Chaires and Fast like a Cheetah!

 Ahhhhhh, Wednesday night Chaires is back on pavement. Yea I know, the pic is lame but it’s early and I’m tired so get over it.

I started making this ride consistently in the middle of last summer. I don’t love it like Big Worm loves his Thursday Joe’s ride in the summer, but I do like this ride allot. I enjoy the regulars who show up and their passion for this ride, I like the workout that I get and I like the various routes that are chosen once the days get longer. In the summer months someone will always have a cooler full of beer or a cold watermelon for sharing at the end. The regulars will then pick a place and meet for dinner afterwards (which I have yet to make a dinner but it is on my list of things to do).

I had hoped I’d have good legs last night but I suffered the whole ride. At one point, on Cherry Tree, I thought I had finally popped. Luckily I was able to limp back to the end of the train and keep on rolling with the group.

This otherwise friendly ride turned ugly for me near the end and I was concerned for my safety. After a hotly contested sprint near the end of Whitehouse Road, Mighty Mite (Danielle, seen pictured below) spit in my face and yelled “so I guess you think you won that sprint”, she then yelled “this ain’t no Bikechain ride Bitch” (what does that even mean). Ok, maybe she didn’t spit in my face, and maybe she didn’t yell and call me a bitch, but this was very traumatic for me nonetheless. I’m tearing up just telling this story. I feel bad that Mighty Mite crashed on her next MTB ride with me.


I’ve got so many rides penciled in on my calendar that there is no way I can do them all. Brent and I are talking about getting a group together and going over to Vernon for the Tour de Ranch on the 24th (who’s in) of this month. It’ll be nice riding virgin roads. Big Worm has mentioned maybe going to the Santos Fat Tire Festival next weekend. April is Cohutta which I am really looking forward to. Each month has at least one event listed. I wish time and money was not a factor so I could do them all.


The Tour of Amsterdam is on for this Saturday. Thinking of riding to it from the house which would add on an additional 20 or so miles. The problem is I may need a ride home. After the BBQ chicken lunch with fixings and desert I’m pretty sure I will not want to get back on my bike.

See you guys outside!!

Short Term Memory

The  first question most people ask is “would you do it again?”  This question comes after completion of my first 12 hour endurance mountain bike race last Saturday (12 Hours of Santos in Ocala).  Surprisingly, I have yet to answer “no.”  Of course I have yet to answer “yes” either.  So far the answer is a “definite maybe.”  Now had someone asked me this question on lap 13 around 10:00pm Saturday night I have a pretty good idea of what my answer would have been.  It’s amazing how the attitude changes with just a little bit of time…and rest.

I will say this, the race was a blast (close to 100 miles with a roll time of just over 11 hours).  The weekend in general was a good one.  I got to Santos trails late afternoon on Friday and got my registration packet.  While there I ran into Ryan Woodall and had a good, but brief, chat.  I know I’m like 100 years old and he is like…..5, but that guy inspires me.  To be that talented on a bicycle and yet keep a level head is amazing to me.  Humility is lost in the cycling community especially among the most talented.  Ok, enough of my man crush.  I also got to hang out with Roger and Todd from Higher ground.  They were gracious enough to share their cooler full of drinks and snacks with me.  Todd sat me down and gave me some advice, based on his past experience, on what I should expect on Saturday.  I felt more at ease about the race after our talk.

Saturday morning I awoke on time, enjoyed my pre-race breakfast and headed back to Santos.  I hung out with some friends and watched as Marcus (Higher Ground) popped his first beer (this was at 9:00 am).  Finally I started getting prepped for the race.  Cooler, food items and other race ready gear was placed in a spot with ease of access just off the trail. 

Finally kitted up, I go find a spot to lay my bike in hopes of finding it again amongst the hundreds of other bikes lying in the area.  This was to be a mass Le Mans style start.  Everyone (several hundred) starting together by running 100 yards, or so, from the base off a hill to their bikes at the top. 

The start was not much fun.  Cycling shoes were not made for running.  Not that I really ran.  It was more of a trot really.  I’ve got 12 hours to ride so no reason to get in too much of a hurry early on.

The race lasted so long that I think I have forgotten more than I remember, but here are a few of the highs and low:

-On the second lap I was able to ride with Higher Ground Mike and John.  Mike was riding the Vortex section very impressively considering he was on a fully rigid single speed.  John was hilarious.  The whole time we rode together he was either singing or talking.  One of my favorite moments,  after I had to stop to deal with a chain that had slipped off my cassette,  was to turn a corner only to find John sitting on the ground Indian style with his hands folded praying to the “cycling Gods” that the rest of my day would turn out better.  It did.

-Third lap trying to clear a rock section in the “Vortex”….crash number one.  It turned out to be a 3 or 4 crash day.  Crash number 3 (also in the Vortex) had me spending ten minutes trying to get my handlebar stem “fixed.”

-Near the end of one lap a chic rides up behind me and tells me how wonderful I smell.  “I think I may have a crush on you” she says.  We have a good laugh as I pull over to grab another bottle from my cooler.

-I remember hearing Brooks and Dunn’s Boot Scootin’ Boogie being played down in the “Bowl” as I was finishing up a lap.  For some reason this made me smile.  Guess it reminded me of my line dance years.

-Ryan Woodall passing me on a night lap asking how my race was going.  I say well but now I’m tired.  He says hey at least you’re still on your bike. 

-The last lap was brutal.  Nothing was easy.  My ass hurt, my neck hurt, my feet hurt, my hands hurt and my stomach was not happy with the day’s nutritional supplements.  I was never as happy as I was when I crossed the finish line and got off the bike.

-I remember David Anderson being everywhere and I appreciated all of his words of encouragement.

-Props to John Davis who got 4^th in our category (I placed 6^th), and to Brent who placed 6^th in the Elite 6 Hour Solo category.  Tallahassee was well represented.

Again, although it was tough to be on a MTB that long the experience was amazing.  Did I learn from it, absolutely.  Could I have ridden it better, maybe.  Would I do it again….a definite maybe.

The next endurance race is the Cohutta 100 in April.