Team Members:

Ben Macht

Thaddeus Josephson

Rich Chandler

Matt Fritz

Dale Summerford

Team Grizzly Outfitters takes 1st Place at The 24 Hours Round-the-Clock

Held May 23& 24 in Spokane, Washington

Congratulations to Ben Macht, Matt Fritz, Thaddeus Josephson and Rich Chandler

It had the potential to be another blow up...I had been working in Colorado the last two weeks, Rich was faithfully tending to his fatherly duties and Benny and Fritzy had been sighted in various locations across the desert southwest with no verification of their actual whereabouts. The plan was to all miraculously appear in Spokane, Washington for the 10th annual 24 Hours Round-the-Clock endurance mountain bike event, dust off the winter dust (or desert dust for some) and show those Washington folk how we do things back in Montana.

After the previous years last minute collapse and the ensuing 325 mile punishment shared between Fritzy and I, we weren't looking to repeat the duo-sufferfest. At the same time the chance for interfering obligations, illness and simple logistical battles were all poised to dash our best laid plans... But low and behold, it all came together and the Grizzly Outfitters/Continental Construction team was ready to test their mettle against one of the most competitive fields our team
has raced against to date! Courtney, our saviour, was there to support our efforts and represent the team as the determined cook and race volunteer, without which we would not have been able to race.
Thanks Courtney!!

Benny proudly displayed his love for running by getting us off to a great lemond start that gave Fritzy and I a chance to start whittling away at the competition. Rich's following lap kindly demonstrated how unsuspecting mechanicals, that in a typical race would cost you a title, only inspire and motivate you to dig a little deeper to make up for lost time, after all, we've got 24 hours! As darkness approached, the team found our groove and we continued to lay down consistent laps
into the night. By the dawns early light, our consistency paid off and we found ourselves within a few minutes of the lead. Around seven that morning we overtook the first place Hammer Nutrition team and finished the lap with three teams close on our heels. It was go time... as the challenging teams mixed up their rotations to put out their strongest riders, we found the extra motivation to forget how much it hurt and remember why we do this...umm...yeah...for fun!!

With a likely possibility of coming in before 11:59:59 the next morning, we all held our breaths to see if Rich would be sending Ben out for one more lap. When the clock turned...and Ben sighed in relief, we anxiously watched the incoming trail to see who would emerge the leader. Rich plowed through the dust excitedly shaking his fist in the air as he rolled through the finish line, bringing home the Grizzly Outfitters/Continental construction team's first win of the season!!

We were all very excited to have the chance to represent the team and despite the odds, come home with an overall title for our first race of the season. Thanks to all our sponsors, and Courtney (our glue,) without which we would not be the team that we are today! Here's to a great summer ahead!

Cheers,
Thaddeus