The 24 Hours of Moab Bicycle Race - 2009
On October 10 and 11, 2009 we were Behind the Rocks near Moab, Utah covering the fifteenth annual 24 Hours of Moab off-road bicycle race. In 2008, we had written about Dax Massey of Boulder, Colorado and his teammate Dean Miller
of Littleton, CO. Among the eighteen Duo Pro teams in that contest, Dax
and Dean had pedaled the farthest and fastest, thus assuring their
class victory.
In order to allow an injured kidney to heal, Dean
Miller has sidelined himself for the 2009 season. Dean’s temporary
retirement required Dax Massey to create a new team or go solo in Moab.
In a lucky break for all, veteran rider Rebecca Tomaszewski joined Dax, forming the #86, Niner - Ergon - Bach Builders team for the 2009 24 Hours of Moab.
From experience, we knew to arrive at the racing
venue about two hours before the start. This allowed us to speak with
Rebecca and Dax before they entered their race-mode. When the two posed
for a picture with Kava, the bear-like dog, we could see immediately
that the pair made a natural team. They were comfortable with themselves
and accepting of the arduous task that lay before them.
With Suzuki’s departure this year as a sponsor, the
lack of a huge stage structure made the racing venue appear smaller and
more intimate. After the “24 Hours of Dust” event last year, we were
pleased to see Knut & Sons water truck liberally dispensing its
liquid organic dust control agent.
Carrie joined me at the race this year, and
thoroughly enjoyed both days of the event. We watched the Le Mans start,
and then drove back towards U.S. Highway 191. We had invited friends to the Moab Rim RV Campark
for dinner that evening. Our comfort while sharing food and wine with
friends stood in stark contrast to Rebecca and Dax’s evening pedaling
into the darkness on a high desert plateau.
Before we departed the venue on Saturday afternoon,
we stopped where the racecourse crossed a sandy dry wash. As second-lap
riders started their own first lap of the day, they soon approached a
dry wash, cut into the mesa. After a brisk ride across the mesa,
riders faced a steep cut, dropping about fifteen feet to the bottom of
the wash. As ever more riders arrived at this point, they poured over
the precipice. This continual flow of humans and bicycles reminded us of
an old movie, showing hundreds of lemmings dropping off cliffs and into
the sea.
As the intensity of race activity increased, bicycle
brakes were useless on the slope. One either rolled out on to the mat
at the bottom of the hill, or went head first over the handlebars.
Already, at this early stage of the race, the non-woven
mat intended as a viaduct across the sand was out of place. Riders
either bulled their way across the sand with main strength or dismounted
and ran across the arroyo beside their bikes.
Later, we heard that the accident rate at this
year’s race exceeded that of all fourteen previous 24 Hours of Moab
races. Although most accidents happened in darkness, paramedics and
emergency medical technicians were often busy stabilizing injured riders
and transporting them to Allen Memorial Hospital in Moab.
With all of our technology and expertise, why should accidents and injuries at the
race reach an all-time high? We believe that the continued
deterioration of the course is the main problem. In order not to destroy
any more of the desert than the existing racecourse already has, only
minor course changes occur from year to year. With evermore loose soil
and erosion throughout the course, tire traction fails and spills become
commonplace.
If organizers change the course to a new track, that
will create yet another scar on the land. Yet, the longer the race runs
on the old course, the more dangerous it will become. Is there a
logical and cost-effective solution to both the environmental and safety
issues that now exist? Yes, but it will take a paradigm shift for race organizers and environmentalists alike.
Granny Gear Productions is proud that after each
race, they leave the venue in as close to a natural state as they found
it before setup. Previously used for cattle grazing, the area is far
from pristine. Still, the lack of barriers along the entry road invites
campers to create new entrances into the campground at will. On the
racecourse, temporary ramps and rubberized viaducts shift easily, but
staking down the mats would create an additional hazard for riders.
After fifteen consecutive years, the 24 Hours of
Moab is a tradition that appears to have staying power.
Environmentalists can lament the long, slow process of deterioration at
Behind the Rocks, or they can get involved and help create solutions. In
and around Moab, there is more trail rehabilitation expertise than
almost anywhere in the country. With as many jeep trails, bicycle tracks
and social roads that exist in the area, trail restoration has become
the non-profit cottage industry of choice.
Organizations such as Red Rock Forests, Plateau Restoration,
National Public Lands Day and others have local experience in such
matters. If they were to collaborate with Granny Gear Productions and
the Bureau of Land Management, a working restoration and maintenance plan for the entire venue could easily arise.
To leave the plateau in its current state of
mismanagement, invites further destruction of the local environment. If
the environmental and bicycle racing communities do nothing, the plateau
will become a vortex for dust storms even larger than the one that hit
on race day 2008. Directly downwind of Behind the Rocks are the La Sal Range. Already in 2009, the La Sal snowpack received two major dust storms from as far south as Monument Valley, Arizona. The more dust that falls on the snowpack, the quicker the snowmelt and the less water there will be available to irrigate the Spanish Valley and Moab.
As we returned to the venue on Sunday morning, the
air was clear and bright. Rebecca had finished her eighth and final
14.9-mile lap of the race. She admitted to us that at around 4:00 AM,
her resolve and composure had vanished in the night. Somehow, she had
retained enough energy to finish that lap without incident. As the new
day dawned, she went on to complete two more circuits of the course.
As we arrived, Dax was out on the course, completing
his final lap of the race. With only two minutes remaining before the
gun sounded, Dax completed his team’s final lap. Throughout the previous
twenty-four hours, his lap times had never varied by more than fourteen
minutes. As Dax rode into the scoring tent, the intensity of the moment
was apparent on his face. Until he logged in with the scorers for the
final time, there was no letdown in his intensity.
As we had hoped, Rebecca Tomaszewski and Dax Massey
not only won their class, they placed thirtieth overall in a starting
field of 365 teams. Of the twenty-five teams that completed seventeen
laps, Rebecca and Dax were the fastest. Although the course was
challenging and they had stretched their physical and emotional
endurance to the limits, Rebecca and Dax graciously accepted their
award. When it was over, their convincing victory at the 2009 24 Hours
of Moab thrilled their many fans, including Carrie and me.
By James McGillis at 03:33 PM | | Comments (0) | Link
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