Well, we are done.  FM24 is over.  We were anticipating this event for months, and now that it is over…well, I am a little depressed frankly!  It was the most fun I have had on my bike in a long long time, and I am sad it is over.

Quick summary: Two 6 person teams, 24 hours of riding for each team, 0 sleep, 50 miles riding for each person minimum, malnutrition, beer, lycra, crazy traffic, getting lost (don’t take a right on MLK became our inside joke!) sunset…sunrise…more riding.

We got to the site at 8:30am to set up.  From then we got amped and before we knew it, it was time to go!  For the next 24 hours, we just rode and ate.  Some slept, many tried to sleep.  Shots were taken, points gathered.  Dog poop was found and collected (yes, that was a challenge!) and there was laughing and crying.  Anna was crazy fast, coming in as the 20th fastest woman in the entire race!  Both of our teams did remarkably well.  The standings for both teams are as follows (out of 90 teams and 350 racers!):

Bici Coop Sexy Fun

Laps-24 for 36th place

points- 183 for 21st place

Bici Coop Dapper Lads

Laps-27 for 28th place

Points-94 for 33rd place

Not too shabby, huh?  We are all ridiculously proud.  Many teams dropped out through the night, so it was us and the major competitors out there.  We are each walking a bit taller this week.

Anna had someone snot all over her, I saw someone pull into the finish line buck naked with a $100 bill in his mouth and we all got a little lost in the streets at one point. Friends, there was bike porn everywhere! Some of the most beautiful bikes I have ever seen (and some of the cutest boys!).  The race organizers were nice as pie and other than a Porta Potty incident (only 2 for the event and they overflowed by 4 am), had it all together.  Each of the stops were easy to find and everyone was helpful.  We got to see old friends and make new ones.

During my last lap at 6am, I couldn’t stop smiling.  I started in the grey/blue of an early sunrise. The streets were empty and there was a slight breeze.  I had ridden about 38 miles already and was delirious from no sleep, but was pumping my legs and riding just as hard as I did on the first lap.  The city was just waking up and all was quiet and blue.  The riders I came upon occasionally smiled and we all said “good morning” and “best lap of the day”, each smiling as though we had a great secret from the rest of the world.  And we did.  We had ridden the city and seen it at it’s best and worst.  It was the best, most peaceful riding I have ever experienced.

By the time I got in, the sun was up and the Georgia Falcons tailgaters had set up in full force.  We were kicked out of the parking lot at 6:30 and spend the next 5ish hours on the side of the road, all packed up.  The music was pumping and it was literally madness.  1000’s of tailgaters (first home game and season opener) descended upon the 100’s of sleep deprived cyclists.  The street that held the finish line was teeming with traffic and racers had to navigate people, cars and other cyclists.

We all slept Sunday and Monday and by the time we got to Bici last night, we were telling fantastic tales of cycling greatness!  We may not have won, but we all grew to be better friends and had an epic time.

Thanks to everyone who supported us! It was fun knowing people were cheering us on from all over the country.  See you next year!

Oh, and I rode the whole thing in a skirt! Gots to keep it real…