In October 2012, The 24-Hours of Moab Off-Road Bike Race Will Feature Family Fun and Environmental Consciousness

In November 2011, as I wrapped up my coverage of the 24-Hours of Moab off-road bicycle race, I did so with a heavy heart. Behind the Rocks, in Moab, Utah, Granny Gear Productions race promoter Laird Knight had just told the assembled race crowd, “We don’t know if we are going to be able to do this again in 2012. Attendance was down this year, and we did not cover our fixed expenses. We’ll head back home, think it over and let everyone know by the end of the year.”

Having attended each 24-HOM since 2008, I was disappointed that the race might not go on. I was such a strong supporter of this family race event that I had developed my own Moab24Live.com website. Each year, I wrote several blog articles here and then archived them at Moab24Live.com. In 2011, I broadcast a live webcam from the event for the full twenty-four hours. Via the internet, I wanted others to see and feel what it is like to attend, or perhaps compete in a twenty-four hour human-powered race. After the October 2011 announcement, I put the 2012 race out of my mind, thus allowing the universe to find a way.

In early 2012, I looked at the Granny Gear website, but could not believe what I saw. Featured on the home page was a banner proclaiming, “2012 Registration is OPEN! Let’s Race!!” In disbelief, I ignored the banner until early April. In October 2011, the race was dead. In April 2012, could it live again? I decided to find out for myself. In an email to Laird Knight, I said, “After your speech last October, I was pleased to see you making plans for 24-HOM 2012. That had to be a big decision for you. Please tell all the fans of 24-Hours of Moab what led you to go forward.”

The next day, Laird Knight emailed back, "It's been a tough year but I'm feeling better and better about my decision to move ahead with the 24-Hours of Moab. The ground swell of support has been heart-warming.

This event has become an integral part of the culture of mountain bike communities throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Kids that raced as juniors back in the mid-nineties now have kids of their own coming to the 24-Minutes of Moab kids’ race.

For many of the "old-codgers" of my generation, being ready for the 24-Hours of Moab continues to be a source of inspiration and motivation… to keep riding and stay healthy and fit. But when it's all said and done, it's just about having fun, and enjoying some fine time with your friends and family." I could not say it better, Laird, so I will not even try.

In the past, the 24-Hours of Moab has received a fair, and maybe an unfair share of criticism for its environmental impact at Behind the Rocks. Critics charge that some racers have gone off course, damaging environmentally sensitive areas. From the articles and pictures I have seen, critics accuse a lot, but offer very little demonstrable evidence of supposed environmental damage. To be sure, there are some photos available of bicycle tracks that deviate from the course. Still, there is not one posted image of a 24-Moab racer making those tracks.

During the 360-days each year when there is no bike race at Behind the Rocks, the place reverts to its cow pasture origins. During 98.6% of each year, cattle, off-road vehicles (ORV), bicyclists, hikers and equestrians traverse and sometimes trash the area. During night racing, a few cyclists may deviate inadvertently from the established line. However, these are dedicated racers, not Kamikaze pilots looking to wipe out as much cryptobiotic soil as possible. A few wheel tracks in the softer soil may be evident, yet that impact is insignificant when compared to local potash mining or uncontrolled ORV usage on BLM and SITLA trust lands.

As Laird Knight told me, “On a mountain bike it never benefits you to cut the course and trade the highly efficient, low rolling resistance "line" that is on-course for the deep sand that you would encounter off course. I have never seen any evidence of intentional off-course travel. We do educate folks about the importance of cryptobiotic soils and of staying on course. As for the venue itself, what I see every year, for the last seventeen years, is practically the same as what I saw the first time I visited the site.

We do clean up the venue and the course of litter both before and after the event. I can assure you that the volume of accumulated trash that we remove from the course before the race is much greater than that which we clean up after the race. We do educate folks about the importance of low-impacts. Their alignment with this ethos shows up in the practically immaculate condition in which they leave their campsites. The trash that we haul out is sorted and recycled. All that said, I would welcome critiques and suggestions for ‘how we could do it better’.”

