EPIC Rides Race Report: 24 Hours of Kona in the Old Pueblo

INFINIT Nutrition was pumped to team up with Epic Rides Race series, the first of which was the 24 hours of Kona Old Pueblo outside of Tucson Arizona. EPIC was celebrating its 11th year of mountain biking in the Sonoran Desert. The Kona Bikes 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo is one of the largest 24 Hour events in the world with over 3,000 racers in attendance.

Team INFINIT was out in full force supporting the INFINIT/Bach Builders team. Bach Builders is a top Mountain Bike group of 20+ racers featuring Josh “Toast” Tostado, the current US 24 Hour National Champion. Dax Massey, another top Bach performer won the 24-hour men’s duo title along with Dean Miller.

The race started with an equipment malfunction (exploded chain) that lost the team 20 minutes, but they clawed their way to the top of the leader board by evening. They dominated the 4-man single speed category and in fact lost the overall 4-man class by only 30 minutes! It would have been something to see if they had not dropped those 20 min early in the race. I have never heard of a single speed team beating the open class in a race of this stature.

1st Bach Builders/INFINIT 22 laps
2nd 3 Dicks and a Johnson 21 laps
3rd Sinners, Saints and Single Speeds 20 laps

This is a phenomenal achievement from a group of single speed racers. Thanks to Dax and the boys for making me feel welcome. We had an awesome time hanging out with the team. We went through 100's gallons of product for all the racers at Kona. Lots of BBQ in the Expo. Great time catching up with friends at Ergon. The tribute to Stan of Stan’s No Tubes ™ was raucous. That group can drink some brewskis!

Oh yea, the trip home was a nightmare. A foot and a half of snow made me wish I stayed in the sun of Tucson. All flights cancelled to Cincinnati. Finally jumped a plane into Cleveland and then attempted to get a flight to Columbus or Dayton to no avail. Stuck in Cleveberg, uuugh. Drove an economy car to Cincinnati starting at 4 pm. 3 hours stopped on the Highway North of Columbus in a 29-mile parking lot. Snowball fight with a carload of College kids (I won). No food while I was stuck so I ate a full bag of pistachios. Still starving. 11 hours later I roll into my humble abode at 2 AM dead tired, but happy to be back.

Yes…that is a jack-knifed Budweiser Truck in the middle of I-71. At least the Brewski’s are staying frosty! All good, EPIC time and the season is almost on us. See you all at the races!

Michael

Chief Powder Maker