Squirrel's Nuts or Squirrels' Nuts? You Decide.

If you've ever riden at Seven Oaks just west of Boone, you'll know the answer. Both.
At the recent 24 hour race, held Sept. 1-2, Squirrel A) signed up for the solo (he IS nuts) and B) held off the dozen or so competitors to win with 126 miles (he's GOT nuts!) If you have never had the priviledge of riding the 7 miles of tight, hilly singletrack, you may not grasp the depth of either of those lables (the IS and HAS nuts thing). Believe me - that is one tough course. I like distance, mind you, but the thought of doing even 2 laps in a row sends shivers up my spine. It is a HARD, demanding course - almost every foot of it. Even the best cyclists that the midwest has to throw at the thing end up on the ground - ask Cam, ask Ben, ask Andy, Ask Jason. It IS tough.

Starting with the explosion of a tube (watch the start here)the race began with a LeMas style run to the bikes and then into the woods - at high noon on Saturday. Squirrel wound his way through the woods on the first lap and found himself in the lead by a few minutes as he checked in before lap 2. He never looked back. Staying on a 50-55 min. lap pace (the relay team leaders were turning 40-45min laps in daylight) throughout the afternoon, he stayed in the lead - but by dark, had yet to put a full lap into his chaser.

Through the night- lap times lengthened by about 10 minutes, but consisency won. He slowly put some laps on his chasers, giving him the opportunity to take a break in the wee hours of the morning. Back up at 5:46am and on the trail - a few more laps is all he would need to secure his victory. By 9am, it was mathematically impossible for 2nd place to finish enough laps to over-take Squirrel. The two called it quits, and took a nap!

126 miles - a HARD earned dirty century - a cool grand - and a deserved afternoon nap - Squirrel proves that, while he HAS the nuts to take on such a daunting challenge of 24 hours at Seven Oaks - he is also nuts - just crazy enough to sign up for the thing!

Way to go Squirrel!