Just finished 1st in the “24 Hours in the Sage” solo single speed class, and 2nd out of all solo categories including gears. Total time = 23:30:56 and never rested, Distance = 229.64 miles, Elevation Gain = 24,723 ft. This is the second year in a row I won this race. My support/wife was unable to go so I didn’t have any support again this year but I have my pit pretty dialed in so I never get off my bike and everything is easily accessible. The one challenge is always hot food at night so I bought a crockpot and filled it with McDonalds cheeseburgers before the race started which worked out pretty good. Last year I prepayed to have a Pizza delivered and left in my pit.
I started out in 2nd behind a Jeff Hemplerly from the Big Wheel race team. We had a good lead on 3rd so I just kept him in my sights for the first 10 hours. The race promoter was announcing I was “stalking him”. I took over first sometime after dark with a comfortable lead. In the morning I found out that the Trek team rider in 2nd was up to 20 minutes behind me so I spun out some pretty fast laps and ended up beating 2nd and 3rd by a lap. The tires really performed great and I had no issues. I actually used the same tires I have had on for the last two months worth of races. The course is technical with a lot of potential for pinch flats. This is a great race, really tough competition at all levels! Dave Wiens was riding the course the last lap handing out burgers to riders (I had enough burgers by then). Here is a link to my stats http://connect.garmin.com/activity/46121840 and to the race website http://www.24hoursinthesage.com
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