Race Report - FSC # 4 - Gainesville

I have to start by saying even though this is my favorite race course, I have never really had a standout performance here since I was a Sport rider in 2004. It may be the fact that it’s 5 laps, or the layout of the course, or something. So I had a pretty tough week of training leading up to race in anticipation of the 5 laps, or bad weather. Either way, I needed to finish, and brave the 5 laps which was going to be “Over the Top “painful at some point.

On Friday I dropped of my bike at the shop with Nick, then I went to my coconut man, and he had advanced his operation, by cutting the coconuts and putting them in half gallon containers. So I took 2 half gallons containers for the weekend. I would use 1 for the pre-ride day, and one for the race. Next, I was off to the YMCA in Weston to give some private lessons in table tennis. On Saturday, I got to the shop at 7am, to pick up my bike and chat with the guys before they where about to leave. They always leave super early, check-in at the hotel, take a crap, play with each other or something, and then go to the course. This was about biggest Active Cycles group in attendance as Andres, His son, Fabian, and Nick were in for the weekend trip. Also, Michelle was tagging along to take some video, and race of course. I got my bike, shot the shit a little bit, then went to Wholefoods to pick up some goodies. They have the best breakfast wraps, so I got one for both of us. I’d eat one half now, and the other half when I was 1hr out.

I got home, and Mrs P. and Lance were ready to go, so we got some gas, and the car filled up. Mrs P. wanted her normal Chai, Latte, Dirty, Carmel, thinga-ma-jiggy, special drink from Starbucks. After that we hit the road.




Not even 1 mile into the trip I had on my “Driver-Up” facial expression for all the slow driver in the passing lane. My brother had been trying to get me to watch the tv show “Boondocks” for about 6 months, but I never really gave it any mine until he sent me a clip. The clip was so hysterical, that I ask Mrs P. to watch it. We laugh so hard, we both had tears in our eyes. I went out and bought the entire 15 episode first season on DVD. And that was our entertainment for the entire trip to Gainesville. We stopped at one of the rest areas to give Lance a nature break, and Mrs. P went in for another special white person drink from Starbucks. I went to the stand to get a little extra dosage of Vit-C before the pre-ride.


We jump back in the car, and laugh all the way up to the course watching Boondocks. We actually had to turn it off, as it has so many bad words like N,’s, B’s, MF’s, that we didn’t want to offend the guy that was taking our money as we drove in. Plus, punk ass Lance, jumped his 6lbs ass out of the car as soon as we paid the money and drove off. He actually jumped out of the drivers side early that morning also, so he got regulated to the backseat of the car with the windows up and he did his little wimper until Mrs. P took him off punishment.

Most of Active Cycles were already there, and they were about to go in for a lap when Andres son sliced his tire and had to replace it. I was parked behind Adam, and I was sure he read my post about me calling out B&J, and this race would be the end of this love affair in the Team Classification with us. He hadn’t read the post, so I tried to brief him. By the time Andres's son put on another tire I was ready, so we all went in. We had a huge group of riders and it was nice to see so many Active Cycles jerseys out there. I lead out the lap since I had done the course the most of the group, but I’m sure Andres is gonna put down some very good laps times considering he has not races since Feb. Coming out of the first quarry we had already split up, so I slowed it down to see if we could get everyone together to find the line coming down the really steep off camber section. We climb up, and I let Andres pass me because I wanted to show Richard the line, but he was not behind us. Andres’s son comes blazing pass him and into the bushes as he tried to take the outside line. We both take the inside line, but it was still rough. We wait at the end of the section to get the group back together and we are off again.

The rest of the lap flowed, but the group broke up again, so I just finished the lap out. I can tell you right now, I’m not going to like doing the last part of this course 5 times on race day. It’s extremely up and down, and in 05, I was shattered every time I came out of this section, and needed many minutes to recovery. I hope this is not the case this year. Coming back to the tent I saw that Lance was tied to one of the tents, which meant she had finished the rest of Boondocks, and was now coming out to chat with Amy and Joe's wife Juanita.

I didn’t get a flow that lap, so I decided to do another lap, and most of the group came back in. I tried to give Richard the line on that same washed out section, but it was gone by the time I got down there and I navigated it without putting anything in the bank to remember. We came down and Andres suggested that we do it again, so we went back up, and Richard was still there as he had walked it back up. Andres and I went down, and I went on the inside, but it was still rough. I put that line in the bank, but I was not happy about that deposit. It was the best line out there. Richard was up there for about 10 minutes, and by the time he got down to us, he had crashed and had cuts on both knees. He said he hit the deck pretty hard, and that is the worst thing to do the day before a race.