On the subject of environmental impact at Behind the Rocks, I believe it is time for the environmental critics of this relatively low-impact, family event to come out and see for themselves. It is all too easy to sit in a faraway office and study other people’s documentation or photos. It is quite different to experience a great race powered only by the human body and spirit. On the racecourse itself, other than human breath, there are no emitted hydrocarbons. Again, compare the low environmental impact of this bike race to any motorized gathering in Moab.

As I told Laird Knight, I am an environmentalist and write often about environmental issues. This race and its culture of low-impact, family fun are too good to lose. Thank you Laird Knight and Granny Gear Productions for accepting the financial risk and once more allowing us the thrill of a classic Moab 24 Live race event.

Email James McGillis

 

By James McGillis at 05:26 PM | | Comments (0) | Link

Future Stars of Cycling Race in the 24-Minutes of Moab - 2011

 

Future Stars of Cycling Race in the 24-Minutes of Moab

   

The 24-Hours of Moab off-road bicycle race was only four hours old, with twenty hours of racing yet to go. I was there, Behind the Rocks in Moab, Utah on October 8, 2011. With so many families in attendance this year, there was great interest in the kids’ races, better known as the “24-Minutes of Moab”. Once I had the Moab24Live.com webcam working properly, it was a pleasure to stop and watch the future stars of the cycling sport.

As I said to promoter Laird Knight after the event, “I have never seen so many kids have so much good, clean fun in the dirt.” Having kids himself, Laird paid particular attention to starting each race safely, but with some fun. Varying his starting count from race to race, Laird allowed no false starts at all. There were no reported injuries or off-course maneuvers, so his strategy must have worked.

Each race featured a “Lemans Start”, similar to the 24-HOM start, earlier that day. For the kids, there was a one-lap foot race and then a multi-lap bicycle race around the vendor tents. If you take a minute and view the video, you will see the athletes of the future racing like the wind. Performing in front of cheering fans and family, what better way is there for a kid to spend a fall afternoon in Moab?

Email James McGillis

By James McGillis at 04:15 PM | | Comments (0) | Link

Final Sunset at the 24-Hours of Moab? - 2011

 

Final Sunset at the 24-Hours of Moab?  

As off-road mountain bike racing aficionados know, Laird Knight, the race director and promoter of the 24-Hours of Moab may have run his last Moab bicycle racing event. After seventeen successful years conducting the 24-HOM, Laird may be ready to absorb his 2011 losses and move on to other events. This year, team entries at the fabled race fell by almost one-third. Some blame the current economy. I believe otherwise.

In 2008, when I discovered the event, pro teams abounded at 24HOM. Talking to old-timers, I discovered that Honda Motors previewed their snazzy Element vehicle at the race in 2002. In 2008, the race was dubbed the “Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab”, in honor of their sponsorship and participation in the success of the event. In 2009, Rebecca Tomaszewski and Dax Massey teamed up to win the Mixed Duo Championship, completing seventeen laps and placing 30^th overall in the race. In 2010, Shimano, Specialized, Mavic and Baja Designs all had big booths at the venue. In 2011, Dale’s Pale Ale had their beer-bus parked in a prime location, but rumor has it that they paid no sponsorship fee for that honor.

Heading into 2011, sponsors and racers alike looked at their calendars and said, “Maybe next year… There is always a ‘next year’ at the 24-Hours of Moab”. Now, only months later, a 2012 race is unlikely. Searching my race photos from 2011, I found banners or booths sponsored by Baja Designs, Camelbak, Ellsworth, IMBA, Nutro, Serfas, Specialized and Yakima. Perhaps there were others, but suffice to say, in 2011 there was plenty of safety fencing empty of advertising logos and signs. Sponsors, both old and new can help offset costs at the event, but Laird has said that too few sponsors is not what would cause him to cancel the 2012 Moab event.

