So when I finally got around to telling my wife that 24hr solo "Worlds
Championships" were not only being held on our anniversary but in conyers Ga.
and not some scenic spot north of the border it was apparent I was again self
supporting another solo 24. Luckily the speedy Brit hopped the pond for a
gander at some American competition, Ian and I somehow stumbled into one
another at the Atlanta airport on thursday night ,we loaded up the bike and
bags into his rental and took off toward Jaime and Atlanta Pro Bike to
build my bike and fix Ian's after a fall he had that day while riding the
course.
It was at this point that Ian and I came to the realization that we were self
supported during this race as Jamie had to work until sat. night.
We regrouped mentally and then went next door and gobbled up Chicken
beans, rice and kale then scurried off to what we thought was a hot
tub and turned out to be a freeeezing kiddy pool 2 ft deep - we opted for
the leg dunk in the adult pool before fading.Friday was to be a lap and relax
at camp day with the lap pleasing me ...I thought I had the right gear 36x20
on my IF 9er rigid ...the rigid thang had me worried but I was seein lines to
make it work and the short steep climbs(and there were plenty of those on the
backside of this figure 8ish course) would end up being hike a bikes by the
10th lap anyway sooo. I must say I thought I'd have very little problems with
the course after the warm up and was getting excited and lookin to surely
break the 20 lap mark and knew I'd have to do 25 to win. Ian was thinkin he'd
do about 25 and was gunnin for a top ten as he was "ranked" 11th coming into
the "WORLDS" as he'd so mockingly say.
Our IF pit was also our hotel and we were the only solos to camp that
night on solo row anyway...we were also the only unsupported and had a table
setup with everything we thought we would need; food, tools, gu's ,powders
pills etc.It was classic waking up in the morning to film crews and
professional crews setting up for a steamy day in the south. Once we made
breakfast and got our table set we tried to relax and keep eating...the bikes
were ready and drinks were premade as we prepared the game plan ...people
kept stoppin in and offering any help we made need...we musta been the best
supported riders by the start of the race 12noon came and Ian took to the
front ...I was about fifty yards back keeping a lid on it for the run ...I
knew he would go out like that having mentioned he was a runner as a tot.I
thought he actually should have won the merrils(1st on the run) but the
protest has yet to be heard by the SOLO Worlds Commission board and some Trek
guy walked with the shoes....needless to say this left the speedy brit in a
druther 'cause he was at the front with the big boyz of the sport C.Gordon
and C.Eatough ...he attacked the bastards to no avail hours and hours the
brit chased not even stoppin to change his shorts....everytime I stopped ,and
stop I did,I'd ask about Ian and the Aussie neighbors who were so kindly
feeding us would say he had'nt stopped a wink - by lap 5 I realized I was
cramped,not having fun and getting my teeth rattled out of my mouth on this 8
mile shudderbumped chatter zone of a course....so I needed an attitude
adjustment and a gear change ...The kind Aussie and his son Chris,who were
there for the big age group competition and had flown a long ways to
support...they took me on and switched out my gear along with a local
southern IF dealer Hodge, who happened to be there supporting C.Gordon the
Aussie nat. champ. ..all the while another Aussie is rubbin the lactic acid
out of my cramping quads. Jamie Pair of Team Green fame took time out of his
especially busy life at Atlanta Pro Bike and managed to convince a massage
therapist to come with his punk ass out to the course so I took full
advantage and had my hamstrings worked on until I saw a ss rider come thru
the pits.
As the night rolled in and I thought these would be my hours to serge, Jamie
decided to stay and made us dinner while keeping us stocked with fluids and a
really positive attitude, he and Team IF rider Patrick saved me from sleepin
more then 15 mins ...at one point I remember Deejay actually reaching into my
tent and pulling me out for some tea -but my stomach was illin ,I had made
the mistake of actually eating...I usually rely solely on Muscle Milk but
strayed from the norm when I had Jamie make some pasta, when Deejay got me
out of the tent it was time to figure out what was going on so as I jogged to
the porto let I began to feel like I would vomit and vomit I
did ...geeez.Things actually got better for me physically at this
point,knowing I had chosen the hours of 10 to 2am to make a serious effort
and trained for hours at night,I went back out like a bolt. My batteries
however had been apparently plugged into a strip that was not turned on ...or
sumpthin cause after
getting full use out of one moab battery the spare went out 4k into my next
lap ...so I had to leech and come in on the half lap to put on a light...it
cost me a lot of time dealing with light issues and to think Team IF 's
Daisske had nicely offered his cateyes provided I could catch up with him in
Co. prior to heading east ...I declined and it prolly cost me the race. by
then Rich had opened up quite a lead
and C. chambers and I were left to battle for scraps. When I stopped for the
last time (5am or so) Ian was crushed, as I began to help him by breaking out
some Tea to jack him up -there was this godsend of a kid telling me that I
had just made up all the laps I had lost to Cameron during the night and
that a couple more would finish the job and solidify a 2nd place. I quickly
remounted using Ian's fancy Euro lupiene lighting system and road hard until
the 11am hour and I then stopped at the finish line had a beer and walked
accross the line knowing, I still had to find the energy to crack down the
site and find a limo ride to the airport for my 6 am flt . Cheers to the Brit
for the effort. Thanks to Iron and cytosport not to mention Independent
Fabrication for the support. Kevin Brown and Bill Barrows, I could not have
done without the ongoing inspiration and support..
SULLY
122 CAMPBELL ST
Santa Cruz CA. 95060
831 227 3986 cel--
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