The Mud Bandit

24 Hours Of Adrenaline
By Sean D Harris

TheMudBandit@hotmail.com

   Racing in the 24 Hours of Adrenaline is a lot like running through a parking lot circus, while tripping on acid.

   During my first lap I was chased by an alien, passed by a guy wearing a prom dress, whacked on the back by a Luke Skywalker look-a-like bearing a home-made light saber, I saw a girl answering nature's call on the side of the trail, and passed a guy who was dressed like a giant bumble bee (complete with wings and stinger).

   As for my ride times, I completed the 9-mile course about how I had expected to (minus the lost time for a rather impressive crash).

   The first lap went by with no problems and I finished it in 60 minutes flat. For comparison, the pros do it in about 38-40 minutes.

   My second lap, at midnight, was when things got ugly... I had to borrow a helmet and lights because mine somehow ended up in someone's trunk. While scooting through what felt like it was going to be my fastest lap I got a pinch flat going through a rough rock garden, only to find out that my spare tube was in the camper, and the mini-pump I had did not work (that never happens - yeah right!). After borrowing a tube and running my bike for at least a mile out the woods, I found a kind symapthetic human who loaned me a floor pump. A few miles later, I was climbing the steepest part of the granite (about a 20-25% grade) and somehow managed to pedal so hard that the bike flipped out from underneath me. I managed to land on the back of my head and my left elbow at the same time, then (still clipped in) slammed the bike down onto my rear derailleur. After that, my BRAND NEW bike turned into a grumpy single speed that seemed to weigh about 468 pounds. Bleeding and slightly concussed, I finished that lap in 1 hour and 27 minutes.

   My third lap, at 6:00 AM, was pretty cool. After getting out of bed nauseas and throwing up for ten minutes I finally made it to the starting line. It was still dark, and about 57-60 degrees. The cold and first climb slapped me back into reality and the ride became fun. After getting knocked over by a guy who crashed in front of me, and spending about two minutes cleaning some SERIOUS mud from my cleats, I raced the sunrise and finished the lap in 1 hour and 10 minutes.

   Overall, I had a great time and can't wait for next year. Me and some of the guys from the team are looking into some other adventure races to do this winter.

   Our team finished 7th out of 20, with a total of 27 laps. I think we'll do better next year because we'll (kinda) know what to expect.