Laird recently said, "My take on the team drop is simply the shift in demographics that is taking place in the sport. Many former Moab racers are getting older, having families and not riding as much, let alone racing. The economy might be 10% or 15% but I think the demographic shift accounts for the vast majority of the no-shows."  While that may be true, the number of needed participants in the race is not all that large . An increase of 100-200 new riders in 2012 might tip the scales in favor of staging the event. If I am interested enough to attend the 24-HOM each October, how many others might be likewise interested? Whether they write about it, post a YouTube video or sponsor a race team (real or phantom), it would help. Sponsoring a youth team would create new energy now and boost future-year attendance.

On October 8-9, 2011, where were most of the stars of U.S. mountain bike racing? Finishing twenty-one grueling laps between them, Colin Osborn, John & Pete Gaston and Len Zanni of the Honey Stingers Bee Team were the only Men’s Pro Team in attendance. In 2010, there were nine Men’s Pro teams and three in the race. Honey Stinger Bee Team, Rebecca, Dax and all you other hot pros; we need you now to express your interest in racing at the 2012 24_HOM.

Below is an animated GIF image of the 2011, and what may be the final sunset at the 24-Hours of Moab. Using our back-up webcam, MoabLive.com was able to capture thirty-five images at the venue. Our old Logitech “Cue ball Cam” could not color-balance the darkness of the scoring tent and the brightness of the setting sun. As the sequence begins, it is midafternoon on Saturday, October 8, 2011. On frame 27, the disk of the sun appears in the gap between the tent roof and the bluff to the southwest. Over the following five frames, the sun, which appears dark blue, shrinks until it sets Behind the Rocks.

Also visible in the five sun-slides is a bubble of new energy light, emanating from the sun’s corona. Behind the Rocks, new energy flowed to the racers on the course, the scorekeepers, fans and the sponsors in attendance. For a moment, all who were present at the race were of one family, and bathed in new energy. Through the lens of a failing webcam, we can see that new energy showering from the sun. Although rarely documented, plasma-flow events are “real”, meaning that charged particles may strike the Earth in any given location. Present that day, but undetected in the bright light was the 2011 Draconid Meteor Outburst. Less than two hours after the race start, our unknown neighbors in the western sky were lobbing as many as 680 meteorites per hour into the Earth’s atmosphere. If I am not mistaken, stardust fell widely Behind the Rocks near Moab that day and night.

Naysayers will tell you that the 24_HOM is an unmitigated disaster, carving up and destroying a fragile desert environment. Before racing started there in the 1990s, the history of the place included the overgrazing of cattle for almost a century. In addition, four-wheel drive or social roads carved up the high plateau. By connecting several existing desert tracks, Granny Gear Productions created a racecourse that has stood the test of time. Yes, someracers ignore or misinterpret the course markers. Few racers, however, wish to exchange the singletrack for an uncertain fate in the sagebrush. Those who go off course, do so mainly at night, when fatigue or poor lighting take their toll.

Environmentalist that I am, I believe that Moab’s annual gathering of gearheads and their greater family is too precious to let fade into the western sunset. If you care about the 24-Hours of Moab in any positive way, now is the time to take action.  Rebecca & Dax, Honey Stinger Bee Team and all you other racers, your fans are waiting to hear that you will be in Moab on October 6-7, 2012. Only if you respond, will there be yet another sunset at the 24-Hours of Moab.

It is time for me to publish these thoughts and let this story go. The outcome notwithstanding, I will be there, Behind the Rocks at sundown on Saturday, October 6, 2012 beaming a live webcast of the sunset to the world. I only hope that the madcap mayhem of a 24-hour bike race will be going on all around me. Until then, I will see you at Moab24Live.com. Happy trails.

Email James McGillis

By James McGillis at 03:59 PM | Personal Articles | Comments (0) | Link

Seventeen Years of Classic Off-Road Bike Racing - Is the 24-Hours of Moab Gone Forever? - 2011

 

Seventeen Years of Classic Off-Road Bike Racing - Is the 24-Hours of Moab Gone Forever?

     

Sweeping across the roof of my coach, the rain sounded like brushes on a snare drum. Slow to awaken, I realized that I was in Moab, Utah on Saturday, October 8, 2011. As the rain became a steady drone in my consciousness, I thought about the upcoming 24-Hours of Moab (24HOM) off-road bike race, scheduled to start at noon that day. My plan was to create a twenty-four hour internet webcam feed at the race venue, Behind the Rocks. Heavy rainfall could make that task difficult, if not impossible.

