HardCore 24 Race Report

Ontario County Park, located at the south end of Canadaiqua Lake, played host to the HardCore 24, New York's only 24 hour mountain bike race. Sponsored by Park Ave. Bike Shop out of the Rochester area, the HardCore 24 is a well-run local race that drew racers from across New York as well as some neighboring states. The park itself sets atop a hill which overlooks the lake and is an ideal setting for this event. The park is totally enclosed and draws little car traffic.

In this type of event, racers must be self-sufficient in that they must bring in food, water, camping equipment, etc. to prepare for just about anything that may happen during a race. Luckily, the park had clean restrooms and showers which was nice reprieve for 'soft' racers, such as myself.

There are just as many solo riders as there are team riders and personally, I believe that it is the solo riders that represent the true spirit of this event as they ride their bikes lap after lap for 24 hours. The physical and mental strength of these individuals never ceases astound me and anytime I passed one of these individuals on the trail, I praised their efforts.

Jeff and I rarely compete in 24 hour races -- in fact, our last 24 hour attempt was when we first moved back to New York after living in West Virginia for a few years -- but this year, EJ convinced us to compete with the team in the 5-person, co-ed division. It is not to say that we are inexperienced in this 24 hour format, but as we get older, we rarely compete in this type of racing as it takes the body longer to recover. I have personally competed in the 24 hours of Canaan, Snowshoe, and Big Bear in my home state of West Virginia and most people should recognize the 24 hour of Canaan as being one of the original 24 hour races in the country. Jeff has competed at Big Bear with me, as well as the 24 hours of Winter Park in Colorado.

For the HardCore 24, the team consisted of EJ, Jimmy, Tommy, Jeff, and myself. All five of us had just come off the 6HOP race the previous weekend and hoped that the fitness and 'interval' training from that event would lend itself well to this event. Jeff really enjoys these types of events, whereas, I'm more of "I'll race hard for 2-3 hours and get it over and done with...." But, for Jeff, he loves the festive atmosphere and commraderie that builds as the racing transitions into the night.

Photos of our camp


























The course was about 7.5 miles in length and consisted of primarily twisty single-track. There were no extended long climbs, but plenty of roots, and ups and downs to keep things interesting. All in all, this course receives a 'thumbs up' from us.

As the gun went off at 12 noon on Saturday, Tommy took the opening lap for the team and impressed us all when we saw him emerge from the trail in the lead position. Tommy's time on this first lap would hold up for the fastest lap time. Jeff was next up and had an open trail as he headed off for his first lap. As the afternoon progressed, we all took a rotation and kept a careful eye to the results board to watch our team position. We all agreed that the team would pull me out of the night laps thus essentially reducing the team to four members -- since I suck at riding at night (I get spooked at every little thing that moves in the woods at night and am REALLY SLOW) -- and so to compensate, I rode three day laps before 8 pm. Throughout the night, the guys rode lap after lap as I rested. Their times stayed relatively consistent.

Jeff catching some zzzzz's


















The energy surrounding these types of events during the night makes it hard to completely relax. It is not to say that people are loud, noisy, and partying, but rather, people are quiet and peaceful as they relax around camp fires, drink beer, and encourage riders coming through the transition area. In the background, there is always upbeat music coming out of the transition area. I always find the transition area somewhat magical -- out of the darkness appears a moving light and you're never sure who the rider is until they literally ride into the light of the transition area where they are welcomed by all who wait.

As dawn came, I was up at 4:30 to prepare for my morning laps. The guys had ridden solidly throughout the night with just a few minor mishaps: Tommy crashed and was left with a somewhat swollen knee; EJ flatted towards the end of one of his laps; Jeff's head lamp got pulled back from a stray course ribbon which forced him to ride a lap with his head cocked backwards; and, there was a 3 hour rain storm. EJ rarely sits the entire event always making sure that people are ok, well fed, and bikes ready to go, whereas, Jimmy will lay down from time to time. Jeff would come and go from our tent during the night and when he would lay down beside me, I made sure to hold his hand. All told, the guys did a wonderful job and now, it was my turn to give back. The strategy worked well since I was able to get back into the saddle and resume riding with the same lap time as 9 hours before.

Pre-dawn preparations














My first morning lap was extremely foggy due to night's rain mixed with the heat and humidity from the day before. There was no reason to have a light on as the light would only glare back, so I rode into the fog and mist and found it refreshing. Despite having over 100 racers in attendance, I only saw two riders that morning and enjoyed the quietness of the woods. At this point, the guys were relaxing and I continued to ride another lap. Tommy and Jeff would take one more lap, before I took my final turn. I mounted my bike at 11 a.m. Sunday morning for my final lap and finished up at 12:05. I was greeted by Jeff and EJ. We had won the co-ed 5-person division by 2 laps! Collectively, we put in 28 laps! What a great feeling! What a great team!

A great ending to a long race














Jeff, EJ, and Jimmy started pulling down camp as I changed for the final time out of my cycling clothes. Racers were greeted to a wonderful pasta meal and the awards ceremony soon followed. As we sat on the lawn waiting for the awards, we reminisced about the last 24 hours and exchanged congratulatory words with those around us.

Waiting for awards



























Our winning team















Jeffina feeling the love














I want to thank EJ, Tommy, Jimmy, and Jeff for taking care of me throughout this event. I was feeling a bit flat coming into it, but by the end, I had such a great feeling of satisfaction. They are wonderful teammates and people.

I encourage anyone looking to compete in a well-organized and racer-friendly 24 hour race to consider the HardCore 24 in the future. The race is held at a wonderful venue, the course is great, results are posted on time, there is food, music, families, and unique trophies for all finishers. The Park Ave boys once again out did themselves.

To see additional images from the race, click on the Flickr link at the top of the page.

We'll be enjoying some time at home before competing in the Highland Forest Classic in Fabius, NY.

Together, we are Jeffina. Crankin' out the love, crankin' out the miles for Crankskins.com.