I still couldn’t get a flow because we had to stop too often, so I decided to go out in for one final lap. When I got back to the tent Bob was finishing his class, and asked me to wait for him. So Bob, Richard and I went in for another lap. Bob had the same line on the washed out section, so I put it in the bank with a little bit more confidence. That is the most questionable section that has been put in the race this season, as it’s dangerous if you put caution into the wind just a little bit. We finish the lap with a few surges in places of interest

I get back to the car, and I’m satisfied with my approach to the 5-lap suffer fest that is going to ensue the next day. By the time I’m cleaning off, Bob is freaking driving off. Man, that guy changes really fast. We get into the car, and I have to hear it from Mrs. P. about the potential trouble with not being able to get a hotel because it’s Parents weekend at Univ of Florida. We get to the Fairfield and get a room with no problem, and for $79.99, the lowest price this season. And we request for the room to be in the back so we can sneak Lance in. We got caught walking through the hotel in Jacksonville, and he freaking popped his head out. So being in the back secured we wouldn’t have to deal with anyone seeing us. Now, I understood why the room was so cheap, it was freaking small. I’m talking too small to do my “Naked, I’m gonna drop them punks tomorrow dance”, but it’ll manage.

The only place we eat at in Gainesville is Yamato’s. It’s this little Japanese place we found in 2005, and the food is way above average. The only bad thing, is it’s really Americanize. No Japanese waiters to practice my Japanese on. Plus, it was like a kids party, so we requested to be put in the back away from the ruckus. Since it was no extra dialogue, I went to just straight slicing and dicing of the dinner. The food was the biggest portions we have ever had at any Japanese place. We ate here 6 months before at the SERC in Reddick, and we didn’t remember not being about to finish the meal. I didn’t even come close to finishing the meal, and neither did Mrs. P. We didn’t even take a doggie bag, we just paid the bill and dipped out. Note to self if I eat here at the Santos, “If you eat at Yamato’s leave more room”. We get back, and where in the bed watching the tv show, " Cheaters" by 9pm. We laughed at what we would do if we caught the other person cheating like how they are caught on the tv show.


The next morning we go to Waffle House and eat the same pre-race meal


I get to the course and it’s 45mins to race, and I like that. No time to get unfocused. 45 minutes is enough time to go through all the pre-race checks and rituals, bathroom break, and get a nice little warm-up. I had been experimenting with this new coconut water, chlorophyll drink in training, and today I was putting it into my race. That was really the least of my worries as I was more concerned about the 5 laps. On the line, all the usually suspects showed up, and my plan was to get in the top 7 or 8 and let myself get escort around the first lap, and see how the legs felt after all those up and down sections at the end that spelled disaster for me two years ago.
Coming off the line trying to find a place of 5th-10th.

Lap 1
Riders 10 seconds………I start my HR monitor, and the whistle blows, and we are off. I get in around 9th or 10th, and hold that position until the bottom of the quarry. I pass about 4 riders and I’m not really trying to. Jay Thomas drops his chain, Luiz M and a couple other riders are slowing down at the top just as I caught my momentum. So, now I’m in 6th place out of the quarry. Ryan B was leading it, with Shawn S, Mark G, Trent, Greg, and myself. I asked myself should I be with this group so early in the race, but my HR was not peaking, nor did I feel that “Blow-up” burn in the legs, so I stayed with them the entire lap. We pass back over the section where the feed zone is on the left side of us, and Greg D. water bottle cage comes off. I let him know, and he, I and Trent discuss it for a second, and we are back to racing. Going up the last climb before crossing the field Greg D drops his chain, and I have to dismount. And I get dropped by the group, and I slow down. I don’t really like this constant up and down, and I want to be feeling ok going into the 2nd lap. I bring in the lap about 25 second behind the leaders. The entire 1st lap Ryan Saylor had been stalking the lead group, and he caught me. As he passed me I jumped on his wheel and he hammered all the way around the flat section, down into the quarry, then out. He had bridge me up to Trent that was struggling at the time. Then he just pulled out, not through to let me lead some. He just pulled off to the side. So I bridged up to Trent and stayed on his wheel. We chatted a bit and he said he felt like crap and was waiting for his legs to come back around.

I was able to stay on his wheel when we got to the last up and down climbs before the end of the lap. That is when the curse of 2005 hit me. Not me, but it hit me in the legs. I was comfortably behind Trent, and as we went up each climb, he gapped me by just a bit, and by the time I was at the feed zone getting my bottle Trent had put 15 seconds on me, and that was it. I got some inspiration from Gary Yates that had flatted on the second lap, and he came by me just before the quarry, and man he was smoking. I slightly bridged back up to Trent, but settled into my own speed.

Scott C. dropped me off on shortly this picture was taken.