By nine that morning, after traversing several miles of Moab mud, I arrived at the race venue. Under light rain and a threatening sky, I unpacked computers, cables and cameras. Using onsite generator power and a wireless internet connection provided by race promoter Granny Gear Productions, I was soon up and running. Then, a new obstacle arose. For reasons unknown, there was no response from the MoabLive.com servers, collocated in Los Angeles, California. For the next hour, our file transfer protocol (FTP) requests went unanswered. Without cooperation from our servers, there would be no “live feed” that day by Moab Live.

By 11 AM, the rain had stopped and the Moab Live servers began accepting FTP requests. Then, every three seconds, like clockwork, our ancient Dell Windows-XP computer began firing out a new .JPG image to the world. Was anybody watching? Just before race-start at noon on Saturday, the servers again went dark. Rather than fretting about events that I could not control, I headed out to photograph the Le Mans style, running start of the 24 Hours of Moab 2011.

If you have not yet seen it, this may have been your last chance to do so, but more about that later. At noon, a blast from the race gun was so loud that it echoed off the redrocks, half a mile away. Before that echo had returned, hundreds of self-designed athletes began a two-hundred yard foot race. Their goal was to run clockwise around the most famous bush in all of off-road racing, and then back to their bikes, waiting in the racks. Like a lightning bolt of new energy, that lone juniper was point-focus for racer and spectator alike. All had come to experience the universal adrenaline-pump known to the cognoscenti as the 24-HOM.

Sixty-three year old Ray Alters of Team Curly watched as his son, Steve Alters ran in honor of his brother, taken by death in a pedestrian-car accident eighteen months ago. Father Ray would go on later to take his fallen son’s place for two laps of exciting action. With assist from a cane that supported his immobilized left leg, fifty-four year old, separately-abled Frank Garduno completed the run. Understandably, he was last to mount up and ride. Over the next twenty-four hours, Frank completed three 14.93 mile laps, averaging six hours and twenty minutes per lap. With a course elevation between 5,000 and 5,774 feet, Garduno gained 4,080 feet in elevation, all powered by hope, heart and one good leg.

At the morning prerace meeting, Race Director, Laird Knight spoke the words that no one interested in off-road bicycle racing wanted to hear. Registration numbers were down for 2011, resulting in a $50,000 shortfall at the bottom line. Without a quick addition of sponsorship revenue, this would likely be the seventeenth and final 24-Hours of Moab. At Behind the Rocks, stunned silence hung in the cold, damp air. Then, with a shift of energy that lasted for the next full day, Laird Knight encouraged everyone to go out, have fun and to ride this race as if it were his or her last one.

Outside of a few U.S. mountain biking enclaves, like Santa Cruz, California and the Front Range in Colorado, traditional U.S. media has largely ignored the sport. Skateboarding gets more live airtime. Soon, I was heartened to see British TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle, with his BBC Worldwide. All weekend, they taped footage for a segment of their upcoming, “A Year of Adventures” reality series. Ironically, the Moab segment will not air until after the decision to keep or cancel the 24-Hours of Moab 2012. What the mountain biking sport and the 24-Hours of Moab need is immediate sponsorship by a U.S. television network or other caring sponsor. Although the BBC focus as mainly on Fogle, their upcoming episode might go down in history as the only mass-market television presentation of this fabled event. Either way, everyone knew that this race was history – in the making.

While I ruminated on the economic pressures surrounding this classic race, the gun sounded and the race was on. Spencer Lacy, lead racer on the “Rise of the Penguins” team was first to complete the run and mount his bike. He was also first to veer off course, coming almost wiping out the BBC soundman. Maybe that mad penguin atop Spencer's helmet wanted some attention. With physical disaster averted, the Moab-style nuclear dust storm created by one thousand feet pounding the desert ebbed, flowed and then vanished. With their own Ben Fogle already on the course, the BBC team finished their scene with tight focus on photogenic Men’s Solo Rider Nick Ybarra. Famous for winning slow races, Nick exhibited perfect form as he entered the first of his nine laps around the fourteen-mile course. The smile on Nick’s face seemed to say, “Look, Mom, I’m on TV”. Nick’s mother will be proud to know that he did not say. “Look, Ma, no hands!”

