SFR Russian River 300K Brevet
Franz| March 3, 2010 5:49 pm
by Lane Parker
After I failed to complete the Devil Mountain Double back in 2007 I decided that super long rides were not for me. So, the 300K (188 miles) seemed out of the question but I’ve been doing so well this year with distances up to 150 miles that I felt like the 300K would be tough but doable. And there’s something different about the brevets, at least for me. There seems to be so much comradarie among the riders than on other organized rides. In the past, I would start getting frustrated after about mile 120 and mad at myself after about mile 150 for signing up for such a distance. Saturday, I never felt that way. It was a great day.
Russ and Sheila
Now for the 300K. My good buddy Ken Emerson picked me up at 4:20 and it was off to the Golden Gate Bridge for a pep talk from Rob Hawks followed by 188 miles in the saddle. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I’m doing on a bicycle at 6AM. It had been raining most of the night but by the time we rolled we just had wet roads and, as usual, I forgot something important: this time it was my fenders. I’m sure the people following me like Russ & Sheila Stevens weren’t too happy about that. Sorry.
Like the last two brevets we wound our way through Sausalito, Corte Madera, Larkspur, then on up to Petaluma. As forecasted, the rain started up again at mid-morning but thankfully it stopped by around noon. For the first time this year, there was a secret checkpoint on the route. When I signed the sheet I noticed that someone had left their route sheet and money in a plastic bag on the tailgate of the truck. I asked Tim Houck, the checkpoint master, what was going to happen with it and he said he would take it back to Rob. With some coercion he agreed to let me take it with me and that conversation separated me from Ken and one of his legion of friends, Kobayashi. When I arrived at the check point in Petaluma, Ken told me his buddy Mojo needed money so I said “I have money.” Mojo was standing at the front of the store wondering who was going to pay for the food and drinks he was holding in his hands so I asked him if he lost his route sheet. When he said yes I handed him the plastic bag with his money and route sheet. I can’t remember seeing anyone more grateful and I was really happy I found the owner. It was a bonus that it was a good friend of Ken’s.
Rolling out of Petaluma I was lucky to be in great company with Barley & Susan Forsman, Mojo, Ken, and ironwoman Michele Santilhano. With a strong crew we cruised the next 30 miles to Healdsburg through farms and vineyards. Leaving Healdsburg at mile 80 I was feeling strong so when I got to the front I put the hammer down and when I looked back Ken and Michele were both rolling along with me so I ground out the next 25 miles or so averaging 20mph. I should have asked them to take the lead a few times or dialed it back a bit because by the time we got to Hwy 1 to turn south I needed a break. Ken and I stopped for some Advil and a bit of a stretch but Michele kept churning with some other guys who had latched on.
Susan
As we headed down Highway 1 I was amazed at how violent the ocean was. I heard later about the earthquake in Chile and wondered if the ocean behavior was related in any way to the earthquake. After the coastal run we caught up to Michele at Diekmann’s at mile 120 but didn’t see her again until the end. Barley and Susan caught us there and after a brief stop they also took off ahead of us. They said Mojo wasn’t feeling too well so he was a bit behind and we didn’t see him again. Just as we were rolling, Clyde Butt rolled up with his new best friend, Andrea Symons from Germany (another ironwoman).
Ken and I slowed the pace a bit from Diekmann’s for the next 24 miles to Marshall at mile 144 where we had the best clam chowder ever. That was the last checkpoint and it was getting dark. As we were prepping to roll, Andrea pulled in and asked if she could join us for the last 40 or so miles. That’s when we discovered how strong she is. I could tell she was capable of taking off at a faster pace but she wanted the company and it was good to have the three of us for the extra lights since it was very dark on the backroads before we got back to civilization.
Lane, Andrea and Ken
I had estimated that we could finish in 14 total hours but we spent a little longer at a couple of the stops, thankfully. So, Ken, Andrea, and I pulled in at 8:37PM. It’s such a great feeling to finish a challenging ride and not be completely wiped out.
