Wow. It is really hard to believe that the 24 Hours of Rocky Hill is already over. This was the fourth year for me to compete in this event and I absolutely love everything about it. I love the smell out there in the woods at Rocky Hill, I love that it is close to my home and I love the fact I know I will have my hands full each year with high quality competition. I also enjoy my Texas MTB family and friends. It’s the one event that I really look forward to competing in. I started planning for this race specifically about 2 months ago but I knew my base was good coming off all the serious training I did for my race up in Canmore just three months earlier. This year I was worried about a number of things before the race. My main concern was my 24 HR nemesis Greg “I will rip your legs off and eat them raw like a Caveman” Parham. I knew he was driving back from his new home in Durango and he was motivated. I saw him before the race and he looked calm, cool and collected as always. I was also worried about this crazy Canadian coming all the way down from Calgary to throw his hand in the mix, Dave Franks. You can read his account of the race HERE. He was fresh off a fifth place at Canmore and I know he had been hitting the training HARD since that race (we have the same coach and he was staying at my house this past week). He had a 36 hour drive just to get to this race so there was extra motivation for him to crush everyone. Ray Porter was also another guy I knew would be here and be strong coming off the Great Divide race he had completed this year (Congrats on that one Ray, simply amazing). The last thing on my mind was the heat. I know how fast this race starts and in this heat it can really crush you early. I had to control myself on those first six hours so I could make it through the night and finish.
It was already hot when we lined up for the run. I was very excited and knew I had to run the start quickly and try to get out early from the start. When the gun went off, everyone took off. There are some fast runners out there! I just kept my eye on Greg and trailed him around the pond and back to where our bikes were laying. The run left me a little winded honestly but I settled into the bike quick and just kept my eye on Greg who was a couple bikes ahead of me starting the first climb. I knew Dave, Ray and a few other guys were just on my tail but I also know how Greg starts his races and I needed to focus on keeping him closer than the two years past. The first lap’s pace was really quick but I was handling it okay. I kept Greg in sight most of the lap but I knew it was just a little too hot outside and the pace a little fast for me to handle for 24 hours. With about two miles to go I decided to ease back and let Greg go. I lost sight of him immediately. I knew I couldn’t keep that pace up and survive and figured if he could then he deserves to win. I relaxed and settled into what would be a long day.
The second lap was almost as fast as the first and I was settling into the pace and feeling better. That lap and lap three went off without a hitch. I didn’t get off my bike in the pits, Dave’s wife Coralee was helping me with my nutrition handing me my bottles. I really appreciated that because I knew her helping me was a conflict of interest since I was competing against Dave. She was a rock star the and helped both of us the entire 24 hours we were racing. By lap 4 I had settled into a pace I was comfortable with and I could maintain that effort level for the next 11 hours or so. I was really happy with how I felt on the course and the fact that I was able to keep my lap times within a few minutes of each other up until this point. I knew there was trouble for Greg when I saw him again up ahead of me going up a switchback. This was around lap 5 I think. When I caught up to him, he was hurting and had stopped at the top of a climb early on the lap. I stopped and spoke to him for a sec and he said the heat was just killing him and his body was shutting down. I asked him to get on his bike and ride with me but the heat made him take a small break to catch his breath. He told me to go, so I listened and just pushed on. I felt bad for him, but as I have learned anything can happen in a 24 and I fully expected he would be passing me later in the race when it cooled off. At this point I knew I was in first place, but was not certain where Dave, Ray or anyone else was.
The next few hours were fun. Things were flowing for me and I was feeling good. I was cramping quite a bit, but I am used to this and knew if I could make it to night time I would be okay. I was killing the electrolyte pills each lap and doing two 20oz bottles of liquid per hour. I was in a zone, just disconnecting my head from my body and living in the moment of the race. I truly love riding my bicycle because it is the one time I am truly living in the moment. I don’t care about the past, I don’t think about the future, I am just living in the now and I really love that. Everyone on the course was having fun also. I was seeing some of the guys on teams just cooking off some fast laps, and they were all super friendly when blowing by me. The Texas mountain bike community is just amazing. Everyone was having a blast and this race is really done well by the Terra firmacrew, first class for sure.
