High Cascades 24 Race Report

Written by the wifer:

So I definitely was worried about this one, having been sick about 2 weeks before the race.  But since I just moved to Bend one week before, I figured it would be a great way to explore the local trails and meet some like-minded people.  Of course, I was the only female crazy enough to sign up for the solo race, but our friends from the Spokane race came down from Seattle and Mark also did the event.

The first lap was horribly dusty- imagine 2 foot visibility – but after the pack spread out a bit, it got more tolerable.  The course was a lot of fun- 10 miles of singletrack, gradually rolling, with some fun downhill sections, followed by 6 miles of gravel road.  This section was mostly climbing, but imagine a road that is lined by evergreens and all you can see at the end is blue sky before you drop down for some fast descent.  There was nothing very technical about the riding, but I still fell several times in the loose dirt, which got worse and worse as the night wore on.  If the trail conditions had been better, I think it would have been my favorite course for a 24 hour race (out of all 3 of them that I have done).  Luckily my bike held up, my lights worked great, and thanks to my trusty pop tarts my nutrition was spot on as well.  It was a little difficult making myself stay hydrated as the hours ticked by, and I was so tired after my 5^th lap I felt like giving up.  So I took a 4 hour nap and woke up around 3am to take another night lap.  Luckily my sweet husband brought me  a cord I needed for my light setup, so all was good.  In all, I completed 7 laps for a total of 113 miles.  Not bad for the end of the season!  The last lap was definitely my favorite, as it was still nice and crisp with the sun coming up and the stillness of the forest.  Plus there were not nearly as many people riding, or at least it didn’t seem like it!

To top it all off, I scored a new headlamp as my award.  Baldy’s BBQ sponsored the post race feast, and real food never tasted so good!  I was so hungry I ate even more when Tiago showed up with a smorgasboard of treats as well!  My best discovery from this race was using my new Garmin Edge 800, which is truly an amazing device.  By plugging it in to charge between laps, it stayed charged the entire night!  Definitely a good time, and to top it all off, I hear that I get free entry into next year’s race. . .