Thanks to Rob Hawks and all the volunteers who make these events such a great success. And a big thanks to all the friendly cyclists who support each other so well throughout the ride.
Auburn Century 140 miles 17,000 feet of climbing
Franz| February 18, 2010 7:28 pmby John Pugliese February 17, 2010.
“The Wildest ride in the West”
“Someone said it was tougher than the Death Ride”, said the SAG driver who stopped to give me some water – I agreed. Although the Death Ride has similar elevation gain, it’s split up into fifths and only averages about 7.2% grade. Mainly, though, most cyclists who attempt the Death Ride go extremely focused and properly trained. I did Auburn as an opportunity to view some nice country, but completely had the wrong mindset.
The week before, I had gone down Highway 1 along the coast from Los Gatos to San Luis Obispo. That trip had become an adventure after I broke a chain in the dark and we ended up sleeping in a field near the coast by Lucia, south of Big Sur. After that escapade, the idea of needing to drive and get a hotel wasn’t appealing. Instead, for Auburn, I took the Amtrak Capital Corridor to Sacramento and transferred to an Amtrak bus to go to Auburn.
I arrived early enough to go to Auburn’s Old Town area and get a good meal, then I went to set up my tent. I then went to registration early to hang out with the promoters and was told of the ‘Iowa Hill Time Trial’.
Again, my mind wasn’t set right. I was set to do the 140-mile ‘Lone Ranger’ course, with 17,000 ft of climbing at the official start of 6:30, ignoring the mention that many people would start earlier. I also disregarded ‘Iowa Hill’ as just another climb like ‘The Wall’ or all the other noted climbs in events that often don’t compare to our noteworthy local climbs like Bohlman, Welch Creek or Ramona. I figured I’d blow out the paltry 1.7 miles Time Trial as if it was Redwood Gulch.
The following profile is for the 110-mile “Outlaw” route with 11466 ft. of climbing and 13.5% average grade plus the 1.75 mile timed climb up Iowa Hill. There was nothing ‘just another’ or ‘paltry’ about the day. The following profile shows the deep V prior to Iowa Hill:
The time trial occurred during the second hour of the ride in the location shown at this ‘V’ in the chart. The average grade of Iowa Hill is 13.5% and many short pitches in the 20%+ range. I stopped on the bridge just before to snap a photo:
I got back on my bike and picked up the pace as if attacking a local hill and upon crossing the chalked start line, I monitored my odometer and applied power. At 25% of the distance, I realized I needed throttle back, at 50% I realized that the distance was more important and I slowed into survival mode. Bummed, I looked up to see riders, walking or stopped. I stopped at the top and another cyclist pulled up in disbelief and said he practiced the hill and still couldn’t believe it. Having blown out the cyclists on this hill, the promoters set us up early for a long subsequent climb. Here I saw more stalled cyclists and one awaiting a SAG.
Upon getting refueled by a SAG myself, I continued on and eventually pulled into one of the rest stops:
I wasn’t able to take pictures for a while as it started raining between my last two rest stops. As such, the last rest stop turned me around, preventing me from doing the entire 140-mile course.
A bunch of us hung out under the rest area and headed back into town along a fast, wet downhill. Of course, the rain had stopped after a bit:
The Auburn Century (Wildest Ride in the West) was a challenging and beautiful ride that went through Auburn, Colfax, Meadow Vista, Foresthill and Bowman, past a reservoir and through the Sierras. Although many rides have their favorite hill challenges, or noteworthy names, The Auburn Century was a nicer surprise and worthy of repeating.
Here’s another nice review, with stats:
http://www.mtbguru.com/trip/show_static/92-auburn-century
This year’s event will be on June 12, 2010, sign up now at http://www.wildestride.com/
White Rim Trail in a Day
Franz| October 28, 2009 9:25 am
by Franz Kelsch
I have a few major things on my bucket list that I checked off in the last few years, but one that I had not yet accomplished was to ride the Moab White Rim Trail in a single day. I have ridden it before but in 3 days so I knew that although the trail is not that technical, with over 100 miles with no water sources, over 6,000 feet of climbing, sand, and pounding from the terrain, finishing it in a single day makes it a monster ride.
