"24 hrs in the Canyon 2018"
What a event, the drive to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas was a long one but so very well worth it in the end. We arrived on Friday morning to see that the heat was going to be a major factor, at Noon it was popping 116 on the Canyon floor and ZERO cell reception. Race Officials made the call to shorten the course to help reduce the chances of any heat related incidents and it was welcomed. We got our pit area set up and away we rolled to check out the course, fast, flowy, short punchy climbs, technical climbs, sweet downhills, this was going to be fun!
Race day would see the temps drop YEAH!!! but still hot as Hades. The start and first 2 laps went as planned with quick pits for hydration and nutrition, Pitting for lap 3 Ryder jumped on his Rocky Mountain and said he would chase me for a lap. We were pushing the pace and not far from the beginning of the GSL trail when I went down hard on a fast downhill section, my left knee made a loud audible POP and Ryder had a ringside view of the carnage. "DUDE that was a bad crash" was about all I can remember besides wanting to vomit..I was hurting. Ryder helped me off the trail and even brought my bike back to me, several riders came by and offered help, after taking a drink I got back to work spinning those wheels and finished the lap. Once back at the pit I was having some issues, both physically and emotionally. It was suggested by several people that I pull myself from the race because of my knee, I just could not do it, I was there for a reason.
It took me a while and a lot of advil but I was back spinning wheels and Ryder chose to "escort" me for safety reasons for the next 3 laps, darkness was slowly creeping in and I was prepared with my RAKclighting Theia light set up, being able to toggle the power variance from the handlebars made life easy, spinning wheels and chasing the light through the night was fun, except for the regimen of advil and the pain. Nuun, yogurt, bananas, HoneyStinger waffles, and a mix of Tailwind kept me moving and struggling to fight off cramps. As the darkness was pushed away by the light the end of the race was drawing near I pulled into my pit after completing lap 14 I was in bad shape and could barely walk after 119 miles and was tied for 3rd with 3 hours to go. After a emotional discussion in the pits and pushing my knee as far as I could my race had ended at 21 hours and 19 minutes 1 second.
HUGE SHOUT OUT TO Ryder Love , Thank you for being their for me. Kraig Rodgers (TBHer) Thank you SO much for the advice and help in the pits, Mom, Angie, Thank you to all that made Donations!!!
Every time I thought I could not take the pain anymore I reached up to my necklace where my Dads ring is and asked myself if it was time to stop, "the answer was always no".
What a event, the drive to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas was a long one but so very well worth it in the end. We arrived on Friday morning to see that the heat was going to be a major factor, at Noon it was popping 116 on the Canyon floor and ZERO cell reception. Race Officials made the call to shorten the course to help reduce the chances of any heat related incidents and it was welcomed. We got our pit area set up and away we rolled to check out the course, fast, flowy, short punchy climbs, technical climbs, sweet downhills, this was going to be fun!
Race day would see the temps drop YEAH!!! but still hot as Hades. The start and first 2 laps went as planned with quick pits for hydration and nutrition, Pitting for lap 3 Ryder jumped on his Rocky Mountain and said he would chase me for a lap. We were pushing the pace and not far from the beginning of the GSL trail when I went down hard on a fast downhill section, my left knee made a loud audible POP and Ryder had a ringside view of the carnage. "DUDE that was a bad crash" was about all I can remember besides wanting to vomit..I was hurting. Ryder helped me off the trail and even brought my bike back to me, several riders came by and offered help, after taking a drink I got back to work spinning those wheels and finished the lap. Once back at the pit I was having some issues, both physically and emotionally. It was suggested by several people that I pull myself from the race because of my knee, I just could not do it, I was there for a reason.
It took me a while and a lot of advil but I was back spinning wheels and Ryder chose to "escort" me for safety reasons for the next 3 laps, darkness was slowly creeping in and I was prepared with my RAKclighting Theia light set up, being able to toggle the power variance from the handlebars made life easy, spinning wheels and chasing the light through the night was fun, except for the regimen of advil and the pain. Nuun, yogurt, bananas, HoneyStinger waffles, and a mix of Tailwind kept me moving and struggling to fight off cramps. As the darkness was pushed away by the light the end of the race was drawing near I pulled into my pit after completing lap 14 I was in bad shape and could barely walk after 119 miles and was tied for 3rd with 3 hours to go. After a emotional discussion in the pits and pushing my knee as far as I could my race had ended at 21 hours and 19 minutes 1 second.
HUGE SHOUT OUT TO Ryder Love , Thank you for being their for me. Kraig Rodgers (TBHer) Thank you SO much for the advice and help in the pits, Mom, Angie, Thank you to all that made Donations!!!
Every time I thought I could not take the pain anymore I reached up to my necklace where my Dads ring is and asked myself if it was time to stop, "the answer was always no".
Attached Files
entire left leg is swollen.
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