writing by: Shannon Boffeliphotos by: Jennifer Hanks
On Saturday morning with clear skies and temperatures in the 70s the flag dropped on the Stone Temple 8. The Stone Temple 8 is an eight hour endurance race brought to you by the same folks that promote the always popular Laramie Enduro. Stone Temple is held on an eight mile loop at Curt Gowdy State Park. Each loop includes 99% singletrack and makes for some of the best riding in the west. The terrain is a challenging mix of East and West coast riding. The tight winding singletrack and sketchy corners make you feel like your riding in Vermont while the rock drops, granite slab climbs, and fast open descents remind you you're in the wild west.
A short and quick Le Mans style start got things rolling with Trek rider Charlie Hayes quickly moving to the front. Riding a singlespeed Trek 69er, Hayes would take the honor of leading the first full lap. After that he set a smooth and steady pace quickly putting time on solo men's field. After the first several laps the Trek rider switched to his geared bike but made it clear he wasn't beginning to fade as he continued putting down consistent lap times and finally finished a full lap ahead of second with a total 9 laps under his belt.
In the women's solo event it was Laramie local Sarah Konrad (Wings Time) taking the top spot. The 2006 two-sport Winter Olympian improved on her 5th place at this year's Laramie Enduro, Konrad used her local knowledge and solid fitness to hold off challengers Kara Durland (Pro Cycling) and Michelle Doyle who finished second and third respectively.
In the Men's Duo category. It was Laramie's Team 0.5mph charging to the early lead but a flat tire halfway through the first lap put them well behind their challengers. In the next seven hours they more than made up for the early mishap as they put together the fastest overall time of the day and were one of only three teams to finish with 9 laps completed.
Much of the day's excitement came from the Coed Duo category. The Revolution/Peak Fasteners pair of Shannon Boffeli and Jennifer Hanks put together one of the fastest overall rides of the day combining for 9 laps. Boffeli was the last rider on course stating his final lap just minutes before the eight hour cut off. He used this opportunity to log the fastest single lap time of the race with a scorching 45 minutes and 45 seconds. After the race Boffeli said "I didn't have to go out on that last lap because we were already ahead but I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to ride this course again, it's too much fun!"
Second place in the Duo Coed came down to the last lap with Team Natural Selection crossing the line just minutes in front of Team Stern.
The Stone Temple 8 is an endurance race which is both challenging and fun. Ultra-Endurance racing is as much a mental effort as it is a physical one and having a race course as enjoyable as the one at Curt Gowdy State Park makes eight hours of racing a breeze. After the race virtually all the participants commented on how much they enjoyed the event and the race course.
Brief Race Results:
Solo Men
1,Charlie Hayes (Trek/VW) 9 laps 7:57
2,Joe Bagley 8 laps
3,Calvin Rickard 7 laps
Solo Women
1,Sarah Konrad (Wings Time) 7 laps 7:08
2,Kara Durland (Pro Cycling) 7 laps
3,Michele Doyle 4 laps
Men's Duo
1,Team 0.5mph 9 laps 7:38
2,Team Campbell-Colts 8 laps
3,Team Stone Temple 7 laps
Coed Duo
1,Revolution/Peak Fasteners 9 laps 8:05
2,Team Natural Selection 8 laps 8:07
3,Team Stern 8 laps 8:11