2025 Huracan Lite 300

 

Okay...I'm seriously going to make this an abbreviated race write-up for the first time ever. 

This was my 3rd year in a row racing the "Lite" version of the Huracan, which means the more "gravel" version, with no major single track and no water crossings. It's just really fun and it's better for me so I don't have to burn as much PTO as I can get down there, get it done, and get home with only Monday off work.

I had a new bike build that was completed by the wonderful Tom Bryant at Owen Cyclery in Chattanooga and I was pumped to race it. It's a Rodeo Labs Flaanimal 5.0 with SRAM AXS and some other fun bits. 

Our route started at 7:45am. After some chats with friends, we were off. Last year, I got a time bonus for the hole shot so I made sure to go for that again. I quickly realized I wasn't sure where the imaginary line for the hole shot was as I backed off around the gravel parking lot loop and then I was quickly passed by Chris Thorpe who then missed the entrance to the single track connector which took us out to the paved Santos bike path. 

Ben Carpenter ended up in the front and I was behind him. Once we were to the bike path, I let him and Chris motor on. I stayed with the "peloton" and made sure I was taking it easy as it's easy to get caught up in going too hard in the first 20 minutes of a 24'ish hour race. After 10 miles or so of bike path, we had another single track connector that is several miles long. I accidentally pulled away from everyone else and ran into Ben and Chris who had already taken a wrong turn. The three of use finished out that section and then they went ahead again once we were back on the pedestrian path at Baseline Trailhead. 

Next, we were into Marshall Swamp where the first half is almost always wet, muddy, and slick. I caught Chris first, and then Ben, and went past them both, into the lead, knowing they'd both catch me quickly once we were back on the pavement on the other side. And sure enough, there they were. I hopped on Ben's wheel as they went by.

We were headed into Ocala National Forest for some long, straight, rolling dirt roads with just a slight headwind. I decided I didn't want to ride their pace and backed off a little. I noticed that Ben backed off of Chris's wheel as well. We were all separated by a couple hundred yards but it wasn't long before Chris was out of sight.

With the help of a sandy section and my larger tires, I was able to catch up to and pass Ben but quickly realized, as we rode only a few hundred yards apart, into the wind, that we would be better off working together. I slowed up and we finished out the remainder of ONF together, rolling in to the Shockley Heights store together (check point #1), at mile 64, less than 4 hours into the race. 

My goals for this race were to keep my stopped time very low and try to finish in close to 24 hours. Last year, I was a little over 27 hours. So, Ben and I went into the store together, quickly grabbed resupply things, he paid before me, then I paid, walked out, and he was gone. Holy shit! Such a fast stop! Spoiler alert: never saw him again, haha! Strong work Ben, I knew you were gonna crush it. 

As I was filling my bottles and trying to hurry out of there, Chris turned the corner and pulled in to the store. He had made another wrong turn! I finished up and hit the road with about 10 minutes of stopped time.

From there, it was some pavement, then a lot of dirt in one of my favorite sections, the Seminole State Forest WMA followed by the Rock Springs WMA. After that was the town of Apopka that leads into the gravel/dirt roads around the edge of Lake Apopka, which happens to be another one of my favorite sections! 

Past the 100 mile mark, I meandered around Lake Apopka, dodging tourists and their vehicles stopped in the middle of the trail, enjoying the scenery and all the alligators on display. Oh, and, as I began, a rider came up behind me and passed me. It was Chris again! He had made another wrong turn somewhere. 

Once I was through Lake Apopka, at the Green Mountain Trailhead, around mile 130, I stopped briefly to fill a bottle and apply a nice salve to the nether regions as they had been angry since before the 100 mile mark.

Next, I knocked out all the hills outside Clermont in what's been dubbed the "Florida Pyrenees" and arrived at my next gas station resupply, at mile 150, about 9.5 hours in. I found Chris, finishing his resupply and leaving the gas station. 

Just up the road, I swung through Sun Creek Brewery for a checkpoint photo, where I found my buddy Michael Rasch, who had passed me while I was at the gas station. As the sun dropped to the horizon, we pedaled and chatted about the day and headed towards Green Swamp, which was about 65 miles of wilderness with no resupply options. 

