24 hours of Vultures Knob race report

The 24 hours of Vultures Knob race report by Rick DeShields

 

With yearly expenses for Vultures Knob running up to $21,000 per year and donations and events only earning $15,000 the Knob has been operating at a $6000 loss. And so 331 Racing brought back the 24 hours of Killbuck race! With such an important local resource at stake, we put together a team to race and help keep the trail open. Our team consisted of myself, Clayton Travis, Michael Lopez and Tim Portman from the Ohio Fat tires.

We set up camp along the course and got settled in for the weekend. The race started with a fun challenge where racers had to take off their shoes, put them in a jumbled pile, get spun around for 20 seconds before having to put their shoes back on and run to their bikes to start a small prologue loop before hitting the main course that we would get to know so well for the next 24 hours. MDS2783Tim took on the responsibility of getting us started and since he saved the team baton from the Camp Tuscazoar relay race that we raced together earlier this year he didn’t have to take off his shoes which gave us a big advantage starting the race as he was the first rider to get on his bike and hit the trail. Tim turned in a solid sub 1 hour lap and then Clayton hit the trail. Clayton pounded out a blazing fast sub 40 minute first lap followed by Michael who turned in a solid 1 hour lap. This was also Michaels first time experiencing all of the technical challenges that the Knob throws at you and he hit them with a vengeance with a few cuts and scrapes along the way over the course of the race. MDS2920After Michael, I headed out for my first lap. My turn was uneventful but exciting to finally ride some of the new features that the trail crew has made over the last couple years since I was last at the Knob. I really enjoyed the reroutes around the rainbow bridge and the rebuilt suspension bridge. The trail was really dry and dusty which made corners challenging and slower than I liked but it was still a blast to ride. I finished my first lap with a 45 minute time. For the rest of the day we would repeat the same single lap per racer format before switching to double laps at night to give the rest of the team a chance to rest and sleep which Tim started us off on around 8PM when it was required to ride with lights. Everyone kept riding consistently and performing well. Around midnight it was time for 331 to light the bonfire which was huge. At its biggest the flames reached above the tree line and everyone had to back up to not get burnt. Surprisingly racers were able to get by without getting too toasted. Sometime after 2am Michael headed out only to come back shortly afterwards with some mechanical issues including a warped rotor, partially broken chain link and off center brake caliper. We had some great support from other teams and non-racers to help get Michaels bike back in order and get him back on the trail again. When Michael came back it was my turn for my night laps. My lights were charged and I grabbed my GoPro as well to get some fun video or the night riding. The lights washed out the dust on the trail which made the corners more comfortable to take a speed. I felt like I had my fastest laps during the night. I guess I’ll find out once the results and splits are posted. I managed to pass a few racers during the night too. You could tell how far ahead other racers were because of the dust they were kicking up which made it easier to know when to put the power down. Once I finished my 2 night laps Tim headed out and I worked on winding down to get some rest which was actually kind of hard because people were still hanging out and having a good time. Clayton somehow managed to sleep in his camp chair with all sorts of commotion around him and not stir a bit. Must be nice! I tried to get some rest in my car where it was a little quieter but I don’t think I was able to get any real rest. When I got up I felt pretty crappy due to the lack of sleep but managed to get ready for my next day lap. Once on the trail I started to feel normal again and put in a solid lap. About a mile from the start/finish my left pedal broke off of the stem. I tried to ride it like a platform pedal but the grease on the stem was too slick so I kicked my leg back and pedaled with only my right leg. I got a laugh out of the situation and actually had some fun with it. I even managed to pass a couple racers in the pines before the finish. Thankfully the climbs at this point were mild so I was able to ride the rest of the way in getting heckled for having broken Egg Beaters at the finish by a couple racers and the guys at the timing table. Crank Brother pedals may be notorious for falling apart but I prefer the feel over SPD’s. After my lap, Tim headed out on his last lap who turned in a consistent lap followed by Clayton who was still turning in blazing laps even though this was his longest race he has done. Clayton’s dad also came by in the morning and made us all breakfast which was awesome! It was really cool to see a supportive family. When it was time for Michael to get ready he decided to pass on his last lap as he had taken a little beating from the trail over the last 22 hours. He had done a great job racing on the most technical trail that he had ridden before and this was the most riding he had done at once. He pushed himself and did a great job! With about an hour and a half to go I headed out for my final lap using a spare pedal that Clayton had in his gear bag. I finished my lap with a little less than 45 minutes to spare and Clayton was ready to go! We did a rolling baton pass to get him going and he hammered out on his last lap. It would be really tight for Clayton to pull out a final lap before the clock ran out and if he didn’t finish the before the clock ran out his lap wouldn’t count. We waited by the top of the furnace trail to see when he came by. With 10 minutes left he finally rolled past and headed into the final downhill section. We headed over to the pine section before you get to the finish and saw Clayton roll past with 4 minutes to spare. He was definitely cutting it close but he was focused and pushing hard! We waited for what felt like an eternity watching the clock count down but Clayton rolled through with a little more than 2 minutes to spare giving us an 8th place finish in the male team division! Talk about cutting it close!M8D1918

I had a blast hanging out with the team and the other teams and racers! I’m also glad we could do our small part to support Vultures Knob and hopefully help 331 raise the money they need to keep the trail open for people to enjoy. The team would also like to give a big thanks to Fatheads for letting us use one of their canopies and for sponsoring the team along with Blue Sky Bikes, Dr’s Of Optometry and Crank Brothers