BURN 24 Hour
It’s almost that time of year again….the one where I try to race a 24 hour within a week of directing one. Talk about testing one’s endurance! Everything is coming together for the BURN 24, so that is reassuring. I’m getting a lot from help from the folks at the BMCC to ensure all the logistics are taken care of and that really just leaves me to follow up with the sponsors around and make sure the prizes will be there on time. Attendance looks to up a bit this year as well. We’ve been hovering around 300 that last few years and I think we’ll push up to 350 if the walk up traffic is consistent with year’s past. That’s good news too. My goal has always been to grow the event and the venue can certainly support another 200 if some more trail is opened….which brings me to this series of pictures:
The good folks with the BMCC were working on some new trail for this year’s BURN 24, but ran into a little snafu:
From the pres of the BMCC:
While feverously extending the race course for the BURN 24 HR Challenge, the BMCC suffered a catastrophic loss of its faithful digger, Ditch Witch #1. The incident occurred while building a bermed turn in a new downhill section adjacent to the lung burning climb up the fire road on Dark Mountain. The machine pitched forward on its nose and began spewing fuel and hydraulic fluid on the engine and exhaust. A fiery scene ensued and could not be contained by the futile efforts of the volunteer trail crew on site that day. Ditch Witch #1 has been in service since 2004. It has carved nearly all of the trails on Dark Mountain and the BMCC constructed sections of the Overmountain Victory Trail. A special thank you goes out to the Goshen VFD for keeping the flames and tragedy contained to the machine and from spreading into surrounding woodlands.
We’ll be raising funds for the BMCC throughout the BURN 24 for a new Ditch Witch and some insurance.