Chainbuster Racing: 24 Hours of Iron Maiden

24 Hours of Iron Maiden

Chainbuster Racing

June 12-13, 2021

Tannehill State Park, McCalla, Alabama

The Nankmans enjoyed this race so much last year that we decided to repeat the one-way 15 hour drive from Pennsylvania to Alabama; taking part in once again in the 24 hour solo competition.  Dawn and Jason of Chainbuster Racing know how to put on a good event, the state park location is perfect for a 24 hour race, the course is fun and challenging, and the fellow races friendly and welcoming.  All good reasons to come back and race again.

 

Rather than re-hash the race protocol details such as venue, trails, registration, etc you can read all about them in last year’s blog reviewing the 24 Hours of Iron Maiden by clicking on the link here: 2020 race report 24 Hours of Iron Maiden.  This year's writing will be more about the personal aspects of the race and what goes on behind the scenes. As one fellow competitor said to me “it’s not always rainbows and skittles coming out of your ass” and this blog post is about divulging into that aspect of 24 hour racing. So here are the good, the bad, the pain, and the smiles during all those miles.

Race start at 9am the temperatures were already around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and only going to get hotter.  Both of us planned on taking it easier and thus slower than usual for the beginning laps as to not tax our bodies too much. In addition to this, when ever stopping at our pit are we did some cooling procedures such wiping down with icy sponges or rags that are kept in our coolers and putting ice in our jerseys or in my case in my sports bra. All of the aforementioned helped keep core temperatures down and energy levels going despite the high temps.  But none of this mattered much once the rain started.  Mother nature cooled us down and made for slow going which helped keep riders from overheating but made the ride difficult in many other ways.

 

As forecast by the weather station, afternoon storms rolled in and the deluge started.  Rain for the few days before the race had left the occasional muddy spot but overall the course had drained well and handled the water well. But once these mid-race storms happened the trails changed and racing became more about survival and just getting through than true speed.

So what was it like to ride during and after the line of storms that rolled through?  The rain was at first cooling which felt great, probably the only positive thing about the rain.  But as the rain progressed and got stronger it made for physically difficult and uncomfortable conditions along with challenging riding conditions.  Thunder and lightning caused a race stop and rain delay for just a bit around dark but after that the storms cleared out; no more rain just the ramifications from all of it that continued on until race completion at 9am the next morning.

Glasses on or glasses off is always a question it the rain and mud.  I started with glasses on, photochromatic lenses to allow for sight no matter what the lighting conditions.  As the rain got harder and went on for longer the lenses became covered with water and mud and occasionally fogged up and these factors meant zero visibility.  With zero visibility the glasses came off which then meant rain drops and the occasional big chunk of mud in the eyes and these factors also meant zero visibility. So sometimes it was glasses on and sometimes it was glasses off.

Sweat and water run off is always a fun factor when it rains. Helmet pads absorb sweat. When it rains and the helmet pads absorb water they eventually gets saturated and a mix of sweat and rain runs down one’s face.  It gets into the eyes and stings and tastes extremely yummy when it runs into one’s mouth. As the helmet pads dry, they become itchy and irritating on the forehead.  All cyclists who ride in the rain can empathize with all of this.  Water run off also goes into other places.  Muddy water filled with grit and grime runs downwards into shorts and sports bras.  It runs down legs and into socks and shoes. It just makes for everywhere and everything to get soggy, grimy, gritty, and uncomfortable.

Oh the mud.  It gets everywhere.  After the main deluge stopped, I used the roof-top solar shower Joël and I have on the van to rinse off and try to clean some of the mud out of sensitive areas.  Mud down into shorts makes for wonderful chafing; I would imagine it is similar to wearing a wet, dirty, soggy diaper filled with sand and grit.  I stopped every other lap to re-apply Chamois Butt’r in my shorts.  I’m still going to say there was discomfort but it was tolerated. It’s going to take probably a week for the ulcerated and crusted chamois sores to heal.  Why not change shorts some may ask?  Because in my opinion and experience it is better to keep on the wet and soggy shorts than to change. When changing, all the mud and grime from my legs gets into the new shorts as I pull them on. Also, dry shorts rubbing against soggy skin, even with all the chamois cream possible, is still uncomfortable. It just works better to keep everything the same and work with what I’ve got. Gritty socks and shoes are a another main problem area.  Socks become saturated with mud and water, slip down a bit and get frumpy and clumpy in shoes along with the inevitable chunks of mud that accumulate inside shoes.  I did change socks once I knew the rain was subsiding for good.  A fresh pair of socks makes for happy feet, as long as feet are well cleaned before the new socks are put on.  Hands were the last body aspect that needed some extra care.  Gloves were changed to a fresh, dry pair every few hours. This helped prevent blisters and to give a better grip on muddy and wet handlebars.  As for everywhere else, mud just accumulated and was dealt with.  As Joël stated, he felt like the back of his jersey was a “turtle shell” since it was crusted and hardened with mud. Mud was in my hair making my head itchy.  Mud was on water bottle tops and on the packs of Honey Stinger chews in my pockets; every time I ate and drank mud was consumed. Good for the immune system, right?  Bikes were coated in mud. Regular de-mudding at the race supplied bike wash and the garden sprayer Joël and I brought decreased but still didn’t stop the destruction that occurred. Frequent chain lube applications helped but drivetrains were still noisy.  Brakes were squealing and gritty; Joël even needed to replace his mid-race (thanks Jason).  Riding in these conditions trashes a bike. My Liv Pique Advanced 29 Pro handled the mud well and performed spectacularly as did Joël’s single speed but both bikes will need lots of TLC post race. A good washing followed by the assistance of Saucon Valley Bikes for the appropriate lube/grease, new brake pads, new drive trains, along with fork and shock service will be needed.

