Team Sho-air at the 12 Hours of Temecula

I learned my lesson from last year's experiment of trying to do this race solo without sufficient miles in my legs so I opted to ride duo like I did two years ago. My partner for this one was former Backbone racer Heidi Volpe. This was her first endurance race and my introduction to a more holistic approach to racing. =)

It rained all week leading up to the race, but unlike most courses in SoCal that turn into mud holes the Temecula course actually gets better with moisture. It turned out to be a fun day in the sun.

The Heidi pre-race aromatherapy routine. There's nothing like a couple of essential oils in the morning to give my brain a jumpstart. Smelled flowery with a soupcon of tea tree.

Shooting the breeze with Tinker; talking about race schedules for this year. Sounds like he's going to be at some new events in '08.

John and Lisa brought their sportsmobile in case conditions got bad. Lisa did an awesome job of keeping track of our lap times and those of the other co-ed teams. When John wasn't busying giving tours of the sportsmobile he kept the secret no-name tea brewing.

The sportsmobile made our pit a very popular place. I think John was giving a tour to a different group every time I got back to the pit after a lap.

Getting the vital energy from the veggies. =) Heidi left some cut cucumbers out for me after one of my laps. What was I supposed to do? Eat 'em?

Lisa and James taking a much deserved break. James kept the bikes in perfect working order.

There was enough time for me to go out and do a 13th lap, but with the strong winds and rain I didn't feel like it was worth the risk, especially since it's so early in the year.

All the cheers at the award ceremony were for Heidi, I was just along for the ride.


There are plenty of folks to thank for this one:

-Thanks to Heidi for agreeing to race with me and for putting a different twist on endurance. I had a blast!! I think I heard talk of a full on mobile spa setup for our next race. =)
-John, Lisa and James for giving up part of their weekend to come out and take care of us.
-Lynda as always for helping me get back into shape. It was my second week back on the bike due to a series of colds & bad weather but she had just the ticket to get me going again.
-Tim & Sherry from Switchback Cyclery for going over the bike and getting it race ready.
-All the Sho-air/Rock N Road Cyclery & Sho-air/Sonance (formerly Team Velosport) sponsors.