A couple of weeks ago my brother Mike called and let me know they were going to attempt to do the White Rim Trail in a day and thought they would have a spot for me. I knew my friend Jim would also be interested so I checked if there was a spot for him, which became available. It was short notice and no time to do much training on the mountain bike so it was relying on my road bike training. I figured I had a fairly good chance of finishing but was not fully confident. There was going to be a vehicle to follow the riders to carry water and food, and provide the only bail out if someone could not make it.
On Thursday Jim and I made the long drive from California up to our second home in Orem, Utah. On Friday afternoon, Mike came by to pick us up for the drive to Moab. Mike and Stu’s bike were in the bed so we loaded Jim and my bike on a rear mounted rack.
It was dark by the time we arrived in Moab. The four of us checked into the motel and then met Rian, Vint and Jack who had driven from Colorado. Jack had offered to drive Mike’s truck along the route and be our support vehicle, supporting the 6 riders (2 from California, 2 from Utah and 2 from Colorado). We decided at dinner to leave in the morning at 5 am. First stop was Denny’s, the only place open at that time to get some breakfast.
From Moab it is a 30 mile drive out to the White Rim Trail. The trail itself does not form a complete loop so there is a section of connecting the two ends of the trail with 14 miles on a dirt road and then about 7 miles on a paved road. Some people do the White Rim in a Day by skipping these miles, having someone shuttle them, but we wanted to do the entire loop and finish where we started. We drove the 14 miles out on the dirt road and parked at the top of the Horsetheif Trail Climb. Our biking route would then be going back on the 14 miles of dirt road to the highway.
Our plan was to start biking around 7 am, just before civil twilight. After getting a group shot we started at 7:15 am.
It was now barely light enough to start without a light. We rode the 14 mile dirt road section back to the highway and ended up with 1,600 feet of climbing. The sun was now fully up so we decided to take off some of the clothing and put it in the truck. That stop cost us 7 minutes. It had been decided earlier to send the truck ahead at this point so it could get down Shafer Trail before we did since we could descend faster than the truck. We biked another 7 miles on the paved highway to the park entrance where we had to stop and pay the entrance fee. There was no one manning the entrance booth to take the fee and we didn’t want to bike an extra 2 miles to the visitor center to pay it. Luckily we noticed a drop box we could put in our $5 each in an envelope. Soon after the entrance we made a left turn and headed down Shafer Trail. This is my least favorite part of the White Rim Trail. It is very rocky and a relatively long steep descent. On some sections, if you went off the trail, you would fall down 500 feet because it is cut into a cliff.
When we reached the bottom at 7:43 am there was no truck. Evidently Jack had not noticed the drop box and had driven over to the visitor center to pay the entrance fee. While waiting I took a few pictures of the riders.
After the truck arrived we topped off our water and headed out, for a total stopping time of 18 minutes at that spot. Vint and Rian went out ahead, and Mike and Stu were falling behind Jim and I. Jim was riding next to me. Just as soon as he made a comment to me that my mountain biking skills had improved, he hit a bump that knocked one hand off his handlebar and he was headed off the trail. He was able to recover just in time. I thought it would have made a better story if he had taken a fall, but with a trail of rocks and slickrock, no one wanted to fall on this ride.
At 34 miles into the ride we came upon Rian, who had stopped to wait. While waiting, Jim was checking his tires and realized the rear was too low of a pressure. It seemed like a good spot to wait for the other riders and the truck.
We were not quite sure what happened and it was 15 minutes before they showed up. I guess Jack was having a hard time driving the truck to keep up with the bikers so Mike was holding back. Jim pumped his tire with the floor pump from the truck and we were off, with a total stop of 18 minutes. Rian had estimated that we needed to average 10.5 mph and stop a total of 90 minutes, or we would not finish without lights. But we had now used up half of our total allocated 90 minutes stopping time and had only gone 17 miles from the start going down Shafer Trail. We clearly needed to pick up the pace and keep any more stopping to a minimum.
