Burn 24 Hour Challenge - Wilkesboro, NC

To start, my knees hurt, my back hurts, my legs hurt, I'm still a little off due to lack of sleep, and my rear dearilleur is destroyed. I love it! This race was so much fun. There were over 200 racers, a large lake, unlimited free Burn energy drink, camping, lots of dogs, spectators, and just friendly, helpful people. Oh and did I mention the sweet 6.25 mile single track?

As this was my first 24 hour race, I was not sure what to expect. Was I going to survive? When would I sleep? Did I bring enough food? Will there be any good looking girls there?

In short, yes on all occasions. We didn't leave L-burg till almost 8 Friday night after some of the guys got off work at the bike shop. After the long drive and a stop for a Mexican dinner we made it to the W Kerr Scott reservoir around 12 midnight. We then proceeded to pitch our tents in the dark and immediately crash. Note to self: the $70 dollar Thermarest sleep pad will be well worth the money for the next 24 hour race. This being the case, 7 am was the latest I could sleep on the hard ground. My sleeping bag is awesome though, I was plenty warm and comfortable in it. After a healthy breakfast of oatmeal and other such items, we began the day. There were a total of 10 of us in our camp and another camp of 10 or so more that we new from the Burg. Basically the two bike shops in the area were represented and despite the slight bit of animosity between the two, much fun was had by all. In the end, the fact that we are all having a great time on a bike is all that matters.

The race began at 12 noon on Saturday with Dave Thilking running the Le Mans style start for us to%2