Tolbert's: 24 Hours of Grand Targhee

Grand Targhee Resort hosted the annual 24 Hours of Targhee mountain bike race this past weekend, with solo and team riders lapping a 7.3 mile course (with an 800 ft elevation gain per lap!) from noon on Saturday through noon on Sunday. Goal? To do as many laps as possible in 24 hours. And stay awake . . .

We survived the weekend of 24 Hours of Grand Targhee. I must say that I'd be more than willing to return and help support this race. Not only did we have a hotel room to stay in, the weather wasn't bad, I didn't have sand stuck everywhere by the end, the scenery was beautiful, and the company was great. It was so nice have a full time mechanic on hand (he also doubled as a chef), and the expertise of K Day's dad to make sure the guys were staying on top of their game. It was a good thing we had an expert mechanic, because after the first lap Brian's crank bolt broke and we had to put a different crank set on his bike from an extra bike that was brought. I wouldn't have known where to start to fix that. The bikes had never been treated better, cleaned and tuned up after every lap.

The guys won the 4 man category by 5 laps and ended tying with a men's Pro Duo team for the most laps, 34! Once again I can't understand how they can ride their bikes for 24 hours, get practically no sleep, force food and water down, and still have a great time. I'll tell you what, with 6 guys around things were never dull. The jokes and stories kept us laughing when the hours were getting long. I'm not even going to get started on the 'funk' smell of the room, and how it was like being around Junior High boys at points. On Sunday morning the weather had turned cold and super windy. Of course most of the weekend I was in my thermals, ski socks, down coat and a hat as the guys pretty much only wore thin layers of spandex. I was proud of the guys for their determination and strength. It was also nice to have a few extra hands for support. Well done Kuhl / Scott team! Wait, what would a long weekend be without the never ending drive home (5 1/2 hours) and getting home to unload the bike and car coming to realize that one of the crank arms and peddle had come off the bike and are probably somewhere on the side of the road in Idaho. I think race season is over for us.

Base Camp