Our next stop was at mile 43 and we were off within 6 minutes. We had some periodic stops along the way and were doing similar quick stops. Keeping up a fast steady pace and short stops left little time to take any pictures but I was able to grab a few at some of the stops.
At White Crack (1:24 pm and mile 58), we did take a bit longer break. With 11 minutes I was able to gobble down a PB&J sandwich and drink a diet coke. After another 2 hours we finally reached Murphy (2:15 pm and 65 miles). I knew from past experience that this was one of the hills I would not be able to climb so I got off my bike at the bottom and started to walk up. It allowed me to grab one picture of Rian who was making it up the hill.
After another short stop at the top of Murphy we continued on. Mike had promised me no more climbing before the last climb so I kept saying, “hey I would call this a climb” every time we had to go up.
Actually we had some real serious climbing up Hardscrable (87 miles and 4:45 pm). This section proved too difficult for me so I was walking part of the climbs but Rian and some others were motoring up them. I could never figure how someone could climb such steep grades with rocks and loose dirt. It was amazing to watch.
We now started our descend down to the Green River. I recall last year this section had a lot of sand that I had to walk through this year I was able to stay on the bike. I could see several vehicles stopped on the road ahead. Some group, headed in the opposite direction as we were going, had got stuck trying to pull a loaded trailer with a truck that just had street tires on it. Cars had been stopped behind it. This is a steep section and no room for a vehicle to go around and it was difficult enough just to get my bike around the congestion. They kept trying to put some rocks under the truck tires to get traction but were failing. I decided to bike on down where I saw Vint waiting. It was now 5:16 pm and I was running out of daylight so Jim and I decided to go ahead. But that meant we could not retrieve any water or food, or even our lights, from the support vehicle. I had enough water and hoped we could make it before dark. Vint said he was going to wait for a short while to see if they freed the road, then catch us.
Finally we reached my favorite part of the trail, along the Green river. Jim was not feeling that great so we made one stop to take on some more food. While we were waiting Vint and Rian joined us and told us that the trailer had finally got freed so it should not be too long before our support vehicle could continue on. We all continued along together. Rian’s bottom bracket was making a real racket so I was not sure he would be able to make it. At last, at 6:13 pm we made it to the bottom of the final climb up Horsethief Trail. We had figured that we could bike without lights until 7 pm so I knew that I had plenty of time to make the climb. I was feeling fine enough so I went ahead and reached the parking lot at 6:35 pm, with plenty of time to spare before it was too dark to bike without a light. It was a great feeling to finish such an epic ride.
I grabbed my camera and took some pictures of the other riders as they finished right behind me.
It was getting cold now. Luckily I had kept a jacket in my Camelbak but that was not enough. Rian and Vint had both parked their cars at the top, but both had left their keys in the support vehicle. Fortunately Rian had a keypad so we could get in his car, out of the wind. Another gal was also parked there, waiting for her group who had also been doing the White Rim in a day. Some time passed and no sign of Mike and Stu or any of the riders she was waiting for. One of the riders from the other group finally came in and gave us an update that although the trailer had been freed, it got stuck again. I figured Mike had stayed back to watch his truck and would not leave until it had got through. We were not sure how long it was going to be now. Finally a second rider from the other group arrived and let us know that the trailer had finally cleared the climb. At 7:48 pm Mike and Stu arrived, wearing headlamps. Right behind them was the support vehicle.
It turned out to be ideal conditions. Although this time of the year meant less sunlight, the temperature was just about right for such a long ride. I had a fantastic time and the group of guys I was riding with made it extra special.
Later I downloaded the data from my Polar heart rate monitor. I had to adjust my distances because I didn’t have things set right for my mountain bike so I was reading 7% low on the distance. Mike got around 100 miles on his Garmin GPS so I used that as the total distance and adjusted things accordingly. Here is a elevation profile and some other data. Click the chart to view enlarged.
