24 Hour Solo World Championships

A month has passed since the race, but the memories are still fresh.

Here's a recap I wrote shortly after the race - Enjoy!


24 hours, 261 miles, 47,500ft of elevation gain, 20,000+ calories burned, and a sore body
later . . .

. . . I'm finally writing up a report.




It's funny, I've read a few articles about the race and have essentially been told what
happened, before I've had time to digest it. For me - this is new. Let me start by saying
this was one of the most intense races I've ever done.

Last year in Georgia it was Nick (owner/director of our team) and me. That's it. I had
planned on doing so well there and had big expectations. 6th wasn't bad, but wasn't what
I wanted. It was brutal for Nick and brutal for me. The plane ride home was long . . .

For the last 11 months, there wasn't a week that went by where Nick and I didn't speak
about this year's worlds and how different it was going to be. It's a total risk to put
all your eggs in one basket, one race, but it was one I wanted to take and Scott(BMC
Cycling), Nick and many others had put their faith in me.

Leading up to this race I knew I had worked harder than I ever have on a bike before.
Flashes of riding my bike in the middle of the mountains through our tough winter, riding
in my basement staring at my wall, and lugging my bike to FL when visiting Libby ran
through my head a week before the event. Oh, probably the hardest part was often passing
on the chips and salsa. Brutal.

We, (Gavin, Chelsea and myself) left for Monterey in the team car on Wed before the race.
The trip was good and I knew my spare bike wasn't going to be lost in shipping this year!
We stopped in Tahoe and visited Gavin's mom and some friends and then headed to our hotel
in Monterey. BTW- Gavin rode elite single speed solo and Chelsea rode elite female solo -

We pre-rode the course and only made it about a 3rd of the way before the sun fell behind
the ocean. I said, 'I'm sort of nervous. It doesn't seem like there is THAT much
climbing'.

Pre-ride the next day:
Climbing. It seems that the whole first half of the lap and the fun, flowing single track
just led us to the bottom of the big mountain we were to climb back up to the
start/finish. Now I was like, 'I'm nervous. That's a lot of climbing for a 24 hour race'.

The lap: 13.74 miles and 2,500ft of climbing.

The Race:
By this time we had our crew that flew in - Nick, Patrick, Roxanne, Caleb, Joey, Lizz &
Mike, Bethany, and Ryan. Noticeably missing were the two women I love the most: My mom
Diane and my girfriend Libby - who both were upset they couldn't be there, but their
presence was more than felt. (note the pic with wristbands that have their initials on
each arm. I love you guys).



It was weird with Nick and I. We didn't really speak much the
whole weekend until after the race. The morning of the race we each did our thing and any
time I needed anything; a bottle, sunscreen, food, sunglasses, whatever - he just had it
before I could think it. I guess those 11 months of talking about what we wanted to
accomplish were paying off.
The race starts at 12noon with a run to the bikes. This separates the field going into
the trail. At the time of the start, it was 100+ degrees and would stay that way for more
than 4 hours. I had a decent run and was up front with everyone. There were truly about 7
guys who were capable of winning this race and we were all in a group at the front. About
halfway into the very first lap, some of the Australians, (who were the far favorites
going into the race) started having some trouble and dropped off the pace. A little
further along a few other guys started fading and before I knew it, the only two guys up
front were myself and Tinker Juarez close behind.

I came in after the first lap and our pit stop was solid - no stopping.

1PM - 8PM
Tinker and I still dukin' it out.



Tinker, never more or less than a few bike lengths
behind me, looked real strong. Our pit stops weren't stops. Nick refused to let me stop.
My pit was right at the beginning of pit row and Tinker's was 150ft further down, so I
could see what he was doing and his crew could see what I was doing. I remember putting
pressure on him because of this. He would get off his bike and would have to jump right
back on to make sure he didn't let me go. During the stop for lights, my crew nailed it.
Everyone had a task. Battery, helmet, bottle, reeses peanut butter cup, bottle of ensure
. . . The helmet light stop was 30 seconds. Something happened at Tinker's pit and they
had to change lights from one bike to another. I heard Nick say 'GO! GO!' I had a 1:30
advantage on him. Since it was relatively early in the race,(8PM) I couldn't go too hard,
but I had to put time into him. By the end of the lap, he caught me. Man, he was flyin',
but I knew he went REALLY hard to catch me.

