Had a fabulous weekend at the Mont 24 at Mt Kowen. Perfect weather, great camping and a fun vibe, as well as a great bunch of people. Our team 'Team Tim Tam' came 13th of 44 in our Open Mixed category. Alison 'AliG' from DHBC was fast, and we had Chris, a previous solo 24 hour racer, and Tim, a speedy 4 hour racer on the team. I was the slow one and did 3 laps to their 5 each.
The trail was 20k laps and I had a pretty nasty crash 12k's into the first lap. Cut up my leg and pretty messy and am still healing, but after a visit to the first aid tent managed to get back and do two more laps later. There were a lot of people on the track - 600 at any given time. Most people were great, but a few idiots trying to overtake on berms and through narrow gates. The biggest challenge we found was the dappled light in the pine forest making it hard to see - a few of us had crashes as a result, and lots of sharp rocks when you landed.
Night laps in the fog were a highlight. The live music en route was an unusual touch! Surreal to have duelling banjos in the middle of the forest, and a drummer in another spot, a band in another, in the middle of the night, in a forest, with lots of other riders.
Hope to do another one next year, maybe a little slower down that single track speedy downhill on the first lap next time. Then again, maybe not
