My eating strategy changed with the sunrise. As advised by other racers, it was now time to load up on sugar and caffeine. I started drinking flat Dr. Pepper which gave me a jolt. I tried to eat a chocolate chip cookie and Pop Tart, but found they were too dry. A Hershey bar was the best thing I ate all morning. After doing one lap on pure sugar, my muscles craved the potassium and electrolytes in a banana and Gatorade. I also ate another slice of bologna to sustain me, which I needed. I should have just added some more sugars instead of consuming them exclusively.

As I came to the end of my last lap, there were several solo riders waiting under a tent for the 24 hour expiration to complete their ride. I pedaled to the finish just a few seconds after the one day mark (Goal #1) after 134 miles (Goal #2). Surprisingly, I had moved up sixteen places and finished 5th.

After the race, my triceps and upper back hurt the most. My legs still felt pretty fresh. My Airborne Ti post and Koobi saddle saved my lower back and perineum and my Speedplay Frogs kept my knees feeling good.

My Equipment
I have been riding an Airborne Lucky Strike for a year now and am more impressed with it every day. It was a great climber the first time I rode it and it proved itself again at this race. There were five steep climbs at the end of this race, 3 of which were just sprinter's climbs. Even on the last lap I was cranking up the hills, passing team riders pushing their bikes who had only done 1/4 the distance I had.

I had been using an Thompson post coupled with a Flite saddle and didn't think for a minute my posterior could last 24 hours on this setup. I acquired Airborne's Ti post and immediatley noticed a difference. It was slightly heavier than the Thompson but it was very good at giving more damping than the aluminum.

The Koobi Au Saddle is the most comfortable and effective ergo saddle I've used. The full length cutout did a great job keeping my feelings in tact regardless of riding position (something other saddles didn't do for me). My one complaint, the padding is thick but too soft. I pressed through the padding and my sit bones felt like they were in direct contact with the plastic which was possibly the most painful aspect of this race. If Koobi starts using a higher quality padding this would be a perfect saddle. For now, it's back to the Flite.

Bag Balm. Yes, Bag Balm, cow utter lubricant. If you are going to go for a long ride, this is the ticket to chafeless cheeks and a painless shower. 24 hours and no chafing (except on a spot I missed).

I bought Speedplay Frogs last year after experiencing some knee pain while using some SPD style pedals. I noticed the pain disappear soon after switching and have experienced no pain at all since. Frogs are by far the best pedals I've used. They provided a ton of free float (no spring tensioning) and you will NOT release unless you want to. I've never been stuck in them when I wrecked.

I have been using Krytech's brand of dry lubes for about 1 1/2 years. I think they are spectacular lubes but have one drawback, they require drying and setup time. I decided to try Slick 50's 1 Lube for the race. After three laps my dry lube was gone and I switched to the Slick 50. I was astounded. It collected a bit of dirt, but at the end of the race when my nephew was cleaning my bike for me the 1 Lube was removed from my drive train without any hassle. The 1 Lube is cheaper, more durable and provides better lubrication than any lube I've ever used and is only slightly dirtier than dry lubes.