12 Hours of Oleta

After Wifey and I shoveled 6-8 inches of snow last Wednesday we made our annual trip down to North Miami for the 12 Hours of Oleta.

Going in I knew Oleta was not gonna be an "A" race for me giving it's the middle of the off season up here and I'm no where near any kind of racing shape.....unless we're talking about a donut eating race, then hold onto your pants....cuz there's gonna be a throw down. But Wifey and I use it as an excuse to get the Hell out of the cold/snow and head back to our home state of Florida. Not to mention the people....and no, I'm not talking about

.........sadly, that picture took up an hour of my time. Funny the amount of time it takes to find just the right picture...yeah, that's it.

But back to where I was....we both miss the people down South, call it southern hospitality if you want but I just think people seem happier down there....most people up here outside the cycling world are just gruff at best.

But to the damn point......for those of you that have not done this race before I highly recommend it. It's a great location right on the river less then a mile from the beach, the course is fun/fast and the Berger's of Goneriding know how to run a race/series.

As always the race started with a lemans start to thin out the herd, and as always I ran like a wounded hipo:

But once I got on the bike things were going well, not great I give you but well. The course was in perfect shape, dry but not dusty and really fast. The course was changed up a little from prior years (for the better I think personally) with a couple of the "climbs" taken out and the first part of "Gilligan's Island" added back in.

It took half a lap for riders to get placed right (anyone that's done a lapped endurance race knows what I mean) lap one ran straight into laps two and three with no problems....aside from nearly choking myself with a Kind bar (note to self, don't ram a whole damn bar in your mug at once....it can be done sure, you just won't be able to breathe for a minute...which is always great when you HR is upwords of 165.)

Even thou I was giving up 3-4 min's a lap on the two leaders and I felt great, on lap three I knew I had a couple small problems I needed worked out. First being a newish pair of Sole insoles that were killing the outside edge of my feet and second....lets just call worn out bibs and say things were not sitting/staying in place right. That would explain my face in this last picture atleast...



So after lap four I ran out to the FJ got the thinner insoles for my shoes and started lap five with all things right in the world......for about 10 min's.....then I had a brain fart.

I was on a bridge that I've ridden 100 times (about 16-18 inches wide, 50 yards long with a couple small twists and about 18 inches off the ground) and then it happened. No idea what happened but I put two and two together and got the normal three of what I must have done.

My front wheel slipped off the right side of the bridge just enough to drop me down onto the rotor which bent 90 degrees under the weight of my awesomeness......(yeah, that's it) and I dropped straight down on the bridge itself left elbow and knee first before falling down to the ground to the left and pulling the bike with me....and still clipped in. Needless to say I hit like a ton of bricks and it hurt like Hell (so if any seismic activity happened Saturday in the area around one...that was just me....sorry.

It did not take long to figure out my day was over, the rotor and handlebars were easily fixiable, the body not so much. I knew the knee was not broken, but I could hardly move it. Luckily I was a short walk to a dirt road that led to the pit area, so onto the shoulder the bike went and off I hobbled.

As normal at races I had more then a few people ask if I needed help in any way, including the local Cannondale rep that sat with me asking questions I now know he already knew the answers to just to make sure I knew who/where the Hell I was.

I want to say congrats to Sebastian for a great race thou, the man was killing it. And I look forward to trying not to make an ass out of myself next month at Santos.

Knife...what knife?

The only problem is I'm the one carrying the knife.....and as you can guess we're going to a gunfight.
Guess the good thing is I'm in pink, and that'll make the Wifey happy. But it still does not fix the problem.....and my problem is lack of power. Seems like everytime I need power/strength I've got nothing. Short power climbs, countering attacks or even trying to stick the landing on that double backflip off the ceiling fan. It's like Scotty's down in the engine room preoccupied by something else...
Not sure if it's a nutrition/hydration thing or just a little Summer fatigue thing....because it sure as hell is not from being over trained. Either way I need to start kicking up my speed work...in a way.

Been finding out more and more that I've got two speeds. I can go 95% for 30-45 minutes (which will hopefully work well for Cross) or 75% for 12 hours.....but with XC races being in the two hour range I gots myself a problem. But it's a problem that I'm not even sure I want to work on fixing right now. Cross training groups are starting next week and that's where my buttered up cheeks will be...but in and out of the saddle.

Now just to finish building up the bike itself.

Deadbeat blogger

Warning, warning......deadbeat blogger on the move.

It's been WAAAY to long for any kind up an update (not that anyone is waiting on pins and needles) and for no real reason...so here's the highlights.

I suck...the end.

Races are still happening, even thou I'm not sure why. I've been enjoying the nice easy riding with even better groups of people more then racing itself.....but something still draws me to them like a fat kid to cake.

Even thou I set it as a goal four months ago, I some how pulled a first place at the 12 Hours of the Cranky Monkey back in late June. This race damn near killed me two years ago with heat and my own stupidity, but with a little luck and great friends to help keep my head on straight I had a good day.

I've also somehow found my way back to the starting line of a few XC races again in the past month....including a night XC lastnight. A few mechanical problems and a couple of second places are the highlights....in all not bad with my lack of training for speed. But things are a changing, Cross season starts in a little over a month and I'm for the first time looking forward to it..... but still a couple more XC's to knock out of the way first thou. One being our Team race at Neshaminy.

Got a few non racing things that are gonna be taking up lots of time here soon (more to come on that...and it won't be two months this time) but either way I need to start kicking up the speed work.

