24 Hours of Colorado Springs

A great race for Drew Gear in the 24 hours of Colorado Springs! Finished 8th overall - no masters class. Just pro. 

A quick recap from Drew...

Happy with that result. Rode 14 laps - 188 miles. That is the longest ride of my life. Fun course - 13 miles per lap. Course was mostly like Betasso with the link thrown in twice each lap. A bit more climbing but longest climb was 6 minutes. There were about a dozen technical drops about 2 feet. They became a pain in the ass at night. There were also about 20 12"- 18"  rock step-ups. Easy as can be for one lap - just pop the front up & hop the back over. After about 6 laps my arms were screaming from those. Only 1 big crash - hooked a handlebar on a tree (during a day lap) and went down hard & fast. No injury. 

Smashed my rear derailleur on a rock (actually dozens of them) & broke the cable during lap 10. SS back & had to switch to the old Titus. Still love that bike though I will say a 2 foot drop is more fun on the 29er. 

Felt great & was sitting top 5 until dark. Hit the wall pretty bad at 4 am. Decided to take a 2 hr break & wait for light. That cost me a lap, may be 2,  but only 1 place anyway (7th vs 8th - what the heck). In the morning Jeff Wu & I decided to ride together. Just after we went out the 6th place SS caught Jeff (moving Jef off the podium). He lit up & our pace doubled. We passed the guy back & I towed Jeff on every fast section at a pace no SS could hang with. Buried the guy & caught the 8th place guy in my race. Very fun to ride the last 3 laps. 

Toni was the greatest support crew. Perfect feeds & also got out to take pictures. Good event. Missed you guys. 4 man masters was a tough race but you would have won it.

Drew