Delayed coverage of the 24 Hours

This is the venue for each and every one of the seven runnings of the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. So many great memories for so many people have begun with the simple act of passing beneath the great big metal arch on Willow Springs Road north/northwest of Oracle. You can even see it from the easternmost reaches of the race course. Once the area gets developed, I predict that it will be removed to become a structural component of a manned security gate (aka vanity gate) separating the area's very important new residents from the great unwashed (bicyclists, hunters, equestrians, and other assorted desert rats). And as long as I'm on the subject of Heteromyids; if you, as I did, felt for all those pocket mice (Chaetodipus spp.) strewn about the race course, blinded by HIDs, struck down in their prime by whirling knobbies, imagine what's going to happen when the developer's bulldozers start running. "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell" sayeth Edward Abbey. Down with pink fungus! Hell, down with cancer cells, too. Photo by ~Gila~.


Well lookie here, its none other than BeanSS wrapping up her first lap after just over 2 hours in (and out of) the saddle on Saturday afternoon. Flying from her Camelbak is the pink bandana given to Kona the Wondermutt by her veterinary oncologist following her last session of K9 chemotherapy. Photo by ~Gila~.


And now, its your host ~Gila~ wrapping up his and GnomeBrew's last lap. One beer down, eyes scanning intently for the next. Note the two unclipped guys lounging about on their top tubes and running out the clock. Also note the woman in the blue kit back around the bend. She might just still be racing. Photo by Cindy.


And lastly, this here is BeanSS and ~Gila~ just outside the finish chute. I did not know at this moment that BeanSS's Sonora Pack contained that second bottle of beer for which I'd been looking. I'd otherwise have been rifling away madly. Photo by Cindy.