Fried Turtles & Hero's
Tour De Winghaven, O'Fallon, MO. Sunday June 8th, 2008.
I was there believe it or not, racing in the 3/4's event. This was an awesome, well run event. A 3 mile closed circuit
of fast, of which we completed 10 laps (30 miles) in 1:08 minutes.
Do the math, it was a quickie. Here's the kicker. It was 95 degrees, 30+ mph. winds and a heat index of over 110. Needless to say that was not the best combination for a partially out of shape, slightly overweight & getting back into racing turtle. Thank God for my combination of good looks & junk yard dog attitude, or I may have been one of the many who did not finish.
We started off with 136 riders in the race. Yes, you read that correctly, 136! HOLY COW! Didn't matter, as I used to say, that's nothing, as I only have to beat 135 of them, easy stuff.
Well, I didn't beat 135 of them, only 111 of them, as I took 25th place. Not too bad, but will be better next time, I promise. There was some fried turtle on the menu that evening for sure.
This guy. Recognize him? Well it's my cycling hero. Some background: He's 40 something, doesn't really train, or have a training program, except racing. Has a beautiful wife & three adorable children, runs his own business, works his tail off, sneaks off to races (mainly to train he says), and crushes them into the ground.
Robert raced Winghaven as well, doing the Masters race just before mine, taking 5th as our teammate Clark won the event with Roberts assistance, and THEN races the 25 lap (75 mile) Pro event that afternoon (in the 1 billion degree heat) and finishes 32nd out of 130+ starters. Man, can I have a small blood transfusion from you?
I was there believe it or not, racing in the 3/4's event. This was an awesome, well run event. A 3 mile closed circuit
of fast, of which we completed 10 laps (30 miles) in 1:08 minutes.Do the math, it was a quickie. Here's the kicker. It was 95 degrees, 30+ mph. winds and a heat index of over 110. Needless to say that was not the best combination for a partially out of shape, slightly overweight & getting back into racing turtle. Thank God for my combination of good looks & junk yard dog attitude, or I may have been one of the many who did not finish.
We started off with 136 riders in the race. Yes, you read that correctly, 136! HOLY COW! Didn't matter, as I used to say, that's nothing, as I only have to beat 135 of them, easy stuff.
Well, I didn't beat 135 of them, only 111 of them, as I took 25th place. Not too bad, but will be better next time, I promise. There was some fried turtle on the menu that evening for sure.
This guy. Recognize him? Well it's my cycling hero. Some background: He's 40 something, doesn't really train, or have a training program, except racing. Has a beautiful wife & three adorable children, runs his own business, works his tail off, sneaks off to races (mainly to train he says), and crushes them into the ground.Robert raced Winghaven as well, doing the Masters race just before mine, taking 5th as our teammate Clark won the event with Roberts assistance, and THEN races the 25 lap (75 mile) Pro event that afternoon (in the 1 billion degree heat) and finishes 32nd out of 130+ starters. Man, can I have a small blood transfusion from you?
posted by Steve Driscoll at Wednesday, June 11, 2008
1 Comments:
Steve,
For your determination and all you and G. have gone through, in addition to all things you do for alot of people, YOU are the true hero that I don't even come close to. More often than not, it's not just about the bike.
Roberto
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