Get your 24-hour on!

Can you ride your bike really fast for 24 hours? Over the weekend Chris Eatough (Subaru-Gary Fisher) punished a large field of riders by riding more laps than anyone else during the 24-hour NORBA national championships in Wisconsin. He took the field by completing one extra lap in a severe thunderstorm. Overall, Eatough finished with 17 laps under his wheels. His performance earned him the top podium spot in a new NORBA race series.

24-hour racing is quickly becoming one of the hottest events. I ran a poll earlier on YourMTB.com to see if our readers had much interest. The responses weren't that positive. In other words, there still aren't a lot of 24-hour racers out there. I can attest to being one of those racers.

It is tough and I usually fall asleep during the 24-hour events. I usually stick to just doing 24 Hours of Moab. This year, I'm considering doing the Gunnison, Colorado, version of 24-hour racing.

Why punish yourself?

The answer has more to do with the art of suffering than anything else, but I also like the racing scene. I think the real draw for a lot of other racers is the team. Most racers have a team of two to, sometimes, six racers. At the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo a couple of years ago, I heard there was a corporate team of 20!

If you are interested in learning more about riding in a 24-hour race, I want to encourage you to visit the website RIDE424. You'll find interesting information on what to bring to a 24-hour race (attitude, supplies and bandages) and when the races are coming to your town.