I get excited in every 24 when it starts to get dark. That is my favorite time to ride my bike. I had my lights up on my bike by 5pm, and they were burning by 7ish. The night laps were awesome and my new light & motion lights I got at Cycle Progression were great. I felt like I was driving a car out there it was so bright. Once it cooled off the cramping went away and I started to feel even better. Around this time I ran back into Greg and he seemed to still be struggling with the heat and just not feeling good. I had heard reports of him stopping on the course and felt really bad for him because I know he is considered the King of this race. He is a crazy tough competitor and I know he will be back next year, my hat is off to him and I have nothing but crazy respect. Laps 11,12 and 13 went by with no issues and I was still feeling good, borderline great. By this time I knew I had a lead over second and I also knew my buddy Dave was in second, Ray in third. With Greg being out I had to focus on where the other racers were and be smart not to do anything to give the race away. I continued to ride at the same pace, keeping steady and riding what my coach calls “lazy fast”. I was giving the least amount of effort I could by laying off the brakes and using more momentum to get me up the punchy steep climbs out there. To this point I was averaging around 1 hour laps since the start of the race and I was starting my 15th lap. On this lap I caught up to Dave in second place. We finished my 15th lap together, his 14th. At this point I felt secure in the spot I was sitting in the race. I decided to ride with Dave on my 16th lap and had a blast. We were riding together, just talking and enjoying being outside in the woods on our bikes. I had a small scare on the 17th lap with a mechanical. We were about 2 miles into the course when my rear shifter cable broke and my bike was stuck in the 11 tooth cog in the rear. I didn’t have time to do anything but stand up and grind it out. It doesn’t sound like a big gear, but the 26/11 gearing 18-19 hours into a ride is difficult. I had to ride the remainder of the lap standing up, but I found it kind of refreshing in a way. Lucky for me there was a neutral support set up in the pits and the guys from Bicycles Plus were there to help. They fixed my bike with no questions and got me on my way in a hurry. If you live in the DFW area and need service or a bike, go see them. They give back to the community and are super classy folks. They even came over a few hours later to check if the cable had stretched and adjusted my bike again.
Dave and I rode together for the next 2 laps riding at a good pace and keeping each other company in the worst time of a 24 hour race, the dreaded 3am – 6am Zombie zone. I was super excited to have the chance to ride what I call the money lap with Dave. It’s the lap that starts off dark, but as you wind through the trees and singletrack the sun comes up. It is really hard to explain if you have not had a chance to experience it but It’s my favorite lap of the race and I felt very lucky to have had the chance to ride this with my buddy from Canada eh? When we got back to the pits I was checking on the times and I was calculating that Dave had about a 45 min lead over Ray in third and we could just chill and take it easy. Just when I said that we saw Ray ride by and go into his pit. Dave looked at me with a sad face and said very calmly “That’s him, I gotta go”. He got on his bike and I knew he was about to crack off a fast lap and dig super deep to put some time on Ray. As he was riding off, I said to him “Dave, Don’t blow up”. He just smiled and took off. That was the last time I saw Dave in this race. I was in a strange place at this point. I was sitting securely in first, but I was super tense for my buddy Dave who was sitting in second. I know what it’s like to race a 24 to the end, and it is tough. I was lucky enough to not be in that spot, but poor Dave wasn’t so lucky. I watched him dig deep, and I loved every second of it. It was inspirational. Dave cracked off a lap so fast he put 14 minutes into third place, I think his lap time was around 1 hour 7 minutes. When he came back into the pits he kept on going and pulled off another 1 hour 7 minute lap and sealed the deal. What we didn’t know at this time was the timing had a delay and Dave was actually a whole lap up on Ray when we thought they were so close. Dave dug deep yet again and knocked off another final lap for himself, totaling 21 laps tying last year’s winning distance. What a performance!
When this was going on I was able to take some time for myself and enjoy my last few laps and just reflect on the last 20+ hours and all the training hours leading up to this moment. I was all smiles on the last few hours, proud of what I had done and proud of what all my friends had done also. At the end of the day I finished my race in 24 hours 14 minutes and completed 22 laps on the course. I was also surprised to have been awarded the fastest solo lap of the race, I am still happy about that one. This race and every other race I do is not a solo effort. I have a support team and I could not do races like this without them. I wouldn’t want to. It all starts with my family and close friends. They know my schedule and call every day to check on me and keep me motivated even when they are having a rough day. I really love them and they give me confidence. I also have my girlfriend Mena and her son Zeke who always come to my races and support me with big smiles. She knows best of all how hectic my training schedule is and I truly appreciate that she puts up with me and how often I am gone. I also have my coach Shaun Taylor of ForwardMomentum Coaching. I can’t say enough about his coaching, philosophy on life and riding and the amazing leadership he provides me. I am lucky to have him not only as a coach but as a friend. I want to thank Cycle Progression for taking care all my cycling needs. They are an amazing group of guys so if you ever need a new bike, service or anything cycling related go see them at the new location. If you go, call me and I will meet you there. I also wanted to thank Bobcat 13 Photography for always taking amazing shots of the race and letting every racer who participates in events like this relive them through the photos.
Well, that’s about it. The 2011 24 hours of Rocky Hill is in the books and I am happy to say it was the best one yet. Scott and Kathy of Terra Firma Promo always do such a fantastic job on this race, thank you both. I also want to congratulate every person that signed up for this race and met some goals, had some fun and created some memories that will last for years.
Here is the official link to the results of the race
and here is a really cool article that Breathe Magazine did on the race this year.
http://www.breathemag.ca/news/mountain-biking/russell-and-grubbs-win-solo-for-24-hours-of-rocky-hill
Until next time my friends.
