48 Hours of the not so good, the good, and the awesome.24 Hours of Summer Solstice
June 22-23, 2019
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jess 2nd overall solo women
Joël very back of the pack
Hardcore 24
July 27-28, 2019
Naples, New York
Jess 1st overall solo women (and second place overall solo rider)Joël 1st overall solo men
24 Hours of Summer Solstice; by Chico Racing
Advertised as North America's largest 24 hour mountain bike race, it really does live up that description. Somewhere around 2000 riders, along with their friends and family, fill up the Albion Hills park and trail system area. Tents and campers line the course, with people hanging out and even partying all weekend long. What a festive event! Luckily the solo area is off on it's own and is quiet and relaxed, thus solo riders can have some down time if needed. But don't think the solo riders are introverts, the solo rider area is filled with many friendly racers and support crew and we all get to know each other. It's such a comforting feeling to know one's new neighbors and friends are there to help if needed.
The course is fun, not too technical, and has no major sustained climbs; just many short punchy ups and downs. It's a flowy and inviting course for a 24 hour race, but don't be fooled, once fatigue sets in there are areas on the course that become quite difficult. Laps average 60 to 90 minutes for Joël and I. There are always other riders out on course, which is a blessing and a curse. It's nice to always have others around to talk to and assist if needed. But it also means there is going to be the need for passing and getting by, which is not bad when solo riders are fresh and coherent. But once the night lap ensue and the super speedy team riders are zooming around it can get a little stressful for the solo riders. Most team riders were pleasant about it but some were a little pushy in their need to pass. Please guys, just relax for a second and wait until there is a safe place to pass. Lots of deer out at night and lots of mosquitoes. One year at this race I saw coyote, none this year.
As for the Nankman's personal experiences, this race did not go quite as planned for both Joël and I. As a friend of ours said, we lost our "pushers" for this race. Somewhere around midnight both of us just stopped. We don't know why. Physically we were tired but no more so than any other 24 hour race. Mentally we were just not in it. Joël went to sleep and decided he was calling it, no more racing for him even after he woke up. I slept for a few hours and when waking up I decided to go out and continue riding. So not quite what I wanted, just a long extended nap in the middle of the night. While I was sleeping I fell from second to third but once I started riding again I caught the other female rider and moved up a spot and was able to hold onto my second place. Joël was not last, I guess not to bad considering he pulled out early.So why did we loose our pushers? Stressful weeks at work leading up to the race? A long drive to this race on Friday? 90 minute laps mess with our hydration/nutrition strategy a bit (we like to eat/change bottles every hour). Who knows, we will probably never know. All we can do is regroup and recharge for the next race.
Personally not the best race for Joël and I, not quite what we expected. But still a race we would recommend, come back to, and enjoyed.Hardcore 24
Redemption, retribution, revenge upon ourselves was the outcome for this race. After less than stellar performances at Summer Solstice both Joël and I wanted to have good races here.
Hardcore 24 is one of, if not the ultimate, favorite 24 hour race of ours. Great course, relaxed and fun vibe, race director who really wants people to enjoy the event. The venue is racer friendly and the little town of Naples is a great place to also tour/vacation in before and after the event.
We arrived mid afternoon on Friday which allowed ample time to set-up and then relax, something we wanted to make a key feature, having time to relax pre-race. We chatted with fellow racers and friends, and just enjoyed the vibe and the pre-race happenings. Race morning came along with more time to put our feet up and leisurely set-up our pit. Overall just a relaxed and friendly feeling at this race.
The course is amazing! Super fun and challenging, just like the Nankmans like. Overall technical, no boulders or huge rock gardens but just overall rocky, rooty, chattery and babyheads everywhere. A few false ups and downs are mixed in with short and steep climbs and descents. Many of these became hike-a-bikes by the end of the race. There are some nice flowy sections through fern gardens and a really fast and fun descent with some little jumps and berms on the back half of the course. But my favorite part of the course- what it looks like at night. Light displays marked each mile and woodland creatures were everywhere. Slugs, snakes, toads, deer, opossums, skunk and mice scurried about.
So how did this race turn out? Much different than Summer Solstice. Different how? We pushed through all of those tough moments. At times just walking was tough, and when we got really tired we did a lot of walking. Hey, any forward movement is good. Scrapes and blood from crashing were quickly forgotten about. Back pain that required laying on the side of the trail was overcome. Nausea and gastrointestinal upset were unpleasant but did not stop us. Saddles sores formed that were big enough to require their own zip code. As Joël put it "it feels like someone put a bunch of nails in my handlebar grips and I am holding onto all the pointy ends"; hand cramps made holding onto the bars darn near impossible but we just kept riding. Feet felt tingly. And by the time it was all said and done race time of 23 hours, almost 22 hours of moving times, and almost 36 hours with no sleep. Now that's the way to ride a 24 hour race.
Just what an awesome event. Great people all around; racers, spectators, and race personnel. Fun and challenging course and good venue. Just an overall awesome vibe. And the bacon, crispy bacon. Someone was making bacon on the grill during the morning laps and handing it out to weary racers. What a spectacular trailside treat.
Once the aches, pains, and soreness wore off Joël and I were already discussing our plans for next year's event.
- written by Jess
- input from Joël
- photos by us and Apex Race Photography