In October 2012, what the world needs is a live video-feed from the 24-Hours of Moab. With our limited resources, all that Moab Live could do this year is provide a proof-of-concept, employing a live webcam at race central. From noon until one PM Saturday, I felt like a high school audio-visual monitor who could not get his 16-millimeter film projector to work. During that break, I snapped a picture of then second-place, but eventual Men's Solo winner, Andy Jacques Maynes as he entered the scoring tent. After an hour of racing, the Moab Live internet servers must have heard our plea. Around that time, our servers came back on-line and then stayed up for the remainder of the race.Our thanks go out to Mark Williams of TheHostPros.com. His all-night effort got Moab24Live.com webcam feed online again. Such are the unsung heroes and volunteers who make the 24-Hours of Moab the unique event that it is. 

 

On Sunday morning, after eighteen hours of racing, the Granny Gear wireless connection failed, leaving our webcam offline for over an hour. Checking status on my new LG Thrill smart phone from AT&T, I saw four-bars lit up on the signal indicator. Turning on its Wi-Fi hotspot function, I reconnected to the Moab Live servers. From then until the end of the race, my cobbled-together wireless connection provided an uninterrupted webcam feed at Moab24Live.com. 

After the race was over, the whole experience left me pondering the subject of macroeconomics. If I can put together a live internet broadcast for less than two hundred dollars, why cannot ESPN.com, GoDaddy.com or FoxSports.com fork over $100K for broadcast rights. That is all the money it would take to keep this original, classic race where it should be, Behind the Rocks at Moab, Utah in October 2012.

Email James McGillis

By James McGillis at 09:58 PM | | Comments (0) | Link

24 Hours of Moab 2010 - The Race

 

 

24 Hours of Moab 2010

- The Race - 

After an exciting start at the 24 Hours of Moab 2010 off-road bicycle race, I moved farther down the course to watch Lap #2. One half mile beyond the Start/Finish line, the course briefly parallels Behind the Rocks Road. By positioning myself near there, I was able to photograph action sequences that featured a brief ascent, followed by a quick drop to the bottom of a sandy arroyo. Those quick terrain changes guaranteed lots of action.

 

After freewheeling downhill almost from the start, that first climb requires a quick application of energy. As they top the hill, each rider is up off their seat, pumping to maintain speed and momentum. After surmounting that knoll, the racers experience a gentle down-slope, ending in a quick drop to the bottom of a wide arroyo.

 

Over the years, the steep drop to the sandy bottom of the arroyo has flattened considerably. Only two years ago, some racers clamped on the binders and tumbled head over heels down that steep slope. Now, thousands of laps later, wind, rain and bicycle tires have combined to erode that slope. Rather than an unmanageable drop, the evolved location now resembles a high-speed ramp. Behind the Rocks was cattle country for many years, so the new ramp will be safe only until the next big storm widens the arroyo and recreates the precipice, as it inevitably will.

 

 

Be sure to watch high-speed action from the 24 Hours of Moab 2010 on the accompanying YouTube video.

 

 

 

 

 

Spanning the arroyo each year are two rubber conveyor belts, laid out, end-to-end. Ostensibly, they provide a smooth, continuous surface for the racers. If the old gravel-transport belts were not present, riders might bog down in the deep sand. In past years, we have noticed continued problems with the layout of the belts. Initially, they provide the correct course trajectory; including a slight right turn at their midpoint. During practice day on Friday, the belts begin to migrate, leaving their ends separated by ever greater distances. By race time, racers must traverse a few meters of deep sand, causing danger, delays and frustration.