D&Q Summer Sizzler

Sunday Wifey and I rolled out early to hit the Summer Sizzler over in Sewell, NJ. The race is put on by Chris Afterburn of Danzeisen and Quigley and has always been a favorite course of mine.

After a short pre ride it was time to prim and prep the Boss for her race

Two for the price of one.

I know I said last post that I was not into the XC racing thing this year, so therefore what did I go do? Yeah, a XC race.



A little over a week ago was the Bike Line Fair Hill Spring XC down in MD, this was the first race in the MASS series here in the PA area. I'd always planned on going to the race (the Wife had it on her schedule) and even thou I love the course I was not planning on doing it. But somehow I found myself on the starting line of my age group.



Having done ZERO speed work since last year, waking up sick and just an all around feeling of not really want to do the race I lined up pretty much in the back of the group. They released the dogs and the pace is fast, real fast. After dancing around a near crash I find myself working my way threw riders...not knowing why or know. Ninety minutes and 23 miles later it was all over and strangely I felt good. I never really pushed myself really hard, just rode my own race and ended up 6th of the 22-23 riders. So for better or worse I'm rethinking things again.



Fast forward a week, Wifey and I found ourselves down in VA for the Leesburg Baker's Dozen. After meeting up with friends, pit set up it was time for an easy pre ride lap. The course was perfect, fun fast and fun. After a little more BSing with the pep's headed out for a couple beers and grub before hitting the hotel....my camping days are over.



Normal for me the night before I race I slept like crap. Ended up watching a couple Married with Children's before I got Wifey up for the morning prep. After my race morning breakfast, 3-4 pit stops, bottle/food and ball prep once again it's off to the starting line.



The several hundred riders at the line are off with the sound of the fire truck siren...really:

....and in a dust cloud we were off.

The first few laps went by in a flash, sub 30 minute laps in an endurance race are a little strange....but I felt good and was just rolling along. I was stopping every other lap for a bottle change and throw down a little grub. Things were chugging along just fine till I went out of my 6th lap. The first single track section was a flat and VERY fast section with a few slight turn here and there. Well lets just say I misjudged my speed on one of these slight turns and a tree ran out in front on me.....and by saying it ran out in front on me I mean I tried to do a power slide to miss it and it reached out and pulled me into it.

Pretty much broadsided the tree, lost some skin on the forearm, and slammed my shoulder into said running tree. But the biggie was I whacked the back of my head pretty damn hard. I must have tried to turn my head away from the impacted and most of the blow was taken by the back of my head just below my helmet. Let's say it hurt a little, but after a couple seconds away I went. The head hurt the worst until about five minutes later when I started feeling my jaw. Could not really open my mouth (which the Wife would love) without pain, so the wheels upstairs started thinking I broke my jaw.....nice, liquid diet...this may not be so bad.

An hour and two laps later I pit to see if I can eat. Was not the easiest thing in the world but I got a banana down...pretty much bite off a piece then used my tongue the smash it against the roof of my mouth. Not ideal, but it worked and back out I went. But this is when the other problems started.

Once I went back out my eyes could not really focus that well and for the first time ever the sunlight was not my eyes friend. I could see fine, but I just could not focus in on anything. Kind of felt like I was daydreaming and then would snap back into what I was doing. Needless to saying this was not ideal, one small half crash and a couple near misses I finished the next lap and week out for another knowing it was not the best idea in the world.

About a mile into the trail I tore a sidewall in the near and was on foot. I ran/walked as I debated what to do in the pits. I had a spare wheelset so I knew I could be in/out in a couple minutes. I was in the pits for less then 2-3 minutes when the Wife came running/rolling in....with the same problem in the rear. She'd heard the reports of the tree on rider abuse and turned off the racer switch and turned on the Wife/Mother questioning switch.

Ten minutes later I had beer in hand. Good, bad or indifferent everything happens for a reason. More then likely she saved me from doing something stupid....well, something stupider then normal.

Butter up...

You heard me bitches, Butter up. Where not talking Paula Deen butter here, we're talking chamois butter...take your pick on which one. Personally I dig Beljum Budder, but everyone has own favorite. So

8.9

No, I'm not talking earthquakes here...I'm talking about my pissyness level.

Like most of the men in my family I have mood swings that equal or surpass that of most women.....they, I'm sure I'll pay for that one. But hey, I'm pissy and venting.

Funny thing about that picture I was/am called Homer alot....and Hell, I think I'm looking a little more and more like him these days too.

So a little history, someone from my past used the line "friends do thing for friends" alot. Now "hypothetically speaking" I may have helped this person move a few times, mowed a yard or two, and gone to more an a couple Jai-Alai games with said person. And in return? I may have got threw a couple years of English and Spanish with the grammar skills of a 10 year old and not being able to order at a Taco Bell right now.....but that could be just the Southern school system too.

So my point, friends do things for friends....period. Friends don't use the words "lame, bummed and disappointed" if/when you ask something of them. If that's the case, you may want to take a better look at who your "friends" really are.

So that was yesterday. This morning I saw that one of the races I was REALLY wanting to do this year was filled/closed. This makes the third one this year I've missed....and I'm not talking about races soon, these are May-July timeframe. One was straight up my fault, I knew it would fill up and I just did not pay attention to when registration opened and I missed it. But the other two never even said word one in all the registration info about a max number of races, truth me...after missing the first race I double and triple checked.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not pist at any race promoters here. Being one myself I know all the crap they go thru. My point to this then? One to vent, so vent over....and believe it or not I feel better. And two, if you have a race you want to do this year....go register, NOW!!