Eddie O

Well the season is finally underway. I took three weeks off from training after the Conyers 24 hour back in Oct. I still rode some, but only when I felt like it and it was completely unstructured. There was actually 5 days in a row that I was off the bike completely. That’s a rarity for me in the last 3 or 4 years. I was ready to get back to work though when the time came. There is only 4 months from the Conyers race to my first major goal of the year 12 Hours of Razorback.

The “off-season” doesn’t really exist. It’s just a period of time that one chooses not to race. My winter was spent just like my summer, training. It’s paid off though. I’ve increased my endurance and my power output over the last couple months thanks to a slow and steady build up in my training. Coach Josh has done a great job again of preparing me to race.

A month ago my racing season began in earnest. It was kicked off with the 6 Hours of Carter Road in Lakeland, FL. It’s a small race, contested by locals (for now), but it’s by no means easy. The course is a very technical 4.5 miles with nowhere to rest. The single track is tightly lined by trees, covered in roots & rocks and a wrong move will send you swimming in some nasty algae covered water. The few flat open sections had to be taken at high speed in order keep up with the competition. That competition came from last year’s winner, Jon Lowe, and the up and coming Ryan Woodall. Jon dropped out while in the lead with a sore knee and Ryan made an incredible come back from mechanicals early in the race to beat me by 3 minutes. I was able to keep a steady pace throughout the race despite some cramping, but didn’t have enough to close the gap to Ryan in the last two laps. Still, it was a great workout in my build up to the 12 hour that would happen three weeks later.

The next couple weeks offered way too many opportunities to train indoors. I set a new personal record with 9 hours in one week. Last year I trained indoors 3 hours total. Some days I miss living in Florida. Riding indoors did offer a great place to do the final steps of my preparation for Razorback. I could do my anaerobic effects without fear of interruption or crashing. And just like riding in Florida the spin bike offers nowhere to rest.

Fast forward to race day in Reddick, FL. Tropical Florida…. yeah right. There was frost on the ground when I crawled out of my tent. My brother Dan and nephew Kyle had met my girlfriend Namrita and I at Razorback Park the night before, so almost everything was ready to go. I had my usual breakfast smoothie, which was a treat to drink when it was 35 degrees out. Some hot coffee immediately followed it.

While I ran around like a micromanager, Dan & Kyle prepared bottles, Namrita prepped the bikes and my support man extraordinaire, Richard, put a new cassette on for me. It all came together just before 10:00 and the start was late as usual, so I had plenty of time to warm up before and during the riders meeting.

The main attraction of the race was the evergreen Tinker Juarez who, at 43, seems to never tire. He’s been racing bikes since before I was born.

The start kicked off at about 10:30. The run was a long one. I knew I was going to have to be patient once I made it to the trail because it seemed everyone runs faster than me. My premonition was correct and the first couple miles offered plenty of moments to think about how I skipped those running exercises Josh worked into my schedule. 4 or so miles in and I was free and clear…. I settled in for a day of racing. My plan was put down 8-9 hours of consistent laps, then start thinking about whom I was racing against and go for the podium.

Most everything was going according to plan except for a few minor problems with my grips. In the name of weight savings and comfort I use bar tape instead of rubber grips. Unfortunately I chose some tape that didn’t have adhesive on the back and it was unraveling in my hands. I ended up doing one lap with no grip at all on the one side. This caused for some slow transitions while I changed bikes and moved the number plate from one to the other (I was only issued one), but didn’t have a huge effect on me.

In my 10th lap is when other things started unravel. Throughout the day my pit crew, per my instructions, had been putting electrolyte capsules in my drinks. Unfortunately I miscalculated how many I should be taking and ended up with too many. All I could taste was salt. It was coming out of every pour. When I finally realized the cause I let them know, but the effects would last a while longer. I didn’t eat or drink much during the 8th & 9th laps and then slowed dramatically in the 10th. While I was crawling along on a flat section I pulled over to the side of the trail to let a faster rider by and kicked a stick up into my rear wheel. The stick busted a spoke or two and bent my rear dérailleur hanger, which left me with just two gears to ride out with.

Mentally I gave up. I was in 3rd or 4th when it happened. I rode out as best I could and then took a few minutes to collect myself when I got to the pits. I was very disappointed in myself and with the situation. I had high hopes for the day. After a PB&J I headed out for another lap on the spare bike.

I rolled out slowly with my head low and then about a mile in the white streak with dreadlocks flew by me. Tinker. I said to myself “Self, you came here to see if you could hang with this guy, now get your butt in gear.” I suddenly found myself sitting on Tinker’s wheel and working hard to do it. The guy is so smooth he seems to float down the trail. We hit a not-so-technical section, he would open a gap of 10 feet in a second and I would catch back up. This went on for about 4 miles until we the longest climb of the course. Tinker was out of the saddle and I, well, wasn’t. I knew I would be completely blown up if I kept this pace, so I had to give up the chase. The amazing part was he was now on lap 12 and ten hours into the race. Next year.

As I came through for the last lap I was very surprised to see my Epic was in working order again. Many thanks to my crew, Mike Blaney, and Harvey Minton for making that happen. After 11 hours in the saddle I was happy to back on a full suspension bike again. I spent the last entertaining myself with songs, “Oh my darling, Oh my darling….” Or talking to the other solo riders. Both were very funny (to me at least). When I wasn’t singing or talking it seemed I was attracting animals. I had a rabbit lead me down the trail for about 50ft before he finally bonked. Then a mile or so later I catch something in the corner of my eye coming right for my head. I had not time to react. Suddenly wham!…..oh wait, not wham….I feel feathers hit my face. What?!?! By the time my eyes focus and my mind catches up with the events that just transpired the owl is 10 ft down the trails and turning off out of sight. That was weird…….”Oh my darling…..”

And that was it. I’m disappointed, but I can be happy the fact I did just as many laps as last year, but I felt a whole lot better. I paced myself right, but didn’t eat right. I definitely stronger and after this one, much more experienced.

Pictures are in my gallery and on the Single Speed Mafia page:

Many thanks to my sponsors and my pit crew.

Eddie O

This entry was posted on Friday, February 25th, 2005 at 4:35 pm and is filed under Race Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.