I had planned on taking Friday afternoon off to get everything ready for the 24-hour challenge at Perry Mountain. However, late Thursday night I realized that a half-day off wasn’t going to be enough so I took all of Friday off to prep the bike and get my gear together.
I arrived at Perry Mountain Saturday morning around 7:30 (10 am start time) and Bill had a spot in the corner already saved for us Ironmen. At sign-up I was #3 and KDXfile was on his way, so it appeared that there would be only 4 of us stupid enough to race the Ironman class. After sign-up I set up camp and began putting on the gear. The bad thing was it was already hot and humid and the forecast was calling for mid-90’s in the afternoon.
At the start they lined the Ironmen and buddy class up to leave after the rest of the field so we watched 24 bikes head out over the grass track and into the woods. After a few minutes (I think they forgot about us), they unceremoniously told us to go. As usual I got the holeshot even though I didn’t want it. Mighty Mike on his XR400 pulled up along side of me on the grass track and we headed for the big jump. I had no intention of doing much jumping over the 24 hours (I wanted to finish) so I slowed to roll it. I thought that a guy on an XR would do the same, much to my surprise he aired it out and whipped it sideways. I decided at that point not to chase him! Turns out that Mike is the former Florida state HS champ and he rode for 7 hours straight (150 miles) pitting twice for gas. After only the 3rd lap he was already in 3rd place having passed the field even with our two or three minute delayed start (not to mention he had to deal with the dust). For quite some time he was the overall leader of the race. The rest of us Ironmen didn’t have a chance.
The course was 10.5 miles and was a good mix of grass track, single track, dirt roads, and hills. I thought that it was a fun but challenging course. The only thing I disliked were the long downhills that were nothing but breaking bumps. There was one that must have been ½ mile long and by the time I got to the bottom my arms were mush. As always the climbs were a blast with small jumps all the way up.
KDXfile and I turned two good laps and pulled over to get some water and let the pros go by. We should have turned 3 laps, cause we sat there for quite some time waiting on them. KDXfile spent some of that time reworking his jetting and I just sat around resting. When we got going again it was killer hot and humid. About 8 miles into each lap I would start felling sick to my stomach and I thought for sure that I was going to blow. I had to stop after each lap and rest, the biggest problem was that I felt so bad I couldn’t eat (and I like to eat). This went on all afternoon and finally at around 4 pm I pulled over, took my contacts out to give my eyes a break and took a good long rest. By 6 pm I was starting to feel better and managed to get some food down. At around 7 I decided to turn a few more laps since it was cooling off.
Just before dark KDXfile and I spent some time changing oil and air filters on the bikes. I also installed my stock headlight and made sure that my number 2 helmet with light was working ok. KDXfile had decided to head home and get a good night sleep while I was planning on riding a bit more and sleeping in the back of my pickup. At this point I was in last place in the Ironman class so I put the gear back on and went off into the darkness. And yes it was dark, the stock headlight on an EC200 is weak as was the $10 headlamp that I bought at Wallyworld. Two laps and two hours later I decided it just wasn’t worth going on in the dark. So I rolled out the sleeping bag and tried to get some shuteye around midnight. I was now in third having done a meager 10 laps all day.
I set my alarm for 5am but didn’t need it. I was awakened a lot that night by the sounds of 4 bangers going by the pits. I got out of my bag right before 5, ate a hardy breakfast and was on the bike as soon as it was light enough to see (5:30). My first lap of the day went well except for the monkey butt. So I pulled over and greased the problem and headed out again. I turned three laps before KDXfile arrived and I was now in 2nd. Riding that early in the morning was the smartest thing that I did, since it was cool (mid 60’s) and the dew was keeping the dust down. I was amazed how well I felt on the 2nd morning and I ended up turning a total of 6 laps before taking the checkered flag in 2nd place at 10 am Sunday morning.