8PM - 6AM
I knew Tinker had to have been a little tired. Nick also told me that the Australian in
3rd was bringing back 3min a lap. I had to pick up the pace. The next two laps I went
really hard. There were a few times where I had Tinker against the ropes on the sustained
climbs. I thought he was done and any minute he was going to crack. He held on. The
Ausie, however, did not. He must have buried himself and burned too many matches. He
simply blew up and later dropped out of the race.
In the middle of the darkness I saw a wiry little guy throwing his bike around as to get
it up to speed. Like it was a single speed. A 29inch single spe . . . 'Gavin!' I saw
Gavin and spoke with him. This also happened with Chelsea. Seeing those two really made
my race. They both have this amazing smile that comforted me. Thank you for that Gavin
and Chels.
There was a point where I decided that I would not think about anything and let Nick, who
was UNBELIEVABLE, handle everything regarding nutrition and any planning in pitstops. I
came in around 2AM and told him I needed to change clothes the next lap. This was a huge
risk because Tinker and I were all business and not talking much about a 'gentlemen's
agreement' on changing clothes. When I came back in just after 3AM, Nick met me at the
start/finish and told me to simply get off the bike and walk in to the tent when I got to
the pit. I rolled in and everything seemed to get completely silent. It was like no one
was breathing, just watching Tinker's and my camp. I stepped into the tent where Rox and
Lizz were holding up a couple towels and the guys all took a piece of clothing and ripped
it off. All I remember is hearing Bethany, who was keeping tabs on Tinker, saying, 'He's
changing too. He's still there. They're dressing him.' and so on . . . It was SO intense.
Everyone in pit row was looking back and forth to see if one of us was going to get away.
Nope. I took off with a fresh set of clothes and Tinker jumped right in behind me.
We kept on going the same way we were the last 16 hours.

6AM - the end
As the sun was coming up, we climbed up to this point where you could see the ocean and
it was truly breathtaking. Without saying anything, I looked back at Tinker and he just
nodded. It was a great moment that I'll remember for a long time.
Back to business. At around 7AM, I spotted a blue jersey that looked like a Gary Fisher
jersey. It was Nat Ross - the 3rd place rider. We were lapping him. Holy crap. Tinker and
I were not going slow - even after 19 hours. Ouch.
I made a decision to take it easy on lap 17. I knew at this point Tinker was faster than
me. I had to roll the dice and go all in if I were to win. In doing an easier lap, I
allowed myself to recover a little, but it also allowed Tinker to recover. After 17, I
was in the pit and looking at Tinker. In mid-sentence, 'Guys, I have to tell you . . . I
gotta go!'. Tinker had pulled out of his pit and wasn't going easy. Not at all. Roxanne
called it. Afterward she said, 'You were going to tell us Tinker was looking strong and
will attack, weren't you?'
'Yes Rox'.

Tinker threw down the most incredible attack I've ever seen in a 24 hour race. I simply
couldn't respond. I tried and came close, but no-go. I smiled. I knew I was taking 2nd in
the world chamionships. I knew I did everything I could. Everyone at the venue and even
everyone in the race were cheering us on by 9PM the night before, and by 9AM they were
cheering even louder. I knew we had made the race exciting and I was happy about that. I
made it a point to always say something positive to people as we passed them through the
entire race and when I heard Tinker do the same, I knew he was someone I wanted to race
with. When Tinker left me, those same people we passed through the night were saying very
positive things to me, which kept me going. One rider asked for my autograph. Another
thanked me for making the race fun to watch. These people were great and I thank them for
their spirit out there.

I rolled in to the finish and before the post-race interviews started, someone handed me
a Jamba Juice. By far the best Jamba I've EVER had! I looked up and saw everyone from my
crew and it was overwhelming. I alomost lost it. They looked tired and I knew. I knew
what they themselves just went through to make my race perfect. They were amazing. They
are amazing.

Gavin and Chelsea both finished 5th place in their categories in what was the most
competetive worlds yet. Great job.

After the race I went over to Tinker's pit and thanked him for a great race. He is a good
man. His mom gave me this huge hug. She and Tinker's mechanic told me I gave them a lot
of stress over the past 24 hours. Tinker said there were 4 or 5 times where he almost
quit.(good to know - I was hammering!) Then he looked down at his 1 year old son and said
the inspiration to not quit was in his arms. Congratulations sir, you earned it and
deserved it.



I was going to thank so many people, but you all know who you are. I appreciate you more
than words could describe.

