T2T and World’s Prep
The T2T and the Prep…
What a busy month couple of months. I’ve logged about 150 hours of saddle time since July 1st. I’ve never kept track before, but that sounds like a lot to me. I know I am in the best shape of my life right now, which is a testament to my coach Josh Seldman. Things are falling into place for the 24 Hour World Solo Championships, but I am getting ahead of myself.
Before I get into the race, I have to mention Barry “Da B” Altman. The reason is he was not specifically mentioned in the ORAMM Report. I apologize for this oversite and hope this makes up for it. Now back to your regularly scheduled report.
On the 6th I headed for my old stomping grounds of Tampa, FL. I skipped out of work a bit early to beat the traffic. Unfortunately I ran into the dreaded thunder storms that have been plaguing the state all summer. It came down so hard I could barely see out the windshield. Even worse, my poor bikes were in the back of my truck getting every bit of lube rinsed off of them. I got in pretty late and headed straight for bed. Oh wait, no I didn’t. I was persuaded into heading to the local “club house” for a few pints. After a few of the aforementioned pints and few dollars won on the pool table (I still haven’t lost my touch) I headed for bed.
The next morning I headed to the course of the 3rd annual Trail to Trail, aka T2T, at Carter Road Park in Lakeland, FL. I had done the first two, placing 2nd & 4th respectively. I was here to finally win one. The message board of the local club was full of the usual chatter about who was riding well and who was going to kick who’s butt. It’s all in good fun until race day. Then it gets serious. I got to the course and met up with some of the locals to do a preride. I wasn’t 50 feet into the trail before I was on the ground wondering how I got there. I have been away from the technical trails of Florida too long.
I ended up doing 3 practice laps to get the mountain bike section dialed in. It took all 3 laps too. This is a unique race in that it requires the solo races to transition from mountain bikes to road bikes and back again. We start with a technical 7 mile mtb course then switch to the road bikes for a 30 mile flat loop and then back to the same mtb course. I planned to drive the first 10 miles or so of the road section when I was done in the dirt, but the thunder storms rolled in again. The trails where already very muddy and it was only getting worse.
Back at my brother’s, Dan’s, place I had some dinner which his beautiful wife Penny had expertly prepared (this should get me another meal) and headed for the garage to clean up my bikes. The road bike needed some lube, but the mountain bike needed a whole lot of lovin’. I washed it off and went to town on it with the aid of my nephew Kyle. After and hour and half I was satisfied it would preform it’s duties for the race. When I was done with mine I instructed Kyle on the art of the tube change with his rig. Hopefully he will be changing his own from now on.
Race day. The clouds hadn’t cleared and the sun was not shining as I had hoped. I even drove through some brief pockets of rain on the way out to Lakeland. At least it wasn’t raining at the park. I got there early enough to get my gear sorted out, meet up with my teammate (I’ll explain that in a moment) and my support crew. I had a huge support crew for this one. My aunt Mary and uncle Pete, Dan, Penny and my nephews Jimmy and Kyle.
OK, my teammate you ask? Well this is another unique feature to this race. I am able to register to race solo and on a team. I used this tactic last year, but it didn’t pay off (which was my own fault, not my teammate’s). I recruited Jubie Aulisio who I rode the Cross Florida race with earlier in the year. He is very strong on the road and understands road racing much better than I do. As a team I ride the mtb sections and he rides the road. The benefit is I have someone to work with when I head out on the road. I have someone who is working with me and I can draft off of, which saves my energy for the last mtb section. It turns out this tactic was very popular this year.
Fast forward to the race. This is a rolling neutral start for about 100 yards, then it’s all out! The pace motorcycle peals off and the attacks start. I don’t go crazy trying to get to the front since it’s a quarter mile at least to the single track with a small climb just before it. I make my move at the base of the little hill and get into the woods about 7th. Any further back and I may get stuck behind some riders who are not very good in the technical parts. If I had tried to get any further ahead I would have had a heart attack.
I keep mentioning these “technical”sections. Let me give a brief explanation. What I am refering to is the tight turns and small climbs that make up this trail. There are lots of exposed roots that become slick when wet and rocks that will flatten a tire. There are plenty of sections that are flat, wide and fast, but the since this park was originally an old phosphate mine there are many 5 to 20 ft “hills” which are utilized to make the trail. Add to all this the mud from the previous 2 months of rain and the trail gets technical.
