The National 24 Hour Challenge held annually in Middleville Michigan, was calling my name ever since I completed Calvin's 12 hour Challenge last month. 24 hours seems like a real test of personal perseverance. I have always liked the idea of riding all night, so this seemed like the perfect time to test this option out!
Since the race was coming around the corner fairly quickly, I decided to try some active recovery rides to help me prepare for the 24 hour challenge while still allowing me to recover from the May rides. I try to keep my heart rate very low, below 103bpm, this gives me an average speed well below 15mph. This is completely opposite of the style of riding I've been practicing since I bought the Moose in 2010. Previously it has been all about one thing, speed, speed and more SPEED!
Bike wreak a week before the race:
I was also being sensitive to making any changes to the bike before the big ride, everything was comfortable and seemed ready for the new challenge. Even though my cleats were worn out, I was afraid of changing them, for fear that it would make my sometimes occurring foot pain worse then it is. This turned out to be a mistake, luckily, I was riding slowly (low heart rate ride) along Park road in Greensburg when my foot slipped off the pedal and the heel struck the front wheel and down I went. I fell to my right side, I must have stuck out my right arm, since my entire arm was numb. It took me a couple of minutes before I could pick my bike back up, I kept trying but failing, finally by using my left hand and with the help of a good Samaritan I was able to right the bike and sit on it. I was able to hold the handlebars with both hands and I felt like I could make finish the last two miles to my house. So I pushed off from the good Samaritan declining his offer to have him drive me home. My arm was feeling less nub as I got closer to home, but was being really sensitive to any movement (painful sensitive).
I also received a good amount of road rash on my right thigh, which was being shown off to the world as I rode home, since a large patch of my Lycra shorts were torn out and hanging down by a few threads for all to see. This happened with less then two weeks before the big race. I took off the next day from work, the doctor saw no breaks from the x-ray, so he gave me an arm sling and sent me home with some magic pills. I babied the arm as much as possible It seemed I had a rotator cuff problem, since it usually only hurt when I tried to swing my arm up. I also couldn't lift anything without causing a lot of pain. I was considering moving the heaviest used break and gear shifters from the right side to the left side of my bike.
The injury was odd since there was no swelling, the shoulder wasn't warm, it just hurt whenever I tried to move my arm. On Thursday night just a couple of days before the race, I was up in the middle of the night, I tested the arm's range of motion, the shoulder popped and snapped, with some sharp pain. I then went to sleep wondering if I was going to make the ride at all. In the morning, my shoulder was aching a bit, which was unusual since it usually only hurt when I moved my arm. I tested my range of motion and there was no pain! Something must have popped back in place the night before. It wasn't anywhere near 100% yet, but at least I could move my arm around without any pain, it still hurt to lift things, but this meant I was ready for the big ride!
Arriving at Middleville:
I spent Thursday getting ready for the ride, packing anything that I thought I might need. Friday morning I loaded the pickup, said goodbye to the wife and headed towards Michigan. I took my time and arrived at the Middleville middle school 6 hours later. Right away I met up with some other Bent riders that I knew were going to be there from the Bent Riders online forum. Great bunch of guys that let me in on what to expect for the next days ride. I set up my tent close to the truck and tried to sleep as much as possible before the mornings event. Sleeping wasn't easy, I missed my bed plus there was some type of utility vehicle somewhere, that would backup every so often all night long, making that infernal beep, beEP, BEEPing sound, it woke me up way too often. I think I may have gotten 3 hours of sleep.
Morning of the race:
I was up at 6:00 in the morning, the weather looked great, with overcast clouds with a chance of scattered thunderstorms after 4:00PM. It was cool around 60 degrees, but not cool enough to warrant a jacket. I packed some energy bars and some arm and leg coolers to protect them from getting burnt once the sun comes out. There was a marching bagpipe band, then the ride sponsors talked about safety and the local laws, played the national anthem for Canada and the US, since there were riders from both countries. Then the countdown of the last few seconds started.
The mass start of around 300 cyclist went off without a hitch. There were marked police cars or volunteers at the major intersections for the first so many miles to help guide us through the busy intersections. There were actually fans cheering us on along the streets.
Loop 1, the 117 mile loop:
The first loop of 117 miles had four checkpoints where they punched your card to show you were there and also served water, bananas, oranges and Hammer nutrition products. The longest distance between checkpoints was around 37 miles. I planned on taking it easy on the first loop, keeping my heart rate below 130bpm, with the exception of any steep hills. On Calvin's 12 hour Challenge I mostly stayed well above 140bpm. There were some hills on the first loop, but nothing near as bad as the hills I tackle here locally on my 50 mile loop through Hamburg.
Soon after starting I realized I had forgotten my Motrin, and my right arm and hand started bothering me right away. I didn't find a gas station till around the 50 mile marker, where I stopped to buy some Motrin. My right arm and shoulder didn't bother me much at all, as long as I kept my right hand on the handlebar, or relaxed on my lap. I had trouble giving out right turn signals and swapping out water bottles, but not a major factor at all in the ride itself.
I put on the leg and arm coolers at the second rest stop at around 60 miles, they did a great job of keeping me from getting sunburned and not having to mess with sun screen. I would highly recommend these to any long distance rider concerned with the sun. I finished the first loop with 7 hours of riding, feeling great and ready for the next set of loops.