Thank you all for your support and good luck wishes. They were needed.

km


P.S. here is a link if you're interested:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=mtb/2007/sep07/24hour_worlds07

Women's Quest

Last week Dell, Jen and I ventured up to Winter Park to help out at the Women's Quest retreat. For their first day at altitude and after a full day in the saddle, the women were asked to put a few words to how they felt..."free"...."strong"..."brave"..."like a 7 year old again!"
Jen simply answered, "proud". There were few words to descirbe how wonderful the group was, how incredibly powerful, and motivating it was to see a 74 year old ripping down trails. How refreshing it was to hear how proud working women and mothers were as the pushed their limits well beyond what the thaught possible!
We were proud of our women, proud of our group :)

The leader of the camp, sent us on our way with closing "soul food" that explained how the power of the group helped us all:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

We ask ourselves whom am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous...
Actually who are you NOT to be?

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same..."

That's why we we do this...

Keep on shining! :)
MM

Where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are above average.

I'm talking, of course, about North Dakota.

I owe a huge thank you to everyone who helped put on 'The Race to Sunset' this year and the past couple years, especially a gent named Mark Liebig. Every year I go to my homeland to do one race. It does a few things: 1) gives me a chance to see my family and gives them a chance to see me race. 2) It gives me much needed perspective on why I do this sport. 3) Going back home to race also gives me a chance to meet people in that cycling community and it's nice to try and help it grow.

I always get the best reception going home. (I'm a bit biased because they did, in fact, give me my first '1' plate!) Seriously, these guys put on a top-notch, first class race.

Thank you Mark and the entire crew.

I also have to brag a little about my teammates. They're absolutely amazing and killing it. It's been very inspiring to me to be on this team. The girls are all veterans and since I'm the newest pro on the team, I'm learning a bunch from them.

(and yes, I'm the only guy . . . and yes, the girls can put the hammer down on me and make me suffer)

Here's a photo from the end of the 12 hour battle, (actually, cut a bit short due to rain).

Todd Carpenter, #2, is from California and was on his way across country with his wife - so he decided to enter the race. He's a very strong rider, and even a nicer guy!

Until next time,

Kelly

Ned

If you're ever looking for something to do in Boulder...jump the Ned bus! Or may be we shouldn't let the best kept secret out.

There's nothing like a good trail ride to get you out of that hole you've been in...

(and yes, he did fall into this pit!)

and make you feel like the king of the world!

Watch out...just give her 10 years!

Weekend Getaways...

A shot of the Slate River Valley as seen from the good 'ol Gas Cafe. For those of you who don't know, they sizzle up a mean egg sandwich. Maybe too much of a gut-bomb pre-race, but perfect before a long epic on some of the sweet CB trails!

Crested Butte Beauties

Kristina killin' it!

Megan muscling the climb!

Dell digging deep!

Jen super jammin'


Fun times, fun times. CB is always awesome. Thanks to Jeff, Kristina's hubby, for taking some action shots of us this weekend. Dell finished up 2nd behind strong arm, Katie Compton who was running a fast set-up...a 29er with skinny knobbies...it was so speedy speedy, and pretty cool looking too.

Park City

The weekend pretty much rocked...Jen's 2nd place in Super D warmed her up for a 14th in the XC! And Kristina's 20th in the XC proved that things are coming along just as she planned...for me, it was one of those days that the wheels seem to be more square than round, a fair reminder of how delicate the balance of life can be. Sometimes that darn scale tips just a little and throws you all out of wack. Results may slide, but life is always there. Seems like I battle this every season...it's by choice, I guess I like juggling or tight rope walking or just shooting myself in the foot!

The problem is that racing is quite addicting and I couldn't allow myself to sit this one out. I knew that after traveling home from Europe, I'd need to turn on overdrive to catch up and get ahead of everything in order to leave again Thursday. With work and training, the only thing I'd allow myself to cut back on was sleep. Wrong choice! Lesson learned...again!

Ahh, well. No excuse, it happens to every racer, and those are the choices we make. It is my choice to do whatever it is I'm doing to "shoot myself in the foot"...but there's just too much out there! Often this is what makes or breaks the path we're on. I'll be honest, I was really close to cracking and pulling the plug this weekend, but turned on some music and was reminded that 'to everything turn turn there is a season turn turn'....that's just the way life goes.

If only we had 36 hours in a day :)

A shout out

Kelly Magelky...our teammate pictured here in the middle of Megan and Jen. He is always working hard and was up in North Dakota this past weekend racing in a 12hour race. He is preparing for 24hour World's Solo! We call him the "Thug" We miss you Kelly B Thug!!



Stay tuned for updates on the latest race. Kristina, Megan and Jen went to the 4th NORBA also this past weekend at Deer Valley. Megan has some pictures from that one. My camera is out of commision for now. I fried the fuse trying to charge it in Switzerland! Turns out 240 volts really are too much for a 100 volt camera! Huh:)

Jen's musings

Despite the rain that fell today, Megan and I ventured up to Ned to breathe in some fresh air and rejuvinate from a whole days' worth of travel. It was so necessary to get up in the forest and into the cleanliness it so simply provides. It was crisp and the singletrack was perfectly tacky and there was silence. Silence except for exhalations...it has been a few weeks since we have ridden at altitude and that was just the right cure for the 11 hours of just plane sitting.


It is funny how traveling halfway around the world makes you realize the beauty of what is usually in the place we tend to overlook and the place that is so special. Home. Riding in Ned today, it became clear that it doesn't matter what place you finish in a World Cup or how many stinking UCI points you have...what matters is understanding the importance of believing in your own self worth and in believing in your family and friends and the strength that comes from simply pulling up to the start line and giving greatness a chance.


Some days you go super Schnell (like Rad Ross) intriguing and wetting desire's palate to go faster and to become the best.

Some days you go slow...begging for fitness to come forth from fatigue. A fighter will contend another day and face the challenge of another race. Our character is developed through the glory of each victory and also through the bummers of each defeat. It is how we react to either that exemplify greatness. Winning and losing alone do not define the heart and soul. Accepting graciously a triumph and reacting positively to a loss reveals the core of the contender.







Here are a few shots from the chalet in Champerey.
Now that we are home. These photos remind us of how lucky we were to have been able to travel to such an amazing place. How cool is life...the smells, the views, the animals, the people, the land...everything is fantastique!


Old churches always make a town more beautiful

The hills are alive...!!



Yeah, it was a real bummer that we had to stay here for the World Cup:) It had a kitchen, comfy beds, a little shed to park our steel steeds, and...a washing machine to clean our dirty chamois...imagine life without such pleasures...

all done

So we made it through the day!
All happy with how we did...an experience under our belts!

Possom's can :)


Our home for the past few days

Tomorrow we race...
It's a good course, a bit technical. Slick roots, a few steep drops and rain has started to fall.
Could be interesting - sure to be fun! Yahhooo!

The last leg

We just finished packing up and are about to head down to Champery for the last leg of our Euro trip. The past few days have flown by and as we try to slow them from passing, the nerves are building and we're at the point where we want to just have Saturday arrive and race!

Below is where we'll be staying tonight through Sunday, I can't imagine this little piece of heaven has wireless so we'll bid the blog farewell for now.


Before doing so, we really wanted to thank everyone who has been supportive in helping us along the way. Our family here and there, our fabulous friends and wonderful sponsors! Being over here has given Jen & Megan a taste of European racing, they've have definitely caught the "virus" called cycling. The spark can be seen in Dell's eyes again too.

Heading to a World Cup is a bit daunting. Although Dell knows how it is done, she's aiming for a top 25, this is Megan & Jen's first Euro race...so it'll be a great learning experience.

As Dell says, goals are to be a struggle to attain, yet are attainable...and that journey is what this is all about.

BMC headquaters!

More on Swiss land!


Our visit to the BMC factory was fantastique!

Wall of Fame:

As we stepped into the factory, we were greeted first by a picture of a few friendly & familar faces. Here's the BMC American road team and a couple CO folk pounding the pavement.

Then we were greeted by Markus and Stefan who gave us a tour around the assembly floor, checking out frames galore. Markus was very friendly making us feel at ease and gave us the run down of how BMC began, where it is now and where they are headed.

Before lunch we were lucky enough to join a couple of the staff for a mountain bike ride on the surrounding trails. Jen and Megan were VERY impressed with all of our guides, Stefan (#1 & #2), Daniel and Markus as well as all of the swiss hospitality in general. It was such a great group of people and a truly great company.

We drove away from the BMC factory inspired and kitted out for our next race, the World Cup in Champery (ahh!). It was great to see how much passion the BMC company has towards cycling and their bikes. It rejuvinated us and inspired future dreams.

Before leaving, Megan snapped a pic of Dell marking her territory as she lusted after one of the new four stroke 01' carbon hardtails.

Basel

We pulled into Basel late Monday afternoon. Knowing that Jen's family's house was about 2miles from the city zentrum (center) we headed there first. Somehow, those two miles took us 1.5 hours. After a few wrong turns onto one-way tram lines, a few stumbles into pedestrian malls, and two or three funny "do you know where..." interactions in the strange swiss german dialect we finally made it only thanks to mapquest and the wireless signal we picked up outside someone's house!

We had a great traditional dinner that Jean-Pierre and Elly prepared. Fresh cheese from the Alps, and delicious hand-picked cherries to top the meal off right.
Then a special thanks to our tour guide, Adrian who showed us the city life!

Off to explore Basel for the night


Over the river... here's one of the first bridges over the Rhine river. Originally constructed in the 13 centrury. For some reason it still seems weird to us that the river flows North, to the North Sea and not down!! All rivers flow down south right? ha



Then out for a wild and crazy night ;) What do you think really happens at at crazy sexy center anyways? Things that make you go hmmm...

Ha! We finally caught Dell cherry picking!

Germany

Ahhh! Too much cheese for the likes of this little belly:) You really have to be a master of moderation when entering into the land of the cow! It is so good...but consumer beware...it can quickly take you down! That's how I felt halfway through the Ned UCI race.


Here is a shot from Offenburg, Germany. Dell raced the 2nd World Cup in this cute town. It is really amazing how all of these countries can be so close together and yet be so different in culture, language and style. I have enjoyed being here very much.

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Well, here we are...all three of us had to buy Birkenstocks. They are so cheap here! It was a no-brainer:)

Oss, NED UCI race

Men's start

After a week of enjoying french cheese, belgium chocolate and everything Europe has to offer, it was time to switch to race mode. Not always the easiest thing to do.
Sunday morning we woke up early, ate a bit too much Kwak (a European yogurt like spread), threw back a few cafes and were off to the race course less 500 meters away. Not sure what to expect from a "mountain" bike race in the flat lands of Holland, we followed the annoucer's Dutch voice to the start line.

Completely oblivious as to what was actually being said, we watched as women started to roll to the line, about 50 starts total. Then out of the blue, English! Our names...so we rolled to the line. Then what we think was the count down...1min or was that 2min or perhaps 30 seconds? Finally a horn, and we were off!

It's fair to say that we were rather surprised by the hilly punches the Dutch threw our way! The course was relentless, it started on a fast motor cross course, then wound its way up and down a valley wall, giving punch after punch.

Dell rocked it, finished third. Megan ended up 14th and just this one time, the Kwak or perhaps the cheese got the better of Jen's belly.


Dell counting her winnings!

on the road again...

After leaving Paris, staying in Ghent, Belgium...taking a wee bit of a detour, we made it to Oss, Holland!



spun the legs out a bit. What's amazingly clear here, is that bicycling is such a cultural staple. Couples out for an afternoon cruise or workers racing to the job, bikes are absolutely everywhere! The train station at Ghent honeslty had 1000s of bikes parked at it. a sight to see!



Tonight we're at the race hotel. It's a bit funny, we have no idea as to what to expect out of the race, no idea who will be here, or how our legs will feel...but, ah well, we'll see.

We love Paris in the spring time!

Ahh, Paris. Oui, Oui. (wee wee)! It is so much fun to be in France and to eat in France too! It is a good thing we are pedaling throughout the trip as the fromage-blanc, the nutella and the fantastically delicious bread seem to be the increasing staple of our daily diet.


Here are Jen and Megan riding towards the castle of Versailles, just west of Paris. Little did we know that when we set out for some training today our tracks would stumble upon this little European gem! The epic battle of Versailles must have also been quite beautiful:)




The Arc De Triomphe. We shall Triumph! Hopefully this will be some inspiration in the upcoming races this week...we head to Belgium tomorrow to compete in some UCI events in the flatlands.



Bikes are cool! This was taken at our host house near Paris. Megan's wonderful family, Jean-Marie, Laura, Clotilde and Jacques are very loving and gracious. We have been so comfortable in their home and we appreciate them sharing thier lives with us.


Megan's rendition of the Louvre. It is such a cool museum and I am continually amazed at the antiquity of the buildings, the artwork, and the traditions of this famously fantastic city. If only walking through it wasn't so hard!!! Ha:) Walking is difficult after you ride your bike everywhere...