Catchy title. The name is a real attention grabber - it’s one of the reasons I picked up a t-shirt, a bike jersey and a pair of socks with the logo. I want to tell people about the event and they will be curious to know about the “booty.”

About the event (from the Website): “The fifth annual 24 HOURS OF BOOTY … is the one and only 24-hour road cycling charity event in the country! This unique and fun event is fully supported on a traffic-free, gently rolling loop — the “BOOTY LOOP” — situated in the beautiful Myers Park neighborhood just outside Charlotte ’s Center City. There are many rumors as to the origin of the name, which has been traced as far back as 1992. Once a year the Booty Loop is closed to traffic to host cyclists from around the country as they ride in honor and support of the cancer community.”

The 24 hours of booty is a race, but not in the traditional sense. There are no losers. The winners are all of those impacted by cancer - the Lance Armstrong Foundation will use the more than $250,000 raised for cancer education, awareness and clinical research.

The event was founded by attorney and cyclist Spencer Lueders in 2002. After riding the Blue Ridge Parkway with his father in 2001 to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Spencer decided to do something different - and the “24 hours of booty” was it. Soloing the first year, Spencer rode more than 300 miles. The event was opened to the public in 2003 and in 2006 there were more than 900 riders include me.

Photo: Me briefly speaking before the event with Spencer in the background

Why do the event? I have personally been touched by cancer multiple times. My Uncle Walter died of stomach cancer. My step-sister, Michele, had cervical cancer which has recently recurred. I was also diagnosed and treated for a malignant schwannoma (schwann cell is a nerve sheath cell) in 1995.

One of the participants of the Blue Devil Triathlon last year had contacted me about her friend, Anne Lynn, another Blue Devil finisher who had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer. So I did the event as a member of Anne’s team - “Anne’s Pool Crew” - which made the event that much more special to me.

Photo: Anne’s Pool Crew (me on far right)

The 2.97-mile loop was in a beautiful tree-lined section of Charlotte surrounding the Queens University of Charlotte. The course was safely coned off from traffic and the cars seemed very respectful of the participants as we raced, rode, or just plodded around and around to count off the miles. One of the very cool things about the event was the mix of participants - from seemingly hard-core, fast cyclists on fast road bikes to recreational riders on hybrids to small kids on BMX bikes. Everyone shared a common thread. Everyone was there for potentially differently reasons but we all came to accomplish the same task (albeit at different distances).

Photo: Start/finish line

I spoke with several riders who rode through the night. I rode until about 11 PM the first night - logging 21 laps or approximately 63 miles. Riding at night was very serene. Riders quietly stroked their pedals along the dark roads. Looking ahead, all I could see were the flashing red lights of the riders ahead of me - until I caught up to a rider decked out in small white lights like a Christmas tree.

There were all types of characters in the event (literally) including Sir Purr, the mascot of the Carolina Panthers football team. I am impressed that he rode a few loops - temperatures were in the mid to high 90’s when we began at 7 PM on Friday night. I saw a girl with pig tails like Pippy Longstocking and a man who ride Friday night in a business suit - he was soaked in sweat.

Photo: Sir Purr - Carolina Panthers mascot - riding in the “24 hours of booty”

I saw quite a few people riding fixed gears (only have a single gear - similar to a Spinning bike at a gym) as well as two of these double bikes.

Photo: Funny bike

My final tally was a humble 41 loops or approximately 123 miles (I spoke with a few folks who had bike through most of the night, logging more than 250 miles on late Saturday afternoon with the opportunity to do even more). I initially had planned to attempt to ride the full twenty-fours, but I had already signed up for another Iron-distance race, Vineman, in two weeks, so decided to be conservative.

All in all, an excellent event and one that I am very to have been a part of. I look forward to riding again next year.

For more information about the event, please check out the booty Website and a recent article in the Charlotte Weekly.

Please click here to visit my fundraising page.

Cheers,

David

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David B. Glover
Experiential Writer, Elite Athlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

©2006 David B. Glover