24 Hours of Biking...again

Well we did it again, the Round the Clock 24 hour race in Spokane, WA. It's a bike race that goes from noon to noon and people either race in teams or solo (interpreted as...CRAZY!) Here's the quick low down on what it was like: the winning solo rider did 20 laps of 15 miles each, that's 300 miles all off road, in 24 hours, AMAZING. The winners of our category, 4 person, did 26 laps total, that's more laps than hours in the race, they were seriously flying! Our group did 20 laps total with one minor light malfunction that cost us one lap, this put us in the middle of the pack, finishing 16th out of 30 teams (not bad for weekend warriors.)

Me looking stupid. I guess it's because I'm running, and running is stupid. Or maybe it's because I'm running with a bike helmet on. Oh well, at least I was running to get on my bike, which is a big improvement!


Sarah coming in with the timing chip in her teeth ready to pass it off. We had to duck under a PVC obstacle as a way of forcing people off their bikes so folks wouldn't ride all the way into the timing tent. Is that smoke coming from her rear tire? Whew!

The usual suspects, plus one. From L to R, Sarah (flashing some type of west side gang sign Travis was teaching her), Travis Cook (the new addition and a welcome one at that), Me (acting like some kind of troglodyte), and Chris "raceface" Brannen.

Will we do it again? I would imagine we will. We all did double laps during the night hours and I think it was best (different from last year when we didn't really have any sleeping time.) We all had more rest because each time a rider went out, it was for 30 miles rather than the normal 15 miles, so lots of sleep for the people waiting. Maybe it cost us some time overall, but the rest was well worth the sacrifice! I'd like to switch things up a little and maybe have all riders do their laps in bulk, ride for 6 hours then be done. Who knows, stay tuned...

The line up of bikes at the starting line.


Hurry up and wait. The transition area, getting ready to pass the timing chip from Sarah to Travis.