24 Hours of Great Glen

August 9-10, 2008

by Chris J. Dunn

Gorham, NH - - I’m not triskaidekaphobic although I don’t like cats.  And that’s what makes this past weekend all the more curious.   Was it the 13th annual 24 Hours of Great Glen or the “cat” as the official mascot of the ‘08 edition that derailed an otherwise stunning summer weekend of camping and mountain biking in the Whites?  Roughly a week before Brayden and I left the driveway for the race I was diagnosed with lyme disease.  You’d think as a clinical exercise physiologist I’d know the answer.  The question?  What’s the interaction between the common tick-borne illness, doxycycline therapy, and 24 hour mountain bike racing?  I searched the interweb and polled a few people much smarter than me (I know, not hard to find right?) and basically came away with the same response...nobody really knows although exhaustive physical activity probably isn’t a good idea.  Funny thing is, many of the things I seem to enjoy not too many people would think is a “good idea”.  So I put together a team of 5 and asked my dear friend and teammate David to ride a lap for me if I needed it.  Done deal. 

Nick called Friday morning with bad news.  He had taken ill and would be unable to race.  I try to stick to the lemons philosophy so our five’er would now race as a foursome just the same as last year.  Not a problem.  I figured I could comfortably do 5 laps and possibly a sixth if I felt well enough.  Steve arrived in Gorham a little before I did.  We selected a campsite close to the ‘07 spot located strategically nearby to both the port-a-pots (but not too close) and the Auto Road which whisked us to the START/FINISH.  Perrrrrfect.  Seriously, I don’t like cats.  Around 4:00 pm I called David to check on his and Shannon’s progress and learned they were still at least an hour away.  Not wanting to miss out on a pre-ride, Steve and I decided to change and do a “dry run” on the race course before David’s arrival. 

Most of New England, and the Great Glen trail network in particular, have received more rain in the past three weeks than Paris Hilton has ‘friends’ on her My Space page.  Shortly into the ride we’d learn that there wasn’t much “dry” about the roughly 8 mile loop.  The carriage roads are designed to drain and we’re bone dry.  The few sections of singletrack, most notably a root and rock laden gem known as Whiplash, we’re dicey and mostly rideable under perfect conditions.  These were not perfect conditions.  In addition, some doubletrack had mud so juicy and deep that it resembled brownie batter.  The good news was mud spanned the entire width of the trail making keeping your shoes (and shins) clean downright impossible.  Oh, just ride it you say?  Not without 250 cc’s under your top tube.  No way.  The foolhardy who dared found themselves up to their elbows in the dirty stuff.  Looks cool when you finish, but there were a handful of big rocks scattered under the mud that smarted a little when you bashed flesh and bone against them.  As we approached the final descent of the course my rear derailleur let go and bent in a most unusual direction hanging up in a spoke in my rear wheel.  One “pre-lap” down and already a mechanical.  But not any run-of-the-mill mechanical...this one was terminal.  Luckily, Red Jersey Cycle of Intervale was there to provide neutral support.  In no time flat I had some new parts and a overwhelming sense that I had just dodged the “big one”.  That feeling however didn’t last long.  When I finally arrived back at the campsite Brayden informed me that “someone” had called my cell but the number was unlisted.  They had, however, left a voicemail.  It was Matt.  He sort of had a ‘mechanical’ of his own.  As he was leaving Biddeford his car broke down.  He wasn’t going to be able to make it to the race either.  My carefully laid out plan to race as a team of five to save myself was beginning to crumble right in front of my eyes.  To make matters more complicated we learned that there was no 3-person race category.  If we wanted to compete we’d have to race as a pair and a solo.  Steve didn’t hesitate.  In an incredibly selfless and courageous act he volunteered to ride the solo.  Lemonade.