Loop 2, the 23.7 mile loop:
I took a short break, replenishing my on-bike power bars supply, refilled the water bottles ate a banana then took off. My goal was to complete at least two of these loops before starting the 7 mile loops. There were a few good hill climbs on this loop, but there seemed to be more down hill coasting then any climbs. The checkpoint was close at around 10 miles into the loop. Since the checkpoint was so close I decided on the next running of this loop, I would replenish at this checkpoint instead of the main one at the middle school.
I was having so much fun on this loop that I forgot all about limiting my heart rate and was often at 150+ bpm. There were a lot of long downhill coasting which are great for a recumbent, I was able to coast faster then a lot of dfs were pedaling. I had the most fun on my second loop when the wind started blowing me up the hills on the last stretch. There was also a "check signal" street sign on one street, so as long as there was no traffic, I checked all my hand signals to make sure they were still in proper order.
At the end of the second loop I had a decision to make. I could take a 45 minute break until the 7 mile loop opens up at 7:15, or I could run another 23.7 mile loop then take a break. Since I had so much fun on the second loop, I didn't even hesitate to take a third time around loop two. I had been pushing too hard for the last fifty miles and it started to take its toll on me and I needed a short break at the next checkpoint. I sat a few minutes thinking that this third loop may have been a mistake, while munching on a banana and an orange. I also took some Hammer electrolyte pills and a gel packet. After a few more minutes I then started off. I still had the nice downhill costing, but the tailwind assist up the hills were gone, so this loop wasn't as much fun as the last one.
Loop 3, the 7.5 mile loop:
Once I had completed the third 23.7 mile loop I had ridden a little over 11 hours with only short breaks at the checkpoints. Now that I had 188.7 miles completed, I decided it was time for a real break. The time was between 8:30 and 9:00. I called my wife to let her know I was still OK and that I was getting ready for a break and see what kind of food was at the cafeteria. Once I hung up I decided to go ahead and do at least one 7.5 mile loop while there was still daylight, so I'd would know what to expect once it was dark out.
I was wanting to finish this loop before it was dark, so I raced around it with an average speed around 19mph, way too fast, since I had several hours to go yet. The loop was fairly flat with all the climbing in the first section of Bender road on the last leg of the loop. each intersection had a patrolman plus spotlights that brightly lit up the intersections surrounding area.
Now, I'm ready for a break, I stop by the school cafeteria and order a pizza slice, Gatorade and a bag of chips. I then head towards the tent to lay down and rest a bit. Around 11:00 I was ready to hit it again. Since it's getting cooler out, I change all my clothes, putting on the long biking pants and jacket. I grabbed a power bar, refilled the water bottle, attached my night lights, then headed out into the dark.
The 7.5 miles loops were going very smooth, I felt great, not sleepy or sore. I figured all I needed to do was 3 sets of five loops to hit my 300 mile goal. I had plenty of time, so that shouldn't be a problem. It started sprinkling a little, but I don't mind riding in the rain. On the fifth loop the battery died on my Garmin. I should have recharged it in my truck during the earlier break. I completed the loop, then decided to take a break for an hour to allow the Garmin to recharge before the next set.
It was around 1:00. I called my wife and was all excited that I was going to easily make 300 miles. I just needed another 74 miles. 74 miles is easy, I've done more then that after I got off work in the evening. I'm just waiting an hour till the Garmin charges a bit then I'll head out for my next set of five loops. I can easily finish this up in five hours then have enough time to see how many extra bonus miles I can fit in. I was at 226.2 miles total so far.
The Storm:
I hung up the phone with the wife then tried to sleep for the next hour excited at how this race was turning out. Then the race announcer started talking about the upcoming storm and how the race would be suspended if there was lighting. Unfortunately suspended just means some hours would be taken off the 24, instead of being a 24 hour race it may be a 23 hour race, it always ends at 8:00 no matter what. Turns out that this storm is a severe thunderstorm with lots of lightning and 54 mph winds. so they made the announcement that the race was suspended until at least 15 minutes after the storm had passed. Then I heard the bad, it would be at earliest around 5:15 before the race could restart.
I decided to clean up a bit and put on my regular clothes so I could try sleeping without laying in my wet sweaty biking clothes. Then the high winds starting hitting. My tent couldn't handle the winds and partially collapsed with me inside. So I packed everything out of the tent and into the truck, then I took down the tent and packed it up.
Finish:
Once I had everything packed into the truck, I had the hard decision, do I go on or call it quits?
I certainly can't make the 300 mile goal now. If the race does restart at 5:15 (no guarantee) I would have less then 3 hours to ride. If I start home now I could be home by noon. I decided to call it quits and turned in the punch card. As I took the card in they announced they were restarting the race now (around 4:30). (not sure what happened to the 5:15 time). I already made the decision to call it quits, so I went ahead and turned the card in anyway. As they were talking about starting the racers in groups instead of having them all start at the same time.
Overall:
I really liked how this race was ran, with the first long loop, then the shorter loops as the night fell. The night time laps were great since they had floodlights and cops at each intersection. The stops on the longer loops were well placed and the punch card tracking of the laps worked great, better then the electronic tracking at Calvin's which failed to catch two of my 7 mile laps. I look forward to trying this ride (and Calvin's) again next year.
Next year I think I'll skip the tent and bring a comfortable lawn chair or cot and sleep in the high school auditorium instead.
Ride details:
Ride Summary picture:
