Tempered Fortitude
Balance Bar 24 Beaver Creek
When you ride a bike for a living you see a-lot of stuff, and after a while you understand that the races aren't really races but expressions of human behavior; an that behavior can be brave, fraudulent, funny, seeking, uplifting, and downright parasitical. Some of what you see you like, and some of it you don't like very much, and it's all very interesting, and telling, but it ain't war and it ain't death and it ain't childbirth either and what losing does, it restores the perspective.
Lance Armstrong
Tempered Fortitude
Team Tamarack Resort
Balance Bar Beaver Creek
The quest of self abuse and testing of my limits took me to Beaver Creek Colorado for the Balance Bar 24 hour race. Eager to redeem a
navigational blunder from the Raid Series in June we were more prepared both mentally and physically. The field was once again tough with
24 elite teams and 18 others turning out for 14 miles of kayaking, 24 miles of trekking, and 65 miles of biking. The catch? It would all
take place above 8,000 feet and there would be no breaks. After dropping our Mountain Bike gear 20 miles to the west, we preceded through
water and navigation certifications. The boats we would paddle were like tanks weighing in at 85 pounds and longer than 15 feet, not quite
a nimble river craft. After nervously eating dinner, and chatting with other teams the Race Director took over and laid it out there.
12 full size UPGS maps were issued, along with racer guidebooks, and warnings about the weather and lack of water between the Checkpoints.
The 4 am alarm was not received well, as we blearily shoveled down some food, and donned our river attire. The bus ride to the start
reminded me of some misfit field trip where everyone was excited, but not fully sure why. As the sun crested the horizon and revealed the
terrain we were set to cover it was crystal clear; this was the real deal. The 7 am start dumped is into the Colorado River (Literally) as
we had to wade, swim, and claw a mile down the muddy river to our kayaks. I felt like some high school kid running from the cops carrying a
keg, only the cops were fellow racers, and the keg was a dry bag filled with backpacks and other gear. We arrived at the kayaks, piled
into our little yellow bathtub and set course for CP 1 14 miles downstream. As we hit the cold blast of the first rapid we discovered
that the front and rear would drain with ease, but would leave Jen sitting in a pool of dirty river water. She would bail the boat with
her hands before taking out the water cannon to give it the finishing touches. Like a river boat captain from a time before Brad guided
us down the river in fine fashion as we passed a ½ dozen teams and began closing the gap on several others.
After one section of rapids we noticed that the boat was riding surprisingly low in the water. Opening the rear hatch that was supposed
to be water tight we discovered the hatch was filled and need to be bailed. Soon after removing the water we passed several more teams
and pulled into the CP. Transitioning to the 24 mile trek we shed wet clothes, lathered on the sunscreen, and set out into the hot sun.
Already feeling the effects of the lack of oxygen we were unable to run the uphills but still keep a good pace through the 2nd CP. Faced
with a navigational choice of two routes we elected for the sure thing and set out. As the hot sun turned to large thunderclouds we put
our rain fly's on our packs and put our sunglasses away. At the base of a large hill climb we hooked Jen up on a towline and proceeded
up the hill panting and gasping like chain smokers. 
When we hit the top we incorrectly gauged our position and went for a little walk-about
before regrouping and refocusing. Our spirits were high and our pace was good as we proceeded through Aspen groves, and open fields to the
CP atop Horse Mountain. From here we elected to take a longer route that was all on roads, vs. the shorter route that was cross country.
The thunderstorms from earlier in the day had soaked the route and we had large mud cakes on our feet for the first hour. Soon the roads
dried and our spirits rose as we hit the CP and found we had actually gained two spots. Our feet looked like dried raisins as we removed
our socks and played show and tell with our blisters. We tried to return some color to our feet and some energy into our bodies as we
loaded our packs with 10 pounds of water and enough food to keep us going for the next 12 hours.
The next task we would face would be something we had never done before, a 200 foot Tyrolean Traverse across a 200 canyon. The catch?
You would be taking you bike with you. 
Getting there was no easy matter as there were no routes marked on the map, and no clear way.
