Adventures and Such

  Hey friends! Thanks for stopping back by to read about my Huracan Lite 300 race. It was a doozie I tell ya.  The Huracan Lite is a 322 mile mixed surface loop out of Shangri-La campground situated on the Santos Trail System in Ocala, FL. There's also the OG route, now nearly 400 miles with a lot of the same dirt roads but also with nearly 100 miles of singletrack and some awesome water crossings that is more suitable for mountain bikes.  I raced it last year, finishing in about 30 hours straight through, with a little too much stopped time. My goal this year was a slightly easier pace with less stopped time. In my prep, I planned to tackle the race on a titanium hardtail instead of my gravel bike, as I felt pretty beat up on the gravel bike last year. But, true to form, I decided to change to my gravel bike the week of the race. I kept it super light with only a top tube bag and two feed bags. I carried a Nathan trail running pack with no bladder but instead, warmer glo...

  Lake Apopka sunset The annual pilgrimage to Florida for bad ideas continues! Although I couldn't make the Cross Florida race back in December, I was sure I could make the HuRaCaN 300 in February this year. I had decided to do a newer version, called the Huracan Lite, which is a more gravel bike-friendly version, skipping the big single track sections and water crossings, but not all that lite! It was 335 miles compared to the original route at 365 miles. I also decided I was going to "race" this one straight through rather than carry sleep gear. Unfortunately, due to work/travel/weather/illness allowing only 4 small rides in the 3 weeks leading up to the race, my training was essentially non-existent. Meh, whatever, these things are mostly mental anyways, right? Sure.  I took my OPEN Cycles U.P. as my bike of choice for this route, with 45/40 front/rear maxxis ramblers. As far as gear, I ran some profile designs clip-on aero bars with 60mm risers because, well, I never ...