So...after years of talking about it, thanks to one of my friends for getting us organized way early in the year, we finally formed a 5 person all women team for Solstice 2013.
And what a fun, hot, crazy, exhausting weekend it was!
I have raced in the 24hr races before for a few years now. They are crazy fun and I can't resist. It is so cool to basically step out of normal life into a completely different world for a weekend. And to regular non-biking people it's a really crazy world!
It's a big relay race. You have 24 hours as a team to take turns and complete as many laps as possible. (unless you want more crazy fun and do it solo - which is really incredible!)
The race starts at 12 noon on Saturday and goes right through the night until noon Sunday for the finish.
And...I got to be the start rider this year! For sure that was the craziest first race lap I've ever ridden. I don't know exactly how many riders start all at the same time but it's a LOT! And there is no staggered release ethier for age or skill level - at 12 noon they just say GO and everyone tries to GO. Which is like when an accident is cleared on the 401 and cars are realeased to go around....unless you are first in line...you don't get to GO for a while!
I arrived at the start area 15 mins ahead thinking that would be early enough to get a good spot in the line...but the best I could get was a spot next to the transfer tent. Probably 500 meters back from the actual start arch!
While I waited I noticed I was surrounded by solo riders so I started asking them questions. The solo guy beside me (who, by the way, was riding a very nice Trek Top Fuel 9.9) was planning to ride 14 laps. Holy smokes. Thats approx 250 kms! And he also gave me some excellent tips for riding this first lap since it was my first time riding it. Probably the best thing he warned me about was because of the huge volume of bikes to be prepared to have to stop from time to time because of bottlenecks caused by people getting stuck on a hill, messing up a corner, etc etc...all things that are normally not really a big deal but with so many bikes all on the trail at once...it's inevitable. So I really made sure to look way ahead to see where it was slowing down to be prepared to slow up...and not have to actually fully stop and clip out. This worked really well. Though I did have to climb every hill in slow motion right from the bottom (ugh). Keeping on the bike pedalling even super slow enabled me to pass lots of people who got stuck in too big of a gear. No chance to use any of the momentum which is a 29er's best friend.
(around 57 secs in, white helmet, light blue & white Trek Women jersey...someone yells 'go Holly')
An awesome start to a great time sharing the 24hr race experience with some great friends. We had some good fast laps, some injuries, some twisted bike parts, some first night riding & 24hr racing experiences, yummy snacks & beverages, attempted but bad sleep, rain that stopped in time for the race, heat & humidity, polar bear showers, sore muscles....and big smiles!