I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do this race, but now I’m glad I did. The club did a bang up job laying out a challenging course and keeping things running smoothly. I will definitely be back next year and this time I’ll have some good lights so that I can run in the cool of the night.
I arrived at Perry Mountain Saturday morning around 7:30 (10 am start time) and Bill had a spot in the corner already saved for us Ironmen. At sign-up I was #3 and KDXfile was on his way, so it appeared that there would be only 4 of us stupid enough to race the Ironman class. After sign-up I set up camp and began putting on the gear. The bad thing was it was already hot and humid and the forecast was calling for mid-90’s in the afternoon.
At the start they lined the Ironmen and buddy class up to leave after the rest of the field so we watched 24 bikes head out over the grass track and into the woods. After a few minutes (I think they forgot about us), they unceremoniously told us to go. As usual I got the holeshot even though I didn’t want it. Mighty Mike on his XR400 pulled up along side of me on the grass track and we headed for the big jump. I had no intention of doing much jumping over the 24 hours (I wanted to finish) so I slowed to roll it. I thought that a guy on an XR would do the same, much to my surprise he aired it out and whipped it sideways. I decided at that point not to chase him! Turns out that Mike is the former Florida state HS champ and he rode for 7 hours straight (150 miles) pitting twice for gas. After only the 3rd lap he was already in 3rd place having passed the field even with our two or three minute delayed start (not to mention he had to deal with the dust). For quite some time he was the overall leader of the race. The rest of us Ironmen didn’t have a chance.
The course was 10.5 miles and was a good mix of grass track, single track, dirt roads, and hills. I thought that it was a fun but challenging course. The only thing I disliked were the long downhills that were nothing but breaking bumps. There was one that must have been ½ mile long and by the time I got to the bottom my arms were mush. As always the climbs were a blast with small jumps all the way up.
KDXfile and I turned two good laps and pulled over to get some water and let the pros go by. We should have turned 3 laps, cause we sat there for quite some time waiting on them. KDXfile spent some of that time reworking his jetting and I just sat around resting. When we got going again it was killer hot and humid. About 8 miles into each lap I would start felling sick to my stomach and I thought for sure that I was going to blow. I had to stop after each lap and rest, the biggest problem was that I felt so bad I couldn’t eat (and I like to eat). This went on all afternoon and finally at around 4 pm I pulled over, took my contacts out to give my eyes a break and took a good long rest. By 6 pm I was starting to feel better and managed to get some food down. At around 7 I decided to turn a few more laps since it was cooling off.
Just before dark KDXfile and I spent some time changing oil and air filters on the bikes. I also installed my stock headlight and made sure that my number 2 helmet with light was working ok. KDXfile had decided to head home and get a good night sleep while I was planning on riding a bit more and sleeping in the back of my pickup. At this point I was in last place in the Ironman class so I put the gear back on and went off into the darkness. And yes it was dark, the stock headlight on an EC200 is weak as was the $10 headlamp that I bought at Wallyworld. Two laps and two hours later I decided it just wasn’t worth going on in the dark. So I rolled out the sleeping bag and tried to get some shuteye around midnight. I was now in third having done a meager 10 laps all day.
I set my alarm for 5am but didn’t need it. I was awakened a lot that night by the sounds of 4 bangers going by the pits. I got out of my bag right before 5, ate a hardy breakfast and was on the bike as soon as it was light enough to see (5:30). My first lap of the day went well except for the monkey butt. So I pulled over and greased the problem and headed out again. I turned three laps before KDXfile arrived and I was now in 2nd. Riding that early in the morning was the smartest thing that I did, since it was cool (mid 60’s) and the dew was keeping the dust down. I was amazed how well I felt on the 2nd morning and I ended up turning a total of 6 laps before taking the checkered flag in 2nd place at 10 am Sunday morning.
I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do this race, but now I’m glad I did. The club did a bang up job laying out a challenging course and keeping things running smoothly. I will definitely be back next year and this time I’ll have some good lights so that I can run in the cool of the night.