The first two miles are not very technical so the pace is furious. Unfortunately I am already experiencing mechanical problems. My chain is getting stuck to the chain ring and gets caught up in between my rings and the frame. This is chain suck. This is not good, especially this early in the race. I let a few riders get by while I try to straighten it out. Luckily the trail opens up some and I can use my big ring. The chain is only sucking on the middle ring, but I haven’t figured that out yet. I find a rhythm and set out to make up for lost time.
After a few more incredibly frustrating moments of dealing with the chain issues and a couple stupid moves on my part I head out of the woods toward the transition. I’ve already given up on any ideas of glory for this day, but I don’t quit when racing. I put my head down and pedal away. The transitions where not explained very well (it couldn’t be I didn’t listen very well) so I was a little confused going through. I eventually got it straight, but I was in a panicked state when it was over. Jubie was all warmed up and ready to go. I was out of breath and my heart rate was through the roof.
We took off out of the park with a few riders in sight. I had no idea what place we were in or how far back we were. I just tried to follow Jubie’s wheel and breath. After about 3 minutes out on the road I had to tell Jubie to slow it down. If I didn’t get myself composed right then you would be reading about my trip to the hospital after I collapsed on the side of the road. I think I had about a minute before Steve Bents and his partner Vance James come flying by.
Steve took second last year and was a favorite again this year. Vance is his Cat 1 (that means faster than I will ever be) road racer partner. I came around Jubie and closed the gap before they could get away. Jubie was right there with me. The race was back on. I knew if we could stay with these two, we where going to get towed up to the front of this race.
We worked our way through the traffic of cars and riders (the road course was open to traffic in both directions). Thanks to Jubie’s constant reminders I stayed off the front and let others do the work. I have so little patience when racing. This is not a good virtue on the road. I’m not strong enough to ride anyone off my wheel, so I end up pulling everyone with me. It’s great for them. As we passed more and more riders our group began to grow. After about 10 miles we had about 10 people.
This group of ten began working together in a pace line to reel the leaders back in. In this group where two more of the favorites for the solo podium. Kevin Parker (KP) and Chris Bishop. Third and first last year respectively. With Steve, KP and Chris in the group I just had to hang on for the ride. This was by no means an easy task. I was at my limits more than once just moving through the pace line. Soon enough though we could see the group of 5 who had been leading race.
Once we were within a 100 yards of the lead group, our chase group sat up and took a rest. We worked hard to close the gap (I did anyway) and it was in our best interests to have a break before mixing it up again with this new group. I did my best to sit in behind big guys like Bishop to get the most benefit from their draft.
Catching the lead group caused a little confusion for everyone. Their pace line was suddenly interrupted as 10 became 15. During these moments my race was almost lost in one quick move. I touched Jubie’s rear wheel as he drifted back from the front. It happened so quickly I did not have time to think, only to react. I hit him from my left side and started to fall that way. I brought my left foot out of the pedal and hit the ground, standing myself straight back up. Suddenly I was back in the saddle and pedalling again. All this while cruising at 25 mph! It was a scary moment for me and maybe more so for the riders right behind me. Jubie had no idea it ever happened. I had to tell him about after the race.
No time to let my nerves settle though. The race was still on. KP & Bishop attacked together as we approached some railroad tracks. They tried to take advantage of the groups cautiousness, but I was in the back at the time an saw it coming. I immediately bridged up to them and brought the group with me. Those two could be dangerous if they were to get away.
I was confident I could make my race in the second mtb section, so I did have any plans to attack while on the road. My goal was to draft as much as possible and let Jubie mark the attacks and do the pulling. To his credit there were very few moves I had to cover myself.
On the south leg of the road section the group was fairly relaxed. Bishop tried to escape again, but was brought back in. 22 miles in we cross a railroad bridge. It’s the only elevation change in the whole course at about 60 feet. I was sitting about 5 or 6 riders back at the base of it and knew attacks would come. I kept my tempo for the first 3/4ths as they did, but then put in a big acceleration near the top to see who was still riding strong. Steve B, Vance, KP, Bishop & Jubie were all still there. In addition the two guys from Santos Bike shop were there. I didn’t know them, but it they were still there which meant I had to keep an eye on them.
