|   Mountain Money (a better copy) | Bill Wildenberg
Oct 23, 2003 12:16 PM | | M O U N T A I N M O N E Y - THE 24 HOURS OF HURKEY CREEK, SEPT. 27/28
Mountain money... does anyone have any? I sure hope so. Without mountain money, there would be no way this last episode of our team's 24 hour sagas could continue. Nestled in the forest, the 24 hours of Hurkey Creek, CA was an event we had been looking forward to all year long. This race was our home race, on a course that we loved, and was the next 24 hour race our team would enter following a stellar win at Castaic Lake. With a new sponsor, a new teammate, and a single goal, we were set to race for another win.
The stage was set. Not only did we have some confidence, but we had some really fast racers on our team. While we felt the part, we definitely didn't look like bike racers. Sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Company, we were rolling out cooler after cooler of some of the best beer ever brewed. This allowed us to make friends faster than normal. It also allowed us to prove who made the best beer as we would later race against some Arrogant Bastards (also a beer..."Arrogant Bastard Ale"). Armed with beer, pizza, some Wisconsin brats, some home-made chilli, some protein bars, and some mountain money; we were set to tackle our 24 hour adventure.
The race begins with a prologue run and follows with a prologue lap on the bike before entering the course. On our team, we had with us Steve "I can get nothing for second place at all my 24 hour races" Nudge. Steve had placed 2nd place in the prologue the last three 24 hour races he entered. With the race about to start, we decided that Steve would again attempt the prologue start. With a bang, 200+ teams dashed from the start line. Steve and a racer from Trek/VW opened a sizable gap from the start. Running in second place, Steve crossed the prologue line and once mounted on his bike, he finished second in the bike prologue as well. First place in both the run and bike prologue get some nice products from Thompsen (our favorite stems and seatposts). Steve's 2nd place gave him the satisfaction that he will be able to try this again.
The course at Hurkey creek is amazing. With steep rock-infested climbs and fast technical descents, this course is a challenge. The race was now on. With Steve gaining us the advantage of a good starting position, not many riders held us up in the start. At first check, we were in 5th place. While this is still good, it was not what we were hoping for. We were all turning 46-54 minute laps and knew we could hold this pace until the end. That's exactly what we did. As consistency started paying off, we moved into 2nd place (very close to the 1st and 3rd placed teams). Unfortunately, we faced two mechanicals in a row; I shifted my rear derailleur into my spokes and had to run my last mile of the course to hand off to Rick who would face two flat tires while using spin skins (a flat "resistant" strip of fabric/kevlar). With those being our only mechanicals, we continued on posting fast times moving further from 3rd place as we chased for the win.
As the night progressed; the campfires started to soar, the racers started to mellow, and the fun was just about to start. We were also half way through our supply of mountain money. At about midnight, we were 12 minutes down on first place but by 3am, I came back to the camp bellowing and waking our neighbors and friends with a hearty "we are now winning this mo fo 24 hour race". I believe it was around this time that we all started to transform. Maybe it was all the good beer, or maybe it was the race taking its toll... but we started to show signs of racing for 16 hours. Pictured from left to right, you can see how serious Bill, Jake, and Steve look prior to their upcoming night laps. Steve was even starting to look like the guy who mooned me in the middle of my second night lap. As day approached, we were changing positions from 1st to 2nd, back and forth, like a yo yo. All we could hope for was that the yo yo would stop with us on top. Once daybreak came, it was time to start strategizing. Jake was banned from his single speed, Chad was banned from going slow, and we all knew we needed to ride faster than we had all night in order to win. We were almost out of mountain money. We continued blazing still moving from 1st to 2nd in the standings. Rick posted his fastest time of the race to boost our morale for the final laps. However, it wasn't enough and we finished an honorable second. While we didn't win, we still had a lot to be proud of; while we were 2nd place in our division (5 person/combined age of 150-200), we were also 3rd place for the entire race. We were the fastest team comprised of only amateur racers. That was an accomplishment none of us had expected.
While we started to realize the race was over, we knew the awards still awaited us and there was plenty of fun to be had. Handing out the remainder of our New Belgium Brewing Company treasure, everyone was happy..... We were all happy to compete at Hurkey Creek and happy to be finished fresh with great stories and battle scars from the last 24 hours.
New Belgium Brewing Co./ Anthony's Cyclery
28 laps in 24 hours
(from left to right)
Rick Mitchell, Steve Nudge, Chad Hughes, Bill Wildenberg, Jake Kirkpatrick
report by Bill Wildenberg
Quote of the race:
Do you know what mountain money is?
It's toilet paper, fool. |
| New Belgium Brewing picture | Bill Wildenberg
Oct 23, 2003 12:19 PM | | |
| prologue picture | Bill Wildenberg
Oct 23, 2003 12:20 PM | | |
| 3 fools..... | Bill Wildenberg
Oct 23, 2003 12:21 PM | | |
| podium picture | Bill Wildenberg
Oct 23, 2003 12:23 PM | | |
| Hey, I think I was behind you guys... | RandyP
Oct 23, 2003 7:31 PM | | ...on a few of my laps. How do I know? The brats, beer and chili must have been kicking in. I swear I saw a cloud of green smoke. A strong motivator to get out and pass you guys. On your right!
Nice job on your 28 laps. Your secret is now out. |
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