Ridin' in the Rain...
Saturday morning at 4:30 AM. The weather channel had
been consistently forecasting rain, but - the sky is clear.
Shortly before five racers began arriving. Over the next hour the lot
filled with vans, SUV's, pickups and a couple of motor homes. Riders began
circling the parking area and venturing onto 256th street, warming up for the
6AM start. We line 'em up, get out of the way, and they were off! 24 hour time trialists at the front, followed closely by
the rest of the field.
The 24 hour group included a number of elite ultramararthon racers; Kurt
Searvogel, 2010 UltraCup Champion, Paul Carpenter winner of 2009 Race Across the
West, from Monaco came Valerio Zamboni, 2011 finisher of the Race Across America - as
well as a group of young turks (Stephen Glowacki, Mike Geuss and Jostein
Alvestad) that were ready to rumble.
The 12 hour riders included Larry Ide on his Bacchetta - looking bit road
worn as he sported a large band aid across one eyebrow (result of a crash
earlier in the week) Keith Wells of Johnston, IA , and a real young challenger,
15 year old Tennesean Dylan Vance.
There were two women riders in the 24 hour group, Amanda Hassner from St Louis,
and Sue McCall of Norwalk, IA, neither of whom had attempted a 24 hour event
previously.
The first lap for the 6, 12 and 24 hour riders was a mandatory long loop of
fifty three miles. Time to get their legs stretched - and time for the
staff to get canopies and other equipment assembled. Time keepers arrived and
took their places, everyone noting that it was a beautiful day - as long as the
weather held...
The Bacchetta was the first to complete the circuit. Ide pulled out
a 15 minute lead and showed no sign of slowing down as he spun past the timing
station and back onto the asphalt. The pack arrived shortly thereafter led by
Kurt Searvogel with Golwacki, Carpenter and Zamboni close behind. After that
there were scattered groups rolling in twos and threes; riders that stopped for
water and food before re-entering the fray.
Unfortunately, the youngest rider,
Dylan, had a flat and then another - so he was stuck at
the 30 mile checkpoint awaiting a new tire and tube. Joe Jamison took these
supplies to the rider, but the delay had dealt him a serious setback.
As the
6 hour race neared its end, the wind picked up and the clear skies had
clouded over. As the awards for that event were being presented, out in the
parking lot canopies and tents were being taken down or secured as the sky
darkened and thunder was heard in the distance.
And the rain came. A loud, spattering downpour, followed by sheets of wind
driven water that slapped the riders and obscured the course for the next
several hours. As the day wore on, a pattern emerged - the rain would subside, a bit of sun would peek through, only to
be washed out by a new round of showers. When new bank s of storm clouds rolled
in some riders took shelter in open garage doors and farmhouse porches
as the thunder and lightning crashed overhead - but very few quit.
At 6PM, the 12 hour race came to an end, and a shivering and dirty gang headed
for the showers. Dessa Paris - who rode much of the day with a broken rear shift
cable - did 198 miles for overall in the women's category, Keith
Wells led the men's standard frame division, and Larry Ide broke the men's
record in the recumbent division.
Anticipating more rain - which never came - we decided to route the 24 hour
riders to the short 8 mile loop for the duration of the event. The short
loop sees less traffic and with the possibility of more rain the safer loop
seemed the obvious choice. As it turned out, that change was well recieved
by the participants; it made for quicker laps, kept the riders closer together,
and made the start/finish line a more active and noisy place. Through the night
Megan TImmerman and her timing staff kept encouraging the riders as they wheeled
through the lot, while the old timers manned the laptops in the camper.
As six o'clock approached, Searvogel and Glowacki were secure in the top
two spots, while Zamboni rode nonstop in what looked like an all-out attempt
to close the 1 lap lead that Carpenter had in the 50-59 category. But in the end
he was unable to catch the Carp, and the finishing positions were unchanged.
By the time the awards were given out the rain had dried up in the morning sun,
and the last of the cars left the venue ..
For the women Amanda and Sue both rode all night and accumulated 298 and 382
miles respectively. Sue's ride set a new record both for the women's 50-59 year
old 24 hour category, and for women's overall miles! This is especially notable
considering that Sue is a ultra rookie who topped a record set by Caroline Van
Der Bulk; a female endurance rider who has raced all over the world! And Sue
spent 6 hours in the worst rains this event has ever seen. Kurt Searvogel had 439 for the men, followed by Steven
Glowacki, and the 50+ winners were Paul Carpenter and Valerio Zamboni!
Tandem couple Fran and Jim Flesch also established a record for mixed tandem in
the 24 hour with 199.9 miles! See
the results page for a complete listing!
Thanks to all that made it to the 6th Weekend of Racing, including the
volunteers (we couldn't do it with out you!)
Scott and Kat Swanson
Dick and Sue Burton
Ron Schmidt
Darlene Moritz
Megan and Jeff
David Towns
Randy Johnson
Dave and Melinda Thompson
Kristen Jordan
Healthy Habits