Well, it was great to race, and it was almost as good to finally be done. The holes punched in the license plate represent 7km laps completed. Not an overly fast pace, the course was quite technical in places and fairly rooty and wet in the woods. Dallas told me early on that there would be sections of the trail that, after encountering over and over again, i would absolutely despise. He was right. There was that little mud hole just after the first climb. Had a way of draining my speed EVERY single time as i eventually gave up looking for that perfect line. There was that squishy swamp where i got stung in the butt cheek at least twice by wasps (pain then, Itch now). And there was that technical rocky section about half way through where several sharp rocks tried their hardest to puncture my sidewalls (luckily they were thwarted).
This was my first experience with a 24 hour race and in many ways it lived up to my expectations. There would be periods of intense desire to quit riding. There would be butt pains, hand pains, leg pains, gut pains, and all sorts of pain I'd probably never experienced. I did learn that i can stay on a bike longer than I thought I could. I learned that cantaloupe is the greatest thing in the world after 12 hours of racing. I learned that a little mud added repeatedly over the course of a number of hours has the ability to stop things from working. I learned that having someone to cheer you up and encourage you means that much more so many hours into the race. Vanessa is awesome. Thanks to everyone who was such a great cheering section for the racers (fgbc crew at the top of the list!) Renee T. even took a slow lap with me to help keep me human. Thanks dude!
Things that did not live up to my expectations:
-my butt is not sore from riding 23 hours. it is only sore from wasp stings.
-I had no idea i could last as long as i did.
I'm looking forward to getting feeling back into my left hand and being able to bend over to tie my shoes.
Great times.
some random photos here
24 hours of Falcon Ridge Official Site
6 comments:
You should be proud, JP. Your performance was inspiring. The positive disposition and consistency were topics of discussion at tonight's TNR.
Well done, captain.
Great job!I know how you are feeling.Those races F!*k you up.Now you know what it's like to ride all night.Rest up my friend.
Well done. You Sir are my hero. And Vanessa rocks!!!
JP, you were awesome. That was very impressive. And fun to watch.
Thanks guys!!
J.P.,
You were phenomenal, my intention was not to keep you human, I was just tired of being lonely & it was my pleasure to ride a lap with you.
Thanks J.P.
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