The last 129.6 miles on my bike recap.

John Muir is a well known and fun trail system in the Kettle Moraine area. Located just 30 minutes south of my baby's momma's momma's (Oconomowoc, WI), it provides easy lodging as well. Becky and I got up at 5:30 and were out the door around 6am. A stop at Brueggers for a little breakfast and coffee and away we go.

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We got to the course at about 6:50 with just enough time to set up for the 8am start. Met up with Nate "shred the gnar" Woolever and we set a dual pit under the newly purchased EZ-Up. Nate was going 12 solo as well with his future baby's momma, Kati "6 months pregnant" Woolever, to arrive later as support.

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We all lined up for one of the shortest Le man's starts you'll ever see. I made my goal of hitting the trail first and set the pace for the first mile. Some team guys came by and it was "game on" to see how well I could keep them in sight without expending too much energy. Lap one went down and it appeared I had a gap with my 50 minute lap time.

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Laps 2 and 3 I saw no one, and my pit stops were not long enough to get info on how I was doing. Towards the end of lap 4 Chris Strout (4th place) caught me and we passed through the start/finish together. He stopped at his pit and that was the last I saw of him.

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Lap 5,6 and 7 I still didn't know where I was except that I thought I was out in front and Chris was hot on my tail (I kept looking, but no Chris). I found out at the end of lap 8 that I was in fact in second. I was told 1st was 3 minutes in front of me and 3rd place was 4 minutes back (in fact, the rider by the name of Andrew Hanson had close to 20 minutes on me at that point.) Well, I knew at my pace I had 4 laps left and my body hurt...bad. My legs felt like crap, my back hurt, and my stomach was on the verge of quitting, but I didn't come to be a pussy.

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So off I went. 4 laps left and I put into my "4 hour time trial after riding 8 hours" pace. I kept telling my stomach to shut up and reminding my mind that the pain in my legs would hurt more if I didn't keep riding. I was hoping that 1st and 3rd were hurting as well. At the end of lap 10 I was informed that I was now in first by 17 minutes. Looks like Andrew may have burned his matches too early and he had to quit. A pit crew member under another tent suggested I take a quick break, but I did not want to risk it and off I went for the 11th, and second too last lap.

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At the end of the 11th lap I was informed I now had 20 minutes on 2nd and 80 minutes to finish another lap. With lap times now close to an hour I took off for lap number 12 to secure my lead. That lap sucked. I had no motivation to ride except to finish in under 80 minutes. My whole body wanted to go to sleep, but hey, I was still passing people. 67 minutes later (my slowest lap by far) I crossed the line for the last time. 12 laps. 129.6 miles. 11 mph average.

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Race Notes:

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-The Gary Fisher Supercaliber 29'er kicks ass.

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-There are a heck of a lot of trail riders in the early afternoon at John Muir. Lots of kids (good). Lots of bare heads (bad).

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-With all the near misses, I never actually hit those damn streaky gophers. I did, however, see one had met it's demise out on the trail. Poor little guy.

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-Overgrowth. If I have one complaint it was the bushes and branches that extended into the trail. My arms were shredded by the end (see pic). My helmet almost got ripped off at one point (Nate's did get dented). They also kept trying to poke me in the eyes.

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-The last 4 laps will hopefully not be that bad again. I already have a game plan that will help alleviate the back, leg, and stomach troubles. It is a 4 pronged attack. No I will not tell you, but they are not exactly secrets.

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-Nate got a strong 8 laps in. Him and his wife also helped me shred the gnar by crewing at one of my pit stops.

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-Second place looked like an exciting finish. In 3rd place by 5 minutes, Chris Schotz rode a super fast last lap time to overtake 2nd (Daniel Brennan) by 15 seconds. OUCH!

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-The trails sure were different as the sun traveled across the sky. Those shadows got to be tricky towards the end.

Coming in for the 1st of 2 extended pit stops (end of lap 5). About 4 minutes in length. The baby's momma ready with bottles filled with water, calories, and a little love(ahhhhhh).

I am a blur I tell you. Kati seen here on the right. The unused and lonely Paragon at the bottom.

Done...finally. Nina is there to celebrate the big win. Jersey zipped up for the big finish. Damn, I am so expert (as in so pro, but not).

Nina and I going to collect our bounty.

A pic of the me and the "Spaz" with our medal.

Do you have your tickets....TO THE GUN SHOW? Note the scratches on the arm. I have a matching left.

Nina is tired from so much excitement. The baby's momma is showing you all a little shoulder.

Time to hit the hay. You may be reading this at work right now. Why? Why not get some work done? It is probably Monday and there is a lot to do, but you are wasting time on this crap.

Oh well. Till next time.