Pabst Drinker Snags 2nd Solo Spot

Well, here we are in our third week of competition for free entries to the Kona/SITS 24 Hour Race giveaway. What? You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, here’s the short version: Kona has teamed up with Sleepless in the Saddle to put on a 24 Hour race series here in the USofA—and we’re giving away five team entries and three solo entries to the race #2 at Snow Mountain Ranch, Granby, CO, on September 10th and 11th.

For FULL RACE INFO & COURSE DESCRIPTION, click the following link: www.sleeplessinthesaddleusa.com

HOW CAN YOU WIN A FREE TEAM OR SOLO ENTRY? Click the following link CONTEST GUIDELINES .

Last week we gave a solo slot to Lynda Wallenfels ( Lynda Wallenfels Takes 1st 24-Hour Slot )

This week we’re giving away the second solo entry to Jim Ishman of Loveland, Colorado. Jim charmed us with his pledge to suffer valiantly. A longtime full-suspension junkie, Ishman has vowed to race solo on a fully rigid bike—a singlespeed no less.

And as Ishman notes, “I have never ridden a singlespeed before—nor will I prior to the start of the race. That’s right, fully rigid and SS for the first time in a 24 hours solo event! Even worse, I’ll be breaking the cardinal rule of not changing anything on your bike before the race. In addition to rigid and single, I’ll have never ridden the bike prior to leaving for the event. I’ll pick up the bike from the DEAN’s factory on September 9th, leaving just enough time to leave for the event. Now, that should be plenty of pain. But wait there is more- I’ll ride to the event pulling all my necessary gear over Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous paved road in the United States! From the DEAN factory door to the start line, on a brand new bike with everything necessary to race for 24 hours in tow, this route will be over 8 thousand feet of elevation gain.”

As if Ishman wasn’t already stacking the odds against himself, he also promised to complete the race without any support—no helpful hands to rub him down or pass him a bag of gummi bears when he slogs through the transition area. No words of encouragement. No quick rub downs. Solo. Alone. In a shitload of pain on a single, merciless gear.

Peanut butter and Pabst Blue Ribbon. A hardened competitor, Ishman makes a point of balancing his carbs and protein.

Well, that pretty much sold us, but if we were harboring any further reservations, our resistance completely crumbled when Ishman hit us with the following line. “Do I have you yet? Well I can throw in a Pabst Blue Ribbon per lap as well. The PBR a lap will also serve as a personal lap counter. When you spend 24 hours riding in circles, you tend to loose track of what lap you’re on. For this race I’ll leave a crushed PBR can beside my cooler after every lap, so when I’m trying to figure out how many laps I’ve done all I’ll have to do is count the carnage. During the event, everyone will know that I was one of the lucky few that won an entry by the sign on the back of my seat that states, “Brought to you by BIKE MAG, fueled by PBR!”

You had us at PBR, Jim. You had us at PBR.

To his credit, Ishman is an accomplished solo 24-Hour racer—having competed in a long list of 24 Hour events over the past four years and placing as high as 5th (on two occasions) in the World Solo Championships.

There are still a few days to go before this contest ends, so if you want to race and don’t feel like coughing up a red cent to do so, check out the guidelines (HERE)

To be eligible for this contest, all applications must be sent to random_juggernaut@yahoo.com by August 21st, 2005.