Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab, 11-12 October, 2008


Welcome to the 2008 Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab webcast! The Galactic Championships
Stories From the Pits, Expo and Campsites
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Page Contents Pre-Event: Schedule of Events Saturday 7:56 p.m. : The Battle of the Busted Elbow 8:00 p.m. : Local EMT Creates Women's Trophy 8:40 p.m. : March of the Penguins 9:34 p.m. : The Super Stud Jim Simons Sunday 11:30 a.m. : Navy Seals run on Infinit 11:36 a.m. : Suzuki Kid’s Race Rocks! 1:30 p.m. : Handcrafted Ellsworth Bike Demos 2:10 p.m. : Nite Rider with a Brite Future
The Suzuki Zone at Moab this year is awesome! If you're viewing this remotely, check out what you're missing - reasons to be here next year! Suzuki Auto has been stepping up all year long as the Title Sponsor of The Suzuki 24 Hour Race Series. We're grateful for their support and we've really enjoyed working with them. We're also pleased to be sponsored by a company that makes products with such world-class quality and value. check out Suzuki's new truck	Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab - Schedule of Events Thursday, October 9th All Day Course & Campgrounds Open Friday, October 10th 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Late Registration & Race Packet pick-up at Moab Arts & Rec. Center (The MARC) in Moab 12-8 p.m. Suzuki Test Drives – Suzuki Zone at Venue 6-8 p.m. Live Music – Stonefed at Suzuki Zone (Bonfire and smores too!) Saturday, October 11th 8 a.m. Vendor Expo Opens All day Suzuki Test Drives 8-10:30 a.m. Live Music – Rob Drabkin at Suzuki Zone 10:30 a.m. Opening Ceremonies & Pre-Race Meeting at Podium 11:30 a.m. Lead Racers Begin to Log in under the Log Tent 12 Noon Le Mans-Style Start 3 p.m. Suzuki 24 Minutes of Moab Kids’ Race Registration Opens at Suzuki Zone 4 p.m. Suzuki 24 Minutes of Moab Kids’ Race 5-8 p.m. Live Music - Rob Drabkin at Suzuki Zone 8-12 p.m. Suzuki Zone Ride-in Movie: Princess Bride & Caddy Shack 8-12 p.m. Suzuki Midnight Safari Out to the Suzuki Luau On-course Cowbell Party Sunday, October 12th 8 a.m. Vendor Expo Opens 8-10 a.m. Free 10-minute Massage at Suzuki Zone 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m.Suzuki Test Drives 12 Noon Finishing Racers Begin to Log off 2:30 p.m. Suzuki 24 Hour Point Series Champion’s Awards - All Classes 2:45 p.m. King & Queen of the Desert (Fastest Men’s & Women’s Lap) 2:45 p.m. Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab Awards Ceremony- All Classes 4 p.m. Happy Trails! Safe Travels Home!
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Stan Hawkes with busted hand Scott Rubert with fractured elbow	The Battle of the Busted Elbow (Saturday 7:56pm) by Laura Brennan I first set off on the hunt for the one slinged man after hearing from race announcer Bruce Hildenbrand that a Clydesdale racer had spiral fractured his elbow. In my attempts to pursue this the course victom I ran into Stan Hawks of the Big Big Love team (also Clydesdale) who had also endured a nasty fall. Poor Stan’s hand looked like a big swollen sausage due to the Superman like plunge he took over the handlebars of his bicycle in the chicane portion of the track. Stan is off to the hospital now to get patched up and promised to get back to us and let us know what the damage is. Word had gotten around the log tent and right after speaking with Hawks I was approached by Scott Rubert of the Miller Cycles Reunion Tour, who was the original course victim. Rubert did in fact have a spiral-fractured elbow and for such a severe injury seemed to be quite jovial. Rubert endo’d in a rock garden and then still managed to finish the lap. Brave man.
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John Marshall maker of the perennial Women's Solo trophy	Local EMT creates trophies for 24 Hour champs (Saturday 8pm) by Ron Georg Granny Gear Productions organizer Laird Knight values his local connections at races he organizes across the country. Without strong local support, he says races on the scale of the 24 Hour of Moab wouldn’t be possible. One of those tight local connections is with John Marshall. As a member of Grand County Search and Rescue, Marshall takes shifts at the venue for potential emergency evacuations. However, he may make a bigger impression on many riders with his plasma cutter. No, a plasma cutter isn’t a bicycle tool (unless you don’t like your bicycle), or a piece of rescue equipment. Rather, it’s a tool for cutting metal precisely with extreme heat. Marshall uses one to create trophies for 24 Hours of Moab winners, including the crowns for the male and female riders with the fastest lap times. This year, he’s added a new perennial trophy to the collection, with a fanciful, feminine rider, carved from sheet metal, perched on a pedestal fashioned after a bicycle cassette. To cut the cogs for the cassette, Marshall started with the largest and simply scaled each down—so the sculpture wouldn’t technically function, as no single chain would fit the whole range. That’s okay. In his home machine shop, Marshall fabricates all kinds of functional parts for his bikes and motor toys. For Granny Gear, what he does is pure art.
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March of the Penguins (Saturday 8:40pm) by Laura Brennan Mason Lacy First riders for March of the Penguins. March of the Penguins from Boulder, CO is the returning first place Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab Junior team and 51st place overall from last year. When I asked the clever teens "Why Penguins?" they had a few quick replies that were quite entertaining; the first being "penguins are tight!" the second "they are the future of the earth," the third was "because we are trying to lure them south", and the forth and final crafty answer was "there is no bigger rush than when you hear ‘go penguin!’" They went on to tell me that their team mantra was "How do you spell fun? W-I-N!" They also told me that they don’t smile on race day, but the 16- and 18-year-olds were all jokes and smiles. Ambitiously, they also told me that they may not be first at the end of the race, but they will definitely be first on the bike. It was close between Mason Lacy, March of the Penguins first rider, and Monavie/Cannondale, but there was certainly a penguin out of the gate early. Let’s all hope that Mason, Spencer, Joey, and Robin (the Germanator) have a great race.
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The Super Stud Jim Simons (Saturday 9:34pm) by Laura Brennan When Jim’s crewmember referred to him as a "super stud" I asked him if I could actually refer to him as that. The 65 year old 14 year 24 Hours of Moab veteran said "You can call me anything you want, trust me, I’ve been called worse", with a beaming smile on his face. Simons is also a survivor of lymphoma of which he finished treatment for in 2006 and has been in remission ever since. Jim volunteered openly that he use to live a rather wild life but those days are decades gone and he’s never felt better. I asked him what his plan was for the race and he said in a very sincere voice "I’m just out here proving I’m still alive." Simons has been taking it easy with a 2:06 lap and a 2:31 lap, not bad for a man who could be the father of the "grandfathers" of endurance mountain bike racing.
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Navy Seals run on Infinit (Sunday 11:30am) by Laura Brennan When talking about Infinit Nutrition, Navy Seal Ted D. Bair said ironically, "The product really speaks for its self." On the team’s first lap they endured a near defeating time sand bag due to a broken handlebar and tacoed wheel, but instead of being out of the race team caption Michael Everett ran back to the log tent and got things moving again. The team traveled here all the way from San Diego with hopes of winning the series but found themselves dead last after the first lap mishap. It was at about 5a.m., the sunrise lap, when Bair jumped on the bike and brought the team into the first place series position where they had intended into be. From the unfortunate beginning of the race they moved from 84th place, at the very back of the pack, to 35th position. "When looking for the right nutrition plan you average rider looks to the fastest and the most serious to find out what’s working. In our industy people learn by word of mouth, and it’s the good information that trickles down." Michael Folan said, when I asked him about his product. With the combination of team caption Everett and Michael Folan, President of Infinit Nutrition a carefully crafted potion was fashioned for success.
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Suzuki Kid’s Race Rocks! (Sunday 11:36am) by Laura Brennan This year’s 24 Hours of Moab has been one big success for sponsor Suzuki. Not only did they provide great live music, The Prince Bride on the big screen, a s’more roast, and tons of fun games for to keep the kids entertained while their parents were out on the bike, they also hosted quite possibly the highlight of the 24 hour tailgating experience-the 24 Minutes of Moab Kids Race. "Somewhere between 45 and 50 kids competed, we lost a sheet though so we could not be sure past 45; race organizer went ahead and estimated," Melissa Anderson of Makai Incorporated and Program Manager for Suzuki said. Lynette Cayaban of Suzuki said, "The kids race was everyone’s favorite," and Walker Tobin of Makai Incorporated and Associate Program Manager for Suzuki said, "Everything has gone great, the weather always adds a fun element. The kid’s race went over really well because we got everyone in the same area. We will diffidently think about sponsorship for the 2009 24 Hour Series." Laird was as gleeful as the children, "Oh, gosh, it gets better every year. The parents are amazing, the kids are amazing, and you can tell they are all very well adjusted, well mannered, and very happy." All of the moms and dads who raced yesterday and today will be pleased to have a little bit of energy expelled from their future 24 hour racers, and will be proud of the great stories they also have to tell.
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Handcrafted Ellsworth Bike Demos (Sunday 1:30pm) by Elizabeth Boese and Laura Brennan Ellsworth arrived with a stock pile of top-of-the-line bikes for riders to demo during Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab. Paul Verdile commented on Ellsworth's marketing plan, "Our mantra is that those who ride know right away it's a good bike." Through the 24 hours of the race, Ellsworth had over 30 people demo their bikes - most of them taking it for a spin on the actual course during their leg. Elizabeth also got to experience their bikes on half the course - "it rolls over the toughest rock gardens with the ease of jumping waves on waterskis." Moab has great terrain for the type of clients Ellsworth seeks. Ellsworth bikes are a perfect fit for the Granny Gear series type of racing. Verdile explains, "the two types of Ellsworth customers: the well-educuated cyclist with a passion for riding who knows the value of good technology, and the serious racer, cross-country or endurance racer, who is willing to spend a bit more to get that extra advantage." "Ellsworth bikes is the #1 or #2 frame of non-sponsored riders," Verdile says. "This is a true testament of our pursuit for perfection."
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Nite Rider with a Brite Future (Sunday 2:10pm) by Laura Brennan Nite Rider 14 year old team member Keegan Swenson of Park City Utah showed the old guys what was up with a first lap of 1:08 and a second lap of 1:14. Both of Keegan’s parents were also racing at this year’s Suzuki 24 Hours of Moab. His mother Tonya was on Nite Rider but jumped to another team so Keegan could ride, and his father Jordan was also on Nite Rider and at the age of 51 pulled a lap time of 1:11. Jack Gresmer, Nite Rider president was on the other Night Rider team and said, "I was riding up a hill and the kid passed me like I was standing still!" His team caption, Jim Rasmussen said, "He was doing some ski racing and the winter and then we found out about two years ago that he was a little better at mountain biking. Now at 14 he is racing expert age 18 and younger, and is basically winning everything." Put best buy Tommy Bryant Nite Rider, Event Coordinator, "We just call him wonder kid-there you have the future of the sport." The Hoff would be proud.
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