- November 4, 2024
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Mike Unklesbay’s first mountain bike came from Toys “R” Us, and looking back, it left something to be desired.
“It was really a piece of crap,” said Unklesbay, who won Sunday’s 6 Legged Monster Bike Race as a solo rider. “But I thought I had the best bike in the world, and nobody could tell me any different.”
Flagler Area Biking put on the first-year event, which drew 54 riders. The “six legs” were split into three road portions and three trail portions totaling 70 miles and spanning from Bing’s Landing in the Hammock to Moses Creek Trail in St. Augustine. Participants could elect to tackle the course in two-person teams or go it alone.
Unklesbay, 41, did just that. He got into competitive racing completely by accident six years ago, when he rode Graham Swamp Trail for the first time. His only strategy then — and now — was to beat the guy in front of him.
When “I went out to my first trail, I’d never been mountain biking before, and I thought I was awesome,” Unklesbay said.
“But you start meeting people and talking to them, and you realize — I am terrible. These guys are fast. They’re good, and they’re strong. But I’d pick the next fastest rider and try to get as fast as him. Once I’d beat him, I’d pick the next guy. Over the course of six years, I never planned anything. I was just trying to catch up to the next fastest rider.”
There aren’t too many riders left to pass. In April, Unklesbay set a Guinness World Record by racing for 24 hours straight on Daytona Beach. He pedaled for 283.38 miles in the sand and has the certificate to prove it. Even with that endurance background, “Monster’s” course was challenging for Unklesbay, who used a couple of the top teams to pace himself.
“It was hard from the beginning,” he said. “Being solo, I tried to tag along with some teams, and the team guys (there were two of them), were so strong, it was very hard for me as a solo rider to hold on. The entire race was strenuous.”
Love at first cyc(le)
Alana Shawah and her boyfriend Marc Macaluso had an understanding. Tackling the Monster as a coed relay team, she’d handle the road legs, and he’d take the trails. The dynamic started off well, but as in any relationship, problems arose. In Sunday’s race, the difficulties came during the final portion at Mala Compra Trail.
“It was good until he didn’t show up my exchange!” Shawah said.
Macaluso was quick to explain.
The first two (relay handoffs) two went off without a hitch,” he said. “On the third one, I guess I underestimated how fast she actually is. She killed it, and I wasn’t there on time. She killed it, and I had a horrible lap.”
Still, the Palm Coast couple finished in first place among the four Coed pairs who participated. Bike racing makes a fitting date, considering how the pair met.
“It was a group ride out of the Bicycle Doctor (in Bunnell),” Macaluso recalled. “On one of the Tuesday nights, Alana just showed up. I was doing it here and there, and Alana showed up, and it was the first time we met.”
Need for speed, two-axle style?
The Monster’s 53 miles of sprawling pavement weren’t challenging enough for Jacob Godfrey. He raced with a fixed-gear bike — and without gears, brakes or the ability to coast.
Godfrey rode with friend John Randolph for “Team Tigerpaw” to promote their start-up video production company.
“I thought it’d be a great challenge,” Godfrey said, “and doing it on my fixed gear bike was even more of a challenge. It was something of a personal goal.”
The Monster wasn’t as treacherous as his usual cycling scene: Jacksonville’s underground world of Alleycat racing.
They’re “illegal, unsanctioned races, where we race from checkpoint to checkpoint through rush-hour traffic,” Godfrey explained. “It’s a lot of fun.”
