24
Hours In The Canyon Race Report
by Andrew Andress
The weather was better than expected for June in Palo Duro Canyon as a cool front blew in the morning of the race keep the temps below 90, and it actually got close to 50 in the wee hours of Sunday morning. The Canyon is so beautiful, and a memory I will never forget is being on my bike to see the sun set on the canyon...and still being on my bike to see the sun come up (2 of my fastest laps were at sunset and sunrise).
We had a 4 mile mass road start where myself and Rocky Gingg (winner) began
to find our pace and we spent the next 4 hours pacing out laps with minimal
stops, mainly just taking a hand up at the end of each 8.5 mile lap. I
made a dumb mistake of not putting on sunscreen, and I could tell I was getting
fried by hour 4. So I made a longer pit stop to get sunscreen on while Rocky
kept going. At this point the sun had really zapped some energy, so I
slowed my pace and started taking about 5 minute breaks between laps. As I was
doing this Rocky kept his pace and by 7pm he had a full lap on me (I learned
quickly how a little time compounded very quickly over a race this long).
I had a great pit crew consisting of my brother Aaron and his wife Brenda, along with an unexpected family friend Kregg Pierson who had enough energy after finishing his century road ride to come and cheer me on and hold my bike up while I took my few precious minutes off the bike (Thanks a ton Kregg, you’re encouragement was so awesome!!!). Brenda was busy mixing bottles for me the whole day and into the night until she had to get some rest for her 6 hour race that started at 6 the next morning (she won!!). Aaron was a great motivator and watchdog for me throughout the whole night. He was keeping a close eye on Rocky each time he came though, timing his pit stops, trying to read his body language, and giving me time splits. And most of all yelling “Get your (wife's edit) back on the bike!!” At one point about 17 hours in I came through and said I wasn’t feeling so great and he said, “Quit feeling sorry for yourself and go ride your bike.” Which was somehow exactly what I needed to hear.
As daylight started creeping into the canyon it brought some fresh energy to
my legs. I could feel that my sunrise
lap was a solid pace, and I was hopeful that it would set the tone for my final
six hours. As I came in for my pit stop,
Aaron told me that Rocky had just took off 3 minutes prior. Hearing that was a shot in the arm so I made
it a very brief stop grabbed a fresh bottle and two Honey Stinger waffles for
“breakfast.” I bolted out and by the 4th
mile I had Rocky in sight. He saw me chasing
on a long switch back turn, I was really hoping he was fading as I made my
attack. But Rocky, being the machine
that he is, was able to put the drop on me and leave little doubt that he had
the legs to win.
That effort to chase him stole whatever energy the sunrise gave me. I pedaled out three grueling laps between
7:45 and 10:15. My brother gave me a
good pep talk and told me I needed to get in 2 pretty hot laps before the 11:40
cut off time to make sure I at least retain my 2nd place bid. I found some energy and hammered out a 48
minute lap which I was excited about and was really looking forward to going
all out for one final lap…But the race officials made an unannounced decision
that the cut off time would be changed from 11:40 to 11:00. I came through at 11:03 with no intentions of
even stopping and I was baffled to hear a race official yelling at me to stop
as I was going out for my last lap. Whether I liked it or not I was done.
All in all it did not change my position, and there was no way short of a mechanical that I would catch Rocky. I was a little disappointed that I was unable to match his lap count. BUT, I am overall thrilled with my results, so happy to have accomplished every goal I set out for the race. And I am so thankful to God that I was able to compete for the win, and that I have such a great family to help me push through.
All in all it did not change my position, and there was no way short of a mechanical that I would catch Rocky. I was a little disappointed that I was unable to match his lap count. BUT, I am overall thrilled with my results, so happy to have accomplished every goal I set out for the race. And I am so thankful to God that I was able to compete for the win, and that I have such a great family to help me push through.
I have an entirely new perspective on what 24 hours even means, and I look
forward to my next race!
