Judd: 6th Place / USA Cycling 24-Hour National Championships / Solo Singlespeed.
(Ok, Ok. 6 out of 8! But I showed up!)
(Ok, Ok. 9 out of 14 solo singlespeeders! But I paid the extra fees for the championship category and the championship results say ‘6th Place, Judd Rohwer’. So There!)
24 Hours of Moab – Review:
Not much to say. Ok, that’s a lie. But if I must sum up the race in one sentence, this is what I’d say: My goal was to start my vacation off with a great trip to Moab -> I was successful. Yep, enough said. But I’ll add a few more comments.
The race was fun, but the trip was a blast. I rode hard – when I wanted to ride. I felt great for the 1st 75 miles, went horizontal for 8+ hours, then finished off with another 45 miles. 120 miles total. I never felt fatigued. The legs and body were fresh at the end. My split times show that I was consistent, i.e., maintained a decent pace. (A decent pace for an obese 215 lbs singlespeed racing freak. Obviously not a good pace for a ‘real’ mountain bike racer.)
So, why did I get horizontal for 8+ hours when I should have been racing? Well, it’s easy. I have New Zealand on the brain. I lost interest during my 1st night lap. My goal of riding 24 hours quickly became a 120 mile goal. (200km for those that live with the metric system.) That’s just the way it goes. I’m happy that I’m traveling to New Zealand with zero physical problems, zero mental issues. I’m ready to go! Sometimes it pays off to chill out and take it easy.
What I really mean: sometimes it’s best to be conservative and avoid a potential disaster – such as eating a rock in the middle of the night. Yep, it happened to a dude that was racing out of the pit next to us. Been there, done that. I didn’t want to show up in New Zealand looking like a freak show. Oh wait, I am a freak show. Back of the Pack is a freak show. Oh well.
Race Summary:
The lap times, the transition times
Total: 120.34 miles, 11313 feet of climbing. Not bad for a 14 hour effort during a 24 hour race. (1st place solo single speed logged 16 laps / 240+ miles, insane!)
Race Data, The GPS Stuff:
Lessons Learned:
- I need a Blackberry for guaranteed connectivity. The BPR Fan Club demands updates / feedback / a robust connection to the team. My iPhone doesn’t do the job while stuck in the remote areas of The Great Southwest.
- Ok, I’m not going to acquire a Blackberry just for the BPR Fan Club. So ‘the club’ will just have to deal with delayed updates.
- I suffered from NOF. I need a solution. Sometimes it feels good – it didn’t feel good at this race.
- Don’t forget the AA batteries, we must have the ability to jam out to killer tunes.
- The Dust. The Dust. I couldn’t figure out why I was so, so thirsty. Well, it was the dust, dude. Is there a solution? Probably not.
- Riding in the night on a dusty course is a problem. The lights must be on max power. This means a recharge strategy is required, assuming you (I) ride for more than one night lap.
The Obvious:
- A Sausage Muffin with Egg was my favorite ‘crappy’ breakfast food, since I was a kid working at my dad’s Baskin-Robbins stores. I think I ate my last one on this trip – location = Gallup, NM. I now know the definition of Gross.
- It’s totally uncool to take a ‘shnap’ in a public / one holer bathroom when there is a line of 5+ dudes anxiously waiting to relieve pressure. Come on dude, if you’re reading this, that was so uncool. Grow up!
- Spandex is absurd, for dudes. End of story. But my favorite jersey was the Microsoft Windows 2000 design. That was a sweet look. The 60 year old dude was proud of it.
- If the event staff is going to fire one up, smoke a dube, they shouldn’t do it in public or even speak about it in public. Because when something goes wrong we can all say ‘if you’re weren’t f’n high this wouldn’t have happened’.
- The TeddNeck. One Match – as usual. Enough said!
The not so Obvious:
- Why is it so easy to run over a mouse on the trail, at night, but so hard to catch one at home?
- What difference does a front fork shock / front suspension make? I’ll never (ever) have front suspension, but I’d like to talk to a dude (or dudette) who can provide some insight into the speed differentials associated with SS & front suspension. Seriously, I’m just curious.
The Crazy:
I’ve been told that Cannelloni is great. The B.P.R. Morale Chairman confirms it. But I didn’t have the opportunity to try the Cannelloni – for some reason it ended up on the ground. That means rat bait. Oh well, the Chocolate Chip cookies were just as good, I bet.
Quote of The Race:
Denise: TeddNeck. How you feeling this AM?
TeddNeck: Uh, ok. Feeling OK but my shoulder is still messed up.
Denise: Honey, you’ll be ok. It’s just riding a bike!
Ok, Ms. Charles Barkley – thanks for the motivational speech.
The Ultimate Quote of the Race:
The B.P.R. Morale Chairman and I were setting up camp, keeping conversation to a minimum & avoiding eye contact will all others. A dude rolled up next to us; he just completed an easy ride, I assume. I was fairly certain that this dude was Josh Tostado – the gnarliest dude in 24 hour solo mountain bike racing. This dude won the 24 Hour Mountain Biking U.S. National Championships / Solo in 2009 (Moab – 17 laps) and again this year, 2010 (Moab – 18 laps). Anyway, this dude is cool and here is subset of the short conversation.
Josh Tostado – ‘Sweet bikes. You guys are riding solo, singlespeed, fully rigid, on this course? I’m not as tough as you guys’.
Ok Mr Tostado. Thanks for being cool, totally cool. But you are the toughest dude out here, by definition. 18 laps ~ 270 miles (435km), yeah – you’re a super human freak. And thanks for being cool on the trail as you flew by us doing 100mph.
The Psychology of The Judd:
I was feeling great during my 4th lap. 60 miles, no problems & no fatigue. I was ready to role through the night. It all changed 1 hour later. On the 5th Lap I decided to call it a night. No reason. I was just DONE. I had a few close calls on the course and I simply said ‘Screw It’. My mind was on New Zealand. I didn’t want to have a boulder sandwich at 3AM, so I put the sheep to sleep and I went horizontal. It’s called a BPR Insurance Policy. Funny how things change during 24 hour races. You never know what’s going to happen. At least I never know.
The Video:
Check this out. Put the kids to bed. Crack open a beer. Enjoy the music. And watch the action. I promise, my head is stone cold still. The course is so rough; you’d never believe it. Plus, some of the sections are very steep. The camera, the video, doesn’t do it justice. Just chill out and watch all the action. A laugh here and there is encouraged.
24 Hours of Moab – The Race, 2010 from Judd Rohwer on Vimeo.
24 Hours of Moab, A Back of the Pack Experience
The Ride before The Race – If You’re Bored and Interested!
24 Hours of Moab – Ride to the Start from Judd Rohwer on Vimeo.
All the Pics, All The Stuff:
Check this link for all the 1s and 0s – that’s ‘ones’ and ‘zeros’. This is a digital world!
The Link to all the pictures, Dude!
Final Thoughts:
I have no final thoughts. I had 3 final (critical) thoughts that I intended to share with you, the BPR Fan Club. But screw it, I’m a positive dude. So I’ll keep my mouth shut, I’ll keep the negative 1s and 0s out of the blogosphere. I had a blast at 24 Hours of Moab, again. I’ll be back in 2011, maybe. I may return for the party. I may return for the race. Or I’ll return for some riding and some partying. Who knows.
BACK OF THE PACK RACING 