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The wheels keep turning
By JAMES THORNER, Times Staff Writer DADE CITY -- But you'll look sweet -- better make that sweat -- upon the seat of a bicycle built for two. Just another Sunday sing-along at the Dade Battle of Brilliance bicycle races in Dade City, where skin-tight black polymer shorts and 90-degree mugginess combined in a tandem of athletic torture. Ask Mike Starr. The Orlando bike racer spent more than a half-hour ripping around six turns on the 1-kilometer downtown Dade City course, much of the time at the head of the pack. That's before the heat stroke kicked in, manifested, ironically, in a fit of chills. Then came the "bonking," the word bicyclists use for when the body's store of blood sugar gives out, leaving muscles wobbly. Starr rolled out of the race about three-quarters of the way through and plopped himself under his racing team's tent on the lawn of the Old Pasco County Court House. "This is ridiculous. This is beyond hot," Starr said, downing a jug of fruity orange replacement fluid, his torso beaded with sweat. Despite one flying-over-the-handlebars-chin-gouging spill and a couple dehydrations, it wasn't a bad day to be in Dade City. The third Dade Battle of Brilliance race pitted about 300 racers against one another in 11 main events from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The races in 2000 and 2001 benefitted from the less-torrid October weather, but race founder David Hevia optimistically estimated Sunday's crowd at 800. Even he admitted that with 100 volunteers and hundreds of racers and their families, actual spectators were far fewer. Prize money was also down to $2,600 this year, which is $6,000 below last year, Hevia said. But a core of racing fans lined Seventh Street, most on the western shady side of the street, to catch a glimpse of colorful racing jerseys and spinning spokes, all to a chorus of chains buzzing on gears. Edgar Hall, in a lawn chair with his female friend, Lou Norris, was surprised that crowds were so slight. When the Weeki Wachee resident lived in California, a similar race in San Luis Opispo drew hordes. "The whole street -- you couldn't walk, there would be so many people watching races," Hall said. The Dade City course wasn't designed for sissies. The surface shifts jarringly from asphalt to washboard brick. In case racers veer off course at the corners, bales of hay cushion light poles and fire hydrants. The downtown buildings block body cooling breezes. The roads did a job on one of the early racers, exploding his tire near Live Oak Avenue and Fifth Street. He ended up with a bandaged chin. Later, a rider went airborne over hedges at Pasco Avenue and Sixth Street, his bike just missing one of the hay-cushioned hydrants. Damaging a well-equipped racing bike is no small matter. Anyone for carbon fiber wheels? Each of the extra-light wheels can set you back about $1,000. A space-age titanium bike frame costs even more. "There's not a bike out there that's less than 2,500 bucks," said Mike Rigby, who raced in an over-40 category Sunday morning. "It's definitely an expensive sport to get started in." The main race of the day, a thigh-burning 80-minute race for the top riders at the event, ended with a spot of controversy. The winner appeared to be Frank Travieso, a Cuban immigrant who has vaulted to the top of the heap in Florida racing. But a judge claimed to have spotted Travieso slipping into the race after the other competitors had already completed their first lap. After running neck and neck with Starr most of the race, Travieso placed first ahead of Dan Larson by about 2 bike lengths. Sweat running rivulets down his arms and legs, Travieso initially protested that he hadn't used any sleight of feet. The judges didn't buy it and handed the first prize to Larson. "He couldn't deny it," said race promoter and grand-stand announcer Tim Molyneaux. "He did it right in front of God and everybody." Bike racing is a distinct subculture, its members identifiable on the Dade City streets by their overdeveloped quadriceps, the muscles on the front of their thighs. Hevia hopes to keep their legs pumping in town for years to come. The race is part of the Florida Point Series. By finishing near the top, racers get points added to their total score in a season that runs from February to October. "If we can run a lean event with not too many expenses, we can keep it going," Hevia said.
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