I guess Neil was wrong. So the Sunday Fort Worth paper said anyway. After a 60-90 minute rust-like sleep I woke up and saw something other than darkness. Crawled to the front of the mini-van to let myself out, and was happy to see my knees didn't hurt nearly like they did earlier. A bit sore, but that's it. I was waking up into another world, but one I'd been to before. Sort of like deja-vu all over again. Took a quick inventory of my body parts, they were all there. The temp was still chilly.

I changed my socks - putting on the 18 Hours (of power) ones. Walked around a bit. Did what you do-do in the morning, then tried to decide what to do do next. The thought of more Gel or protein drink still made me wretch, so I mixed up some rocket fuel.

1/2 Rockstar, 1/2 Pepsi. I always bring this to endurance events as an alternative energy source if I need it for the last few hours. It WILL get you going. No doubt about that. Threw down some vitamins, a few more E-Caps, put on my UMCA wind shell and swung a leg over the steed to see if I could get the blood flowing.

Nothing like a 6 mile climb to do that. No camelback, just one bottle of rocket fuel. 3 miles into it I felt pretty darn good. Passed some folks who really looked whipped - sort of like I felt a few hours ago. Said good morning, but didn't tell them I just had a nice nap.

Took a break each lap to relode the rocket fuel, - until it ran out. Also drank lots of H2O. Scavenged the pavillion to find more Pepsi, and some bananas. That got me through 5 more laps (100 miles). Still had over 2 hours left to ride. Hemmed and hawed about going out again. My brain was looking for excuses. It was warm now and I was riding in a short sleeve jersey. Perused the columns of lap data with a blank stare. RD Dan Driscoll saw me and read my mind. :

"Trying to decide if you should go out again?", he asked.

"Yeah, it's hard to figure out where I stand."

"Just get out there and do it, by the time we could figure it out, you'll be back." He was dead on correct.

I said "You're right." It was time to tell my brain to just shut up and ride.

Near the end of the 6 mile climb Shanna comes rolling by me. She offered a few nice words of encouragement. She was "just" doing the 6 hour. If you haven't seen her website, check it out. Very smooth rider. Incomparable list of endurance achievements. I followed as close as I could for as long as I could. (Not very) She caused a bit a stir at the FC508 by choosing Dik-Dik as her totem. What's the big deal? I think it's a cool animal. What's wrong with a lady that likes a little .... antelope. Lighten up folks.

I found more carbonated sugar water, put some in my bottle, some in my mouth and off I went. Got back with still 45-50 minutes left. Could've gone out for a partial credit "prorated" lap, but I announced that I was done as I crossed the line. At the van, DanD came up and asked "Not going again?". I said , thanks, but that was it. Regret that decision now. Next year Dan has permission to give me a swift kick in the _______ to make sure I'm out there when the bell rings.

Those last laps were really a bunch of fun. The breaks were way too long, but the day was beautiful. Riding the course in the sunlight was like a whole new thing. The wind HAD switched 180 degrees so the back stretch and the last downhill were directly into it, but it was still my favorite section of the course to ride.

SO THATS IT, thanks for reading.

Things I learned :

When you're out there suffering, and really far in the bag, you're most certainly not the only one that's feeling bad.

Vitamin C and E, along with a few good daily multiples, are a very good idea DURING the event. A pre-race massage doesn't hurt either. I feel better than I ever have after a 24 hour effort.

RideOn

JB

Oh yeah - If you were reading just looking for results, you'd of probably quit way before this, but here ya' go - 1st in Age Group, 4th overall.