2.21.2007

12 hours of razorback write-up

sorry for the delay on the write-up, work is pretty hectic right now and i am trying to figure out cross bikes for the 2007 season too.

headed out of town to the race with fellow ohio rider brett davis. slight snafu the night before left our support guy out, so this would be the first race in a long time that i went to a race un-supported.

left late on thursday and brett was my hero and drove straight through the night to get to the race course by friday AM.

course is a short one, around 10 miles long with no climbs, but has short little steep climbs that go straight up. and rocks all over. nothing big, but pointy sharp type that say "flat" all over them. and the flats, sometimes they were false, but they were generally swoopy with lots o' turns in them that made you sharpen your skills of dodging trees with your head.

got two laps in, got back and brett lost the keys to his call with all our stuff inside. long story short: brett rode around looking for the keys for over 2 hours and when he got back, he realized he had them with him the entire time. guess sleep deprivation had something to do with it.

friday night we camped out (for me, this was the first time i had camped out in about 7 years) and florida frooze over and got down to 22 degrees. i was quite warm in my nice sleeping bag, but my face got cold several times and i woke up.

prepped all my stuff as best i could for the next 12 hours and got ready to race in the AM. coming down to florida low-key like to get in some early season race hours with no pressure was not working out so swell - harlan, rob l, harvey and a some others all showed up to make this race pretty stacked. (side note - eddie o was there, but was racing the 6 hour)

race took off on what must of been 1/4 to 1/2 mile run. i was running good, got to my bike and made a few critical passes while still in pit row - i was either the first 12 hour solo male to get in the woods, or i was not far back.

things were going good, the trail was super tight so it was critical to get ahead early to avoid traffic. and then it happens.

flat #1 - ten minutes in.

i change the flat only to get behind slower traffic. i loose time to both the flat and getting caught behind riders, but i push on.

3 or 4 laps later, i start catching up to the top 6 - hey, what's wrong with my rear tire?

flat #2

i was near the pits, so i turn around and change it. i have now lost at least 15 minutes at this point due to flats and traffic. i get discouraged, but push on.

i push on, by slowly my back realizes i am probably pushing too big of a gear up the short climbs as it is killing me. i start shifting to easier gears more often, my back starts to feel better but harlan and rob have now passed me.

they are having a good day.

i ride out the remaing laps, coming in at 7th place. disappointed with results and the two flats, but glad i got through my longest ride for the 2007 season so far.

razorback - see you next year.

sologoat out.

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