We teamed up with 2 other teams and through winding, indirect single-track managed to find our way to the ropes. Jen was a little unsure
of what it would take, and we all had doubt cast upon our task as there was a girl stuck out in the middle crying, unable to move. We
strapped in, draped our feet over our bikes, and tried to remember every trick we had ever heard about getting across. I pushed out hand
over hand trying to go as fast as possible, and it was working, till I hit the uphill portion. Here my arms screamed as a tried to pull
myself across the rope towing, my bike, and supporting my pack and body weight. As I careened my neck to see how far I had to go, I would
feel the weight on my harness on my hips and the stress on my back.
Failure was not an option, fatigue was a factor, but I knew I could do it. As I reached the other side and placed my feet on solid ground,
my attention immediately shifted to Jen. She was looking strong, but the hardest was yet to come. Her grunts of pain showed her resolve to
accomplish this task. 
She reached us gasping, struggling for words to describe what she had just completed, all that came out was "Holy
Shit that was the toughest thing I have ever done" We light up our bikes with lights on the front and rear, and set out for the only easy
miles of the weekend, highway miles connecting to Eagle. We jammed this section, riding along in the dark, exchanging only necessary words
like "Car Back" or "Everyone Drinking?" These are the moments I have grown to love. Silent times with unspoken emotions that illustrate
the bonds of teamwork and accomplishment.
After creatively navigating through the town of Eagle we turned our attention to the south and places unknown. Chafing in places too
precious to mention, we resorted to a small dollop of well placed Aquaphor to give some relief but nothing could relieve the discomfort of
many hours in the saddle. A vivacious crowd cheered us on as we turned off the main road and began a 7 mile climb into the dark. On
the climb I was greeted by a foe from my past, NAUSEA. We had parted several months before on good terms, agreeing that we had been
through enough together. Well nausea tore up the agreement we made, and tried to ruin a good race for me. I fought him back with ginger
capsules, ginger candy, and crystallized ginger and remained in the fight of the race. The climb reached several sections where we were so
sick of riding that we would get off and walk. This was an effective way of moving forward and made the going a little more tolerable.
Confined to a world that only existed in the area of our headlamps, we alternated between walking and riding as the temperature dropped
and we added layers. We reached the CP and passed the gear check with flying colors. It was now time to break out the big dogs, the 40
watt lights. These lights almost project the same light as a car and would prove to be very helpful on the descent. Doing as best as
she could Jen narrowly avoided one crash, and kept her core temperature up as we headed down. We were greeted at the bottom with a sag
wagon that was there to take teams off the course. We talked to them and heard the dreadful words that the crux of the biking still laid
ahead. We elected to keep going and try our luck on making it, 18 teams had already dropped or would drop in the next hour. Disheartened
by the race staffs words we pushed on into the dark, trying to make the next CP.
The hills were long and steady as we kept going into the wee hours of the night. Then we entered the world of the walking dead, somewhere
we had not been before. Jen was almost falling asleep on the bike and Brad and I were weaving back and forth on the road. We kept pushing
hoping to make it to the turn off for the 3 mile steep uphill to the CP, it wasn't getting any closer. Then the watch alarms started going
off signifying being up 24 hours straight. We started to lose. We lost hope of completing the section, belief in ourselves, we lost our
will. So we did all we all could and pulled over to the side of the road to sleep. 20 minutes turned into an hour and 20 minutes as Jen
shivered so much that it sounded like raindrops falling on her space blanket.
We left something behind in the cold damp bed on the side of a desolated road. Our drive. We knew that at this stage we didn't have
enough time to complete the course, but we could have completed the stage. 
The cold, 26 hours of movement, nausea, food deprivation,
sleep deprivation, whatever you wanted to use as an excuse. We took it. The bond that kept us going was gone. When some course officials
came by we took them up on the offer for a ride and for the first time in my life I would be listed in the DNF column. Did Not Finish.
That is a tough one to swallow after coming so far and doing so much. We really did nothing wrong, we just couldn't cover all that distance
in that time.
They say you learn from your defeats and it was probably good for us, but it still stings. In all 18 teams DNF'd including 6 elite teams.
We were the last team to be pulled from the course, and were in 26th overall, and 5th in the coed division. We found out later that they
let teams be out there after 11 am which struck a tender cord with a team that thought 11 am was the latest you could race.
I look forward to the next battle in the mountains, and know what happened on the side of a lonely road in the high country of Colorado
will remain with us and ultimately make us a stronger team.