Here is my ride report and video links:
Here is my ride report for my 2022 Sebring event that took place on Feb 19, 2022
I was riding in the 12-hour event.
Prior to the event I prepped and rode my “Magic” (Cruzbike/John M prototype FWD-MMB), and my V20.
Background: I was not in the best of shape this year due to having 3 stents in my LAD back in June and I have been on Blood Thinners and Beta blockers and prevented from doing any “really intense” riding since then. I also had right shoulder rotator cuff surgery just 8 weeks ago and was also still recovering from that. Nevertheless, I have been riding in Sebring since 2015, since I started doing ultracycling just before that time and hated to miss it.
On Thur evening Gayle and I drove to Sebring to stay with our good friends Gail and Jerry Melendy (whom we met in church the day after the 2017 Sebring event (That year I went down after a front flat tire on the first 11 mile loop after the Century and spent the entire afternoon in the ER for a dislocated right shoulder)
Cliff Federspiel and I met Friday morning so I could show him the specifics of the 11-mile loop and so we could ride it together. Our plan was to try and ride together the entire event if it worked out. The record was 276 miles and I felt sure if we could have a strong Century (24+ mph) and then worked together the rest of the day we could surpass that.
We drove the 11-mile loop once in the car so we could check it all out and then we rode 2 laps, each leading 1 lap so we could at least have a little feel for how it would be. Everything appeared to be fine, but I could not shift into my 11-tooth gear which proved problematic when going downhill with the wind and as I was pedaling too fast for comfort.
We parted at noon to meet up in the evening for registration.
I spent the afternoon working on the Magic. I finally got the RD adjusted so I could shift through all the gears well. I did not test it at high speed though as I did not want to put any more miles on my legs plus did not really have anyone to ride with at those speeds. I also adjusted the seat a little higher (16 degrees) just to make it a little more comfortable (although less aero). I had never ridden the Magic for more than 100 miles, and it gets a little hard laying back that low for extended periods. I also had some extra time, so I mounted my Garmin VIRB to the top of my helmet. Never done that before - so it will be interesting to see how it turns out and how it will affect my aero.
Registration time is always great as you get to see most everyone you know will be riding the next day.
Sleep came hard that night - probably due to anxiousness. Woke up at 5am- got everything ready and Gayle took me down to the start at 6pm. I rode around a little bit to warm up. I usually had Gayle meet me up at the turnaround to hand me fresh bottles, but this year I was able to carry 5 bottles in the rear case I made so I told her she could meet me after the 100 miles.
Promptly at 6:30am we all started. It was not cold this year: about 68 and muggy and VERY foggy which meant you could not wear your visor or your glasses. This made the 3 laps around the racetrack in the dark a little more unnerving! I managed to hang with the lead group as we went around. The track seems to get rougher every year - it is especially so on a recumbent. Unfortunately, my handlebars were already loose and sloppy by the time we headed out on the open road. I wish I would have double checked them and really tightened them up extra right before I took off. I regret that now and will not make the mistake again.
We appeared to have a group of about 12-15 riders that made it out from the track loops and stayed together when we got on the road course. There were 6 recumbents ridden by: Myself, Jim and Maria Parker, Cliff Federspiel, Kent Polk, and John Schlitter. There were at least 6 uprights too, but the only 2 riders I knew were Mark Baloh and Ryan Collins. Everyone was really interested in how Marko and Ryan would do in the event.
Everything was fine although I was having a little anxiety over my handlebar being lose and sloppy. This made me not want to ride really close to anyone, so I mostly hung off the back. It also made my turns quite tentative and slower than normal, so I always tended to fall back after a turn and had to catch up. The group was averaging nearly 25mph which was a great speed so I was pleased about that. I had a couple small 1 min solo TT efforts to catch the group as a lagged behind after a couple turns but nothing extreme.
Then the craziness started as we were flying north about 26 miles into the ride. (We had turned left onto Riverdale a few miles before). Suddenly my chain dropped off my ring and lodged between the ring and the guard. Lovely! I tried to coax it back on with my foot for about 30 secs and almost caught my toe in the wheel. I finally stopped and had to put the chain back on. Now I was 65 seconds behind the group. At the speeds we were going that was almost ½ mile I needed to make up! So, I took off in full TT chase mode. After 9 grueling minutes I finally caught them!