We caught up to a couple of guys Rasch had been riding with, named Oty and Osmay, who were incredibly strong riders. I know Oty was Cuban, maybe Osmay was too? We rolled with them until I felt the pace was a little too fast and backed off. And apparently Rasch felt the same, because he dropped back from me.

I went into Green Swamp solo, at 7:20pm, at mile 175, about 11 hours and 40 minutes into the race. It was a rather uneventful crossing. I did almost crash while trying to avoid a possum that decided to sprint next to and then towards my front wheel; I came to an ungraceful stop when I realized it was right on top of my foot and probably about to bite me and give me rabies. I freaked out, jumped sideways, then pedaled off briskly. Crisis averted.

 I ended up catching Oty and Osmay and riding with them for the last 2/3 of the swamp. I also found Chris on the side of the trail, trying to fix a rear brake issue, which was a bent retainer spring. Bummer!

Oty, Osmay, and I made it to the Circle K in Ridge Manor, at mile 240, around 12:15am, which was about 16.5 hours in. It was a check point so I pulled my phone out as I arrived into the parking, looked up, and hit a curb riding one handed. I rolled across the ground and bottles went all directions. But, no damage was done.

Now, everything had been going good up until this point. I only had 42 mins of stopped time when we arrived. I had drank a red bull back in Green Swamp, which gave me a great boost for a while, letting me pull the other two for the last bit when they were starting to fade and were out of carbs. But this is where the wheels started to come off. 

I started to feel bad as soon as we stopped. I wandered around inside, unable to decide what to buy. Nothing sounded good. My stomach was going sideways. I had a little nausea and a little heart burn and had burped up some food which is never a good sign. I drank a ginger ale for sugar but also to try to ease my stomach. The other guys got ready quicker than me so they rolled on. 

I finally pulled myself together and got out of there. But as I pedaled, I started shivering and was having problems warming up. I only had arm warmers, my summer jersey, and a light wind/rain jacket. Oh, and a neck buff, which I forgot to mention that earlier I had decided to try it between my butt and bibs to see if it would ease the chaffing on the cheeks. Well, now I needed it because I was cold. So, yes, I pulled it out of my bibs, off my butt, and put it around my neck and pulled it up over the lower half of my face and ears. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! 

Next, I came to another gas station less than 15 miles down the road. I went in and bought a newspaper and stuffed it inside my jersey. I also bought some foam nitrile gloves to put over my gloves as my hands were cold too. I was about to leave but still so cold, I decided to ask if I could sit in the floor for a few minutes to warm up. After 15 minutes or so, I finally moved on. 

Another 15-20 miles and I was at Lake Lindsey Mall, ironically a very small country store, that was our last photo check point. I was still feeling rather bad so I just laid down in their parking lot for a bit. I checked the tracker and saw that Rasch was pretty close so I just waited there, knowing he'd roll up soon. Once he did, we chatted about my meltdown, and he left me there because he didn't want to get cold by stopping too long, haha! 

I hurried out of there, caught up to Rasch, and again, we pedaled together, headed for the Citrus WMA. 

While making our way through the Citrus WMA, a group of riders came up behind us. It was Jeremy Cook and a couple of his friends. They had skipped a small non-mandatory time bonus section that Rasch and I had done. Nevertheless, they were riding incredibly strong! They passed us but made some wrong turns and we caught back up to them and pedaled almost the rest of the route with them. 

By then, the sun was coming up and we just had 15 miles of bike path, some road, another 5 miles of dirt, some bike path in Santos, and the single track connector we started with.

Rasch and I crossed the finish line together around 8:32am for a time of 24 hours and 47 minutes, in 4th and 5th place. I think Oty and Osmay were about 40 minutes in front of us, in 2nd and 3rd place. And of course Ben crushed it, setting an unofficial Fastest Known Time (FKT) in 22 hours and some change.

Another awesome adventure completed with some good friends. Congratulations to everyone who just came to the start line, that's an accomplishment in itself. 

Much thanks to Karlos for another year, another amazing event!

And the most thanks to my amazing wife for putting up with me and my bikes. I love you!