Big Wheel Racing

Our BWR-Europe team member, Mike Cleveland, represented well.

Here are some more pictures from the event!

Big Wheel Racing had a large turnout for the Dawn til Dusk 12 hours race in Gallup New Mexico on April 12^th. In total there were 9 BWR team members racing in multiple classes plus one 13 year old future BWR team member.

It was a very cold 27 degree morning when the race started at 7am. This year the start was different than in past years. I order to reduce the congestion of the single track climbs that start the 13 mile ST loop, the organizers wisely choose to have us start on the road for 5 miles and enter the single track at the turn around point of the normal loop. This made for a nice warm up and allowed everyone to spread out before entering the single track. The day warmed up nicely to the upper 50’s so we could strip off all our cold weather gear.

As we were a lining up for the start , Trek pro racer Travis Brown was there on his Trek 69er single speed, so all us solo SS’ers where thinking “well there goes first place”. On the 3^rd lap here comes Travis flying around us. We thought geeze he can’t already be lapping us, could he… Turns out he was doing a Co-ed duo

Here is how the team faired:

Solo Male Single Speed 40+:
Jeff Hemperley - 1^st place with 9 laps in 11:08:41 (2^nd place overall Solo SS)
Lenny Goodell  - 3^rd place with 8 laps in 10:28:34 (4^th place overall Solo SS)
 Chris Hereford -  8^th place with 5 laps in 08:14:43

Solo Female Single Speed:
Jennifer Albright - 5^th place with 5 laps in 10:25:58

Solo Female:
Lisa Wishard - 7^th place with 6 laps in 10:53:15

Solo  Male 0-23:
Ayden Hibner-Hereford - 6^th place with 4 laps in 10:28:24 (He is only 13 years old!!)

Solo Male 25-24:
Nathan Berg - 17^th place with 4 laps in 08:39:26 (Spent lots of time taking pictures out on the race course, Thanks Nate!)

Solo Male 35-44:
Richard Capener - 8^th place with 8 laps in  10:53:50
Michael Mangan - 9^th place with 7 laps in  09:51:20

Duo Male 80+
Doug Young (with Lars Hansen) - 4^th place with 9 laps in 11:08:12

Full results are posted at:
http://www.dawntilduskrace.net/subpage.php?do=results

Team member comments:

Jeff Hemperley: Words cannot really explain a race, only the results of ones efforts. It was cold, it was rocky, it was burdensome.

Chris Hereford: This was my first long lapping race. I had heard many people talk about the logistics, but I had not see the planning, coordination, and layout of a pit area until yesterday. I was impressed! From Janella’s assisting, Lenny’s smoothness, to Jeff’s Quicky Mart. It was all amazing, and everyone worked together at the pit. I learned a lot this weekend. This was so different from leaving the car for a day with a  full camelback, and stopping 11 hours later. I wish I could’ve hung in there a little longer with Lenny, but it didn’t happen. Great riding Lisa, Jen, Rich, Nate, Doug, Lenny, and Jeff! Thanks for the support, and thanks for supporting Ayden, also.

Lenny Goodell: I finally got that elusive 8 lap at DtD and my first 24/12 hour race podium finish!! I had 3hrs and 10 mins left after my 7^th lap and was feeling good. I was thinking 9 laps, YEAAA!! My slowest lap (lap 7) was 1:25 so I had plenty of time. Then I started the climbs on the 8^th lap and my legs said 9 laps!, what the hell are you thinking!! My 8^th lap took 1:38, eating away all my buffer to complete a 9^th lap by 7pm.. Lonn Bate from Calgary who took 2^nd place in front of me would take longer pit stops then me and then pass me each lap, so I know he was waiting to see if I would go out for a 9^th and just pass me again… so 3^rd place was my destiny. Old men rock solo SS!! Only one 0-39 solo male SS beat the top 3 40+ solo male SS’ers!

Jennifer Albright: This was my first year racing D2D solo, and to start it off right I brought the singlespeed.  Based upon my performance at my last 2 endurance races, both 24 hour events, I was hoping for 4 solid laps.  I was pleased to get 5, and although the 5th lap was tough due to feet problems, I think the muscles were good for 6 - only the feet prevented it.  I had a good regime of Hammer products that kept me fueled and feeling good. All said and done, I had my best endurance race, both in how I felt and rode, and in the support and fun with my BWR teammates.  The highlight for me really was Ayden sticking with me on what was the last lap for both of us. 

Richard Capener: I felt good out at D2D. I could have pushed a little harder but didn’t know how I would hold up at race speed. The first couple of laps I would come in a eat something then head out into the climb and almost puke. So then I would load up and take it with me and eat once I got on top. Felt much better.