I was so amazed that I was actually able to run them down. – but the cost was high on the energy depletion chart! Then I settled into normal riding again and tried to rest up. We all rode together with no issues heading north to the Reedy Lake loop. We turned right onto TS Wilson (around 45 mile) and started the small descent that was there as we headed counterclockwise around the lake.
As we started downhill, I shifted into my 11-tooth gear because I was going to need it for these 35+mph speeds were where going to hit. The second I shifted to the 11-tooth gear my chain popped off – yes, again! I could not believe it. Chain drop #2. There goes the group again. I was a little lucky this time though since we were going slightly downhill as I knew I would not lose as much time since I did not coast to a stop. I even managed to coax the chain on with my foot this time! But, as soon as I started pedaling it dropped off and jammed again (drop #3), and again I managed to eventually get it back on the ring with my foot without having to stop. I started pedaling again – yes, only to have it fall off and jam for a yet again (drop #4) – I once again miraculously got it back on with my foot and started pedaling again. I started laying into the power to “yes- you guessed it” – chain drop #5 (and 4th in the span of 2 ½ minutes)- OK, this is getting really nuts now! I was getting pretty good now getting it back on and did it again, so I never had to stop (but did slow down considerably). I sure lost a ton of time though. I did get a little smart and shift out of the 11-tooth gear this time too and then took off in TT mode again! Who knows how far ahead they are now after 4 chain drops! All I could do was ride as hard as I could and try and catch them again. And believe it or not – I managed to reconnect with the group after about 8 more minutes of full TT effort. I know I was burning my matches fast, but I did want to finish with this group if at all possible.
Now we were just a couple miles from the turnaround (at the north end of Reedy Lake) and I was dreading it as it is always a train-wreck. This time did not disappoint. Everyone slowed way down, and all the recumbents had to pretty much stop and stand up since the pace was near zero! When I put my feet down and tried to stand up and walk my bike around the U-turn, my left hamstring cramped up. I could not believe it – How many more “issues” was I going to have today! Only 51 miles into the day and I have already had 5 chain drops and now 1 cramp. I screamed out in pain and 2 wonderful bystanders came to my aid and at least prevented me from hitting the deck. I am pretty sure Amada Cooker was one of them! Thanks, Amanda, for helping me! I laid there on my bike (while they held it for me) and massaged my left hamstring for about 30 seconds or so, and finally got it to loosen up a bit. I took off again for my 3rd TT effort in just an hour. Once again, I was not sure how far they were ahead of me or if I could catch them. 11 strong riders working together are almost impossible to catch! Well – if you can believe it – once again I caught them after another 7-minute TT effort.
Wow – I was starting to feel a little fried now and wondering how much longer I could keep this up. I really tried to make sure to not be in my 11-tooth gear as we continued on. We rode up the incline on the Clockwise route back from the turnaround and all turned left of Sangster Rd to head south back to Sebring.
We all hung around together as a 12-rider group again for the next 8 miles. We were heading downhill again after a little climb, and I mistakenly shifted to my 11-tooth gear (bad choice) to be able to stay with the group. I prayed the chain would stay up – but no – it dropped off again (Drop #6). We were at about mile 60. I got it back on with my foot again after about 30 secs and started chasing again. 5 mins into the chase it popped off again – (Drop #7) – I was so tired of this – It was a quick recovery with my foot that time again too. This time a truck that had been doing a rolling SAG kind of blocked me from getting back as quick as I wanted to. Oh Well.
We all rode together as a group and finally make the left turn onto Arbuckell Creed Rd. We had a bit of tailwind and now we were flying down the road at 27-28mph (avg) for the next 11-12 miles. It was amazing. My problem now was that there was no way I was going to risk a chain drop at these speeds, so I did not shift down into my 11-tooth gear. Problem was I was just spinning so fast now, especially on slight downhills (over 100rpm). At that low of a seat angle, it was hard for me to do and I was just shaking and bouncing quiet a lot. But I managed to hold on and did not have another chain drop.
At mile 91 we turned left onto route 66 which is extremely busy and had a pretty hefty headwind now. My visor flew right off with a gust which was just one more nail in my bad day coffin. Losing a visor costs me about 1/2mph – maybe more into a headwind. The group continued to ride together but also continued to slow down substantially. Of the 12 riders in the group, I only think 2 of them were in the Century race (Tim Valencia (on an upright), and our very own Jim Parker. With about 3 miles left to go I took the lead to push the pace a little since everyone had slowed down to about 20mph. Partly due to the wind, but Tim was also leading and was also slowing down to conserve his energy for the sprint at the end. I was hoping Jim and the other bents would latch onto me and force the pace and help lead Jim out. We finally turned right on Haywood Taylor which meant just a little more than a mile to go. About ½ mile later Tim and Jim passed me on the left and took off on their own private chase. Tim eventually edges out Jim for the victory (by 6 secs) but they each set a record in their category: Jim now has the Century Record at 4:05:41.
