24 Hours of Killington 
July 26th and 27th, 2008
Killington, VT

It has been about a week since the 24hrs of Killington, so the experience has really had time to sink in. Team bikeman.com had 2 riders. Doug Southwick and myself riding for the 4-man team called Rippin Rigid/bikeman.com. This team was made up 4 hard-men wanting to experience the race with only 1 gear and no suspension. It was a first in many ways for me: first time doing a 24hr race, first time racing single speed, and first time racing a rigid mountain bike. Actually, Doug was the only team member that had a 24hr race under his belt, so we all were a little excited and giddy. The pictures are kind of sparse because the less experienced guys did not bring cameras and were too busy making sure things were good to go.

Doug and Andy arrived on-site first and staked out a good spot. It was at the back of the campsite and protected from wind. After driving around the venue and checking in at registration, I found the campsite. All in all, we had a pretty good setup that included a 12’x12’ easy-up, a bug net tent, personal tents for each man, and Don even rented a luxury hotel room for him and his lady.

We did not draw straws to figure out who went first. Instead, we nominated the guy who we thought would have the fastest lap. Yes, there was a Le Mans style start Doug grumbled about not being a runner, but despite this fact, he started the team off great with one of the fastest laps of the event! I went next. The heat and intensity of hammering up the first set of climbs nearly killed me, but really opened me up. A little hike a bike then into the woods. I’m convinced that ski resort races are all remarkably similar in that they climb-climb-climb followed by a descent through the woods. This course broke things up a little and had some climbs interspersed with traversing and some downs, then some climbing, which made it more interesting.

Andy Reed went next. He is a strong climber. His racing experience is mainly of a running background. One thing’s for sure, he loved passing all the guys that passed me on the previous lap.

Don Massonne batted clean-up and was very enthused to beat the competition. Don and another guy camping adjacent us decided to coordinate wardrobes and celebrate the Pedros festival at the same time. Don’s mission was to beat that guy and keep our team ahead of theirs. Don left earlier and came back earlier, so mission accomplished.

After each of us had taken a lap, we decided to stick with the original plan – rotate every lap. This helped to keep everyone relatively fresh and provided 3 full hours of relaxing and socializing. Doug put in another great lap and kept our team in great position. I was determined to beat my previous lap time no matter what. After getting to the top of the climbs with no hike-a-bike, I knew that goal was already accomplished. However, somewhere around mile 7, the sound of not-so-distant thunder dropped a proverbial coal in my britches. What next? A torrential down pour. I wear glasses, so it cut my visibility to nearly nothing. Soon, the descents had running water and the mud spots became mud pits. Being the only guy racing a converted single speed with 26” wheels and v-brakes, I felt a slight disadvantage.

It was dark for the time of day. Andy made a good call by having his light setup going at baton hand off time. “Good luck buddy and ride safe”. Back at camp, I heard rumors that they were going to call the race, but didn’t. The neighbors had cracked into their 30 rack of Bud Light. Camp fires were smoldering from recent drenching rain. After eating a sandwich and socializing, into my tent I went. Things only got darker and wetter from here on out. Andy returned reporting another solid lap time. It was dark, but the rain had subsided for now. Don was equally excited as lap 1 to get out and race in the muck, even though he did not have same-jersey competition going. Throughout the duration of this event, everyone kept in good spirits despite soggy conditions. We all were glad that the race officials had a live feed into local weather and were watching the storm systems with hawk eyes. After the sun went down, thunder could be heard almost too often, and lightning would light up the surrounding mountains. For all the racers on course, this served as a constant reminder to ride as fast as possible in open areas and cherish the relative safety offered in the trees.

Doug went out for lap 9 around 10:45 PM. It was not raining and he informed us at camp he was going to put in “59 minute” lap. With deteriorating trail conditions and being biased by lap times “in these conditions”, we did not really expect that fast a lap time. However, by the time I got down to the start/finish area, Doug rolled in. I was having light issues, so Doug took his entire setup and gave it to me. The sky had opened up and really gave us everything it had. Pouring sheets, lightning cracked everywhere, and even one of the event staff said “You might want to hold up, the race might be called”.

During the 5 minutes of hesitation, 4 or 5 other teams had guys come in off the course, change batons, then the next go out for another lap. I was nervous about the conditions because I have been struck by ground lightning before. Not fun at all. We did a final check with the organizer. “Good to go”, he assured. It was still on [for now] and that the worst of it had passed and was to the south. With a leap of faith, I rode out from under the security of the big tent into the wildest conditions I’d ever considered riding.

Immediately drenched and visually impaired, I started climbing. My brakes were toasted, from the previous lap, so I was on the Redline monocog pit bike we had. Not sure if the bike climbed slower because of its weight or because of the 2-3” of running water on trail, but I was glad to have brakes.

The higher the course climbed, the better the view became. What view? Its pitch black right? No way! The lightning was so close the trail could almost be ridden without lights. Just as the trail jogs left, a strange buzz was in the air. I turned to my right just in time to see the most impressive arc of lightning strike a ski lift tower a very short distance away. Way too close for comfort. “No race is worth getting barbequed over! I’m outta here!” I yelled at the storm.

A 180 degree turn to a raging trail river descent brought me quickly back to the safety of the big tent just in time to hear the same official announce over the PA system that the race was cancelled due to the weather. Whew, what relief. A good decision had been made. Pedaling back up to camp, reflections of life were on the forefront of my mind. I pedaled around the camp sites spreading the word that the race had been called. It was a short pedal because few were outside the relative safety of their vehicles or camper RVs. Some tent sites and easy-ups were even mangled from the gusty winds.

Upon arrival at the Rippin Rigid base camp, the whole team greeted me with cheers. All were glad to see me alive! After changing up, the 12 pack of Long Trail was unleashed and we celebrated in proper style. I was nominated the unofficial, team MVP for having brews for all!

I woke up feeling a little disappointed. Not because of how I rode or how our team did, but because it was a huge financial and time commitment. It would have been nice to finish the race out. Our team ended up 5th overall, which is not bad for a bunch of rookies to the 24hr race way. Thanks to Doug for pulling it together and introducing me to Andy, Don, and the rigid single speed 29er.

I left before the awards ceremony because of a 7-hour drive home, but I’m glad to see Team Rippin Rigid have a good photo and celebrate a memorable event.

Scott