loose climb you must make before you can make your final descent back to the start finish line.
We feel pretty good about the lap and are looking forward to the race start the next day. We rest up, have some good dinner, and hit the sack early in anticipation of the events to come. Morning comes and we prepare for our race. Miles goes out first and turns in a 1:08, which includes the run and a parade lap. Kurt follows that up with a 1:06 and I go out third with a blistering (to me anyway) 1:03! I was just railing the downhills and felt like I was attacking the climbs pretty well. We're feeling pretty good about our performance until we check the early leaderboard and see that all the other teams in our category are turning in lap times as quick as 48 minutes! The course is 12.5 miles long so some of these guys were just tearing it up. Oh well, we just keep going out and figure we'll do as well as we can.
Night comes and it's time to throw the lights on the bikes. Since I'm sharing Miles' Blowtorch, I wait until he comes in from his lap to mount it. We throw the battery on the quick charger to boost the level and grab it just before I go out. Well, I got the quick lesson on how to use this light on my way over to the starting tent, but when I got the baton and on my bike the stupid thing wouldn't ignite. I fussed around with it for a couple of minutes and it just wouldn't turn on. I was wearing a headtrip as well so I just figured I'd go out with that light but I get about 100 feet and the stupid thing went into reserve power mode! I'm thinking what else can possible go wrong! I head back to camp, disconnect the blowtorch which maybe reset something inside it because after that it turned right on and ditched the headtrip. I'm finally out on my lap after dicking around with the lights for about 7 minutes or so. My lap goes pretty uneventful and I end up turning in a 1:19. I'm happy with my ride time because if I subtract 7 minutes where I wasn't actually riding then it's still a decent lap time for me considering it was my third of the race.
My fourth lap gets more exciting though. I go out around 4:30 or so and all is going well. Remember I said how the opening singletrack is super bumpy? Well, I start heading downhill and I'm going probably 20 mph or so when I feel something hit my foot. Odd, I think to myself because there aren't any rocks on the course. Just then the headlight goes black! I'm not descending a fairly steep rutted hill in total darkness! I slowly apply the brakes and just keep the bike pointed straight. I come to a stop and start frantically trying to reconnect the battery cable (On an earlier lap, Miles had a similar thing happen where somehow the battery cable got unplugged, so I just thought the same thing happened to me). I found the end that goes to the light but couldn't find the end on the battery. This was because I couldn't find the battery! Yes, it was so bumpy that it bounced right out of my watter bottle cage even though I felt I secured it properly with the Velcro strap. After spending about 10 minutes trying to find the battery by Braille, I eventually bumped up against it and was on my way.
The rest of the race was pretty uneventful. We turned in 20 (Miles - 6, Kurt - 5, Myself - 5, Bill - 4) laps and covered 250 miles, which is pretty respectable for us. Unfortunately we came in D.F.L. in our category because those teams were just insanely fast. We had fun, didn't have a single flat tire, mechanical failure, or crash on our team so all in all it was a very good time.
I'll post some pictures and video in the next few days but for now the write up will have to suffice. |
| Enjoyed that, thanks! Sometimes the HIDs require that... | Biking Viking
May 20, 2002 9:19 AM | | ...you hold the button in for a couple of seconds when you fire it up.
Good job on losing and finding that battery!
BV |
| Enjoyed that, thanks! Sometimes the HIDs require that... | Yeti_Rider
May 20, 2002 10:56 AM | | Sometimes the HIDs require that...
...you hold the button in for a couple of seconds when you fire it up
I thought I did, but hey, at that point fatigue was taking it's toll. I'm glad that we weren't in contention for anything though because then I would have been pissed instead of simply irritated.
Michael |
| good job! | troy
May 20, 2002 9:21 AM | | Sounds like a blast. I'm hoping to do 24hrs at Idylwild in September which would be my first. Begining to get excited. |
| Great write-up! | K-Zero
May 20, 2002 9:31 AM | | I always wondered though...why the heck does NR battery comes in black?? I would think white or neon green would be more practical in the dark.
K-Zero |
| One more comment. | Biking Viking
May 20, 2002 9:43 AM | | A co-worker of mine just walked in returning my HID light, which he borrowed for the race.
He did a 51-minute lap on his crossbike and did not lose the battery. In other words, it IS possible to secure it properly with that velcro strap.
BV |
| Sorry I couldn't find you guys. | Pete.
May 20, 2002 9:46 AM | | I looked all around 'E004' for Bill, his bike, or some other distinguishing San Diego type feature a few times. No luck.
I did see a Rav 4 (Bill's?) but the pink thong panties on the driver's seat looked like they were too big for Bill.
Nice write up.
Pete |
| Sorry I couldn't find you guys. | Yeti_Rider
May 20, 2002 10:57 AM | | not a problem. We weren't even sure if you were there. we never saw a little red Porsche running around the track. Just a lot of Ferrari's.
Bill does have a little chick SUV and he might have stretched out the thong...........
Michael |
| Sorry I couldn't find you guys. | Sorni
May 20, 2002 3:00 PM | | Hey, don't make me comment on your Jelly Belly jersey! |
| Sorry I couldn't find you guys. | Sorni
May 20, 2002 2:58 PM | | We were in "E-4" (I think), so if the Rav was green it was probably the right place. (I was out on my first lap at 3:15-ish Saturday afternoon, if that's when you stopped by.)
The panties were a last-second packing decision...just in CASE you showed up! :) |
| Great Story! | Cucucachu
May 20, 2002 9:49 AM | | You came up D.F.L. because I wasn't there to finish behind you...glad you guys had fun! |
| these 24 hr posts are inspiring! | little b
May 20, 2002 9:58 AM | | I am racing in a 24 hr this weekend in Spokane. now i'm too excited about it to get any work done! |
| These 24 hr posts are inspiring! | DaveinSDCA
May 20, 2002 12:09 PM | | Good Luck! Being the "domestique" for a friend's team last year at Idylwild was a valuable experience. If you can convince someone to come along and help run the camp, be a slave to the team, etc., it will really pay off. Having someone there to help you get something to eat after a lap or help you get up on time in the middle of the night is a big plus. It's not as easy as you would think. Once fatigue sets in, trying to figure what time you need to get up after calculating expected lap times seems to require a supercomputer. If you can't find a slave, try and be as organized as you can and help the next rider to leave get ready for their lap. We lost time on one exchange in the middle of the night. We miscalculated when the current rider would arrive. Hence, we didn't have a rider waiting for them at the finish. Ideally, the only thing the riders should worry about is which way to point the bike.
Try to conserve your strength. Don't be the rabbit. If you are going to peak, the last lap is it. Be aware of the 12:00 noon deadline on Sunday. It can help you gain a lag on the other teams. There's a big difference between finishing a few minutes after 12:00 and a few minutes before.
Most important. Enjoy the team experience. It can really build some memories.
Dave |
| this will be my 4th | little b
May 20, 2002 12:19 PM | | So i think we've figured out most of the logistics. there are a few team members who haven't done it before, but they'll learn quickly. thanks for the good wishes. |
| These 24 hr posts are inspiring! | Sorni
May 20, 2002 3:05 PM | | Just FYI: you can't START a lap after 12 noon, but you can finish your last one up to 1:00. (We saw a woman racer -- and she looked pretty darned fast -- cross the line at 1:00:01! Huge groan from the crowd...) |
| What..I thought if you weren't going to win, you were suppose | Drew
May 20, 2002 3:35 PM | | to QUIT!?! Can't believe the pros drop out like they do! Great post, very inspiring! I'm doing the 12 Hours of Humboldt with my wife next month. Congrats! |
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