24 Hours of Colorado Springs: Race Review

The Race:
The inaugural race of the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs can be classified as a huge success – in my opinion. The race was very well organized, not a single problem. The race course was tough for single speeders, almost depressing, at first. But the course definitely grew on me, an average single speed freak. The race benefits the Wounded Warrior Project – great choice! Hopefully the race grows in size year after year, it should. I’ll definitely be there next year – to support the cause and smoke The Lt Col!
OK, enough of the formalities. Time to get serious, about serious subjects.
The Race Review:
It was a wild race, a race the defied all odds. What do I mean by this? Well, The Lt Col dominated the B.P.R. standings, The Judd caved in and became a spectator, The TeddNeck decided to sleep during the day and race at night, Prob-eee freaked out and quite the race (quit the sport?) after one lap. As always, there are many many small stories within the big story, but that will be left for when I belly up to the bar and you buy me the beer. (Just joking – I pay for my own beer – unless a beer is going warm and has lost his owner.)
So, you, the B.P.R. Fan, can pick out your favorite race summary, presented below: (I may figure out a voting scheme in the near future, until then send me an email and I will tabulate the results!)
  1. The Back of the Pack Crew, as a whole, consumed 32,631 calories via beer, burgers, pizza and Cheetos between Friday morning and Sunday night. The Back of the Pack Crew burned 18,073 calories during the same time period. Same story, different race.
  2. The Lt Col dominated from the back of the pack and brings home the hardware, 2nd Place! The Lt Col jammed out on a 34 x 19 and smokes the course for ~ 146 miles.
  3. The Judd and his 3 imaginary friends (The Philosofizer, The Hustorian, The Chick Magnet) dominated the 4 Man Single Speed division. 5 ‘real’ laps by The Judd and 12 ‘imaginary’ laps by his imaginary buddies.
  4. The TeddNeck, The B.P.R. Moral Chairman boosts morale at the B.P.R. Pit by riding at night – this was a major morale boost to those racers, I mean losers (The Judd & Prob-eee) who rested & sleep for 10+ hours.
  5. Prob-eee is forced into an intimate relationship with ‘The Demons’. Prob-eee may never race again due to this new relationship and the responsibilities that go along with it.
The Race Awards:
The Lt Col: B.P.R. “Dude, If I don’t ride all 24 Hours my 10 year old son will kick my A$$ ” Award. 2nd place solo single speed, 10 Laps ~ 146 miles.
The TeddNeck: B.P.R. “I’ll ride at night but not during the day” Award. 5 Laps ~ 75 miles
The Judd: B.P.R. “Burnout of the Year” Award. 5 Laps ~ 75 miles
Prob-eee: B.P.R. “What, is this a race? I thought it was a BBQ” Award. 1 voluntary lap, 1 lap forced by The TeddNeck ~ 32.8 miles.
The Parents of the Brothers Rohwer: B.P.R. “Daytime Pit Crew of the Month” Award. Thanks Madre and Padre!
The Excuses of the Race:
Lt Col, why didn’t you waste the competition and bring home the championship? 

Ans: “Because dude, I was rockin the 34 x 19 and it’s hard out there man, it’s really hard!”

Judd, why did you cave in and become a spectator, a spectator with who spectates while looking at the backside of the eye lids.

Ans #1: “Dude, I’ve raced 4 times in the last 5 weeks. Three 24 hour races in 28 days. I was wiped out mentally, in great physical shape, just didn’t want to ride.”

Ans #2: “Dude, you ever been stung by a bee? I was stung by a bee right before the race. I had a wicked headache. (I think I had a fever, I must have, just because.) Check this link, Bee Stings – Allergy Guide! I couldn’t function until 6:30 AM on Sunday.”

Ans #3: “Dude, I was on Prob-eee watch. Prob-eee was acting weird. I was concerned for his own welfare and the safety of all those around the B.P.R. pit site.” 

Prob-eee, why did you quit after 1 lap and put a ‘For Sale’ sign up on your bike?

Ans #1: “Uh, can I use one of Judd’s excuses?”

No!

Ans #2: “Uh, I’ll get back to you on that”

TeddNeck, why did you decided to lounge when the sun was up and punish the course in the middle of the night?

Ans: “Well, I look better at night. I like riding at night. I own the night. Damn, what’s it to you! Get out of my face! You loser!”

 
The Race Data, GPS Data & Course Profile:
The Breakdown of The Judd’s Race:


Check out this link for the ‘official Judd’ GPS data, some plots and all the pics. A subset is below in this post.
 
 
Total: 75.24 miles, 7986 ft of climbing

The Data: One Lap (Not the 1st Lap)
 
GPS Data: The Course – Looking Towards Pikes Peak, SW


The Videos:


The Video of Lap 1. Comments? Keep them to yourself!

24 Hours of COS – The Race from Judd Rohwer on Vimeo.
Just some views from the course, dude!




Just a stupid video of the funny ride to the race. 

If you’re bored, watch it. If you’re busy – be busy.

