Super Rookie’s World

Sarah and I are heading to Nine Mile State Park outside of Wausau, Wisconsin this weekend with a few of my teammates and friends. We are heading to the 11th Annual 24 Hours of Nine Mile. It is a 24 hour mountain bike race. The race starts at 11AM on Saturday and ends at 11AM Sunday. Jeff and Megan are my teammates for the race and we are hoping to do fairly well. Since there isn’t a 3-person category we will be in the “Just For Fun” division, but we will be comparing our scores to all of the Co-Ed teams.

This race is a major training exercise for my #1 goal of the year, 24Hours of Afton. I will be doing the Afton race solo and hope to make the top 10 overall. My performance at Nine Mile will tell me where I am in my training/fitness regimen for the Afton race. Additionally, this run through will help me remember what I need in terms of food, support and equipment for the solo run at the end of August.

I have done the 24Hours of Nine Mile once before. It was in 2004 and I had the privilege of racing with El Torino and a few other friends. That year we managed 19 laps total. I did 6 laps total that year with a fast lap of 1:02:03. It was a ton of fun and I promised myself I would go back again. I have been looking forward to this race for a long time.

You can follow our teams standings live during the race. We are Behind-Bars/LGR in the Just for Fun category.
Real Time Results

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Sarah agreed to come with me and help keep me sane and grounded during this two day adventure.

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I am at 170lbs. This is 16lbs less than I weighed in at the Durand Road Race. Things are starting to look up for my season. The tech Mountain Biking has been getting better and my road riding is coming around. I just need to work hard on my top end and then I think I can carry some form into cyclocross season. I have not felt this good since the 2005 season and THAT makes me pretty damn excited.

I love the feeling of knowing that you can win a race when standing at the start line. I want to feel that feeling again.