Bringin' it back like Jerome Henry

Well it's been a couple days since the race and I think we've all pretty much recovered. After a total of three hours of sleep during the 48 hours leading up to and including the race, I made it home, slept for about 15 hours and managed to get up and make it into work on time on Monday, proudly wearing my 24 Hours of Adrenalin shirt. I think at that point all the Full Sail Ale was out of my system and a double americano was way overdue to hit my bloodstream. As a matter of fact, it still owes me some interest.

The campsite was all but the polar opposite of Moab. Dry, sheltered, powered. All in all quite civil and not resembling a Jurassic dinosaur-killing mudpit in any way. We camped next to three other friendly teams from the Bay Area, including the women's team "Tits of Steel" (no kidding, that is what they named themselves) who managed to take first place in their division. I think they're sandbagging though, word has it they're actually titanium, which we all know is way faster than steel.

Shannon, our group cook, kept us well fed with pasta, cheese, salami, bagels, tea, fruit, trail mix, and all sorts of other delicious snacks to be stuffed in hungry mouths at all hours of the day. And all the volunteers who came did a great job keeping us company throughout all hours of the race.

The race itself was great and team Google Earthlings rode every single lap on singlespeeds. David kept it old school riding the first lap on his fully rigid 29er. On his second lap, his freewheel exploded and he was forced to hike to the next checkpoint and cancel his lap. He borrowed and critiqued bikes for the rest of the race. And volunteered to ride the very last lap of the race after we had each ridden 4 apiece.

Even with the lost lap, we managed to score 12th place in our division, which isn't too shabby. Had David completed that lap, we would have been top 10 and beat our good friends and arch rival 24-hour-race-veterans, the Velonerds. But hey, it gives us something to look forward to for next time.

The course was fast; 12 miles in just about an hour. Starting with a series of steep climbs and fast, hardpack, singletrack descents, the course finally peaks atop Hurl Hill, a short steep fireroad climb with an aid station perched at the top. After Hurl Hill you breathe a little easier and rest your legs as you cruised down a gently rolling fireroad. After a couple of miles, a right hand turn dropps you back onto twisty, rolling, sandy singletrack as you pick your way past riders and around bushes. Dropping back out on the fireroad and another aid station at around mile 8, the course is pretty much done, the only thing left is The Grind, a 3 mile fireroad climb back to the Laguna Seca Racecourse. From the top of The Grind you drop in and cross a bridge over the raceway, ride down the stairs to your teammates cheering you on, do a lap around the track, grab a free beer from the guys on Team Hamana, and run the bike into the scoring tent to pass the baton on to your teammate who's awaiting anxiously for his lap. All that's left after that is to tell your buddies how great the lap was, grab a Full Sail from the keg, and repeat.

There has been a lot of posting about David's pot-lap dancing antics that won him a new lighting system. And I don't want to beat this dead horse much longer. However, although a lot of attention has been paid to the simple fact that he performed the act, not a lot has been paid to the artistry in which he did so. If you're easily offended, under the age of 18, or David's mom, you might want to stop reading and go here instead.


Now those are authentic, San Francisco hipster dance moves folks, no doubt about it. Congratulations, David, and congratulations, dear readers. Next time you're using those moves in a club or to win some fabulous prize, give credit where credit is due.

And, with that, I bid you all adieu. Until the next 24 hour event, I'll be working hard to keep your Gmail up and running and chock full of cool bug-free features.