12 Hours of Oleta

So, after a seventeen hour drive in the car, five loads of laundry and getting the kids out of doggie jail things are starting to return to normal.

The body feels pretty good, expect the arse. Must have went a little light on the undercarriage lube, because we've got some mild to heavy chafing....still hoping to get back in the saddle tomorrow thou.

So a few other things outside the highlights I gave the other day. The course was great, a few changes from last year....I think all for the better, added some great new single track...can't go wrong with that.

A shot Wifey took on the Friday pre ride:
The race started with a 400-500 meter run before we jumped into the single track, and with a little luck I was sitting in about 10-12th....right behind Prickish Maximus. The first hundred yards of the trail had a few tricky/tight climbs and turns. It took Mr PM about 1.5 seconds of being "slowed" to start his yelling "get the F out on the way, if you can't ride a bike get off the F'ing trail." Then came my personal favorite, "pro rider back, get the F out of my way!"

Class, straight up class.

But as in all endurance races things work themselves out and I was riding for the most part alone, passing and/or being passed by a Team rider here and there. I pretty much just fell into a grove and was rolling with it....it must have been some grove since seeing the first of the two topless sunbathers did little to break my mindset. The second did draw a little more attention, but she was also sporting fresh off the showroom floor bolt-ons.

A few bunny sightings later is when Mr T-Rex (the iguana) and I had our meeting. Guessing someone let there pet free once it got to big, cuz I'm pretty sure those things don't normally sport around southern FL. I'm just glad he was the smarter/more awake one and got the hell out of dodge.

I could hear Wifey now back in the pits...what happened to you? I hit/was attacked by an iguana..... A what?!....You heard me, a freakin iguana. If that conversation happened I'm pretty sure she would have called it a day for me...luckily it did not happen that way.

Once the night laps came around things got REALLY quiet, and other then a lot of beady little yellow eyes not much was happening. That is until my little shoe problem (I'll get a picture of that later today.) But even with that it was a good day.....4th of 30 plus solo men, just under 110 miles and a little over 11 hours of ride time.

A huge thanks to the Berger's for once again putting on a great race for all. This is our forth trip to FL for the 12's they put on and everyone is top shelf....we'll be back next year, if not sooner.

Oleta minor

Wifey is motoring us thru VA right now, so that means I lived...I think.

The body feels pretty good (considering) just the normal, sore everywhere. Much better then lastnight, I'll go into the full write up tomorrow.

The highlights:

ride time....11:09
11 laps
just over 108 miles

But the more important highlights....as always you see a little wildlife on endurance races. So I saw the normal, two rabbits, a snake and the raccoon that keep trying to raid or pit area. But remember this is Miami.....therefore you have to throw in a topless chic or two sunbathing and believe it or not (shocking for me to say) that was not the big one.....really.

About nine hours in I came around a blind corner and was face to face with a three foot Iguana....I say again, a three foot freakin Iguana. Not sure whom was more scared me or the freakin T-Rex. Luckily he had the larger brain of the two of us and got the Hell out of dodge.

So the outcome. I held third place all day, 3-4 minutes up on forth place. But on the last lap I thought I'd make things a little harder on myself, so I ripped the whole freakin sole off my right shoe. Needless to say this made jumping over roots and rocks less then easy.....luckily there was only one every ten feet. So in the end I could not hold dude off, forth place it was.

Tee minus 13 hours...

till the start of the 12 Hours of Oleta...so lets go thru our pre race check list.


Bike dialed in...check


Back up bike...check


Bottles, pills, powders and bars ready...check


Lights charged and spare part bag ready...check


Inner ear infection coming on strong...check


Yep, even thou I'm about eight years short on the schooling I'll put on my doctors dress on and call this one. I noticed my ear starting to hurt Wed, did not think to much about it. Yesterday during my pre ride of the race course my jaw (same side as the ear) started hurting too....but still did not really think to much about it.


But this morning I put two and two together and I got the normal three when I about feel down trying to get out of bed (for once it was not because of alcohol.) After wobbling into a couple of walls I figured out what was going on...crap.


Oh well, we're here and I'm gonna give it what I've got. So it seams I may have a reason to smack the tree I hit even damn lap last year. But if it happens as may times as last year I'm taking a chainsaw to it.....I may not return home with a podium, but I'll have firewood for the rest of the year.

Daytona Beach it is...

Yep, the wifey is rolling us thru the old stomping rounds as my fat fingers peck away. The temp is closing in on 70 and it's crystal clear skies, so what are we gonna do....saltwater baby. My pale buns are hittin the beach.

A few highlights after 1000 miles and six states:

Number of Cracker Barrels counted from Philly to Daytona.....59

Number of sodas that blew up in in my/wifey's laps.....2 (don't mix an Airborne tap with soda)

Number of cars sliding sideways down the highway at 70 plus mph 20 meters in front of us.....1

Number of drivers needing to change their shorts after the above....2 (luckily I was not driving)

Number of times flashed by other drivers/passengers.....0 (hoping for a big uptick in that number)

So with today being the last day/night of 08 it's time to drink up, eat up and lube up. Before you stop doing one, some, all or none of the above for the New year....or at least for a couple days.

Me......I'm just hoping to get out of Daytona without being shot by an ex girlfriend, or husband. Their's not mine.

And we're off...

well, we're on the road that is.

The Creamsickle (the new Shortbus) is loaded and rolling towards the land of orange juice....and better yet my personal favorite, the thong.

I'm still pounding so much Airborne and vitamin C that I'm guessing I'm legally pissing said orange juice....not that I'm gonna test it thou. So with any luck I hope to be at about 80-90% by the starting run (have I ever said I hate running starts?)

So if I'm 80-90% of my normal (slow) self...that should put me mid pack of the women......this trips getting better sounding already.

Ho, Ho....

hack.

Yeah, Merry Christmas. Mom, Pop, Brotha and all (his kid) are here...and I'm hackin up things you may find at a Chinese buffet. But yet I'm doing a 12 race in tee minus seven days....WTF!!!!

No one ever said my mother raised a smart one......thank you FL school board.

Ridiculous...

that's the best way to put it, this running thing is getting out of control.

After putting in three good days on the bike, ending with a 45-50 mile spin on the fixie Saturday (then the weather turning to crap) I again decided to pull out the running shoes to hit the streets....in the rain no less. Stupid.

Don't get me wrong, I've ran more miles in the past then I care to remember. Some were planned, and some let's just say were not....I'll leave it at that.

But for some dumb reason I did not think I needed to stretch out to much.....to run in 35 degree rain. I made it about a mile and a half before my left calf left the building. So after walk/limping back home Dr Wifey went to work with the Stick and some Biofreeze, and brought things back to life.

So after two days of the house smelling like a geriatric ward things are about 80% again, so time to test the old man parts out of the bike....hopefully 911 will not need to be called.