Thanks for the report Steve, and for your effort and commitment from the begining. If I had three more like you and Jim commit we would have had a shot at that podium in the 40+ class.
Going into this, I didn't expect much considering the competition in our class, which consisted of some very fast (and young) ECEA guys and at least a couple past champs, plus a lot of others I don't know from different districts. I wanted to learn a few things and I think we accomplished that. The LeMans start was cool, I actualy got to the bike fast but somehow in my excitment didn't get it into gear.
I wound up in the back after that and a blown turn from a downed arrow but managed to get by a couple guys before my shift was over. The reality is that it didn't matter much anyway, a start means little and everyone finds their pace and spot, as did we did and held it until a few issues. The dynamics of the course over the 24hrs was huge, I had the experience of seeing the sun both set and rise from the seat of the bike, and my last lap completed at about 6:20 AM was like a different course than my first the morning before. I made a big mistake of not switching to dry gear and now I'm paying for it with the mother of all monkey butt, which took a toll on my last lap time. The rocky sections Steve mentioned included a couple hard packed hills with small, smooth, almost polished embedded rock, immediately following small creeks at the bottom. I didn't even think about it until after dark, when I noticed traction was going to crap from all the water and mud being carried up the hills. Sometime after 1AM this got Jim as his GG spun up and pitched him off, rashing him up a bit but also what seems like a pulled hamstring. He completed the lap but could barely lift his leg, so now it was a four man team to the finish.
Overall I think the Arcadia Bark Busters and the host landowner did a great job considering the size and complexity of the event. They do plan to make this an annual event and I'm sure it will just get better. Would I do it again? Absolutely, but in the proper class with six commited riders.
A few notes:
Having a small pit crew would help a lot, even just to organize things and manage food, schedules. Most did.
Bright light bars are everything here, as a lot of it was very fast. The helmet light was good in the single track but not enough at high speed, you need both. My system worked great, and could be R&R quickly. It is a pure spot beam and could have used a little more side fill but it wasn't bad. Engineer your systems well, as Steve said many lights did not make it back working. I passed some kid at about 4:30 AM, on the side of the trail with dead lights. I had enough light that he could follow me in for a few more miles. You don't want to be this kid.
Try to ride at night for practice, this helped me.
Remember its a team effort, so sometimes a little slower at night is faster if you stay on the bike. Kyle had three very fast day laps but gains were lost with crashes trying to match speed at night with a basic halogen headlight and helmet lights, on a rougher course.
The course was easy on tires. I ran an X30 which was OK but in hindsight would have been fine with my go to MT16, which my brother ran and didn't even think about. The X30 looks almost new.
The Beta 300 was awesome, no issues at all. It had the snot to lug the slick hills a bit and find traction, as did Steve's 350RR. I felt good considering the time in the saddle so the bike is easy to ride for me. Fuel was no issue for 2-2.5 hour shifts even at the higher speeds. All I did was scrape some mud off, check filter and a few bolts, light on/off, and refuel.
There were a few photographers out at night, mostly by some small jumps in a field section. I'm sure they will surface in time. I had planned to take a lot of pics myself but just no time with no crew.
So, think about this for '16 if you want a different experience and challenge. Entries should open up sometime in Jan/Feb.