Jun 02, 2026
Longhorn500 2026 Race Report (2/3) New spare tubes and CO2 cartridges plus new front wheel. And into loop 2. Made it almost 2 hours later to finish loop 1 than planned due to time for checking flat front issues. Refilled and all good to go. Did ok on loop 2. No stop at time station 1 around mile 61 since I had enough drinking supply. Went slower in the dark than originally planned but the flats in loop one and loss of one head light reduced my visibility and as stated goal was to arrive healthy at the end. Some may say it’s nonsense that I used a 500-mile race as test race. Why test race? I wanted to see what I need to work on and if my left tight muscle is holding up ok. Had pain from the crash at beginning but that was easy manageable so muscle seemed to hold ok. Loop two was finished around 9am and therefore almost 3 hours after what I had in mind initially. Did my refills at my car and went off again. Was at that time thinking about calling it a DNF due to the late finish of loop 2 but I decided to keep going. Sometimes our mind is playing tricks and wants us to finish. Funny in this race … would have been better I had listened to my inner voice. Loop 3 was uneventful. Did not really stop in loop 3 since it was only a 87-mile loop. After loop 3 I used bathroom at start/finish and went off again for final loop. That was kind of a crazy loop. All cool and had a brief stop at time station one to report my time and kept moving. Water supply was ok, but I was confused with my navigation. OK it was only a mental confusion and nothing specific. Main issue was related to not missing a turn. About less than 5 miles before finish I Was looking for a turn and was unsure. Got mentally a bit too excited and my brain went a bit hyper. For most people that’s no issue. Based on my brain damage from 2022 it is an issue and I noticed signs for a possible loss of consciousness. I stopped and got off my bicycle for safety. Made a mistake for not sitting down. Misery hit me badly losing consciousness while standing next to my bicycle. I fell - no memory how long I was unconscious and how I hit the ground. Woke up laying on road and noticed a few cars driving by. They did not care asking if I am ok. Until one couple stopped and ask if I need help. For many an easy situation they would have gotten back on bike and finished but I just could no longer move my left leg. I was not tough enough and left leg was hanging not usable. That couple was extremely helpful. They gave me crutches as well and drove me the under 5 miles to the finish line. So now a DNF and not keeping my goal up to stay healthy- sad outcome of the race. I did get in my car under pain and almost wanted to drive off but lucky me the race organizers stopped me immediately and drove me for a checkup to the few blocks away hospital. Finally turned out I had a fracture on left hip (intertrochantric fracture) with leg being displaced and surgery was required to fix it. Thanks so much for all the help I received.
Jun 02, 2026
Longhorn500 2026 Race Report (1/3) It took a while to take time writing about my experience of this year Longhorn500 Race. Before the race I was unsure if I shall participate or not. I did test the area a bit for over a week and felt like its doable. A few weeks before I had a left tight muscle fiber tear and based on checkup it was ok again. Unfortunate it reduced my readiness due to reduced power training for the 500-mile race. Goal for 2026 race … I knew I could not play a major role in the race and if I would be able to cross the finish line in time and healthy I shall be happy. Race was started for first crewed racers at 5am. Us self-supported racers we started a few minutes later. It was dark and weather was perfectly fine. I took off very typical trying to make good ground at first part of the race. First loop started and I felt ok. No bad feelings on left tight muscle and bicycle all set for the first long 235-mile loop. Due to weather, I did wear long sleeve jersey with a long sleeve shirt under it. Just a few miles into race I felt all going ok and pushed even I knew I could play no col role but maybe get into top 5 at the end. And funny as is I made a mistake and used a left turn where I had to go straight. I believe that was around mile 4 or 5. Noticing not alone making the mistake I did a u-turn and had to get back on route making another left turn … unfortunate not realizing that the front tire lost air and slipped making me fall. Unfortunate falling on left side of the fresh healed muscles was no cool. So I had to stop in the dark trying to fix front tire. Luckily, I believe crew from racer 511 stopped getting me light and helping with pump. It’s always nice people out there even in racing. Big kudos to that race crew and the racer. It was overall easy about 20-30 minutes time lost. And I told myself that race just started so to stay calm and focus on finishing the loop. Switched position with racer 511 a few times but knew he was stronger and I was hoping for daylight and easier to see the road conditions. Funny as is as a self-supported racer you are required to stop briefly and report every arrival at time stations. I did … water was no big deal at beginning but had an issue because one of my water bottles (out of 4) went down on one of the cattle guards. I ran short by one bottle for the 235-mile loop. No big deal because temperature was low. Crazy as expected rain started closer to noon time. Drizzle to light rain at some point. My strategy was simply to stay as safe as possible. Stopped at time station 3 (165 miles) to use the bathroom. No need for any additional stop at loop one. The last 50-60 miles unfortunate caused a few more flat tires on front. I noticed that always when pushing over cattle guards too fast I caused a flat. Having enough spare tubes it was just time consuming. Decided to change front wheel once loop was finished because it may have been the rim liner.
