This past weekend was the
Burn24. I'm not sure which type of burn they were trying to imply with it's name. They could be referring to the insane heat and humidity down in N.C., or perhaps to the burn inducing, gnarly single track that the course was mostly comprised of, or maybe the constant, steady climbing. One thing's for sure-they got the name right. It burned, churned, and challenged for 24 straight hours.
Jason left Syracuse early Friday morning and grabbed me, then we stopped by Buffalo to pick up Ben's stuff on our way down. Since he's VIP he flew down, and it was our privilege to transport his gear
(if you know me then you can probably smell the sarcasm stewing in that last line, but if you don't-then no sarcasm. For real, it was our privilege). I lost count but sometime about 13 hours later after driving though some zero visibility fog, hurricane like storms, and just one missed turn we arrived in Wilkesboro, N.C. at the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir; home of the Dark Mountain Trail network.
Scotto and his crew had already arrived and set up most of camp, although with the way Scott tackles a camp site it could also be referred to as a full on cycling fortress. We unloaded pretty quickly and afterwards it was nice to catch up with the guys at our first 24 of the season. We had a "team meeting," - some brews and an evening grub fest, exchanged all the usual one liners and called it a night.
Me being the early riser I am; I woke up at the crack of dawn as usual and pressed some coffee, had some breakfast, and took in what has become one of my favorite parts of camping at the races-watching the event come to life. Some day i'll set up a time lapse camera and capture the excitement as the sun rises and a quiet, almost dreamy tent town transforms into a hectic, festive, adrenaline filled small city in just a couple of hours.
Since it was a 3/4 mile lemans start and Trevor's the runner of the group he teed off and did very well, tagging off to Jason with just a few teams ahead of us. I spotted a guy in track shoes looking way too relaxed at the start line and figured he'd win the run-he did. Jason ripped off a great lap and then it was my turn. After myself the rotation continued onto Ben, then Trevor. I felt so bad for Ben because he was coming down with something aweful and this type of course was right up his alley, but he had to keep it pretty conservative since he was sick. Probably caught some sort of death virus on the plane ride down....
The course was very well designed as were the trails-about 6.5 miles and just under a thousand feet of climbing. It was a little damp and peanut buttery early on but nothing much to speak of. I have never ridden trails before with such crazy amounts of roots for such a distance. There were some sections of trail that were just pure root gardens. At night after the dew set in the roots
(as well as our entire camp) became fully saturated and turned the course into more of a pinball game then a bike race so I thoroughly enjoyed it. The network was a mix of incredibly technical roots that went on for miles with a healthy dose of ripping flow mixed in, and plenty of climbing to bring on the burn. It ended with a jump littered downhill course that dropped riders onto a gravel track at the edge of the camp area, which fed into a churn and burn field section just before the finish line.
There was a sweet rock garden just before the downhill section that was pretty intense although short. Picture a really hard core rock garden about six bike lengths long with a 90 degree turn into some uphill, off camber roots and you've got it. I think I gave the photographer a heart attack when I drifted through it. He said "oh sh*t" and jumped out of the way just before I hit it-I think he thought I had no clue the turn was there...lol. He was poised on the outside of the turn and was not expecting anyone to hit it like that, but I found that if you applied some gonzo
(gave it way too much speed and just let the roots and rocks throw you) it propelled you right onto the trail after all was said and done.
All in all we finished 12th out of 133, 5th in our class. It was Trevor's first 24 and he handled it like a seasoned vet so mad props go out to him for showing up ready to roll with super consistent and confident lap times. People either get their butts kicked and cry about it, or they get their butts kicked and beg for more, and Trevor was definitely the latter of the two so I see some great 24's in his future. I was really happy with my riding because I was able to keep it just below threshold and have a blast, as opposed to last season when i'd have to about kill myself towards the end of the race just to finish. No cramps, no puking, just fun.
I doubt I can tell this story as funny as it was in person but i'll try. We're all just sitting there, the night laps underway when Trevor arrived back at camp adrenaline still pumping from his first night lap. He had just crushed the course and rolled into camp with some heat, weaving his way through and avoiding everything. When he finally slowed up he couldn't get his foot unclipped and wrecked all over the place, landing on a Colman grill full of freshly cooked steaks. Immediately Ben and I showed our concern and jumped out of our seats to rush over...and check on the steaks! Then we're both like "oh crap are you okay?" Luckily the steaks were un harmed and Trevor was too.
Since we had so much fun and the trails were such a blast to ride i'd consider it a succuss. The ear to ear grins we all dawned after each lap spoke for themselves. I love 24's because if you do them with the right group of guys it's always an event to remember-much like a party, but with a sufferfest thrown into the mix. You get to tackle the same course over and over again, and since i'm more competitive with myself then with anyone else this aspect of the race really appeals to me. With each lap I can evaluate my lines, gearing, plan of attack, nutrition, ect. and then go out each additional time with hopes of bettering my technique. I always learn more about myself and about racing in one 24 then I do in an entire season, and i'm sure that applies to most others as well.
Up next-a 90+ degree spin this aft. Can't believe that I brought both the heat and humidity back with me.
Oh yeah...sorry for the lack of photos. I'm bumming because I left my camera in Jason's car but I didn't want to wait to put this post up so i'll add some photos as I get them.
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