Another year of the 24 of Afton race is in the books.

This year there were 7 of us that went down and raced/camped together.  Matt, Alex, Dan and myself from the shop as well as Ryan, Aaron and Eric all decided to ride the race solo instead of on a team for 2009.

We started setting up camp by shortly after noon on Friday.  Even though the race doesn’t start till 5 p.m it is nice to get down there early to get a prime camping spot.  Thanks to Aaron and Eric we had probably my favorite spot to date.  We were shaded from the sun (maybe not the best since it was so cool out) and had a great view of everyone climbing Manhandler.  Once everyone’s tents are setup the nerves start flowing and we all got a little anxious for the start.  Speaking of tents, Matt decided he wouldn’t need a sleeping bag for this trip, which may not have been a problem, unless you forget your tent poles and then have  to sleep in the back of your truck bed while using your tent as a sleeping bag.  At least the mosquitoes weren’t out.

Once the race started the nerves calmed and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  It is definitely more relaxing not having the added pressure of being part of a  team.  Everyone was able to ride at their own pace and we were all able to ride together.  We did a couple of back to back laps then headed back to put some meat on the grill and put the lights on the bike.  Once you get off the bike and sit down it gets really hard to motivate yourself to get back on an go for a couple more laps.  None of us were out to win the race.  We like to think of it more like a camping trip with quite a bit of riding. In the end I think everyone was ok with their results but most of us probably could have pushed out a couple more laps.  There is always next year.

More Pictures and video to come later.

Carnage report.

Packy - 4 Flats on one lap resulting in a two lost CO2 pumps and a multi-tools.  Note to self: always close seatbag.

Newman - Broken Chain(s)….would you expect anything different

Alex - Bloody knee and maybe a pair of soiled shorts from almost falling off a grate down to a hole.

Congrats to Doom for taking the win in the 8 hour solo race.

September 1st, 2009 | Filed under: Uncategorized by Mike |