I was introduced to 24-hour mountain bike racing over the weekend at the 24 Hours of Big Bear race held at Big Bear Lake Campground in West Virginia. I didn't ride in the race, I just camped out with some friends who rode. It's impressive! The course was about 14 miles long over some very rough, rocky, muddy, wet terrain. The team I was there with consisted of 5 people. It works as a relay, and when the 5th person finishes, the 1st goes back out again. Three of the riders rode 3 laps while the other two only got 2 in. They go all night with headlamps and everything.
I rode the course on Friday when we got there. It was hot, and I hadn't ridden more than 8 miles yet this year. It took me over 3 hours and I got severely dehydrated, to the cramping point (even after emptying my camelbak). My buddy rode his third lap in 1:27. Granted, he's been training hard, but that made me feel pretty inadequate, haha.
The really amazing thing is the guys who ride the race solo... 24 hours with no teammates, and they're riding faster lap times than people on teams. I guess that's why they're solo, but I just can't imagine doing that.
I ended up being the "official" team photographer. My new Canon 40D arrived the day before we left, so I had a blast. I took 127 pictures and it gave me a chance to become nicely acquainted with the new equipment. I'll post a few pics at some point.
One final note, I got stung by a yellow jacket. It's the first time I've ever been stung. It barely left a mark. Nice to know I'm not allergic to stings!
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