Lap 4
With his derailleur hanger mostly straightened out, Chris headed back out onto the course, ready to make up for lost time. Despite some fatigue from the first lap and a still finicky drivetrain, his second lap was much quicker than his first. While still in fourth place after his lap, we were a lot closer to third, and if Evan was able to turn a second lap time close to his first, we could reasonably expect to be looking at a podium spot as I entered my second lap.
12 Hours of Penitence: Private Business
Businesses throughout the San Luis Valley and its communities jumped in to support this event. Prominent among them was the La Garita Trading Post, a small shop about a mile from the race venue and the only business within riding distance. Family owned and integral to the community for many years, the folks at La Garita put on an excellent dinner the night before the race, including huge trays of locally-made-from-scratch desserts. Carbo-loading on the eve of the race would definitely not be a problem! They also hosted the post race award ceremony and set aside a chunk of their land for racers to camp on. As for me, I slept in luxurious comfort at the historic Windsor Hotel (est. 1874) in the nearby community of Del Norte. Kristi Mountain Sports, from the largest town in the valley, Alamosa, provided a neutral support tent, who helped both Chris with his bent derailleur hanger and me with a new set of brake pads when I realized mine were way past due. Overall, businesses from all over southern Colorado, far too numerous to mention them all, pitched in with labor, financial support, lots of swag, and an excellent suite of prizes.
Lap 5
As we neared the 1.5-hour mark on Evan’s second lap (the team’s fifth overall), I was again itching to get out on the course, both to improve my time over my first lap and to see if we could threaten the podium. However, as the time for Evan to come in approached, there was no sign of him. More time passed, and still no Evan. We figured he must have had a flat, but even more time passed, and we began to worry about him. I found Sydney and she began radioing to both the aid stations and the course marshals, and before long we had a fix on Evan’s position and his status. We also realized at that point that he was far enough out that he wouldn’t be in before the cutoff to run a sixth lap as a team, what would have been my second. In retrospect, I had really paced myself far too much in that first lap!
12 Hours of Penitence: The Lessons of Success
Despite our difficulties and some of the limitations of the venue itself, our experience at the 12 Hours of Penitence was exciting, fun, and special. The race had a real grass roots feel, which was refreshing. Despite the local flavor, there were plenty of hardcore riders on course, making it challenging but without reducing the fun factor. As successful as the event was, Sydney was dutifully collecting lessons learned even before the final lap, and is already planning an even better event for next year.
But the biggest lesson of the day was the importance of partnership. It takes at least three well-balanced legs to make a sturdy platform; the platform that supported the 12 Hours of Penitence was supported in appropriate measure by volunteers, public infrastructure, and private business, taking a seed and bearing great fruit in a surprisingly short amount of time. I thank Sydney, Brink, an army of volunteers, our federal government, and many local businesses for making this work, and I look forward to following their efforts in the future.
