Vegan Will Chapter 2: Reservoir Cogs

The last 72 hours have been a blur. We traveled up to the 24-hour course on Friday afternoon to set up camp. Since 24-hour town fills up fast, we had driven up on Thursday night to throw up a few tents. A member of my teammate’s wife’s team had volunteered to spend the night to ensure our claim was honored. By the time we arrived again on Friday, town was bustling.


24-Hour Town


My teammate, Andy, scored tickets to the dedication dinner. Each year 24 Hours In the Old Pueblo is dedicated to a mountain bike rider who has proved him or herself extraordinary in some way. This year the recipient was Dave Wiens, six-time winner of the grueling Leadville Trail 100 Race Across the Sky. Posters distributed along the tables described how Wiens took first place this year, with Lance Armstrong finishing 1 minute and 56 seconds behind. In the cycling world, this was a huge feat since Armstrong is often touted as the world’s best. Headlines proclaimed, "David (Wiens) Slays Goliath". After Wiens was introduced, he spoke of the Leadville 100 and answered questions about how it is to be so awesome. After the dinner we headed back to camp, sat around the chiminea, then drifted off to dream of the race ahead.


Andy and Laura With Dave Wiens ("When Dave's not crushing cyclist hall of famers he's enjoying the smooth, refreshing taste of Dr. Pepper.")



Andy and Carlos Sitting Around the Chiminea


Saturday morning was spent making final preparations and cramming as many carbs down my gullet as physically possible. I was to take the first lap, which meant that I would participate in the “layman’s start”—a half-mile run to the official start line, at which point you grab your bike and go. In this way a smooth start to the race is more likely than the alternative, attempting to funnel 500 riders onto single track at once. The first lap was one of the most difficult for me since I was riding a single speed. When I encountered the area known as the “7 bitches”—a series of steep, roller-coaster-like hills—I had to negotiate several downed riders who either misjudged the grade or were “bitch slapped” into submission. After this point the pack thinned out and the riding became easier.


Chaotic Layman's Start


At several points during the first half of the course my single gear was too small for my rate of travel, meaning that I was spinning without actually propelling myself forward. During later laps I found this to be a blessing since it forced me to rest, whereas on a bike with several gears one tends to always shift to a gear where he or she is exerting effort.

Once the first lap was down the 24-hour dance began. Andy and I decided to alternate as many laps as possible before rest was needed. We completed 4.5 rounds before sunset and we’re feeling great. For those of you who don’t know how a 24-hour race works, it’s pretty similar to other relay races. There is a team baton (a small wooden dowel) that is carried by the active rider. Once he or she completes a lap, the baton is handed to a time judge then either handed back to the rider (if he or she is continuing for another lap), to a teammate if one is present, or held by the judge until it is picked up by the next rider. All lap times are recorded from the time the baton leaves the previous rider’s hand to the time it is returned to the time judge. A team’s lap times must add up to over 24 hours in order to be considered for placement. For example, I decided to rest between our 7th and 8th lap. Since Andy wasn’t going out, I handed the baton to the time judge at 11:03 PM. Somewhere around 2:15 AM I went back and took the baton for another lap, returning at 3:50 AM. Even though I only took an hour and 35 minutes to complete the lap, my lap time was recorded as 4 hours, 47 minutes since the last lap was completed at 11:03 PM. Whoever completes the most amount of laps in the least amount of time over 24 hours wins the race. What a blast.

Having never participated in such an event, I didn’t know what I would experience. While you’re actually on the trail it seems monotonous and long (especially in the middle of the cold desert night), but looking back I can pick out interesting minutia. During one night lap, possibly my 3rd (arguably my 10th) I heard a cow bellowing in the distance. Ordinarily this wouldn’t seem that strange. Maybe the cow is lost? Maybe coyotes are chasing the cow? Who knows? But at 2 o’clock in the morning, derrière sore from scores of bumpy miles ridden, all alone in the middle of the desert, it was a odd thing to hear. At a few points during the night, I just pulled off the trail and watched the lights dance across the Arizona plain, cacti and rock dimly lit by a half moon. On a sad note, small desert mice are apparently attracted to bicycle headlights. I didn’t hit any myself but their attraction was evidenced by dozens of squashed mice corpses along the trail. Yet, the human side was not without casualties. On every lap I passed at least one person pulled off to the side plucking cholla or cactus spines out of his or her body. As it was described at the pre-race meeting (and a fact to which I can attest) cholla are like little hell raiser balls. You can’t touch them to pull them off because they’ll just stick to your hand. The trick is to get something in between your skin and the ball and quickly rip away from your body. This action is usually accompanies by a Velcro-like sound and wincing of the victim. Rule number 1: Don’t touch the cholla.

Now for what I’m sure you’re all anxious to hear about, logistics and statistics. Andy and I completed 12 laps (6 laps each) in 24 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds, finishing 25th out of 63. According to the race officials, each lap is 16 miles. That’s 192 miles between the two of us. My bike’s odometer read 99.455 miles, which means that either my odometer is off or the track is a little longer than 16 miles. To fuel this suffer-fest I consumed the following (to the best of my recollection): 3 Clif Bars (750 cal), 2 Primal Strips (200 cal), 1 Backpacker Pantry – Louisiana Red Beans and Rice (600 cal), 1 pita + (salmonella-free?) peanut butter (400 cal), 1 slice of bread (100 cal), 3 bananas (315 cal), 7 GU energy gels (700 cal), 2 handfuls of peanut butter-filled pretzels (100 cal), 2 Hammer Heed recovery drinks (200 cal), 1 bottle of CytoMax recovery drink (100 cal), 1 Hammer raw nutrition bar (230 cal), half bag of tortilla chips (300 cal), 2 packs of oatmeal (200 cal), and half of a Rockstar Juiced energy drink (100 cal). I’m not sure how many calories I burned, but it had to have been more than the roughly 4300 calories that I consumed because by the end of my 6th lap I was running on fumes. As I started the lap I was debating a 7th, but towards the end when I ate the last GU and felt no energy spurt I knew my legs were toast. Perhaps next year, with more training, I’ll get some more laps.


Eating Louisiana Red Beans and Rice In My Recovery Cocoon



Andy Heading Out For His Last Lap



Andy Crossing the Finish Line With Our 12th Lap


Even with all the calories consumed, I was famished by the time we returned to Tucson on Sunday afternoon. At my behest we stopped at Ruby Tuesday’s for a vegan double-murder burger (I think they call it a Colossal Burger, but it comes with a giant steak knife stuck through it). If you haven’t tried Ruby Tuesday’s veggie patty, go… now. It’s the best chain-restaurant veggie burger that I’ve ever tasted and the patty probably weighs a quarter-pound.


Famished. The Murder Burger Didn't Stand A Chance


A full night’s rest later and a day full of running last minute errands before we depart for South America and I’m still exhausted. My legs feel like someone ripped my muscles off the bone, pureed the meat, mixed it with cement, then stuffed the mixture back under my skin. Trust me, it’s a good feeling. For all you hearty souls, I recommend a 24-hour race in the Arizona desert if you ever get the chance. If you do, all I can say is dodge the poor little mice, eat your fruits and veggies, and DON’T TOUCH THE CHOLLA!