Epic Rides’ events always offers just that… “Epic Rides”! This year’s 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo was no exception. The cold, the wind and the rain made for very challenging conditions for all participants and support crews. A true character building event and this group of riders showed that they have it in spades.
AZ Devo riders Kyle Willett, Tyler S. & Tyler Coplea teamed up with Colton Taylor and former four cross World Champion & multi-time USA National Gravity Champion, Melissa Buhl in the 5-person co-ed division.
Coplea, the Junior 24 Hour National Champion, did the 1st lap for the team and set the tone by giving the team a 7 minute lead over the 2nd place team and finishing the lap in 6th place overall. Taylor, Buhl and Willett took on the next 3 laps and helped build up the lead to 24 minutes over 2nd.
In between laps, riders kept glycogen levels topped off with Hammer Nutrition’s Recoverite. Coach Darrin Permenter kept the riders loose and 
focused by helping them stretch and giving them pointers. The team also had an awesome support crew of friends and family to keep them fed, warm and on time throughout the race. The support crew was kept going all night with some awesome espresso drinks made onsite for us by Single Speed Coffee Roasters.
The weather conditions then went from bad to worse when a cold & windy day turned into a cold-windy and WET day. In a 24 hour race, you can count on at least a few things going wrong. How teams deal with them can make all the difference in the race. The team of
“Chole and the Colavito’s” were sitting in 3rd place and were on the move into 2nd and closing the gap on the AZ Devo team. With pro riders on like Chole Forsman and Melanie Meyers on their team, you knew that they were going to be very tough competition. By midnight, they had closed the gap to 11 minutes and were really putting the pressure on.
The team was running Baja Designs Strykr lights and they really throw a TON of light on the trails. This helped the team post up some very fast night laps. These light are also waterproof up to 33 feet and this enabled the riders to ride though the storm without a light incident. After midnight, the team consistently put in some great laps and built the lead up to 49 minutes by the time the sun came up.
Willett took a short break in the wee hours of the morning and picked up an extra lap allowing Ms. Buhl a little longer rest. This gave Melissa the sunrise lap and renewed energy. She also stepped up and took the final lap to seal the win for the team with 1 lap over 2nd place.
Great times!
Thanks to Todd Sadow, the Epic Rides Crew & all the volunteers that helped put on this great event. Up next for AZ Devo… the MBAA White Tanks event and Jr Clinic. Then, on to the 1st US Cup event in San Dimas, CA.