I came across at 4:06:00 as did most everyone else within about 10-15 sesc of each other. We all grouped back together after the pit area and started the 11-mile loop together. The conditions were perfect and could not have really gone any better (at least for everyone else) – for me, not so much due to all the TT efforts I had because of my issues.
Cliff and I had planned to stop around the 5 ½ mark for him to replace his bladders for fueling. I told him I wanted to stop sooner at the top of the hill to switch bikes due to the handlebar being so loose and the chain dropping as I knew it would continue to be a problem.
So, we stopped at the top of the hill (around mile 6) on the first lap of the 11-mile loop. Here I made another wrong decision. I wanted to use my FLO disc wheel off the Magic, so I also swapped that out which also took extra time. I also did not get it centered well and my brake was rubbing but I did not catch it until later. I did not really know it was a major issue until we started down airport road, and I could not keep up with Cliff even at my max power. Often one bad decision leads to more and instead of stopping and fixing it right when I knew it was a problem, I just kept riding. I could have even stopped at the pit and asked Robert to do it at the Cruzbike tent, but I just kept on riding and riding. About 1 mile later I told Cliff to just go on without me. I had totally worn myself out trying to keep up with him and was holding him back. =
Yet again, instead of stopping then and trying to fix it, I rode it another 6 miles to the top of the 11-mile loop where our vans were and fixed it then. By that time, I was exhausted and had lost some much time and distance. I did not quit though right then, but I did take more time – got the wheel mounted ok, swapped out my power pedals and had some food. It turned into a 10min pitstop! When I started up again, I was hoping I would feel rejuvenated, but I really didn’t. I kept going but my real power was gone and I was feeling really crummy. The straw that broke the camel’s back I think was when I finally had to shift into the little ring to get up the hill and it would not shift back to the big ring on the way down. I had to stop at the stop sign and do it by hand. I told Gayle I would finish the lap at the track and was quitting after that. She drove down and got me.
In the end I only road 148 miles. Total time 6:34, with a total of 16 mins stopped.
A disappointing end to a (short) day filled with issues for me. It was a major accomplishment to stay with the lead group after all those chain drops and cramp though. I guess I just rode the wrong race this year.
Final note: After Cliff left me (at the beginning of the 2nd 11-mile loop, it only took him about 15 miles to catch Marko, Ryan, Kent, and John. I watched it on the flyby – it was an amazing catch. And to make it even more amazing, he rode about 10 more laps with them all and then took off on his own and eventually had a 3-mile lead by the end of the day. The results do not show that because the race organizers made Cliff go down and back the pit area at the end of his final 11-lap, but for some reason they did not require that of Marko, Ryan, Kent, and John. (It was a 3+ min advantage to them) This basically gave them all the needed time to complete their final 3.7-mile Sebring track lap with about a minute to spare. Cliff missed his by only 13 secs or he would have been credited with another 3.7 miles to his total. Initially they had Cliff in 4th place because of this “lap oddity” as they had given full credit for the final 11-mile loop to everyone else. However, after some “detailed explaining by me” and looking at the time marks they finally figured it all out and gave Cliff the win. He deserved it. The final results are skewed a little as it looks like Cliff beat them by only 1.3 miles, but he was really over 3 miles ahead of them. Congrats Cliff on a most amazing race and result!
Thanks again to my wonderful wife Gayle who supported me, our good friends Jerry and Gail Melendy for hosting us, and the Lord for keeping me safe and off the pavement. It was great to see all my Cruzbike tribe friends, and all my other fantastic ultra-cycling friends at this event.
Here is my Strava link:
https://www.strava.com/activities/6708246798
Here is a link to my full 5+ hour Youtube video:
https://youtu.be/Rb07jsVIspg
Here is a shortened version of the Century with many parts sped up:
(Sadly the first 54 min video file was corrupted so the terribly exciting 30 mins around the Sebring track in the dark and fog is omitted as well as the next 20+ min on the road.
Thanks for reading my tale,
Larry