24 Hours of COS – The Ride to The Race from Judd Rohwer on Vimeo.
Just a Ride to a Race



The Lessons Learned:
  1. Riding in every race possible is not necessarily the best method of training. The Burnout could hit you, even on the 1st lap of a 24 hour race.
  2. Even if you have a good reason for not racing while the ‘race is on’, you’ll still get an unbelievable amount of S*^T from the B.P.R. dudes that are racing. (Ok, there is no good reason for not racing when at a race.)
  3. It’s just as hard to stay up for 24 hours and watch racers race as it is to race for 24 hours. (Yeah right! What’s The Judd smokin’ – or mainlining!)
  4. Preparing oatmeal & peanut butter in a crock pot, in a hotel room, is not easy and is not fun. (Anybody have a good recipe for oatmeal and peanut butter? Someone must.)
  5. If an ‘American Hunter’ magazine is sitting near a sink in Rosie’s Diner and a dude is taking a wizzard, don’t pick up the magazine and take it to the porcelain. This move creates and interesting situation when the ‘owner’ of the magazine want’s it back. This is a very simple lesson learned by The Lt Col, the B.P.R. Elder Statesman.
Crash of the Race:
The Lt Col lost control on the double track – the double track through the golf course. The Lt Col’s front wheel slipped out in some soft dirt and he went down. Nothing out of the ordinary, he crashes all the time, even on double track. But this crash was different. At the time The Lt Col and The TeddNeck were riding together and talking – so The Lt Col loses control and takes out The TeddNeck! Nice! Double track through the golf course!
Quotes of the Race:
  1. Some Random Racer: “You guys are like Clockwork Orange of the bike racing community.”
  2. The Madre: “If your camper is 1/2 mile from the race course, how Prob-eee’s going to sleep.”
  3. Prob-eee; “I still think a 23T is OK!”
  4. The Lt Col: “Dude, we need to throw Prob-eee a bone – let him know that we still care about him.”
  5. The Demons to Prob-eee: “Prob-eee, Prob-eee you must quit, you must quit riding your bike. This is stupid, this is ludicrous! You must go back to the pit and start drinking beer. Prob-eee, are you listening to us, we are The Demons of 24 hour racing. Prob-eee you must listen to us. Stop this nonsense, you are 52 years old!”
Question of the Race:
The TeddNeck: “How come a 44oz Coke doesn’t fit back into a 44 oz cup after processing.”
The Controversy: 
The Lt Col: “Dude I just got a text from James, the Stellar will be ready at 3PM”
The Judd: “So, did you call him back?”
The Lt Col: (No response)
The Judd: “You’re kidding me, right? You DIDN’T text James, did you?
The Lt Col (No Response)
Twenty Minutes Later.
Lt Col: “Dude, I’m not going down like those Senators and Politicians. The cover-up is way worse than the crime.”
The Lt Col calls The Lt Col’s Foxy Mama and explains that he does know how to text and that he texted James.  The Lt Col’s first ‘texting’ experience was with a dude that builds titanium bikes and not his wife. Talk about trouble!
The Summary:
Should I be serious? For once? Maybe.
The 24 Hours of Colorado Springs was a big eye opener for me, The Judd. I’ve been riding hard since mid May. I’ve competed in 10 races in 3 1/2 months. 5 of these were 24 hour races. Not a big deal. My body has held up fine, except for one broken digit that is now permanently damaged, permanently crooked. But my mental state is the question. Ok, my mental state is always in question. This last race I just lost interest in riding. It may have been due to the absolutely unbearable headache that I had. (No joke, I got stung by a bee and a massive headache developed.) Or my lack of interest created the unbearable headache. Psychology is a wicked field of study. Someone should study me. 
Either way 2010 turned into a year of traveling and racing. Traveling because I’m racing? Or racing so I can travel? Good question. Either way I’ve had a blast and now have a plan for 2011. I’ll probably scale back my race schedule in 2011. I want to focus on the mother of all races: a) The Back of the Pack High Altitude Championships – A Stage Race, b) The Colorado Trail Race. (The CTR? Yep, it’s a lofty goal, dude!) I’ll definitely hit up other races, such as 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest, Firecracker 50, SSWC11 and a few NMES races. But it’s time I get serious about putting in massive miles. You can’t put in massive miles if you spend two days a week on the road – traveling to / from races.
So, what’s next for me in 2010? Hell, I don’t know. I may go against my principles and race in the 24 Hours of Moab. ($350 to race in the solo single speed category? Damn, it was $130 last year. Like I want to be ripped off?) I may go race in 24 Hours of Frog Hollow – just waiting on The Lt Col and / or The TeddNeck to sign up. I’m not going alone.
Other than that? I need a VACATION! I haven’t been on a real vacation in 3 1/2 years. I have 7 weeks of vacation stored up – and I bet my employer wants to take it all away. So, I’m going on VACATION! Where will The Judd go on vacation? New Zealand Dude? Why would The Judd go to New Zealand for a vacation? Simple. The Judd’s going to New Zealand to race in a few mountain bike races, The Whaka 100 and The Single Speed World Championships. (That’s an obvious answer to a stupid question.)
A Link to the Data & Pics:
 
The Pics:
The Start – Prob-eee (Probationary Member) & The Founding Fathers (Lt Col, The Judd, The TeddNeck)
The Lemans Start: Back of the Pack Style
Does this really need a caption?
The Lt Col is Ashamed of The Crew
Beer for B.P.R. at 5PM on Race Day? A first, hopefully the last!
The Lt Col prepares for another lap, Prob-eee prepares for another beer
The Judd is Toast, The Judd Wants to Watch Cartoons
The TeddNeck – Trying to Smile. Ok, Maybe Not.
The Awards: Dan (L) = 3rd Place SS, Lt Col (R center) = 2nd Place SS
A Tired Back of the Pack Racer – Sleeping in Style, upright and with the colors on!

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