RVA 24; 24 hours of riding means pizza, beer, and anti-inflammatories
What: RVA24- 24 hour mountain bike race
Where: Maidens, VA
When: October 7-8, 2017 (noon to noon)
Placing: Joël 1st "solo male" category (but 2nd overall male), Jess 1st overall solo female along with 1st "solo female" category
Video: Stop motion video to right, click on to play
It's Monday morning. While Joël and I drive back from Virginia we just can't stop eating. No matter what we eat we just aren't satiated. We also are having a hard time walking due to sore legs; well, in fact just moving is tough. Every muscle aches. It's mildly uncomfortable to sit due to chafing in rather sensitive areas. Ah, the day after a 24 hour race.
RVA 24 (and RVA 6) is a reincarnation of the previous 18 Hours/6 Hours of Scouts Honor. Held at the Heart of Virginia Scout Camp in Maidens, Virginia this is a must-do race for anyone looking to do a team or solo 6 or 24 hour race. Camping at the race site (directly along the course) all weekend, perfect 24 hour trails (just challenging enough but not too much when tired), and amazing post-race food (full breakfast cooked by the boyscouts) are key to a good event. Hot showers, constantly up-dated electronic timing, racer goodie bags, and unique awards round out all that is awesome about this event. Add in a dedicated race staff (kudos to Billy and Bill), friendly and helpful volunteers (big thanks to the great course marshals on the last lap), and racers who just love riding their bikes and you can't ask for a better event to be at. Oh yes, I almost forgot. The aid station "aliens" and middle of the night chickens. These fun creatures make the night laps go by that much faster.
The last 24 hour race Joël and I did was Hardcore 24 in June of this year. Sure, we had a good race in the fact that we both topped the podium but we were not happy with ourselves. We both slept quite a bit during the night laps and didn't race until the very end. This gave us a feeling of unfinished business. Our goal for RVA24 was to make sure we put in a 100% effort. Sleep only if absolutely needed and ride until the end.
And that is what we did. It was hot and never really cooled down at night, so staying hydrated and not overexerting ourselves was a primary concern. We consumed calories, rehydrated, and rode at a conservative and constant effort as planned. Chains were lube, lights charged, and kits changed when needed. We each took a few minutes to sit down and rest here and there but kept going consistently until about 4:30am. At just about this time it started raining and Joël and I arrived at our pit area/tent at the same time. With the start of the rain we heard reports about the course, with it's many off-camber roots, getting slippery and people going down. Joël and I were tired, both physically and mentally, and knowing the rain was just a passing shower we decided to take a quick nap while the rain passed through.
This worked perfectly. About an hour later the rain stopped, we were rested a bit, and back out we went. A few more laps and we were finished. We each rode until we knew based on timing we couldn't get any more laps in; in fact Joël finishing with terrible leg cramps. Goal accomplished; no feeling of unfinished business after this 24 hour race. We each rode until a final clock time of approximately 23 hours; Joël putting in 21 laps for 174 miles; myself 20 laps for 166 miles. We both feel good about those numbers
Now, in our sleep-deprived state it was time for all the post-race events. Hot showers thanks to the boy scout camp followed by breakfast supplied by the race along with awards. Then breaking down our pit area and packing up the van. People always ask us if we drive home after all of this. No way! We find a hotel that is close by which has comfy beds, lots of TV stations, and a local italian restaurant that delivers. Well deserved pizza, candy, beer, and ibuprofen are consumed and then we sleep. We earned it.-Jess