When David finally arrived I broke the news to him.  He responded exactly as I expected he would...with steely determination.  Undaunted, he helped decide on a race plan.  Because I had pre-rode the course I’d log the first lap.  We’d then take turns riding one each until we had both ridden twice.  At that point we’d make a decision about the rest of the afternoon and evening.  As I was finishing my second lap and dismounting my bike my left quad locked in one of the worst cramps I’ve ever had.  My trusty son, ever vigilant, took the opportunity to snap a picture (you can check it out on the webspace...it’s the one of me bent over my handlebars looking as if I’m going to croak).  Health issues during a race are almost always a result of something you do or didn’t do.  I didn’t hydrate aggressively enough after my first lap.  With a little less than an hour to recover I should have prepared for Lap #2 a little better.  When Dave finished his second lap he decided that he felt fresh enough to put #3 in the books and immediately went back out. 

Having nearly 4 hours to rest I planned to log Lap #3 at 7:00 PM.  My typical 80 minute lap time would leave me plenty of time to finish, shower, and catch the Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing Co. BBQ before they closed down for the evening at 9:00 PM.  Right on schedule I was able to put in an “official” night lap and eat a warm meal before settling in for the evening.  David ate dinner early and rode his fourth lap when I finished  mine.  Planning to take a few hours off we both hit the sleeping bags and tried to catch a little shut-eye.

The 24HOGG have a couple of really unique ‘touches’ that definitely make the event stand out.  One is the pre-dawn bagpipe player who plays for nearly an hour each Sunday morning starting at 6:00 AM.  I headed out for my fourth lap at 5:00 AM and planned to finish just about the time the bagpipes echoed across Pinkham Notch.  Again, I timed it perfectly.  I was just rolling into the meadow when the music started.  It literally gave me chills.

Right on cue David met me at the transition area and headed out to log his fifth lap.  I met Brayden at the event tent after washing off my bike and we both ate breakfast offered by the Gorham High School girls soccer team.  For $5 it was a great deal and saved us having to either cook something ourselves or eat a cold ClifBar.  With 4 rides in the book I planned to peddle one more.  The only question that remained was “when?”.  David had talked throughout the past 18 hours about hitting the 7 lap mark.  He had ridden consistently strong the entire event logging the fastest laps on the team.  When he finished his morning lap (#5) he stopped back into the campsite briefly for a quick peek at his own rear derailleur.  I tightened his cable and he went back out to log his second “double” of the race (and his 6th lap overall). 

The rules of the 24HOGG are pretty simple.  From them arises an interesting bit of strategy in the final moments of the event.  Each team must have a rider on course when the cannon fires at noon on Sunday.  Whether that rider would be David or myself had yet to be determined.  I was prepared to log my fifth at 9:30 AM when David arrived into the transition area.  That would leave us enough time for him to put in #7 and be on the racecourse at noon.  As he pulled into the START/FINISH he made the very wise choice to call it a day.  Discretion is always the better part of valor.  I wasn’t disappointed as it gave me an additional 90 minutes to rest and make a few last minute adjustments to my bike including a new rear tire and set of brake pads.  When I got back to the campsite I noticed that my car was making a funny ‘clicking’ sound.  For some reason my anti-theft system was making a strange noise.  As I put the key in the ignition and tried to turn the engine over I discovered the reason.  My battery was dead.  It seemed fitting that something else had not quite gone as planned.  After several attempts, Steve was finally able to get my battery re-energized and I was back in business. 

At 10:45 AM on Sunday morning I pushed off for our final “glory lap” of the ‘08 24HOGG.  It’s always a bittersweet experience to log your final lap of a 24 hour race but frankly due to the circumstances and the conditions it was mostly sweet.  After 3000+ laps on certain sections of the course the hike-a-bike was more the rule than the exception.  Resigned to pushing every rider I approached had the same attitude...although this really sucks it’d be the last time we’d have to do it for 364 days.

The 24HOGG ended almost as it began with me standing in the meadow by the START/FINISH with 30 other riders as the cannon sounded.  We walked our bikes across the timing mats single file one final time.  Although things didn’t necessarily start out like I had planned, to everyone’s credit we made the best of it and had a tremendous experience.  David and Steve finished their first 24 hour mountain bike race.  And I got a new rear derailleur.  Lemonade. 

acidotic RACING, LLC.  Copyright © 2008.

Pinkham Notch

Gorham, VERMONT

Proudly presented by: