TexasTimeTrials

Excerpts from Ultracycling's write up of my last race for the season. This one on tandem with Mark Patten.

"Twelve hours of reflecting upon the beauty of the universe and watching the stars and moon walk across the sky. Twelve hours of getting introduced to the effects of knee pain." - Catharina Berge

Mark Patten and Catharina Berge, who rode a henomenal 456 miles at the Davis 24 in April, came to race tandem.

The races all took place on a 20.01 mile looped course located just west of Cleburne, TX. The challenging course started with a steady climb of about eight miles. Riders turned right and enjoyed a gentle downhill for about two miles. Riders made another 90-degree turn and for about six miles climbed a series of fairly strong rollers that were gradually gaining altitude. In the last two miles the racers flew down to the bottom of the valley and the start-finish

Jurczynski said "The course was hillier than you might expect in Texas, but having only one stop sign and no traffic lights to contend with was a plus. The eight-mile uphill section didn't seem very difficult until the wind

The evening start of the 24-hour race gave riders plenty of time to get psyched up. Catharina Berge, who stoked the tandem, recalls: "When the gun went off, we were a bit more than ready to get started and shot off like a

bullet. Way too fast. We finished the first lap with the fastest time ever recorded (51 minutes). I knew it was too fast, my muscles and heart rate was telling me so."

They faced the typical tandem dilemma: Patten thought she was pushing the pace and she was sure he was setting the pace. After the first mile, they saw no other racers until they started to lap riders!

Despite Patten's problems with indigestion during the night, and Berge's knee pain the next day, they rode a very strong race and finished with 440.22 miles, a course record. Reed Finfrock, who won the Mens 50-59 division of the 2003 JMC, came to Texas to crew for the duo.

Interviewed later Berge said: "I called this my 'worst performance and most valuable experience'. Worst because I was ready to quit after 350 miles. Most valuable experience, because I realized the importance of goals in overcoming adversaries and the importance of the brain in putting up with pain." After the awards ceremony, she was unable to walk and had to be carried back to the car. Furnace Creek, a week later, was out.

Nancy Guth won the women's 24-hour with a course record 300.15 miles. Afterwards she said: "John and I have done five 24-hour events this year, and this Texas one was definitely the most challenging, with relentless

climbing and Texas-style wind that determined to wear one down...but the ambiance was warm and friendly, the support outstanding, with laps well noted, a roving support vehicle, and race crew constantly calculating to see