Date: 10/24/09
Distance: 100 miles
Climbing: 6,600 feet
Average Heart Rate: 132
Maximum Heart Rate: 169 (93% of Max HR)
Average Speed (rolling): 10.5 mph
Total Time: 11:20
Stopping Time: 1:50
Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hill Climb 2009
Franz| October 4, 2009 11:10 amby Alison Chaiken
In The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike), author John Summerson wrote about Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb: The most difficult road bike hill climb in the U.S. and perhaps the world, this road is only open to bikes during the annual hill climb race usually held in August and at times for several hours for a practice ride shortly before the race. No concession to gradient was made as it starts out steep and never lets up all the way to the top.
Woot! I had to try it. That meant getting up at 4:45 AM on February 1st, 2009, as the registration opened at 8 AM Eastern Time. In 2008, the 600-person field filled in 7 minutes. The fact that my family lives near Mt. Washington in northern New Hampshire meant that the race could be part of a longer vacation. A friend of my father’s told him that the gradient was so steep that cyclists had to stand the entire way. As a Low-Key Hillclimber and veteran of many Almaden Cycle Touring Club “billygoat” hills of gradient greater than 20%, I knew that I would not have to stand for much of an average-12% climb. Nonetheless, the 4725′ elevation gain over 7.4 miles was a bit scary, especially when paired with the 22% finish, reminiscent of our local Mt. Diablo’s 16% finish. You do have to wonder about an event where the winningest riders in both the men’s and women’s categories are under long-term ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
According to Summerson, Mt. Washington has the toughest 5-mile climb in the U.S., with an average 12.1% slope over that distance. The Angliru featured in the Vuelta a Espana goes up at an average gradient of 10.1% over 7.8 miles, while the infamous L’Alpe d’Huez of the Tour de France rises up 8.4% over 8.1 miles. By comparison, local lung-buster Alba climbs 2050′ over 3.9 miles for an average 10% grade, with the fearsome Bohlmann-On Orbit rising 2337′ over 4.7 miles for a similar 10%. Mt. Washington thus has about twice the elevation gain of Bohlmann-On Orbit over significantly less than twice the distance. As a frequent climber of these Bay Area hills, I normally ride a 52-39-30 in the front and an 11-27 in the back and definitely had occasion to use my lowest gear at Mt. Washington.
The race was on August 15th, 2009. I flew out to New England on the 13th and stayed with my brother. Jim Chaskin of The Bicycle Outfitter packed my bike up and shipped it, and thanks to help from friend Michele Rae, UPS figured out where it was and delivered it on the 14th. The night before the race, my father, brother and their wives and I stayed over at the Mt. Madison Motel in Gorham, NH.
The morning of the event, I drove out to the Glen View Cafe at the base of the Mountain and had breakfast with a few other participants. Mt. Washington is famous for its bad weather, but August 15th dawned clear and warm. The summit was clearly visible from the base, and riders could see how nearby and high it was!
The race start was amusing because I showed up in my Alto Velo kit, and the P.A. announcer clearly thought I was one of the Webcor women pros. A Colavita rider I spoke to was very friendly as she clearly was wondering why she didn’t recognize me. We 500+ riders went off in five flights all initiated by a loud gun. I was in the 4th of 5th flights, presumably based on the estimated time (90 minutes) I submitted.
At the bottom - Credit: Philbrick Photo
As noted in the press coverage, the day was beautiful, and riders were actually hot at the bottom. The road surface was mostly smooth and wide in the first five miles. While I could tell that we were definitely going uphill, the variable 10-15% grade didn’t seem any worse than going up Hicks or Montebello, because it wasn’t. There were two kilometer-long stretches averaging > 14%, on one of which I did stand a bit, but for the most part I was taking it easy and conserving my energy. I was pretty nervous when we hit the dirt/gravel section at about mile 5, but since there had been just a bit of recent rain, the roadbed was packed and traction was good. I rode on the embedded-gravel section in the center of the road since
I was worried about slipping my traction wheel when the dirt turned up, but then I was nervous about flatting on some of the sharper-looking rocks. Everyone definitely breathed a sigh of relief when they got back on pavement at about mile 6.5.
