Our friend Kevin did, and I now know that endurance cycling is not something I want to do.
Here’s the event link.
We were under a canopy right on the bike trail, just after the lap timer, so Kevin and the other riders we were there to support could make pit stops every lap. It was a 9.5 mile loop and they stopped every lap to get water/food as needed and to eventually take breaks. The race is “who makes the most laps in 18 hours”. Kevin won his class, which is 45 and older, by finishing 14 15 (oops, sorry - ed.) laps. He stopped before 18 hours was up because he was so far ahead of the guy in 2nd that there was no way he could be caught. This is the first year he moved up there. He finished 2nd last year in the solo open class.
We probably had 10 people there plus a gaggle of kids for most of the night. There were 5 of us that stayed overnight. We set up our tent but only the girls and I slept in it. Michelle and the others stayed in camping chairs so they could help out with the guys when they came through all night. I had to go lay down around 3:30. Between the late hour and the beer (oh! the beer! - ed.) my Sunday was a complete wash.
There wasn’t a ton for us to do for the riders since they had everything they needed set up before they started. We just kept bottles filled with the right stuff (various energy powders and such) and chatted them up when they took breaks. I really think they enjoyed the late-night company.
It looked like a pretty insane ride. One of the guys was talking about it that morning before they left to set up, “The miles won’t be a problem. We’ve been riding enough to where we won’t have any trouble with the distance. But the mental part is tough. It will be 3am, and you’re riding in the dark and you’ve been on your bike for 11 hours. You start seeing stuff that isn’t there.” He finished in 2nd behind Kevin and was way ahead of the guy in 3rd.
I’ll probably go again next year to help out however I can, it was a good time.