 

This year, my friend, “The Other” decided to fix the belt-gap prior to Lap #2 of the race. Until this year, when I caught his shadow on a couple of photos, no one had actually seen The Other. As I watched, The Other assessed the dysfunction of the two belts and then took remedial action. Moments after The Other finished overlapping the belt ends, second-lap leaders appeared over the crest of the hill. As the riders made their high-speed dash down the ramp and across the belts, we saw the shadow of a mysterious character disappear in the wind.

 

That day, I was lucky enough to catch the shadow of The Other both before and after he rejoined the belts. Here, on this page is a slideshow showing how The Other helped with safety and speed at the 24 Hours of Moab 2010. After transiting the belts, riders then sped across the plateau, as if heading straight for the peaks of the Sierra la Sal. Soon, they too disappeared over the horizon. The animated GIF image on this page shows how The Other helped make the 24-Hours of Moab 2010 race safer and faster than ever.

Email James McGillis

 

By James McGillis at 12:34 PM | | Comments (0) | Link

2010 24-Hours of Moab Off-Road Bicycle Race - The Start

 

 

2010 24-Hours of Moab Off-Road Bicycle Race

- The Start - 

In October 2010, I attended the sixteenth annual “24 Hours of Moab” off-road bicycle race, held at Behind the Rocks, a few miles south of Moab, Utah. As usual, it was an exciting affair, with thousands in attendance. By Moab standards, the wind was calm and the cloudless sky promised a warm afternoon and a cool night ahead.

 

 

 

For the two previous years, I had covered Dax Massey in his quest to win his class at the Moab race. This year, I found Dax in the Scoring Tent, checking in only fifteen minutes before the 12:00 PM start time. Competing in the Men’s Duo Championship this year, Dax wore #89 and rode for the Honey Stinger/Trek team.

 

After leaving the Scoring Tent, I positioned myself to see Dax complete his Le Mans style, running start. As I watched, Dax made a quick getaway on his first lap. He and his partner, Nate Bird would complete nineteen laps during the following twenty-four hours.

 

In the 2010 race, Dax and Nate came in a close second to the Hammer Duo team of Ben Parsons and Clint Muhlfeld. Regardless of their placement, Dax Massey and his exciting style of off-road bike racing were a pleasure to see. In order to see for yourself, watch the accompanying video.

Email James McGillis

 

By James McGillis at 10:13 PM | | Comments (0) | Link

24-Hours of Moab Live Pre-Race Festivities - 2010

 

24-Hours of Moab Live

2010 Pre-Race Festivities 

In October 2010, I attended the sixteenth annual 24 Hours of Moab off-road bicycle race. Each year, an overgrazed cattle pasture magically transforms into a racing venue known to bicycle racing enthusiasts worldwide. Some race for fun and others race for victory in the most prestigious event of its kind. This year, three hundred eighteen teams or individuals competed. Of those, two hundred eighteen were still pedaling at the finish, twenty-four hours later.

 

From the full-out run of the  Le Mans start, to the final rotation of a bicycle wheel one day later, it was an incomparable event. With a full view of the Sierra La Sal Range to the northeast, the Behind the Rocks venue is both spectacular and challenging. This year, we visited the site on Friday, as vendors and volunteers set up tents and equipment for the Saturday Noon start time.

 

On a warm Friday afternoon, the wind kicked up only an occasional dust devil. I watched as dedicated racers practiced along the entrance road. Later, there was time to take in scenes of family life unfolding before me. Out of nowhere, a young boy peddled past me, his winded father running just behind him. As I watched, that boy mastered the art of two-wheeling. As they disappeared around the bend, I could picture that young man competing for prizes in future years.

 

Join me now in reliving a beautiful pre-race afternoon and seeing the sights at that great venue. Enjoy our video tribute to Granny Gear Productions and the great energy that they bring to bicycle racing in Moab each autumn. I hope to see each of you there in October 2011.

 

 

 

Email James McGillis

By James McGillis at 06:07 PM | | Comments (0) | Link

 

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.

Watch the Video, "24 Hours of Moab 2009"

 

 

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.

Email James McGillis

 

By James McGillis at 03:33 PM | | Comments (0) | Link