Mar 16, 2026
What a crazy weekend. Ok not as planned but I had to drive almost 1400 miles all night until Noon Saturday. So, after lack of sleep, I got my spare bike ready and … went for a 95-mile ride. So tested all lap 3 for the race. Stopped for water refill twice and was simply tired. Issue from start on. After an update on my Garmin 1040 I noticed the maps, feature was not working. So … fixed it Saturday evening/Sunday morning. Unfortunately, it cut my sleep time short again.
Plan for Sunday to ride full lap 2 we t down a bit. Garmin fixed and stated the ride later than expected. What I missed … wind in morning was ok … but around Noon it changed a lot to about 23 mph with gusts way over 30. Unfortunately, the cycling gods had no mercy. It sure was head/crosshead wind. After about mile 98 I made the decision to cut the route short by about 10 miles.
Ok ... still overall miles have been 131 on Sunday and that’s like distance for loop 2. But adding the distance from/to start/finish line it would have been more about 141-145 miles. Also, I found out about the wind after the ride. During the ride I blamed my condition.
Overall cool rides after the lack of sleep. Was a good test and I admit … I love riding in TX cattle farmland. It’s cool and I like coming back.
Mar 09, 2026
First Century Ride on Velomobile Bülk Distance - As some know I have a Velomobile Bülk Distance. Ok i only have that since 3 weeks and started test rides 2 weeks ago. Today I made the decision to see how it feels like on a century ride. So far my longest ride has been about 31 miles. Still testing handling I decided to go for a century. It was a bit unplanned and a decision after about 40 miles. Overall I am still working on most efficient way to accelerate after stops at traffic lights and stop signs. And working on handling in sharp curves. Today I noticed a few things I better train more for long rides on the Velo bike. For my race bikes I use the Infinity Seates for better comfort. Thats not possible in laying down position in the Velo. And admittedly my a..s start hurting after about 70 miles. Also I need to place drinking bottles better so I can have proper hydration. Ohhh … it was a hot day causing some sunburn in my face. Still temperature in the Velo was manageable to me. Average speed was only 20.6 mph. But thats due to stop signs and traffic lights. Plus I do not have proper front chainring yet. Overall a cool experience. A few things to focus on and hopefully getting familiar step by step with this.
Mar 09, 2026
Love my Velomobile Bülk Distance. Been ask a few questions on regular basis… How is it with cross wind - actually much easier than any upright bikes. Low profile makes it less effective even from strong cross wind and gusts. Ok … downside is not to be able to benefit from tailwind that much. But pro is that cross wind a d headwind does not slow you down as much as on regular bikes. So its a more consistent way of riding. What about hot temperatures. Ok yesterday I did a 101 mile (163 km) ride in average tenp of 84F (29C) lowest temperature was 77F (25C). Was I sweating… sure because I did that distance. But I felt ok. My big issue was that I did not pay attention proactively and not using sun-blocker in my face … got a sunburn that takes me off the road today. Its bot Velomobile related … its a general issue here. The temperature was not bothering me. I currently ride it with top open. Ordered one but will leave windows off in hot days. How fast does it go. … ok mine at the moment has the smallest front chainring. I ordered a large one and will change that as soon as I get it. I am riding for 2 weeks to get used to it … means setup of shoe cleats and learning to steer right or to apply a bit power … most times bow I use the 3 smallest gear on rear cassette and on a straight get easy to 23-25 mph (37-40 km/h) and top speeds over 32 mph (52 km/h). I know once getting used to it and having a large front chainring this will go up. On pictures … I parked it briefly when I went to a German bakery picking up some bred and the two videos show the turn signals front and back. That to be honest helps a lot … no hand signals … regular turn signals for traffic coming towards me and behind me. In addition great head lights and well visible tail lights plus when I break it signals rear traffic as well. So its a cool safety setup on the lights and makes me feel much more comfortable. In addition I use two good rear mirrors. So in conpare to my upright bike rides it feels safe enough. Ok … it does not rake away from me to follow proper traffic rules and watch out for cars. It’s just easier to do that. I was hesitant wor over a year if ai should get one. And after two weeks testing it I am happy I have one. Will I race with it? Mhhhh time may tell and its way too early to say. Focus is on having fun. I have ideas for cool rides (not necessarily races). And will step by step integrate those rides in my regular procedure. For now … its a learning curve.
