Fleche

Here is a great description of Team Chain Reaction's ride in the 24-hour event - it is pretty complete. Team photo at the finish line:

My comments:

It was pretty obvious to the team that the amount of climbing we were doing exceeded the estimates.  This later proved to be the case.

I thought frequently about what to do if I broke a spoke, especially likely since the bike was laden with extra stuff.  Towards the end I mentally calculated whether I was close enough that I could walk the bike to the finish and still make the 24 hour limit.

I was surprised how not-sleepy I was throughout the event, getting drowsy only when stopping at 3:30 AM for food but not drowsy enough to nap (which many did).  On the bike I was wide awake.

Lessons learned:

- Add a hand pump and sweat bands to the rando pack list
- Find a way to eat steadily in the saddle, not wolf down snacks and give yourself indigestion.
- Used the wrong chain lube - it pretty much was washed away by the rain.
- Carried way too many snacks (about 2-3x too much) just extra weight. One bag of candy and 4 powerbars would have been fine.

-Get those new wheels!