The gauntlet has been thrown down. The CyclePathic Tendencies are active again! Stacy and myself will be attending the 24 hours of old pueblo in Tuscon, AZ. The event dates are February 14-15th. Stace and I will be entering in the 2-"man" co-ed division! 
Clearly this changes the face of our endurance racing scene temporarily. Instead of a luxurious 3,4 or 5 hours on the bike, we will be shouldered with an even 12. Instead of cushy 3 or 4 hour breaks between laps we will likely have 60-90 minutes to repair bikes, change clothes, charge lights, cook/eat or (god forbit) sleep. Being that at all times one of us will be on course, the other will be left to their own devices, and I imagine the early morning hours will be particularly cold, lonely and tiring with no one to talk to, wake you up or cook food for you (though I've heard rumor of a blistering foos-ball competition in the wee hours of the night!). However, we agreed the mark of any true character building experience includes significant time with yourself in the face of adversity. I think this is where you generate you inner passion from, and an connection with the more basic form of yourself. So, for this event we are shedding the "fun" and replacing with a challenge. We will be without our beloved teammates (unless anyone else wants to rally together another team!) to cheer and encourage. Instead we will handle all mechanicals alone, cook our own food, wake our own selves up for our laps in the search of that better side of each of us!This event offers a whole new challenge simple because it is desert riding. It will be February and the valley the event is held in is rumored to get very cold, occasionally snow. Of course the course will be ripe with rocks and very sharp cactus. I intend to do some research as to whether rattlesnakes are dormant during that period of the year... =)
All are welcome to join and form another team of 2, 4, 5, 6 or whatever. We will be out there with the big white dome, the 2x4 bike rack and a lantern burning all hours for CyclePathic Tendencies!
5 comments:
Oh heck yeah, Jess! BRING IT ON!!!
This is the next frontier for sure...now I'm not allowed to whimper and whine about "long" 35 mile rides anymore. We're talking like 120+ MOUNTAIN BIKE miles per person. Ha! This is so friggin' awesome.
This race will truly solidify our team name. And I'm honored to be your partner in grime... :)
I'm excided for you guys...in that way that makes you feel excited to ride 12 hrs alone! The rest of the team will be with you in spirit if we can't make it in person.
I don't even know what to say as I stare at my computer, jaw dropped, in aw of what I just read...all I can say is Good Luck! (I know you can do it!)
Don’t worry there won’t be any snakes, they will be nestled under a rock somewhere waiting for the hot summer to come. There will however be a plethora of sharp rocks, cactus, mesquite, yucca and plenty of loose sandy turns to wash out on and crash into the previously stated objects. Not to mention fighting extreme mental and physical fatigue that will only increase your chances of making that mistake and end up lying in pool of your own despair and sorrow from all the cactus needles you just impaled into your backside and you still have 12 hours to go of sitting on that ramrod compacting saddle that will help drive the cactus needles to a point of no return where they can not be reached....sounds like a great time.
Oh and good luck!
Wow... y'all are so cool!
Truly impressed and excited for you! Wish I could be there to take a few laps off your aching hands...
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