Michael Mangan: Over all, the race was fun with great folks and excellent weather. But, having two flats on lap 2 was really demotivating. The first was on the tight switchback on a climb that resulted in my tire being partially removed from the rim, but was easily fixed. The second flat, a side wall tear, was a problem since I had no more CO2. Luckily, someone gave me a CO2 cartridge and I was able to finish the lap and switch out bikes, but lots of time was lost. Feeling out of contention, my mindset had changed from “it’s a competitive event” to “it’s a training event: work on form, bike handling and endurance.”

Lisa Wishard: The women’s field was hugely competitive this year! Big names, big laps and the best weather yet (except, I saw 18 degrees at the start dude, not 27!!!) my freezing water bottles bear that out.

All of the pictures that Nate took are posted at:
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/505live/sets/72157604517118269/ 
Check out the picture of Ayden finishing with Travis Brown on his wheel… what a shot!!

The Moab Rim Ride, an informal endurance mountain bike event, began a little after 6am at the Colorado River, just outside of Moab. I missed the starting roll out but was able to catch the pack and tuck in with a little effort just before everyone turned onto the old highway and began climbing away from town. As the incline increased, the pack began to spread out. After the climb we hit the first dirt road, Bar M loop, and quickly entered a new single track trail Rockin’ A. This was on slick rock and was a bit of a challenge to follow. Another challenge was getting used to the bike while carrying more weight than usual. Immediately after Rockin’ A, the course entered another new trail, Circle O. This one was easy to follow and was also on slick rock. The next trail, after a small section of dirt road was Sovereign. It started a little sandy, but soon became hard pack intermixed with in-bedded rock. This had some technical sections and a few steep climbs that became hike-a-bikes. Last year there was nasty mud on this trail. After Sovereign, the course passed under Highway 191 and joined dirt roads for several miles eventually turning onto a technical climb on a jeep road called 7 Mile Rim. Just before the end I took a wrong turn and nearly ended up a the Uranium Arch. Returning to 7 Mile Rim required a climb, but not too much time or energy was lost. The end of 7 Mile Rim has a nice descent on slick rock with multiple discontinuities on the sheets of rock where you get to fly over some small drops while passing jeeps. With a short section of a sandy dirt road, the course returned to slick rock, this time with some amazing mounds followed by a really steep slick rock descent that ends at top of Wipeout Hill, a jeep rock climb that I walked down. At the base of Wipeout Hill the course followed a dirt road that, in places, the sand was too deep to ride. Before the sand became unbearable, the course transitioned onto slick rock that was sparsely marked with rock cairns undulating up and down eventually dumping us out on highway 313.

On 313 we had 5 miles of riding into a headwind with a couple of gradual climbs. While on the road, it was a good time to really hydrate and refuel. Between the wind, getting tired and trying to multitask I managed to drop a bottle and latter electrolytes. Retrieving them wasn’t a problem, but I was began to feel like a bumbling fool, which isn’t the mental state you want when heading to the more technical portions of the course. Turning off the highway onto the dirt Gemini Bridge Road was a time to rest, although while bombing down it high speed. After 4 miles of a fast descent, it forked off to Metal Masher and the work load began to increase. Getting to the point referred to as “the widow maker” had the riders wondering how to get down this ~10 foot rock drop. Basically you drop your bike over the edge, then scoot yourself over edge and hope for a descent landing. After widow maker, Metal Masher seemed to just keep progressively climbing while getting more technical. Eventually, Metal Masher began to descend. Somewhere in the descent I managed to crash in a transition from rock to sand. Other than being a little shaken, I wasn’t hurt and the bike wasn’t damaged. Finishing Metal Masher was the point where I mentally knew that I could finish the course, although it is only a little past the half way point.

After Metal Masher, the course rejoins Gemini Bridges briefly, then turns onto Bull Canyon. If you’re paying attention to the course markings (blue ribbons) it is clear that the course goes left and begin a descent to Gold Bar. This is where I was flaking out and ended up going down two different dirt roads , both of which end at canyon overlooks. Scenic, cool views, but not on the course. After back tracking, I eventually found my errors and rode on to Gold Bar Rim. Now the course started to get very difficult – very steep, ledgy, jeep traffic, an occasional cyclist coming from the opposite direction. After slow progress, we turned onto Golden Spike and then on to Gold Bar Singletrack, where it is REALLY exposed! Imagine a portion of trail about 2 feet wide with a 400 foot drop on one side. I walked my bike there. When this ended, the course joined Poison Spider. There are parts of Poison Spider that are really fun and challenging but there is also a lot of sand!

Since I was camped at the bottom of Poison Spider, after riding that trail but before heading down Potash Road to the finish, I stopped to let Isabelle (my dog) out of the camper. Derrick, a rider from Utah that had been riding with me for the last 15 mile also stopped. After that brief break, Derrick and I rode a 2 person pace-line down Potash Road to the finish. Derrick and I finished the ride just before dark, logging nearly 13 hours of saddle time over nearly 100 miles and finishing tied for 10th.