According to Joël “I crashed 17 times during one lap when the rain started”.  OK, he then reported that was an exaggeration but felt realistic. I crashed numerous times, too many to count. Rain and mud made for interesting ride conditions. The first few laps during and after the rain the course was slick and wet.  Rocks and roots were slimy and sketchy.  Watery and muddy puddles splashed mud everywhere. Once the course started to dry out the splashing stopped but the mud became more like peanut butter than liquid. The peanut butter mud grabbed tires, making slow going and at times even stopped forward momentum.  With the course conditions; either slippery and sketchy or thick and gooey, just moving forward was the main goal. Sometimes this meant fishtailing along, sometimes this mean slow and steady pedaling, sometimes this meant walking but it all just meant moving onward.  Conditions made for much slower lap times than usual.  To compare, last year Joël put in 20 laps but only 16 this year; I put in 15 laps this time and 18 laps last year. Goes to show how much slower the lap times and average speed was.

Thank goodness due to the amazing Lupine Lights Piko helmet lights despite the trails and tribulations of the weather and riding conditions night laps still went as smoothly as they could.  Having multiple batteries allowed Joel and I to change out batteries when needed and the ability to change light output between 1000ish and 1900 lumen allowed us to light the way as needed.  Visibility is never a problem with Lupine Lights.

 

Due to the decreased lap counts, one can tell the heat, rain, and mud meant our personal races were affected by the conditions.  Riding was slower and more personal care to our bodies and bikes made for longer lap times. The challenging trail conditions, the wet and muddy clothing along with the discomfort it caused, and the muddy bikes that weren’t working at peak performance made the 24 hours more mentally challenging than usual. Making that decision to go out for the next lap was more thought provoking than usual not only due to the mental and physical difficulties but also the work required to clean gear and equipment before/after laps.  The mud and wetness caused discomfort in the way of chafing, blisters, and extra body stress and strain.  Controlling the bike on the slippery trails and pushing hard through the peanut butter mud used more muscle strength than usual.  Joël and I rode from race start to finish but we did give in to these trying conditions with a 60ish minute nap around 2am. We cleaned up a bit, put a tarp over our mattress in the van to keep it dry from our soggy and muddy selves, covered up with blankets and set an alarm for an hour later.  This nap did our minds and bodies well and helped keep us going. This helped us ride until the end, our last lap ending just before the 24 hour race cut-off.  Joël finished as the top solo rider and myself as second solo rider; I was just a lap behind him.  That means we both finished first in our divisions of expert men and expert women.

Post race was the typical; eat and sleep and be sore but seemed much more intense than usual. We showered at the race site and then took the short drive to our hotel.  Yes, despite having our camper van to sleep in we stay in a hotel the evening after a 24 hour mountain bike race.  Nice hot showers, air-conditioning and/or heat, and more spacious sleeping arrangements are something a hotel can offer us that our van just can’t do.  We got to the hotel, hit the bed, and asleep we were.  We woke for a short period of time to cook and eat dinner, drink beer, eat more in the way of snacks, swallow some ibuprofen and then back to sleep we went.  We usually don’t sleep quite that much but this race knocked us out.  Monday morning we woke up abnormally sore; everything was tight and painful.  We are normally stiff the next day but everything hurt more than usual this time. 

 

This race did us in. This race did our bikes in.  But it was a great time. Chainbuster puts on a top notch event, everything regarding the organization, the course, the post-race happenings is amazing.  The conditions for this race were not the best, but it made for a challenging event that tested racers mental and physical fortitude in many ways and many more challenging ways than usual.  Joël and I put in our best efforts and powered through those tough time for the wins.

 

-words by Jess

-action/riding photos by Dashing Images

-pit photos by Joel