With only two weeks to go before I fly to South Africa for the biggest race of my career, a whirlwind of events surrounds me as I check off my list for packing, hoping I don't leave anything out and get ahead on work too. Debra called me, also anxious and realizing we were leaving soon. I told her we were ready. All we need to do is get some more rides in and pack our bike and bags.

This past month has been crazy with taking the win at Estrella MBAA race and then Debra and I rode as a duo in the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo and took 3rd!

Aaron ROCKS!  He handed me bottles every lap at Estrella and gave me lap times. — Aaron ROCKS! He handed me bottles every lap at Estrella and gave me lap times.

For the Estrella race I had just come off a lot of training so it was as if my body had taken itself to a new level. I felt strong but I could really tell the difference towards the end of the race when I was a few minutes behind my main competitor Kata, (who has always finished ahead of me) and found myself catching her. It was with one lap to go I finally caught her on the climb. I knew I had to catch her before we crested the hill as she was faster going through the technical sections. When I finally approached her, I slowed my breath, trying to be sneaky. She turned her head and smiled, “Melissa! I knew you would catch me on this lap! Good for you… all that riding up Four Peaks is paying off!” She let me by and I rode as fast as I could as I did not want her to grab my wheel and tag along. I was able to stay ahead of her and finish with the victory! I was so happy my husband Aaron came to watch as he gave me bottle feeds every lap and told me how far back I was. I couldn't have done it without his help.

Debra and I fit 2 mtn bikes and a ton of camping gear and food all into her car!

I made some delicious pasties for our dinner at 24 Hours in the Ol Pueblo. Crust is my mom's recipe with butter, and inside is ground turkey, onions, carrots, sweet potato and potatoes! — I made some delicious pasties for our dinner at 24 Hours in the Ol Pueblo. Crust is my mom's recipe with butter, and inside is ground turkey, onions, carrots, sweet potato and potatoes!

Finally the 24 Hours in the Ol Pueblo approached - the weekend of Valentines. It is one of the largest 24 hour mountain bike races in the country and looks like a city in the middle of the desert. Deb and I raced as a duo so we could get in some solid training for Cape Epic but at the same time we wanted to be competitive. The duo category can be very non-competitive however this time it had some stiff competition including 2 very fast Stans NoTubes pro riders who threw down! Normally the duo teams will ride a lap or two at a time and switch off. That way they can pull off faster lap splits. However, since we needed the bigger hours and we wanted to have some sleep during the night, we created shifts by guessing our lap splits (based off of last year's time) and added in some time for fatigue, then planned each of our shifts around that. On average, we did 2-3 laps at a time which is about 2.5- 5 hours of riding per shift. At the end of the event, Debra was close to 115 total miles and I was near 130 miles!

The race started off layman style which means you run to your bike. For this race we had to run nearly half a mile in our cycling shoes which totally kicked my butt! I didn't have a great start since I was kind of slow on the run, but I still had a decent lap time and went through for one more lap before Deb took over. She did 2 laps and then I followed with one lap so I could get a little more recovery before starting the night shift of 3 laps.

Debra Doss rips it up after she goes over the rock drop.  She is wearing our NEW Bitty Bitty South Africa kit that she designed!! AND of course... always smiling when she rides!! — Debra Doss rips it up after she goes over the rock drop. She is wearing our NEW Bitty Bitty South Africa kit that she designed!! AND of course... always smiling when she rides!!

Early on, Deb had some issues with her bottom bracket but luckily, Joey from Shade Tree Bikes was able to fix her bike so she could get back out on schedule. Meanwhile, my husband Aaron was coming up from Phoenix (as he had worked during the day) and I was trying to coordinate with him where he could find us, but it just so happened we kept missing each other. When he finally got in to the venue, I was heading out on my night laps. So, when I came through on the first night lap, I stopped for a second at our friends (the Hanson’s) camping area to say hi to him and of course my dog Scotch recognized me immediately! She was very happy!

Jennifer Hanson pretty much ROCKS!  Last year she was on my quad team - doing her first mtn bike race ever and this year she rode solo!! Cowgirls are hardcore! — Jennifer Hanson pretty much ROCKS! Last year she was on my quad team - doing her first mtn bike race ever and this year she rode solo!! Cowgirls are hardcore!

The night laps were challenging as I was tired - especially on lap 3. It was probably the best thing for us though as it pushed us into a very fatigued state that we had to work through. We also figured out what food worked with our bodies to stay fueled. When my third lap was over, it was after 2am and I literally wanted to just fall into my sleeping bag as I just rode for almost 5 hours in the dark. Deb and I had been leaving notes and text messages for each other and she had written that she had taken this amazing shower (as the race had showers in this trailer nearby) so I took that shower and it totally revived me. I was able to sleep for a couple of hours too.

Going down the rock drop on the first lap with my cool Swiftwick socks, new Giro shoes and Synthe helmet, Osprey Pack, AND awesome Kenda Tires!

Deb had the hardest shift as she rode from about 2 a.m. To 7 a.m. She almost fell asleep on one of her laps! By the time it was my turn to go, we were in third place and far enough behind 2nd that we weren't going to catch them and far ahead of 4th that they would not catch us either so I went out and did a lap and was deciding if I wanted to do one more for good measure.

Morning in the desert! -Photo by Aaron Ross

The morning lap was awesome because the sun was waking up, people were happy, you could see where you were going, and you just felt great. But I did run across two major accidents: one girl I believe had broken her leg (I stopped but a fireman had just gotten there to help her so I continued on). Then towards the end of that lap, two riders and I came across a guy who looked unconscious and his neck was bent in a way I was concerned he could have a neck injury . Because the other two riders stopped to assess the situation, I told them I would go ahead to find help. This race does a great job of having HAM radio controllers and medical personnel all over the course so if someone is hurt, you just need to keep riding and you’ll come across someone who can help. We were so close to the finish that I hurried as fast as I could (my adrenalin had kicked in!) and then immediately they sent some medical personnel for this guy.

For the Ol Pueblo, the rule is you have to stop before the line and wait until noon, then cross the line to finish. If you cross the line before noon and don’t do another lap, you will get a DNF. So, I was feeling good and did another lap, except instead of crossing the finish, I went back to camp, packed up and then we finished at noon. It was a great weekend and very challenging but still one of my favorite races because of the social environment and super awesome single track.

Third place! My dog Scotch had to join us on the podium!

Now, Deb and I are only 2 weeks until we fly to South Africa!! I'm anxious and excited and can hardly believe it's almost here! I think we will do awesome but no matter what happens, I think the whole journey of getting to this point has been incredible and every single moment – priceless.

Just some more shenanigans in the desert!