AHOY Matey! We need some Mastheads for our website!

For those of you who have been following my blog for awhile or even my racing blog may remember Eric Goetz from Team Xtreme4 and the RAAM (Race Across America) this past summer. Well, we've been good friends for some time now (basically ever since I went on a bike ride with him in Feb. 2007 and got dropped in a heartbeat) and have been all over the country together, but some of the nicest times with him have been at his annual PIG ROAST every fall and the Puerto Lighthouse Cycling Tour this past January. Whether it be on the bike or on a run, through our love of competing and our passion to push ourselves Eric and I have trained through the rough DC winters doing long trainer rides in Chad & Kirsten's living room or swimming in the DC public swimming pools. Yet the longest we've ever spent together was his single day bike ride, the T200 (Total 200). And it was so much fun, we thought we would do it again, only this time, instead of 12 hours in the saddle, why not double it. Enter ENDURE 24. A 24 hour bike race pitting man against man in a grueling test of endurance. Whether you're a 2-person, 4-person or solo competitor, your fitness level will be tested, your stamina strained and your will power pushed. To be held October 3-4, 2009 in the little town of Poolesville, Maryland, Endure 24 teams up with Autism Speaks to bring you an endurance race that offers cyclists a challenge like no other. Spin, grind or mash your way around a 11 mile loop course for 24 hours. Amass the most miles and win great prizes as well as the satisfaction of besting some of the best and most determined cyclists around.

But first things first...a website to promote the event. And what does the website need? Pictures of the course. Specifically, pictures that can be used for mastheads on the website. If you don't know what a masthead is, it's either

• another name for a banner in publishing.
• or, the logo and common elements displayed at the top of each page of a website.

So, Eric "The Race Director/Web Designer" Goetz phones Kip "The Friend With A Camera" Pierson and before you know it we're in the car headed out to Poolesville Thanksgiving morning to capture the course. Here's what we found:

Oh, and if you're interested in competing in the race or would like to volunteer, please visit the race website.

www.endure24.com

Here's a few pictures of the course without any bikers on it.

Eric and I thought this sign was a little funny...it may have been the cold freezing our brain.
We didn't find it funny when almost an hour later we heard gun shots very near to us. Good thing Eric was wearing the orange jersey at the time. :)

My favorite shot of the day. Of course, the field might not be cut down yet next October.


If you're losing the race, you'll at least have some spectacular views to look at while you lose.


An 11 mile loop in Poolesville. Shouldn't be too hilly, right? RIGHT? Oh, shit!





Examples of how the pictures may be cropped for the website mastheads.


Eric may be making it look easy, but it was freezing cold that morning. He would stay in the car with the heat blasting until I set up the shot and then run out for a couple of pedal strokes until we got the shot, jump back in then do it all over again a few miles up the road. It was surprisingly exhausting.