Bad idea - but still 2nd

OK, so I finally flew back from Europe on Friday - just to be back in time for the 12 hours of Addison Oaks. Last time I tried to race the day after I got back to the US wasn't too successful, since I suffered from food poisoning on the flight. This time should be different - I only suffered from having raced the Transalp. But I thought I'd give it a try.

Start at noon:
The competition doesn't look too bad. One guy I knew raced 24 hour races before, with pretty good results, but in a 4 person team. And then there was Chris, the guy who finished behind me in the 24 hours of Boyne in May. Same amount of laps, but 3 hours slower. Now it was all up to my legs - which didn't feel so good...

2 PM:
I raced out front, behind a teammate of mine. I hope this will discourage Chris and he will not try to catch up to me.


Shortly after the start - not looking too bad.

3 PM:
Robbin, supporting racers from our team, tells my that Chris is 1 minute behind, and everytime I go throught the lap counting area I hear the announcer on the PA talking about Chris and me delivering a good show since we are so close together. By now my legs feel like during the last day of the Transalp, I feel every tiny little climb on the course. Oh oh, not good.

4 PM:
I hate the race, I hate myself for doing the race, I hate the Michigan Endurance Series, I hate the fact that I want to win this series. And now Chris finally passes me. I wish him good luck and a good race - hey, fair play! My legs - let's not talk about them.


Not feeling good, but still able to pass team riders (numbers 1xx = solo, 2xx = team) - or maybe he is just catching me...

5 PM:
I feel the worst I ever felt on my bike. I want to put pressure on the pedals, but the legs are just empty. The only way I can get somewhat decent lap times is to go fast on the flat stuff and twisty single trail. Somehow I'm still moving fast through that stuff and pass many people, but there better not be any climbing involved. After the race someone walks over to me and tells me "you were the most courteous passer out there, thanks". Well, I try to be nice, even if I feel like s**t.

6 PM:
I have hot and cold flashes, drink a lot, but still can't pee. Besides, the only thing I can eat are some cantaloupe and pineapple. I have a power gel every 45 minutes, and start to use Red Bull now - I hope this saves my life.

8 PM:
Still not feeling better, but at least 2/3 are now over. I think I can finish, even though I thought about quitting every time I passed a tree - and there were about 1000 trees along the 4.7 mile loop. Still waiting for the Red Bull to kick in. That usually doesn't take that long, so this is another bad sign.


This pictures says a lot: Shoulders crunched over, head hanging down - bad signs...

10 PM:
I really can't remember in detail what happened during this period. But I know I had a pretty bad crash - caught one of those 1000 trees with my handlebars, and flew high into some bushes. Since my hole body hurts now, I can't focus on my legs any more. Maybe that's a good thing. But shortly after being back on my bike I realize I lost my bike computer. Tried to find it the following lap, but didn't want to waste too much time. So I decide to got back on Sunday for a little walk to look for my beloved HAC4 (I actually found it and only got about 20 mosquito bites while digging throught the bushes).

11:30 PM:
Chris passes me one more time, he already lapped me about 4 hours ago while I was at the pits trying to eat. We chat for a little bit, and agree to be done once we cross the finish line. He will then win this race with 30 laps, I'll be 2nd with 28. The 3rd finisher has 28 laps as well, but about 40 minutes slower than I.

Lesson learned:
The Transalp needs more than 1 week of recovery time. I can't believe I raced a 12 hour race so shortly after this huge event and still performed fairly well. I also can't believe that it's possible to ride with legs as heavy as mine were.