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I was a little nervous going into this race as it was my first 12 hour solo. That definitely didn’t help the mental side of race preparation. I started my normal routine of hydrating and fueling for the race mid-week. Friday morning, Chris and I headed up the mountain and met up with Stephanie and Dan to setup our pit. Stephanie had VIP pit access which meant our pit was going to be in a sweet location right up front by the finish line, yes! Just like at the 12 Hours of Temecula we pit next to Traci, Neil, Weyland and the rest of the STR gang. Chris (Boats) headed up mechanic duties as per usual (thanks again for the help my friend). After we got all setup we made the trek into Big Bear city and crashed for the night at Jen’s pad.We didn’t get any pics but we had some sweet Dance Dance Revolution going! Turns out I DO have rhythm

6:30am and off to the event we go! Here I am doing some pre-race tuning while Steph gives me some course notes.

Front row pit spot!

Setting up the fuel for the day

Jason does an amazing job putting on these events. He is also a racer which means “he gets it” instead of just being a race promoter who doesn’t ride. 8am, Jason waits for everyone to gather for the pre-race meeting.

About an hour before race time I finally started getting mentally ready for the day.

Steph and I ready to shred some singletrack. The womens Pro and Exp classes were combined which meant you was going up against some really strong Pro ladies. Although she wasn’t super stoked on that she did an amazing job and took home 3rd place!

Getting ready to go

Jason and his daughter getting ready to lead up on our double parade lap

and were off!

Nekit coming in from his first lap and going strong! The Troupe guys asked him to ride for them and he was stoked to be sporting the team green colors.

Steph and Dan have a great system for making sure she is well fed and hydrated throughout the day. This is something I need to work on. After seeing how they worked things I definitely picked up some tips. She started and finished strong turning in right around 1 hour laps most of the day.

Neil came around looking good but something was wrong after Lap 1. He jammed his wrist pretty bad and may have broken it. He is definitely no quitter though, he through on some bandage and headed out for a second lap.

I am pretty sure this is me coming in after Lap 1. The cluster of people on the first lap really slowed me down. The course was amazing, 80% singletrack with some fire road mixed in. Each lap was a little over 9 miles with 1300 feet of elevation gain. This would make for a long 12 hour solo day.

Steph coming around to the finish zone after her second lap passing people left and right!

Tim from Troupe took home 10th place in the Open/Expert Men. Good work man!

Nekit coming around for another one of his 7 laps or was it 8?

Bandaged up, Neil still pressed on for a second lap. He was going to be done for the day, until….

Lap 2 was definitely my best lap. The course opened up some more and my legs started to warm up. The Niner was treating me good but my back was hurting early on.

Lap 3 was in the books and starting to wear on me a bit, can you tell? I was pretty tired and my back was hurting.

As I sit there suffering, Steph heads out for Lap 4 looking like she was fresh.

You mean I have to do more? Okay, off to complete Lap 4.

“Hey Steph how you feeling? Just great Chris thanks pal!” Justin and Alison Mann made an appearnce and did a lap with Steph. I think she just wanted to remind Chris what podium place she wanted!

4 laps in the books, Im tired, hungry and ready to sit down for a while. Could someone hold my bike for me?

Fast fwd to the completion of Lap 5. I thought I was done, I was pretty tired and my breathing was sucking. After checking out the leader board and realizing I was sitting pretty in 3rd place I started to think about another lap. Chris, Neil, Traci, Dan and everyone convinced me to get back on my bike and get out there. I am very thankful for my friends and I am happy they helped push me on! Wounded and bandaged up, Neil got back on his bike and rode my last lap with me. I cannot thank you enough Neil for getting back out there with me!

I believe this is around Lap 6 time for Steph. Finally, this machine of a women shows some signs of wear and tear. Knowing that the 1st and 2nd place girls ahead of her were going strong she had no intentions of quitting!

Westsiiiiiiiiide! Even after 7 laps she still held a smile and a sense of humor.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd as everyone thought Justin and Allison were going to be competing. There goes everyone else’s chance for a 1st place medal!

“Chris, if you don’t get this camera out of my face you are going to do Lap 8 for me!”

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8! Keep going girl!

“Seriously Chris, what did I say? You are SOO doing Lap 9!”

Locked and loaded with lights and off to complete lap 9. Now, if she can only figure out how to work those lights (you had to be there)

Let the sun come through and shine down upon me! haha! Lap 6 in the books and I am done! Considering my last few laps times there was no way I was going to make the 9pm cut off for one more. I cannot thank Neil enough for showing me how strong he is on his SS, I mean riding my last lap with me!

I’ve done more elevation gain, but never been in the saddle for that long, done that much climbing all over 7000ft or burned that many calories in one day.

As here is your womens Pro/Exp 3rd place winner!

Dan and Steph followed us back to Jen’s pad for a hot shower and a real bed. The weather started turning south around 8pm. It got cold, like 35 degrees cold. That tent they were aiming for was looking pretty rough.

Stephs Garmin = A Machine!

All of the SOLO riders got a special placard to hang from our seat posts. This was really awesome to have during the race. As people passed me they all said “Good job Solo keep on going man” it was really great. They also knew that because we were riding SOLO to cut us a little slack in corners.

I now have my first bike medal! Overall, it was a lot of work but well worth it. I pushed myself harder than I ever have. I learned a lot and got to ride with some great friends. It sounds weird to say considering how much my butt and feet hurt right now but I can’t wait for the next one!