Around the halfway point I got caught by Scott C, and I let him go once we came out of the second quarry. Then it was Jay T. and we stayed together for a while, then T-Wiz came charging up on us. Just before that Tim came up on us I let John Lowe by. I had to let Jay know it was Jon, because he didn’t even look back to see who it was that charged up on him. I think he though it was Tim that had came up on him. At that point I knew I was going backwards. I had held my position on this group the first and second lap, and now they caught before the end of the third lap. I was with the boys chilling though, but those climbs did me in again, and they put the same 15 seconds on me by the end of the third. Why do I keep getting caught by these guys at the section that I absolutely hate.

Now, I was going into the 4th lap, I was going backwards and had to think of a plan. OK, just pedal and find a flow that does not smash my legs was my quick plan. I road most of that lap by myself and was caught and passed by Jimbo Smart coming out of the second quarry. And by the end of the 4th lap Clint G. has passed me, but I put up somewhat of a fight. He charge 3 different times, but I stayed with him. He finally put the nail in the coffin coming out of the quarry, as the acid bath in the legs was just too intense. I backed it off, but had the next climb to do, and the acid bath had a brother straight hallucinating in the legs. So I got unhitched and now I’m official at the back of the bus. There is no one in sight, but I’m going to put up a fight with Mr. Gibbs. In a couple of sections he has only 15 seconds on me, so I push it, only for it to turn into 25 seconds. Minutes later, it’s back to 15 seconds, so he is struggling also. I decided to put the afterburners on full blast, and try to catch him by the time I got to the Gone Riding trailer. If I didn’t I would shut it down and coast in, because I was not going to turn myself inside out if I did not have him in sight. Plus, I was going into my least favorite section, and to go full throttle to try to take back 10th place. After over 4 and a half laps, that would be an ignorant show of strength. The real fight was not to go backwards after the 3rd lap, and that fight was over. So when I got to the trailer, I didn’t see him, so I shut it down.

I came out 11th over all, and really not that disappointed. Reason being, I was prepared, the training wasn’t too intense the week of so the legs were ok, and I slept properly. Plus, I’m really not a fan of beating myself up over my results.

A special shot out goes to Greg D, as he smashed out an incredible effort on the 5th lap to take his first ever XC win. He also did it without a water bottle cage as it broke off at the end of the first lap. Mad props Greg. Shawn Smith came in 15 seconds after him, and Mark G 12 seconds after him. Talking about some intense riding right down to the wire. Ryan B, and T-Wiz rounded out the top 5.

Pro Race
I normally get bits and pieces of the Pro Race, but never enough to report what I know. There was a core group of riders, and it operates more like a road race than a mtn bike race. Talking to Robert it seems like a certain rider will attack off the front, and the group will have to scatter to bring the person back while they are already under pressure. I think Earl did the first attack, but crashed and was brought back. Now the group is already riding on the edge, and Robert gave me the impression that Gary Yates put in a monster attack that would make Matt Hammond drool. That attack put everyone else under serious pressure and after he flatted, everyone was relieved. At some point Victor went to the front and brought it down quite a bit, and that is when Robert went. Ryno went with him and they both stayed together until Bob started coming back to them. Now, I raced with Bob back in 2005 when he was coming back to racing, and he was never in any attacks at the front of the race. But he was picking off all the riders that were getting dropped from the back. Plus, his style is to put down one hard, consistent pace, not much attacking, but just a very tough pace. So my guess is he sat back, let himself get drop during those surges, slowing brought himself back, and made his move late in the race after everyone’s legs had been broken. Special shout out goes to Gary Yates for putting down the fastest laptime (21.04) of the day, and it was his 5th lap. Had he not flatted, he would have made the race quite interesting. oK, back to the end of the Pro Race. So when Bob started coming back, Ryan had to make his move, and that left Robert out because he told me he was already on the edge. If you look at the results, it’s the 4th lap that most of the riders got shattered and dropped. So Bob road smart and proved to be best of the rest, but Ryno is still the King of the FL Singletrack. Congrats Ryno, I hope you read my “Table Tennis Academic” post, that one for talented athletes like you.

Team Classification

Now I was talking cash money about us over-taking B&J in the Team Classification, but they put it on our asses this weekend. Actually, both teams performed well under our normal result, but they just did better. So, mad props goes out to B&J for extending their lead over us. I really thought we were going to get a nice lead, but you guy simply road better. See I’m not a hater, I’ll give love when it’s due. We are going to really have to put it down to get back in the game.

A special thank you goes out to all the riders that have been reading my blog, and giving such positive feedback. I get approached on the trail, in the race, at the car, and by email. Even buddies of mine that I thought would not even take that time to read my blog because I see them every week, are telling me they are enjoying the race reports, training concepts, etc. So thank you guys for such kind words. Like I said before, “If you keep reading, I’ll keep writing”.

Pacer Out!