Race event is Psycho48 .. So as some know I always go for the hardest option in such racing event. Yes, there are also 12- and 24-hour options available but its named Psycho48 so ... 48 hours it was again this year.
I did this race in 2023 already and still remember how tough the 48 hours are. Last year I stopped after 670 miles. I had unfinished business since I wanted to get over 700 miles. I know with lots of great cyclists this year would turn out harder. Competition was much stronger to me than 2023 and many had amazing distance goals. That’s cool to have since its pushing us all.
ace preparation was harder than expected due to the tropical storm getting through and causing me some serious challenges. But I worked around it and relocated for work and training to Bayboro NC area.
Had some cool chats with other racers before the race and interesting to see how everyone planned to approach the race. Personally, I admit that my time in the bicycle racing world and specifically ultra distance racing has been way too short. I started cycling in 2020 and do ultra distance racing since 2023, with the exception of the Sebring 24-hour race in 2022. After that race I had a major accident … hit and run while I was in the bike lane, and it took me about 8 months to mostly recover, though I’ll never fully recover. I kept going after my big goals despite that accident. My big goal was RAAM Solo, and I got that completed this year. Anything else is kind of a bonus to me.
At this year’s Psycho 48 I tried to take off in front since it’s a non-drafting race for me and was hoping with 19-20 mph for the first couple of laps to have a fast enough but not overly exhausting pace. One lap is a bit over 35 miles, and I was honestly shocked to see the first racer passing me after mile 4-5. He must have been going about 22-23 mph. On top of that, the second one passed me around mile 13-14 and going over 21 mph. Admittedly I was confused and head start spinning if my race strategy was wrong. So I did not want to play a game with them and get pulled into passing them I decided to speed up a bit between 20-21 mph. That way I calculated that they could not get too far away even they will be in the lead for a while. But a race is 48 hours and not just one or two. Also, schedule was one quick stop (1-3 minutes) every lap to swap bottle and get new container with perpetuem solid tablets. Besides perpetuem and heed I used several Hammer Nutrition products such as anti-fatigue and a few other options to avoid lack of electrolytes and minerals or carbs. In addition, I did eat solid food such as jelly sandwiches, noodle soup, oatmeal, rice … My crew chief, Heidi, with the help of her little granddaughter, did an outstanding job of keeping me on top of my nutrition; and I normally kept the stops very short with only a few exceptions. Coffee and a few energy drinks and Coca Cola was also added on request and ready for me to use.
Race event is Psycho48 .. So as some know I always go for the hardest option in such racing event. Yes, there are also 12- and 24-hour options available but its named Psycho48 so ... 48 hours it was again this year.
I did this race in 2023 already and still remember how tough the 48 hours are. Last year I stopped after 670 miles. I had unfinished business since I wanted to get over 700 miles. I know with lots of great cyclists this year would turn out harder. Competition was much stronger to me than 2023 and many had amazing distance goals. That’s cool to have since its pushing us all.
Had a great end of August and start into September. Saturday I used to get a decent 10 hour ride in to work on longer distance endurance. Was a cool time with some sprint sections in between the ride to see if I still have some power towards end of the ride. Since Maryland Gran Fondo is coming up quick I decided to move my training to Clermont FL for some climbing practice. Wanted to do another 10 hours but had to finish early due to weather changes. Got hit by some light rain in middle of the training while at end of the training day I was surprised by some extreme heavy rain. Normally on downhill I easy ride 40-45 mph but had to keep hands on braks and stay at max mid 20th mph. The roads had been under water and visibility was down to 5-6 ft. Climbing was as tough as downhill since I had to navigate through the obstacles . Water and debris covered the road on backside of Sugarloaf Mt Road badly. So I called it off after I got the 100 miles covered.
Some cool memories from the 12 hour race in Washington NC. I am very happy with the outcome of the race. It was the first ultra distance race since finishing RAAM (Race Across America) in June. The result and some speed/power data show that I am getting back to normal.
Mid-Atlantic 12 hour Race (2) Crazy thing ... my expectation was nothing special but checking how my performance is 6 weeks after RAAM Solo completion. I did 226 miles after all and under the circumstances I was actually pleased with that. More happy about the lap performance for the first 4 laps ... the first 100 miles I did in less than 4.5 hours. I now know I need to work a bit more on power level to get higher for longer distances again. Only two races scheduled for me ... one for sure is the Gran Fondo Maryland since it's a National Championship race and in October I will be at the Psycho race again. I believe overall I did decent to help my position in the WUCA (World Ultra Cycling Association) WorldCup. And focus now is on power improvements to do decent on my last two races. Overall this race was very interesting and gave me a good inside. Winning my age group was completely unexpected since the competition was strong. And seeing the strategy of the first group at beginning of the race was a good lesson I learned and know how to do it in the future. I hope everyone from the race is recovering well and maybe see some of the racers soon again in other races. .... Ohhh ... that pacing in the record list for the 25 mile lap was also an unexpected side effect and shows my strength is almost back from RAAM. It's still a bit weak but getting there. Maybe stronger next year 🙂 My recovery ride on Sunday with some friends went very well and I enjoyed being back on the bike. Ohhh ... and big thanks to my crew chief Heidi Maldonado and my coach Giovanni Prosperi. Unfortunate both of them could not have been at this race. If Heidi would have ben around I am sure I would have avoided some of my mistakes for sure. 🙂 And for my coach I think I got him a cool early BD present with that result 🙂
