3Twelve?

Three Twelve. As in three hundred twelve or 312. Miles, that is. That number is significant to me because it is the number of miles I rode at the first 24 Hours of Booty. I have vivid memories of that initial solo ride, but one part I have not really spoken of was the bike I was on for that ride.

I chose the weekend of November 3-4 for the ride, and my last race of the season was in mid October (Hincapie's Michelin Classic crit). I had an opportunity to sell my race bike right after that race, so I did. Without a bike, I was in a pinch. The thought of riding an unknown bike was not appealing, but I turned to my long time homeboy and best friend, Jeff Corbett, for a rig. Jeff was running the 7UP Pro Cycling Team at the time, and it just so happened that I had Jeff's "Team Sebnup" bike with me after the Michelin Classic. It would be nice to think Jeff called offering his support and graciously offer his bike, but this is Crusty Corbett. Truth is, I basically commandeered his bike. "Don't fuck it up," he said. I didn't.

It was a 58cm frame with 175 cranks. Perfect. I rode the small ring exclusively, using the 39x16 on the uphill portions. I was surprised at how easily I adapted to the bike, even the saddle. Of course, having two pairs of bibs on probably helped with adapting to the saddle, not because I was getting saddles sores, but because it was freezing at night! No mechanicals the whole ride, just pumped up the tires and went. So big props to Jeff for being part of the first 24 Hours of Booty. I'm hoping he's part of many more.