On the way the down we regrouped. Steve B & Vance tried to escape a few time. If Steve could get a gap, Vance was strong enough to bridge the gap without anyone being able to follow. This was dangerous. I stayed back while Jubie covered their moves. We turned the corner to head back north and into the wind. Finally one of Steve’s moves worked and he was allowed a small gap. Unfortunately before we could bring him back we got stopped by a traffic light. It was good to see everyone stop for it. It could have been very dangerous to try to cross without a green light.
The light changed and so did the race. We were within 6 miles now and Steve was soloing away about a minute ahead. Vance was still in the group though. He would get to the front and slow the pace by a 1 mile per hour. Not enough to feel like we were going slow, but enough to give Steve an advantage. KP, Jubie and I did the brunt of the work to try to close the gap, but it wasn’t happening. I relented and went back to drafting, hoping Steve would tire himself out with no one to work with.
The attacks came furiously as we made the right turn a 1/2 mile before Carter Road Park. I jumped from wheel to wheel as attacks went by. Finally sticking to Bishops. He makes a great draft. The two Santos guys were pulling away, making an attempt to bridge the gap to Steve B. As we came up the road though the park I attacked with everything I had and closed the gap to Steve & the Santos guys. I came within 15 seconds, but we still had 7 miles to go in the woods.
Unfortunately I screwed up the transition again. Instead of hitting the woods in 3rd, I ended up in 8th. Both KP and Bishop got by me. I had no time to complain about it, I still had the energy to get back into this race. It took a mile or two for my legs to get used to the switch from the steady cadence of the road bike to the erratic changes of the mtb. Soon I was cruising along and passing riders. I flew past KP on the open two track. He had a slow flat, not that it would have changed much. I got around a few more riders in the short openings between the technical parts. Finally I could see Bishop as I come over the top of a steep climb. I was struggling with cramping and chain suck, but for those two seconds I tried to make it look as easy as possible. There was no point in giving him any hope.
I don’t remember if I passed anyone else in the last couple miles, but I could still see Bishop chasing me when the trail turned back on itself. After the last technical bit aptly named the Beast, it’s open double track to the final paved straight away. I sent the last couple minutes with one eye turned back, expecting to see Bishop closing the gap. He never did and I passed under the finish banner.
I never caught Steve B and only one of the Santos guys were solo. It turned out Ryan Woodall, the Santos guy, did catch and pass Steve. It was a great effort by both. I finished 3rd in solo and Jubie & I finished 3rd in the teams. It was a very successful day and left me with a taste for road racing that I had almost forgotten about. I will have to give it a go next year.
So with some confirmation of my fitness at the T2T, it was back to work for the World’s for the rest of the month. Having a coach this summer has helped me stay focused and do the right kind of work to be at my best for next weekend. I find out very soon just how far I have come. Right now my bags are packed and I am heading for bed. I fly out tomorrow morning and will be at Whistler ski resort on Thursday.
I want to thank Cartecay River Bike Shop in Ellijay, GA, especially Charlie Martin, in advance for all their support the last couple of months. I have an awesome new hardtail to use as a spare bike at the race because of them. Be sure to stop in and say “hi” if you are ever in the north Georgia area. Charlie was even willing to join me for a 4 hour training ride at 9:30 at night. Thanks Charlie & Mike. http://www.cartecaybikes.com
I also want to thank all of you that don’t immediately drop my emails in the Deleted folder. I appreciate all the support and positive feedback I have been receiving all summer. I hope everyone stays safe with the storms rolling it down south. Let me know if you need a place to stay at high ground.
There will be many more to thank in the next report.
If any one is interested in following the race which starts Saturday 3PM EST check this page out: http://www.twenty4sports.com/fr_webcast.htm. I don’t know what the coverage will be like, but hopefully they spell my name right. If I have access I will post updates when I can. Don’t expect anything Sunday night or early Monday though.
BURN Energy Drinks http://www.sourcedrinks.com
Cartecay River Bike Shop http://http://cartecaybikes.com/
Specialized Bicycles http://www.specialized.com
Carb-Boom http://carb-boom.com
SRAM Components http://sram.com/
Light & Motion http://lightandmotion.com/
Chainwheel Drive Bicycles http://chainwheeldrive.com
Titec http://www.titec.com
GNC of Lakeland, FL http://gnc.com
Dr. Jamie Brenon
Wish me luck…
Eddie O