About Halfway - Credit: Philbrick Photo
By this point, the road was a bit narrow and twisty. The views were spectacular since the day was so clear: 360-degree panoramas of all of the craggy and green Presidential Range. By this point, I was having a fabulous time and knew I was going to make it all the way to the top, so I picked up the pace a wee bit. The whole way I was passing riders who were resting or walking, and now I started passing folks who were still riding. As we approached the summit, we entered some mist.
Final Climb - Credit: Philbrick Photo
In the last mile, I started to go past a lot of spectators. There had been scattered fans all the way up, but as we got into the last half-mile, real crowds were lining the road. At about a
quarter-mile out, I saw that my brother had chalked my name on the roadbed! That really surprised me, and I clicked up a couple of a gears and accelerated, which caused a couple of spectators to hoot encouragement at me.
View of the last wall before the road narrows and the pavement deteriortaes
I came around the final big turn and saw the last wall, which is as steep as Cat’s Hill, but 50 yards long, with two hairpin turns and several big potholes. If those challenges weren’t enough, I saw that the road was only 12-15′ wide, and at the edge were not barriers or course marshals, but spectators with flailing arms and baby strollers. Yikes! I was reminded of
photos of Liege-Bastogne-Liege or the Tour of Flanders:
The Muur van Geraardsbergen in Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) for women. At least there's a rope between the riders and the crowd. Photo taken by Lander Vandergucht.
I had plenty of energy to put on a sprint to the finish, but I was scared. I stay seated, and moving my eyes rapidly between the spectators and the potholes, ground up the final climb. I bobbled in a giant pothole but did not go over. As I hit the first hairpin, I heard my family screaming, “GO ALISON! GO!” They must have been inches away from me although I hadn’t seen them.
Okay, it was hard.
Later on my family told me that: a) the woman’s overall winner Sue Schlatter had fallen on the same pothole while standing and pumping; and b) spectators had knocked over a unicyclist who was insane enough to ride up Mt. Washington. I’m glad I was conservative on the final bit as, hey, I already had road rash at the start! I rolled around the final bend and over the finish to have attendants grab me, put a blanket over me, and hand me water. Awesome.
I was 12/17 in my W45-50 category, which includes the top two women’s finishers. In retrospect, I could have gone about 10 or 15 minutes faster than my 108-minute finish, but I was nervous about the gravel section and the 22-24% finish and went quite slow at the bottom. My tracklog on Google MyMaps includes my warm-up as well as the race.
After the event, my family gave me a ride down, as racers were not allowed to descend. Hell, a lot of cars are not allowed to drive up!
Half the cars in New England have a sticker
All in all, the race was a wonderful experience. I forget how beautiful New England is between visits. I totally recommend racing
in front of your family even if they are not sports fans.
For contrast, read men’s overall winner Phil Gaimon’s report.
Insomnia, Mosquitoes Good For Something – White Mountain Double
Franz| October 3, 2009 1:39 pmKnoxville Fall Classic Double Century 09/19/2009
Franz| September 27, 2009 6:57 am
by Clyde Butt
Prep
After a 19 month absence from riding in California Triple Crown series events, I’m glad I chose to do this one. A long term period of unemployment forced me into survival mode – I simply could not justify or pay for the events. Praise God, I landed safely at Brocade last month (08/10/2009), and of course, one of my first actions was to check the calendar for all the doubles still going on this year!
My brother and his family live only 8 miles from the start. Having not seem them for a while, I made arrangements to stay with them and visit a while before the big ride day. Brother Doug and family just returned from a vacation to Sweden. Wow, the pictures were incredible, perfect weather for that part of the world. A must see for me, someday.
