Out on the town - 24 Hour Town!

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Nick setting up camp

While I still have not had a chance to write the race report - too much to digest to get it done right now - it was still an awesome weekend in 24 Hour Town. At least when the sun was shining and the wind wasn't howling! Nick and I rolled in on Thursday and got an awesome pit site near the transition tent. We got everything set up nice and neat and made sure there was room for our solo friends from Texas. That was the hardest part of the weekend - ensuring that our little kingdom was not conquered by neighboring racers! We also had a decent view of the Option from camp, so we were able to watch riders practicing the drop throughout the day. I had time to practice my photo skills - can never resist a good sunset, sunrise or an artfully framed cacti! This time I even got a few really good full moon shots. The sunrise photos never come out quite as nicely - I've struggled with that for the last three years. But besides photos, there were some good times in camp.


Sunrise race morning - those clouds would linger..

*Cruising into a solo pit on a pre ride with a cheerful "hey guys!" is a good way to get the Should we know her? Did we party with her last year and not remember? confused but polite response. Mental note to self - last 24 Hour Race the Back of the Pack gang saw you at was 24hr COS - as a support person! In civilian clothes... Sorry guys....

*Beer is aways a good icebreaker. Show up with a 12 pack of a good brew and even the serious racers will grab a chair and chill. Wine does not seem to work as well...
 
Sunset Friday night
*The second best is coffee - especially at 2:00 am race morning or 7:30 Monday morning when it's freezing out!
 
*Dry firewood also works well - especially on a cold, wet and windy day.

*Bad weather doesn't only affect the race - it really puts a damper on the all night partying that is common at this race.

*In the battle of wind vs easy up tents, wind was the hands down winner. All the tents on Solo row came down early and there were quite a few in the dumpsters after the race.

*Those chains we needed for the Turtle last year to get to town? They made great weights to keep the tent in place.

Welcome to Town under a full moon
*Some camp decorations work better then others - the Beer Tree was awesome!






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