24 Hours of Moab (or at least 13)

Last time I did 24 Hours of Moab, in 2002, I sort of told myself the next time I did it I would be riding solo.

Eight years later, I was getting interested in finally doing it, so this spring when Bp called me up and said he was going to "Conquer His Fears" and had signed up, I jumped in with my own solo bid.

By the noon-time start of the race Saturday, I was really excited about it. Carl (of Revolution fame), Reed, Kim, and the kids all came down to support. Scott dutifully tracked my food intake, Carl serviced the bike and provided push-starts, Reed handled bottles, food, lights, etc. Jet-lagged Bob popped in and handed out free brake pads from time to time.

Where's Waldo?

It was awesome except for one thing.

About 5 PM my right eye started hazing up. I thought my contact was goopy, but it quickly became apparent that it was not my contact. I pulled it out but it did not help - my right eye was so hazy I could not see anything out of it.

I think the hazing is due to swelling, so I took some Ibuprofen and hoped maybe it would take care of itself, but it didn't. It is surprisingly hard to ride the Moab course in the dark with one eye.

I rode blind till 1 AM, admitted it was not getting better, wondered if I could do permanent damage, and pulled off. I was prepared to suffer, to push through muscle cramps, stomach upset, fatigue, and soreness, but not permanent blindness. End of race.

I had not seen Bp since the start and I did not really know how he was doing. All night I had been hoping he'd catch me and we could ride together. So after I stopped, I sat in my chair and waited till he arrived. His knee was killing him and he was walking the climbs. End of race.

I was a little concerned the next morning when my eye was still fogged up, but by afternoon it had cleared up and is now back to normal. Maybe it was the dust and grit - I don't really know.

So now I am now stuck in limbo - the smaller half of me thinking 24 hours is probably longer than a person should ride a bike, the greater half thinking in the back of my mind all day every day of how to do it better next time.

Awesome Support

Serious Competition

Jumps provided by the kids

Next year I'm totally hitting the fire-pit jumps in solo alley.