2005 Coconut Cup - Expert 30-39

I'm an Expert, I'm an freaking Expert! I'm on the line with the freaking best Experts and Pros in South Florida. One year ago, I was a winning the Beginner 30-39 at this same race.

It's pretty much all the heavy hitters are in attendance; even Robert Bounds has showed up from Gainesville. I have no idea what to expect in this race, but I have been riding Markhum at least 4 days a week. I have always done between 4-5 laps. I might not do well as an Expert, but I'm going to do my best at this race.

Off, and I do my usual thing. I'm impressed with how many of the Expert have very good speed off the start line. I used to win all the whole shots when I was a sport and Beginner race, and here I'm almost freaking last. It's a long straight, so I'm able to get my way up to 5th by the time we enter the singletrack. Stephen LaRue, Robert Bounds, Tim Wisner, Vinnie T and I already have a gap on everyone. I keep looking at my heart rate and I'm not even close to being in trouble. So I just enjoy sitting in and watching how the race is going to unfold.

We get out of the singletrack and have a half-mile long singletrack that LaRue is leading with Bounds and Tim in tow. Vinnie is letting us get gapped and I ask him to pick it up and pulls through. I surged to get behind Tim and Vinnie gets on my wheel. We enter the singletrack and my heart rate is still good. Not more than very, very hard training rides. No signs of blowing up, sloppy singletrack riding, or my breathing getting out of control. Tim ask who is behind him, and I say “Pacemaker". He says, "I'm impressed, where is Vinnie". I looked back and said, “Vinnie is swimming with the fishes". He got dropped as soon as we got into the singletrack, but he hates this trail anyway. I guess it is showing now.

Coming out of Rattlesnake Bounds make a hard surge and passes LaRue, and I'm just still watching. Now, I have been told by at least 3 riders that you, "NEVER, AND I MEAN NEVER ASK LARUE TO PASS". Just do it, and Bounds has shown a perfect example of how to do it. LaRue still has a good pace going, but Bounds is gapping up. Hey, I'm just happy to be with other riders. I had envisioned being blown off the back of the race and getting dropped by 10mins. I'm spent enough time on the front with the leaders to be happy when and if I get dropped.

We come out of the lap to do another long fire road and LaRue pulls through. Wow, maybe he is not so selfish with letting people pass him. Tim takes his pull, then he pulls through for me, and I take my pull. I don't want to be the one that leads into the singletrack, so I pull through quickly and it's back to LaRue. Just before enter the singletrack; Tim makes a surge from the back. But he slides out before the singletrack. I try to pass him, but I have to clip out and I step on his wheel. So LaRue gets away, and I'm about 10sec back. Now I have to ride my own pace in my first Expert race. I go through the start/finish and the crowd erupts, and it gives me some extra motivation.

Lap 2
I enter back into the singletrack, and I come up to LaRue as he is getting back on his back. He has dirt all on one side. He gets going and he has knocked some air out of his rear tire. I, without thinking say, "Coming on your left", and he says, "Wait!" I say dude, you have a freaking flat, let me by. He speeds up and does let me get pass him and enters the next singletrack section. He is going slow, and I say, "Dude, you have to let me around". He says "OK, right here". When I attempt to pass him, he says "No", and shoves me. Now, there is like a 3ft ditch we are crossing at the same time. So I'm flying into the ditch. Shit! Is this Expert racing?

I drag myself out of the ditch as Tim passed, and he asked, "What happen?" I'm not really that upset, because I'm going to catch him. At the time I catch him I don't even ask to come by, I blow pass him, and he jumps on my wheel as we come around lake to go into the second half of Rattlesnake Cannon. Alison come by even faster. Great, a teammate. We hit it, and are slowing gapping LaRue and Tim is should be caught shortly. We go into Outback, and Alison is drilling it. My heart rate is up now, but I can handle it. Coming down Crime Scene Tim front tire blows and he is forced to DNF.

So we just have Bounds about 30 seconds ahead of us. I'm inspired to be in 3rd place and we are chasing 1st. Alison is very much a hound, so I don't expect him to share the work with me. He continues to drill it and every time someone tells us how much time, it's between 20-30sec. We finish the 2nd lap, and the 3rd laps goes at the same pace, with Bounds keeping the same lead. At the end of the 3rd laps I start to feel something in the legs, and I can't drink because Alison is still drilling it, and we are in tight singletrack. I try to grab a sip at the same time the Alison stands up and take a crazy dig to up the pace. I put the tip of my water bottle in my mouth, and make a dig also. I look down and put my water bottle back.

Alison is gone, he's not looking back, nor is he concerned with us working together. I guess the team brotherhood is over at the end of an Expert race. At this time I can feel both quads about to cramp. So I'm concerned because I'm about to finish the last lap, and I know that full blown cramping is coming. Before I finish the lap my hamstring is the first one to blow, as it gives way to a sharp cramp once I crest the top of a steep climb. Ouch!

I keep changing my position to see if I can stave it off. I go through the start/finish and I can get my water bottle and I'm slight inspired. I drink the entire bottle before I enter the single-track. That is when everything locked up, but I just keep pedaling. If I'm lucky, then I can keep my position. I know my pace has slowed dramatically, but I can't go any faster. Around the lake Mark Gerard comes around me, and I jump on his wheel. He is going at a pace I can handle. Going up a climb he dabs, and I have to unclip. My legs lockup again, and when I get back on the bike Mark has a 10 second gap.

At this point I'm going to limit my losses and finish. I finish the lap 10 seconds behind Mark, and he finishes 15 seconds behind Alison. If Alison and I would have worked together, we could have finished together. He fell off the pace too, but now Bounds. He put 90 seconds on us the last lap. We had it at 30 secs for 90 mins, and in one lap he put 90 seconds. Alison flubbed it up, and he's a teammate on top of that. Later on Vinnie would tell me that he wanted to drop me. Well, this was not that bad of an experience for my first Expert race. So, I'll take the 4th place money and a bunch of confidence.

Pacer Out.

Some video highlights from the race: