Thanks for the ass kicking Floyd Landis.
by Clint Hosman on April 30th, 2008
don’t know how I did it but I screwed up big time this year for the Whiskey. How long have I lived in Arizona? 13 years. How long have I known that when it gets hot you have to hydrate a lot? About 13 years. So why is it I have to relearn this lesson at least once a year when the temperature kicks up? Typically I will learn it on a training ride but not this weekend, no I have to relearn it when Floyd Landis shows up to race.
That’s right; when I got up to Prescott Friday night every one was buzzing because the word on the street was that Floyd freaking Landis was showing up this year. Everyone one I talked to asked “is it true that Floyd is racing this year?” no one could give me a straight answer, but then Saturday morning as I lined up there he was. (Here is a disclaimer though, I didn’t take these pictures. I Stoll them from some one else.)
So yea Floyd showed up along with Nat Ross from the Fisher team and a few other high end pros including a former marathon nation champion decided to drop in on small town AZ for this one. I guess the Epic Rides events are getting more popular. This would be a good time you would think for me to be on the top of my game. Last year I finished 14th out of 113 guys, this year the goal was top 10 and do the whole 50 miles in less than 4 hours. Last years time was 4:08.
So we take off and I move to the front of the pack as we get the police escort out of town. Right from the start you’re climbing on this course. You quickly learn that out here there are two directions; up and down there is no in-between. However once we get the single track I start to feel a side cramp come on. I know what this means, I may be neglectful but I’m not stupid. I start downing water but by the time we get to the second big up hill I know I am in trouble. This hill ends quickly enough though and we are am on our way down the mountain and about two miles from the bottom I run into Landis and two other guys starting up. Honestly I didn’t even think it was him at first because the other two had him boxed in against the opposite shoulder. I just kept counting the guys ahead of me, eventually the count got to some ware around 30, counting the single speeders.
At the half way point I had drank so much water in an attempt to get re-hydrated that I had to go pee. That’s one thing that I have never understood, why is it that even when my body should be holding on to every ounce of water I have to go pee? But I shove in a couple salty snacks and begin the climb back up the 12 miles I just dropped.
I started out pretty well from the bottom. I soon caught and dropped a few guys and was feeling the flow. Thinking I was out of the woods in the hydration department I poured a little more gas on the fire. That proved to only hasten the inevitable though, by the time I got to the big dip a third of the way up I started moving backwards. My head went down and all I could hear was the hum of the tires going past me heading down hill. Like I said in the last post this climb doesn’t let up, it just smacks you around for 12 looooong miles. When I reached the very tip top and got onto the single track decent I literally was telling myself “Get off the bike and never ride again.” My body hurt all over, it was everything I could do to keep the bike pointed down hill through the ruff stuff and then came the final test.
If you look back at the profile map you will see one little climb pointing up half way down. This little climb is designed by Satan himself, just before you make the left hand turn to go up it you have this view of Prescott and it is so close you can just feel the end of your struggles. But then the trail turns away and you are going up hill again. Half way up this climb my legs really had it. They froze solid and then started shacking from a huge cramp. I had to stop. I stood there deciding if I could or should get back on when a 25 mile guy came by and said “Come on this climb isn’t that bad.” It’s amazing what a little shot at your pride will make you do.
I got back on the bike and started following this douche up the remainder of the climb and then back down the other side. Soon enough we where back on pavement for the final stretch. Through the city streets we weaved and he put a little gap on me. I couldn’t let this guy get away though so in the finale stretch I poured on everything I had left and pinched him at the line by a bike length. It’s a good thing I had a friend standing there when it was done because as soon as the bike came to a stop I felt the world closing in and I felt for a second that I was going down. I grabbed onto my friend for support before moving to a shaded portion of grass and laid down. Who knows how long I laid there but when I did get up the first portion of the results where posted. I was 18 places behind Floyd in 21sr place, he didn’t stick around though. I wanted to at least get a picture with him but it was not to be.
The wife keeps telling me that 21st out of 113 guy isn’t so bad but the way I have felt from Saturday tells me I screwed up big time. I haven’t been this dehydrated in a long time and I still don’t have any energy. What really stings is that I was 17 minutes slower this year then last so that shows just how bad I was moving. It’s all good though because now when non cyclists ask about racing I have some point of reference. “Yea” I can tell them “I placed only 18 behind Tour De France champion Floyd Landis.” Thanks for that Floyd. There is always next year and you better stay on your game for that.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:31 am
Dude, you live in the DESERT and have done so for 13 years, keep the fluids flowing! I have the same problem here in Southern California, I always get stupid at least once during the hottest months. Easy to do when it is typically over 100 degrees at your house every day in the summer. I can’t believe those cry babies in Europe who complain when it’s in the 80s or God forbid the 90s for a race. At least we didn’t have that crazy heat wave that you guys did last summer, wasn’t it something like over 110 for more than 30 days straight? Crazy!
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
shit, 21 out if 113 is awesome! I would have DNF’d after hitting mile 2 and went back into town for a milk shake and a Thai massage.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I had no idea that satan designed Mountain bike racing courses? Who would have thought he would have time what with this being tax season and all….
Good job on placing 21st out of 113. How many DNF’s were there?