I arrived at the start location nearly an hour before check in time and to my surprise and delight Albert Kong showed up early, too. What a delightful guy. Always smiling and showing his enthusiasm for cycling. He was still recovering from doing the Last Chance 1200 in Colorado less than a week ago! What a stud! Later the next day at the awards breakfast, Albert was inducted into the California Triple Crown Hall of Fame after completing his 50th double century!
Instead of checking in and taking off for some much needed rest, I decided to stick around and help check in the riders. Albert took care of A-L last names while I managed the M-Z crowd. It was a lot of fun meeting everyone, checking their names off, and giving them their ride numbers and route slips. Volunteering is always a blast. You gott’a try it sometime, if you haven’t done so.
I still managed to get to sleep and log about 6 hours down time. This has always been a challenge for me the day before a big event. I guess the excitement kind of takes over, even after several years of doing these types of rides.
The Event
I “slept in” and got up at about 3:30am, ate a big cranberry wheat muffin and banana I purchased at Trader Joes before leaving the bay area. Got to the start and saw my friend Kitty G. about to start. At 4:37am my wheels were rolling and I caught her about 30 mins down the road.
I left all my cold weather clothes behind, save my long fingered wool gloves. Even though it was mild at the start, I remember Mt. George from 2007 where I froze and couldn’t feel my fingers or toes in the 36 degree temp on the descent!
Well, I didn’t need ‘em. In fact, I descended with arm warmers rolled down around my wrists. Conditions were perfect, about 58 degrees and the wind at the start had dissipated. What a pleasure to pace line with Kitty G., Karen Huber, Isabelle Drake, and a few other very experienced ultra-cyclists. In fact, after 4 hours on the course, I noticed that we were averaging 18.8 mph! At this rate, I thought, I’ll be done in 13 hours or so.
Karen Huber; one of only 3 women that finished Alta Alpina in 2009, the #1 hardest double century on the circuit http://www.caltriplecrown.com/schedule.htm#altaalpina
My what a difference the heat can make. 6:16 mins ride time to complete the first 100 miles and over twice as long to get the second 100 done! By 11:30am, I was probably down about 1 liter of water. I have difficulty forcing myself to drink when the temp is cool like it was that morning. I think this set me up for what was about to take place…
As I came up to the pre-lunch water stop at mile 97, both of my hamstrings started to twitch…an all to familiar feeling for me. I knew that cramps were about to hit. No matter how much I hydrate and take endurolites, Tums, and eat bananas, something has happened over the last 3 years as I entered my 50s. Heat induced cramps? Age-related? Could my bodily systems be changing and not producing the right amount of elements needed to avoid these debilitating cramps? I don’t know, but I’m sure going to try and find out.
For the next 6 hours, I suffered. Must have walked a total of 5 miles or more…on the bike a minute or two, then cramps would start, off the bike to walk them off…over and over again. I even got a little “short” with a rider that came by like so many others asking if there was anything I needed. I said, “NO, I’m all over it!” Needless to say, I was getting pretty agitated by the whole ordeal. After all the walking, the front of my feet, right around the ankle joint, were getting really sore.
But I was determined to not quit. Must of had something to do with the fact that my personal goal for the second half of the year was to finish this ride. A DNF would have put me in jeopardy of not getting paid some of the potential incentive bonus I’m eligible for at Brocade. What a great company, they are actually going to pay me for completing this ride!
I missed the turn to the lunch stop and continued on to climb Siegler Canyon and Cobb Mtn. Two pretty tuff climbs, especially for me in the condition I was in. I could not ride any of the inclines without cramping! All I could do was walk and coast on the flats and decline sections.
Thank God for SAG support. Ernesto came along at just the right time with cold drinks, and other supplies. I downed a coke, took some more endurolytes and started out again, only to find myself cramping again.
I sat down at a paved driveway to stretch out my hams and it seemed to help me ride a little farther before cramps set in again, so I kept stretching them out, even while on the bike, hoping I could overcome this problem before it overcame me.
