Who motivated and still motivates me after 3 years ultra-distance racing…
Who motivated and still motivates me after 3 years ultra-distance racing I had a cool history of ultra-distance riding and racing. Many have possibly interesting ways to start. In my case it was a bit unplanned. I was riding a bit more centuries (one or two a month) locally in/near Cape Coral Florida. And our Sunday ride leader Chuck Cantieny mentioned if I ever tried Sebring race. So, I looked it up and … I signed up for Sebring 24 hours. Funny as it was, I did have some chats which included Dave Brillhart who was talking about non-drafting would allow for RAAM Solo qualification. I had zero idea about RAAM and even less ideas about drafting or non-drafting at that time (end of 2021). So I changed my signup to non-drafting Sebring 24 hours. I Qualified with about 440 miles and finished 3rd across all age groups so RAAM Solo qualified meant I had to sign up 🙂 . OK … my issue was I got hit by a car while I was riding in bile lane and that car must have drifted into it putting me down hard with major brain bleeding and 3 days unconscious. It took me to recover and rebuild strength. Still participated in RAAM Solo 2023 and started ultra-distance racing 2023. Therefore, who are my idols in bicycle racing? I must admit in the local Caloosa Riders Club there are a few besides chuck Cantieny. We have some very impressive racers like Bruce Lander who has done very well in Triathlon Racing or Jay Trojan who is an impressive racer in Cyclocross racing with amazing results and both are cool in the Gran Fondo race series. Not to forget cyclists such as Chris Scott who helped me crewing in the RAAM Solo 2023 and gave me great advice and admittedly quite a few of the local cyclists. I most do listen to advice and I test it for myself. If it works for me OK and if not I may adjust a bit and test options. It helped me a lot in the short time of cycling to be a descent cyclist for ultra-distance. Admitting in ultra-distance race itself some racers are my true idols. Starting with Christoph Strasser. I watched lots of his videos to learn a lot and actually had some calls directly with him before my first RAAM Solo 2023. What an incredible person and great talking to get advice. He still does some good successful racing and I keep an eye on his progress. Also Marko Baloh ultra-cyclist to me is an amazing ultra-distance racer … I did not have much time chatting with him, but I keep following his races a lot. He amazes me to keep proper motivation up and stick with riding and racing. And one of the latest idols I do have is 2024-year WUCA World Cup winner Marek Rupińskiski. Unfortunate he did not complete as all categories for 2025 but the races he has been cool. Had a few great talks with him and he was extremely kind to see me during the Race Around Poland in 2025. Looking forward to seeing Marek again in Sebring 2026. Besides the cyclists … one impressive idol to me is a crew team of Tim Skipper. I am always amazed watching their stuff and how they help the cyclists in RAAM and other races. Besides all the once named I do respect and get encouraged by racers who fight to the end to cross the finish line in time. I am impressed about the fighting will those riders have and I personally try to learn from them.
