by twowheels » Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:23 pm
The weekend has come and gone, and with it the 2016 NE24 Challenge. The PlusOnePerformance team fielded six riders this year, and having the sixth man definitely helped things run smoother. In the end the team logged 35 laps to bring home 28th of 37 in the Sportsman A/B class. As a reference, last year the team completed only 32 laps but finished 19th of 23 starters.
New York is under a drought warning, and in the case of the Kent Tree Farm, it could also be under a silt alert. The finely ground up "moistureless mud" permeated every goggle vent, caked every surface on the 1600 acre property, and generally resembled riding in Nestle Quik. Much of teh course carried over from last year, albeit in the reverse direction. The resultant dust meant that if someone passed you or you closed on another rider it was hard to see in the daylight and near unto impossible to see at night.
Well-devised lighting made the night racing easier, as did the memory of having ridden at night the previous year. A sudden fall and the subsequent headlight re-aiming in the pits slowed things down, as did being caught in an uphill silt bowl, trapped by a pair of roots.
As if to show what a badass he is, Jedediah Haines solo'd the race, completing as many laps as our entire team and winning the Ironman class.
Racing for 24 hours straight is tough, especially at night, when everything starts to go a little sideways. Fun though, so look for us back next year in some shape or form.