OK. I'll fess up. Twelve hours of mountain bike racing is not for everyone. If you're staunchly in the, "No way, you can't make me do it" camp then stay put. I'm not about to turn into some sort of dirt endurance evangelist overnight. But, if you're sitting on the fence and are a little bit tempted by the idea but need a few good reasons to nudge you onto the startline, read on.
#1 Achievability
Let's face it, doing twelve hours of any one thing continuously is a challenge. Even sleep (although I intend to tackle that test head on this Friday night with no alarm set for an early morning training ride on Saturday for the first time in a few weeks, whoop). But, like twelve hours of sleeping, twelve hours of cycling is within your grasp. You've just got to want to do it enough. You don't even need heaps of uber rides under your belt, but doing a couple will make your body a little more accepting of what you are asking of it and the overall experience a little less uncomfortable. The longest ride I had done before my first 12 hour race was two hours, which I’ll admit made the remaining ten hours of racing a little bit ouchy, but I still made it through to tell the tale. The sweet taste of success over long races like these is all down to pacing, nutrition, and headspace. Get ready for the long haul and you'll be right.
#2 Bragging Rights
There aren’t many things more entertaining in the workplace on a Monday morning than the perplexed look your colleagues will give you when they ask what you got up to on the weekend and you reply casually, “Raced my bike for twelve hours”. Try not to look too broken physically for maximum impact. Your reply will invariably be punctuated by chomping mouthfuls of food and destroying the entire cookie stash in the staff tearoom along with anything else that looks vaguely edible. Be prepared for questions pertaining to the deeper meaning of such an unusual weekend pastime. I’m yet to come up with a thought provoking response to, “Why, the hell would you do that?”
#3 Dialling the Perfect Line
Ever done a race and kicked yourself for screwing up a line? Or felt frustrated by a bad lap? Fear not. In a twelve hour solo race you’ll have many, many, many laps to enjoy. These will invariably provide endless opportunities to test a variety of lines, some less intentionally than others. By twilight, you’ll have them all dialled and will achieve suave and poise as you drill the perfect line despite the fading light (this may or may not actually happen in real life). The occasional bad lap will provide but a brief interlude and give you something different to think about before rediscovering your mojo and getting back in the groove (hopefully).
#4 No Gear
Well, you will need some gear. Like a bicycle you love enough to want to ride it for twelve hours non-stop. And some lights for when the sun goes down. But, unlike endurance point-to-point courses or massive grand loops of hinterland, mountain passes, and other forms of beautiful character building terrain, a twelve hour solo race is run on a multi-lap format. Never straying too far from home means you only need to carry enough Scooby snacks for thirty to sixty minutes at a time before being reunited with endless fresh supplies. No Sherpa duties required.
#5 Mates
Solo. You’d be forgiven for thinking that sounds a bit lonely. But these events have a cool vibe and you’ll no doubt be surrounded by a bunch of other racers and team riders giving you big ups and encouragement. Not to mention your mates in the race village who will offer endless heckling and banter lap after lap after lap. Even if you’d prefer they didn’t. And you never know when you might end up riding with another solo racer for several hours. Solo, yes. On your own, no.
#6 Cheesecake
One of the best pieces of cheesecake I ever ate was after last year’s Day Night Thriller. It was washed down with a glass of bubbly and promptly followed by a power nap. All before prize-giving. This year, the gorgeous Megan Ward has promised to provide a homemade delectable dessert. Racing a twelve hour solo gives you ownership rights over a whole heap of pudding choices. Choice is probably the wrong word because you’ll be able to eat them all at once.
Hopefully, the promise of bragging rights, dialling the perfect line and cheesecake will do the trick. See you there.
If you're looking for a South Island event to cut your teeth on check out the Giant Day Nighter in MacLean's Forest in October or Timaru's Alpine Energy 12 Hour in November.
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