Elagarto
The 6 Hours of Elagarto didn’t go as smoothly as would have hoped. The race started with a sack race as is tradition.
I did not win the sack race portion as is tradition. No major malfunctions, just a little slow with the hopping acting.
From there it was race on. Tinker was off with Harvey & Mikey V. Mikey V may have been leading for a time, but both Tinker & Harvey over took him eventually. I hung within a few minutes until the 3rd lap. I didn’t blow up, but I was slowly fading. By the 5th lap, I had been ejected from the bike a few times, my power felt flat and my arms were beginning to pump. That was a little weird. Half way through that lap I realized that my stem was set up wrong. I have a mess of spacers under my stem that should be on top (they are still there so I can sell the fork soon). I stopped, pulled it all apart and then started rolling again, I felt better, but the damage was done. I lost about 10 minutes on that one. In an effort to over take forth I pushed myself again with about a lap and half to go, but that was fruitless. The course at Loyce E. Harp Park (formerly Carter Road Park) is one of the most technical trails I have ever raced…..couple that with my fatigue and I had one of the most spectacular ejections of my career. I was out of the saddle, in the big ring, cranking up this short climb. There is a log to one side and a board to stop the erosion on the other. I think the log got me. Next thing I know, I’m groping for the plant life on the side of this 15 foot drop into the swamp below. Luckily the vines held and neither my bike nor I ended up in the nasty water. It was so steep getting back out though that I had to throw my Kona up on the trail and then pull myself out.
That was the end of the drama for me. I finished the ride, ate a lot of food and then drove to West Palm Beach for some 55nine Performance bike fittings. Tinker won it, with Harvey in second and Mikey V in forth. I ended up 5th at about 20 minutes back. Not too shabby considering my 3 weeks of training leading into this one. Oh well, at least one 55nine Performance racer was on the podium…nice job Harvey. Harvey gave a powerful testimonial after the race about is custom made IF which was based on his 55nine Performance fitting.
Eddie O