Aug 19, 2025
Still in recovery mode. So my Saturday century ride was at slower recovery speed managing power levels at Zone2 and 1. Sunday was a cool group ride. i am very thankful for the outstanding help I received specifically after being back in Cape Coral since my injuries caused some bad pain putting power down. I was amazed I could stay up with the speed for the first parts of the ride. Also big thanks to the bicycle store in Ft Myers getting us freh water refills. Overall another cool century ride for Sunday.
Aug 12, 2025
Race Report MidAtlantic 24 hour Race 2025 Washington NC On August 9-10 I participated in the 24 hour race in Washington NC without support crew – so completely self-supported. First well-organized event and I have done the 12 hours in 2024 and 24 hours this year. I most likely will be back again. My issues started way before the race. No details needed but 2 weeks before I fell non cycling related and caused some cracked ribs on left side plus having issues on right hand and shoulder. Still did Boone NC race the weekend before to test out how I can ride. Went to Washington NC a few days earlier and … next issue with my time trial bike broken down. So I had to switch to the spare bike. Sounds odd but the Trek Madone is easy about 1-2 mph slower than the Speed Concept. Still decided to get this race done and target changed from a good ranking to simply getting through the 24 hours without additional injuries. Race started OK and had 3 solid first laps (about 25 miles per lap). My top average speed on first laps was about 3.5 mph slower compared to 2024 but that was expected due to injuries and bicycle switch. After 3 laps the pain when breathing on left ribs was getting a bit much so I start reducing power input. Kevin passed me in lap 4 (around mile 80) and he was very kind asking me how its going. Big kudus to Kevin. I decided to keep going but at slower power level. Did the first stop after lap 4. Refilled bottles and had a banana and back on the road. Still speed was down a lot. Kept managing pace ok even my target got adjusted in my mind from about 430 miles down to 400 miles. Also changed strategy from every 100 mile stop to every 50 mile stop. That new strategy went down the drain due to my issues breathing plus. In addition, I ended up with an issue to plan for lights change. I completely forgot swapping them after lap 6 and noticed the battery level going down. So, I had to add a stop after lap 7. And sure, enough I did forget swapping my sunglasses to clear glasses … That again added an additional unplanned stop. With issues I faced I ended up with 3 unplanned stops. Not cool but safety first. It was about 12 hours when I realized my adjusted target of 400 miles seems not feasible any longer. So, I adjusted my mindset again to make it about 380 -390 miles instead. It was later in the night after about 18 hours when I was getting frustrated about the issues. My race was no longer a race competing with the others. It was only competing with my inner motivation and personal targets. So, I decided to ignore the pain completely and avoid additional mistakes on my schedule. So, I start pushing much harder. When getting into lap 16 I noticed I made up distance and I may be able to get past the 400 mile marker. So, I increased power and pushed as hard as possible. My last 10-15 miles I was able to push well over 20 mph again and targeted 400-402 miles. Not sure how I was able to cut the pain out completely, but I ended up making it to mile 406 at the end. Rolling back to start finish was emotionally crazy. I knew I was in bad shape and expected nothing specifically on my result. Learning that besides Kevin I was the only other person getting passed the 400 miles was a big surprise. After the race … would I do it again with all the issues I faced upfront? Yes I know I would do it again. However, I cannot recommend it to others. Please try not to push the envelope that much since it could cause additional issues.
Aug 11, 2025
Mid-atlantic 24 Hour Race -> On 9th and 10th of August was the Mid-Atlantic 24 hour race again. Cool event and great group organizing it. I finished second overall. behind Kevin Liberacki ... No way I could have challenged him this year. Kevin is an exceptional cool racer (if not mistaken he pulled off 442 miles). He passed me in lap 4 (25 mile laps) around mile 80 and kept the lead for the rest of the race lapping me once towards end of the race. I did 406 miles at the end. OK ... I know it's kind of a disappointing shorter than expected distance. However there are good reasons for it. This year I am fighting some injuries (not all cycling related) and I had to switch to my spare bike plus a few mistakes with unnecessary stops that caused the milage top be much lower than I wanted. I am sure I will do better in 2026 ... However I was surprised to still secure 2nd place across all age groups. It helps me getting some additional points in WUCA WorldCup since I had a better result than Sebring 24 hours. Will post a bit of a race report soon. So stay tuned ... it was an interesting fight against my issues so I will explain a bit in a few days.
Jul 28, 2025
Returning back to trainign schedule -> First time since RAP Accidents and the non cycling related injuries to do some centuries again. I know its slow but had to find a way to keep breathing enough despite the pain. Also made sure to avoid group rides since I was focusing on handling the pain and that could cause danger to ithers and myself in a group ride Overall slow rides but was able to push decent for the first 40-50 miles each day. After that went more into recovery style riding. Issues have been stops and changing positions from aero to upright and back to aero. Worked out a way that’s manageable. Biggest issue and reason for the slow speed at the end was breathing issue left side sill requires a bit recovery. So may do a mix of easy stationary trainer and road ride in evenings to get better used to it. At least distance was ok and partial speed/power input sections have been acceptable.
Jul 16, 2025
Race Around Poland 2025 (3) As explained in first review of the race I unfortunate got pushed off the road by a truck close to TS4. However I manage pain normally decent and was able to keep going. Issues have been manageable. I went back on the road and kept pushing. Interesting on the road was that the climbing felt like being tough but I had to learn hat it would go harder every section 🙂 … I made it to TS5 at the end and had great help getting bandage and actually because temperature was down at night times I was able to borrow a t-shirt and thermo jersey. Thanks for all the Help at TS5. I am impressed about the support we as riders received at every time station. Onto TS6 was interesting. It started with a cool long climb. OK … it was long but some of the climbs before had been more intense and steep so this was somewhat easier to manage. Still managing pain I kept going. The section to TS7 was a bit easier but I had a bit of a mental challenge learning that one issue going solo without support crew and having no one around to talk to during the race. After TS6 the hard and most intense climbs had been done. So it was a bit more downhill and minor climbing from there on. Unfortunate close to TS8 disaster did strike again,. Had 2 flat fronts. The second flat front I decided to keep going because I was out of replacement tubes and the tire was shot. Unfortunate at end of TS 8 the last couple of hundred yards had been on gravel with rocks and split and … I crashed again. Normally no big deal since it was not fast speed … but hitting my fresh injuries made things worse and pain was not manageable. I decided to take a 3 hour break and once I got up again I prepped the bike and did get everything ready to go. Unfortunate to me. The issues with right elbow and shoulder caused me to not be able to keep the bike on a straight line any longer. To some degree it worked but was not safe. So I turned around and pulled out of the race. It was a tragic moment since I was in respectable position but the risk of another accident was getting to high. Was impressed about the help from TS8 to get me on train back to Warsaw and being helped in Warsaw from train to hotel. I was able to arrange pickup from Warsaw. So bottom line … I am sure unhappy about the outcome of the race. This will take me some time to overcome since I do not like not to finish a race. But I learned a lot. I believe the hardest parts of the route I was able to ride and did kind of OK. Some of the technical issues I can organize better and prevent running into those. In addition there is a better procedure for me that I could apply when doing the race self-supported again in 2026. So I am going to try it again in 2026 and hope to do better as long as cars and trucks leave me alone 🙂 From the races I have done this for sure seems to be one of the more insane races. Very challenging specifically in the mountains and require extra attention on very narrow roads in the mountains and somewhat narrow roads as well as old style cobble stone roads to deal with. Still the network of gas stations and convenient stores is very good even some are a bit further distance apart but once thats known it’s manageable. Looking forward for Poland again in 2026
