looming

The 24 Hours of Ass. hype machine is in full swing. Paddy and I were both contacted by the media on Monday to be interviewed about the race. Seems some people think the idea of a 24 hour race in winter is newsworthy. Others are apparently less impressed. I'm told that in Tenacious V's household, it is being referred to as a glorified sleepover. We are exactly what we are, and 24 Hours of Ass. is exactly what it is. But exactly what it is will no doubt take some time to sort out. Which is okay because we will have some time on our hands.

A few things are, however, known at this point. A couple of final comments:

Be at the race HQ at 11am to determine teams, receive instructions for certain specially presented portions of the race, admire mustaches, etc. The first lap departs at 12 noon. The course will be unmarked.

Sounds like there will be somewhere around 15-20 participants. Good times.

Bring food and beverage for yourself. If you run out, or are too lazy to plan ahead, there are some fast food options just off the course. If you’d like to bring some sort of snack-like something for everyone to share, that wouldn’t be refused. Hal is promising to bring some veloartisan bread for Sunday morning, and has suggested others contribute to a sort of breakfast potluck. And then a few minutes later he suggested a Sunday morning themed lap that would incorporate the Falafel Place for breakfast. I leave it to you to figure out what to do in light of that apparent conflict of culinary options. Kitchen appliances are available. Will try to clear out the fridge as much as possible, but fridge space will no doubt be rather limited.

There will be a dog-fest at some point. Bring dogs and buns.

If you are planning to catch some sleep at any point, bring whatever you need to facilitate that.

Many more movies have been suggested than can be watched in 24 hours: The Big Lebowski, Fight Club, Apocalypse Now, to name but a few, not to mention Tomek’s collection of cyclocross races.

A number of ideas for themed laps have been suggested as well. I leave it up to others to pull that off. Ian has something in the works. But it's top-secret so I can't say any more at this time. Details will be provided at the start of the race.

There was a discussion on Tuesday night about mandatory laps, say every 6 hours. It's less clear whether there will be mandatory periods of rest. This will all get sorted out during the pre-race consultation.

Wayne from the other FGBC is donating prizes. So expect primes to be available at regular intervals.

Current Environment Canada forecast is calling for a high of -12 on Saturday and a low of -14. Perfect. For Sunday they are predicting a high of +4. The last few laps could be rather interesting. At least the Icebike folks will be happy. Then again, there's always the possibility of warmth-related mishaps.

OTT: The Subways, Oh Yeah