Burn 24 hour Race - next report

After lap one concluded, I headed back to the RV to refuel & rest. I refueled with something..can't remember what it was..either pb&j or some type of energy bar. Then I laid down in the bunk to put my feet up for about an hour or so. When it was time for hubby to get ready for his lap, I decided to start getting ready for mine as well since I followed him in the rotation.
Got some more food, hyrdated, changed back into my riding junk & warmed up. My warm up consisted of riding around the pea gravel track & also riding up & down this hill which led into the campground. Hubby came through & handed me the baton . This was a much better lap because I had a feel for the course & the legs were ready. Surprisingly my legs felt better than they did prior to my first lap. Maybe riding helped get whatever junk was in them from the previous week. At the beginning of the lap, I still bobbled on the rock section covering the culvert. This was to be my nemesis all weekend on the course. I could do all of the other rock gardens which were more technical than this one. I don't know what it was about this spot but I just could not ride it.
I was able to pass a few riders this lap, thus maintaining or gaining position from my teammates earlier efforts. Towards the second half of the lap, I was trailed by a solo dude. He recognized my team taco jersey & we chatted for a bit. Turns out he reads hubby's blogs pretty regularly and when he asked my blog name, he recognized me as well. It's always fun to run into people who know you by your blog. Sometimes it can be a little unnerving but for the most part it's cool.
Nothing eventful happened in lap 2..I raced a clean lap and felt a little stronger. Passed the baton off to Skippy & headed back to the RV for more rest, refuel. As I rested in the RV, one of the gals put in a DVD to watch. I wish I hadn't watched the movie because it caused a song to get stuck in my head for lap 3. Alvin and the Chimpmunks Christmas song!!!!! AAAAAAAH....I still want a huuuuula hooop. It was a cute movie though.

Lap 3 would take me into the night. Somehow I ended up w/ the dusk lap. Riding into the evening w/ the transition from day to dusk has always been a challenge for me. I don't see very well at night to begin with. The transition time always seems darker for me. For this lap I decided to don my flower bra (Over my jersey of course). I was also going to wear my grass skirt but it kept getting caught in my spokes. Got my light ready, refueled & warmed up. HUbby passed the baton & off I went. As I started my lap some folks from another tent hollered "go get 'em girl!"...that was cool b/c I don't know who these folks were but they were cheering for me. Lap 3 was also a good lap for me. I don't think I was as fast as lap 2 because once nightfall came, the lines got really weird. I mentioned the log jumps & rock gardens on the second half of the course...if you weren't careful, you would end up on top of a log jump where you didn't want to be but the lines took you right to them. I ended up on a couple of bad lines and had to dabble to get back on track. The night time transition really slowed me down as well. I still was able to pass some folks though. Most of the ones I passed were the solo dudes...they were starting to tire. I made it back in w/ out incident & handed off the baton to Skippy. Back in for more food and extended rest.

For the overnight hours, I had expressed my desire to not do any early morning laps...for some reason the thought of riding at that time of night/morning just creeped me out a little. The boyz were great & doubled up on their nighttime/early morning laps to allow me time to rest. I went to bed around 10...woke up at 1:30 a.m., then back to get more shut eye. I was awakened around 4:30 A.M. by Moe (Skippy's wife). She said the guys were beat & I would proably need to go. She asked how I felt & I said "ok"...a little sleepy but the legs felt fine. Hubby also got up b/c he was supposed to do the next rotation. We were trying to figure out who was gonna go thinking the rider on course would take an hour. I ate something & changed & tried to get ready as quickly as I could. Unfortunately our rider was back at the RV before I could get to the transition area. We probably lost 10 minutes or so because of this. I felt really bad about it. I took the baton & rode back to the transition area, then back on course.

It was cold & dark on this lap...and not too many people out there. Those who were out were moving slowly. This was my hardest lap. I was not awake & not warmed up..not to mention the fact I was quite chilly. I had to push in some areas which was really frustrating. As I neared the check in point I noticed what looked like a beach ball on the side of the trail. Earlier in the race, the promoters mentioned something about the 3:00 a.m. hour being the magical hour or wonder hour...or something. As I continued, I noticed more beach ball looking things. They were grayish in color and became more numerous. At one point I looked up and noticed green Christmas lights in the trees. I thought..hmmmm Christmas in May. As I progressed further, I noticed streamers hanging from the trees and then a whole bunch of Aliens lining the trail. They were having a party & those of us riding in the wee early morning hours were invited. Now I know why Adam was so upset earlier in the evening. He had forgotten his tin foil to line his helmet so the Aliens wouldn't abduct him!....That made my night!...I thought that was the coolest thing. I was laughing out loud (no one was around) because it was quite a sight. As I continued down the switchbacks I noticed orange/pink pencils outlining the edge of the turn..I guess so folks wouldn't go over the edge.
I continued on through the checkpoint, greeted the fine folks out there w/ a chipper "good morning". They responded."where have you been, we've been waiting all night for you"...I said "I'm here now..let the party begin"....It was a good laugh. I told them I loved the Aliens..it was a nice touch. Through the second half of the lap, I got passed by a chicky who was absolutely flying. The best part is she had white handlebar streamers!...It rocked.
I also passed another 24 hour solo dude who was pretty out of it. I felt bad for him.

As I neared the end of the lap, the sun was starting to rise. The rooster was crowing again. Once out of the woods I felt re-invigorated....the fog was rising off of the lake & it was a really cool scene. As I came throught the transition area, I greeted the timekeeper w/ another chipper "good morning"...They probably thought I was nuts b/c I had a lot of energy for so early in the morning. I handed the baton off & told Skippy I can go again after his lap & let the boyz rest more.
more to come in another post