Last weekend was the National 24 hour solo championships in Moab, UT. Neither Aaron nor I had ever made the pilgrimage, and certainly nothing east of the Mississippi could have ever prepared us for what we would find.
After 12 hours of various airport delays and multiple schedule changes, we finally made it to Salt Lake City around 1:00am MST on Friday, Oct. 9, where we cut our losses and parked it for a night. After catching a few hours of sleep, we climbed in our surprisingly spacious and fuel-efficient Ford Edge to make the five hour trek into Moab.
Very shortly after our arrival, we went to work. Aaron took his Garmin Edge 705 out for a lap on the somewhat gnarly course so that we had an exact map for distance purposes. In the mean time, Ron and I headed out on the RZR to practice our routes between feed locations and get a feel for the time in transit. The RZR was amazingly fun; we were bounding off rocks at 45mph, climbing jagged slabs and drifting through sand dunes! It didn't feel so much like work to me! It was actually quite reminiscient of a past rendezvous in the Atlas Mountains.
Once we had our routes planned, we headed back to the trailer to prepare Pua's Infinit Nutrition for the race. Apart from an occasional Solo cup of pasta or a bite of a banana, the Infinit coolers would be her primary fuel for the whole 24 hours. She has two blends that she alternates, one for endurance and one she calls "light" that is more of an XC blend. Between these two, she is able to take in all of the calories, protein, electrolytes, and hydration that she needs to keep going.
My next task was to suit up and head out for a spin with Pua to make sure that both of her bikes were race ready. I have to admit this left me shaking in my lycra. Each of her bikes has at least $6k of DT Swiss on board, and I certainly didn't want to be responsible for a mechanical! I found myself ultra-assessing each situation to ensure that I could absolutely ride it without so much as a dab. Talk about pre-race jitters... and I wasn't even in the race! After our 25 minute spin, we took the bikes back to Aaron, who made a few adjustments and had both bikes singing before too long! I still have DT Swiss 190s in my eyes.
Next stop on the agenda was the pro meet and greet / press conference. It was here that we learned that Chris Eatough would not be starting the race (his last pro race) due to illness, and he was announcing a very, very saddening early retirement. He was incredibly pale and ghastly, and it was hard to tell which was more responsible - the flu or his disappointment. You had to feel for the guy; no one wants to go out like that. Aaron and I definitely enjoyed being a part of that experience to see what it's like on the inside of the media circle. One final trip to the grocer's, and then it was time for a much welcomed appointment with our pillows.
Work started early the next morning with a final errand trip in town before heading out to the venue. Once there, Aaron immediately started with the final inspections on Pua's bike while I headed down to the famed Solo Row to set up our pit. Once we had the tent up, the nutrition table, and the mechanic table in place, it was time to check in on Pua - to make a list of her questions for the rider's meeting as well as what she would need for her warm-up. I've been to a lot of rider's meetings in the past, but I've always been representing myself. It was just cool. Plain and simple.
The race began at noon on Saturday with a 384 rider Le Mans start. Pua was caught up a bit by some slower folks in the run, but still managed to rocket across the course, setting the record for fastest female lap on this course, ever, at 1:10:59. This was a solid enough effort to put her a full seven minutes ahead of the nearest competition. The next few laps were equally exciting! Her legs felt good, and she looked incredibly solid. She was taking in nutrition on schedule, and her lead just kept growing and growing.
Unfortunately, about seven laps in, she started uncharacteristically slowing down. By lap ten, we knew something was wrong. She was beginning to have a lot of pain, much greater than the usual
pain that accompanies 24 Solo racing. We knew that if she could just keep turning the cranks, her lead would hold and she would still win. When Ron caught her out on the course for her next feed though, she was barely even able to stay on the bike. Her vision was blurry, and her body couldn't seem to regulate her temperature. She decided to finish the lap, mostly walking, to keep herself in the race. Ron ran down to the finish with some warm jackets to meet her, and after she checked in, he carried her back to the trailer where he did everything he could to get her warm and immediately called their doctor.
It was quite a sad way to end such a stellar performance, but to still come away in 5th place after only riding 18 of 24 hours, and setting the female record lap speaks volumes of Pua's abilities.
In an effort to move onward, after getting a good day's (and night's) sleep Sunday, Ron led us on a ride that beg
an at Hazzard and continued around to Porcupine Rim. I had the luxury of being the only other person to ever ride Pua's A bike... it was a luxury, I promise. Aaron rented a 29er from Moab Cyclery that wasn't quite as luxurious, but it was a rental afterall; apparently they don't stock those with carbon wheels and DT suspension. The altitude at Hazzard definitely got to me, so I only hung on for a few sections before peeling off on a really cool, scenic dirt road. Aaron made it all the way down to Porcupine and found himself riding along an exposed cliff with a 5000ft penalty. Yikes! After four hours of descending, they met us back at the hotel - both of them giddy. They even passed a couple of guys in baggies who looked at their lycra and proclaimed, "Man! Those roadie guys have some skillz!" The riding there was unlike anything we've ever attempted, and I'd imagine that anyone who's ever ridden there comes out with skills that are head and shoulders above where (s)he started.
All-in-all, we're very fortunate to have been a part of this experience, and we are looking forward to working with Ron and Pua again sometime... perhaps in Europe...!
Here is Ron and Pua's (much more succint) account:
"Chris Eatough and Pua were scheduled to defend their National titles but this would not be the case. Chris showed up at the press conference with the flu and had to back out of his final race before retiring. This was a big disappointment for all. Pua was ready to go and we had taken all precautions to try and keep her free from any viruses before the race. She had a perfect start putting about 7 minutes on her closest competitor during lap one. After several hours she had about 30 minutes on the entire field.
As things progressed Pua started to feel that something was wrong, she was still gaining on the chasers but much less per lap. She told her pit crew that her stomach felt bad. Her lead grew to about 45 minutes, but something was wrong; she felt body aches and her vision was shaky. We pressed her to go on but feared for the worse. She lost some of her lead and now it was down to only 30 minutes; she felt so sick that she could not continue, so we urged her to just go to the finish line and pull out of the race.
She did that and we got her the medical attention she needed right away.
After a ton of nasty coughing and other bad stuff we don't need to describe, Pua was stable but the race was over. We got her checked out with our Doc and he made sure she did what she needed to get over the sickness.
We were very disappointed in the outcome of this race but the real topper to all of this was that we were robbed. After we came back from getting Pua checked out our easy up (10X10 tent) that we were loaned by Moab Cyclery was stolen! We had only left for a few hours into town and when we came back it was gone along with our 15 gallon water tank we use to survive when we are out training in the wilderness. We are so disappointed in that someone our Mountain Bike Community could even do this, but now we have to pay the price. Sorry to Moab Cyclery for this situation.
All in all this was a crazy roller coaster of a race and we will never forget all the drama. Thanks to our crew for your great, great support (we love you guys!); without you this would not work.
And also a big, big thanks to our sponsors for so much great support!
Ron & Pua"
The Wild, Wild West: Our 24Solo Experience
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