I caught up with Lynda Wallenfels and Dave Harris after the 24 Hrs of Moab Championship Race.  One word for two people: Crushers.
Check out Lynda’s and Dave’s results, then see how they did it:
Lynda: This was a tactical race for me. The only goal was to win the jersey. I took few risks and stuck to my plan. It wasn’t showy…
How do you control the monkey mind and not go out hard if you have the legs?
Lynda: I wanted the National title bad enough to control the crazy side of me. I kept a lid on it.
Dave: It honestly didn’t seem aggressive.  I did slow it down though once I learned I was doing 1:15 laps times.  My plan was to ride a steady pace that was more or less sustainable for 24 hours.  Cracking was the danger – crack on a SS and things get ugly fast.
You two are like clock work. Were you using check points?
No. Check points are depressing in a 24 because you inevitably get slower.
Your 10th lap seemed the longest, were you having any trouble?
Lynda: I had no trouble taking a 90 min nap in my down sleeping bag then getting back up for oatmeal, coffee and the sunrise lap 🙂 I love the sunrise lap – couldn’t miss that.
What gearing did you run?
Both on 29ers
DH: 33 x 20 LW: 32 x 21
How much did you preride?
Lynda: One lap the day before and a combined 26 laps over the years.
Dave: I’ve been “pre-riding” this course for 9 years.  My 15th lap was actually my 102nd…not much pre-riding needed these days.  But I did do 1 lap the day prior just to make sure the gear was right.
What did you eat at night?
Lynda: Soup, rice chips, peaches
Dave: a salted mashed potato/egg mix washed down with  Red Bull, the blood of a goat
What tire set up did you run?
Lynda: 2.55 WTB Weirwolf at 19 psi in the front and Specialized Captain at 18 psi in the rear. Super happy with that set up.
Dave: Bonty XOX rear, Jones XR front, 24 PSI f/r
How was Moab on a SS vs Gears?
Lynda: A gadzillion times harder in places and in other places frustrating to be spun out and coasting at 15mph with gearies buzzing past in their big ring at 25 mph. I geared for the climbs.
Dave: SS is easier.  The initial climbs are hard as a solo after 8 hours no matter what…they just go by faster on the SS.  Being spun out for the second half of the course offered a ton of recovery I’d never see on gears.  On the flip side, despite having only 2 geared riders finish in front of me I think SS is considerably slower due to the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the course.  You gear for the flats or you gear for the climbs…
Pros/Cons the same as any other course?
Lynda: At Moab I predicted the gearie winners would be 2 laps ahead of the SS winners and was correct in both the men and women’s fields. On other more SS friendly courses like 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo SS winners can finish a lap up on the gearie field.
What was key about your setup for the race at this venue?
Full suspension! Big fat floaty 29 inch tires. The most awesome mojo furnace of a support crew.
If you had one thing to improve for the race what would it be?
Lynda: Nothing – I won the National Championship title! Even the best executed 24 has bumps. I had planned to do 12 laps but my fork blew on the 9th lap. I lost all the air in the negative chamber making it really harsh on laps 10 and 11 and decided not to pound out the 12th – I didn’t need to in the end.
Dave: I had the perfect race.  Hard to imagine improving anything.  Crew, bike, fitness – all came together for this one.  With 8 previous races at this venue, I had a lot of experience to draw from.
