What is it like riding for 24 hours?
Event: Hardcore 24
Place: Naples, NY
Ridden: July 2015
Click on video to play
As I write this every muscle in my body is sore; I can barely move, I can't bend down to pick things off the ground, and I have chafing in unmentionable sensitive areas. That is what riding for 24 hours straight does to a body.
Until now, I would never have imagined I would do a 24 hour race. Joël has always wanted to do one; and decided upon the Hardcore 24 in Naples, NY as his 24 hour race debut. I really had no urge to do one, but I couldn't let Joël go to a race and I not go also, so we put my name on the entry list also.So how did this 24 hour race work? The race started at noon on Saturday and ended at noon on Sunday. The winner was the person who could do the most laps in 24 hours. So that means ideally if one wants to get in the most laps there is no sleeping, quick stops to eat, and the occasional speedy bathroom break; essentially one just keeps riding their bike for 24 hours.
The location for the Hardcore 24 was Ontario County Park at Gannett Hill in Naples, NY. Naples is an eclectic, rural town in the Finger Lake region of NY. Surrounded by wineries and quaint eateries, the scenery of the area is beautiful. The park offered a great race location; camping for racers in a large, open field directly on the race course, flush toilets, and showers.
The race course consisted of a seven mile loop of primarily all single track; there was a small section of grass leading from the forest to the camping area and a quick paved loop around the camping area but that was it for non single track. The single track was tight, twisty, and challenging. There were small babyhead rocks scattered throughout the course but no substantial rock gardens. There were short climbs and descents and a few good substantial switchback climbs and descents.
The day started with rain, which is standard for this race. Just a quick drizzle to cool things off and make the trails a little tacky, not too bad. The first few hours were uneventful, racers spread out and everyone got into a groove. As nightfall arrived the lights came out, our Lupine Lights easily lit up the trail and gave us ample light for the entire night. But the other thing that arrived at nightfall was the rain- a torrential downpour. The trails quickly became a mud pit, thick and slick peanut-butter like mud on the single track and the grassy climb up to the camping area became a bog of soggy grass. It's mentally challenging enough to ride throughout the night, add in the adverse conditions and it became a true test of fortitude to continue on.
Night riding at a 24 hour race is a unique experience. Looking up the switchback climbs and seeing all the lights moving back and forth across the trail is a memorable sight. Everyone has front lights on to show the way, many people also have red-blinking lights on the back; add in fun spoke lights and reflective gear on clothing and bikes and the forest can light-up like a Christmas tree at time. At the camping area some teams had Christmas lights placed around their area and on the course the mile markers were surrounded with white lights; these little things help to keep the night interesting and keep racers going. Creatures come out at night also. Deer were everywhere, Mice and frogs were constantly scooting across the trail, sometime evasive riding was needed to avoid them.
Watching the sun rise meant the home stretch, just a few more laps to go. As the race was nearing the end, Joël and I were both in the lead for the solo division. I was up two laps on Cindy so I knew I could take my time and did not need to worry about racing, I could just keep a steady pace and enjoy the ride. Joël on the other hand was in a battle with Rob, it came down to the last lap and they had to race until the end.After 24 hours of racing, both Joël and I won the open solo men and open solo women divisions. It was a test of not only physical ability, but even more so mental ability. There were many highs and lows, many times when stopping seemed like the better thing to do. But supportive racers and friends kept us going; a special shout-out to the members of the Toasted Head team. It was a great weekend riding and camping with them, having friends out there to ride with and talk with kept us all going.
Now, time for some ibuprofen, beer, and pizza and hopefully by tomorrow we will be able to walk somewhat normally again.
- words by Jess
- video by Joël