About 5:30pm as I was climbing Pope Valley Rd., I had a terrible bout with cramps in my hamstrings and quads. I was hobbling to try and walk them off. At this point, I was seriously thinking that I was done, stick a fork in me, I may not be able to continue!
Oddly enough, as the sun got low in the sky and the temps began to fall, no more cramps, not a single bout for the rest of the ride. They must be heat induced…gott’a find out about this before I do another long ride.
I was so glad they were over, I got very pumped up, reinvigorated to make up for the slow, agonizing afternoon.
After Rest Stop #5 as twilight was coming on, I came across a lone cyclist, Nancy. She was doing her third double century and going for the triple crown jersey (only riders that complete 3 in a calendar year can buy it). I asked her if she would like me to buddy up with her during the night hours and she welcomed the idea. Always do this, folks. Two sets of lights on the road are always better than one.
As we rambled on down Hwy 28, we realized that it was even more important to stay together. It was Saturday night and we were in vacation camping country (Lake Berryessa). A few trucks with their trailer rigs loaded with jet skies came dangerously close to us. We know what they had been doing – how do you spell drinking & driving?
I wasn’t as concerned about it as Nancy. I guess since I always pray before every ride that God will dispatch guardian angels to watch over us, I figure that when my time is up on this earth, nothing, no matter how cautious I am will keep me from entering into eternal life, but lets not rush it, either 
At about 8pm Nancy and I came up to the next turn on our route slip. We were to make a left at the junction of hwy 28 and hwy 121. Hmm, Scott and his team of volunteers had done a good job of marking the course at every turn and I saw the Kx left arrow at just the right mileage on my computer, so we turned at the store. Little did we know that had we gone just another 30 yards up the road, we would have seen the real left turn to make!
7 miles and about 1500′ of elevation gain later, we came to the end of this wrong turn road. Some people were having a pool party with loud music at the top where there was a small community of homes and so I crashed the party. I must have looked like an alien walking up to them…miners light strapped to my helmet and reflective ankle bands and other reflective stuff showing. Chris, with his buff shaved chest full of tattoos informed us that we had to go all the way back to the store 7 miles away to get back on course!
Nancy was not exactly happy about this. In fact I distinctly remember hearing some expletives shouted into the air!
Now it didn’t really rattle me. I was really enjoying the balmy temps and beauty of the outdoors. However, I did feel bad for Nancy. She wanted to get to the finish a lot earlier than when we would tonight. As we got back to the store, I called Scott and told him what happened (I tried to call him at the end of the road 7 miles away but there was no network coverage). He explained that the turn is further up the road where the stop sign is, and sure enough, as we talked, I looked up and saw what he was describing. It was kind of comforting to hear him say that he has made the same wrong turn, too! We climbed Steele Canyon all the way to the top. That little out and back amounted to 14 miles and about another 1.5 of riding!
Lesson learned; always preview the route slip before the ride. Had I realized that the left turn was a left to keep us on hwy 128, I would have been looking for markers to confirm we were on that hwy!
Hey, Scott, just the same, please place that road marker AFTER the turn onto Steel Canyon! Thanks!
Scott also told me during our phone call that 4 riders had just made the left turn onto hwy 28 about 5 minutes ago and there were still 3 riders behind us. He assured me that even if we got to the finish in Vacaville after midnight, we would not be “awarded” a DQ for missing the cut off time. Ah, that was nice to hear.
I delivered Nancy to the group of 4 where Scott was driving his van behind them to provide more light and security up the gentle hill climb we were on. As we got to the group, I decided to turn on the afterburners and cook it to the finish. After a quick stop at the last rest stop, I pumped it up and arrived at Pena Adobe Park, the finish, at 12:05am.
The second 100 miles took me 13:32 to complete! Totals for the day = 218.9 miles, 16:48 ride time, 2:20 in stop time (only 28 minutes off the bike in the first 100 miles). The 18.8 mph average from early morning fell to 13.0 for the day, and a fast 45.9 max speed on the descent of Mt. Howell.
Oh, about Howell Mtn. I got a little too cocky on that descent. Sometimes it happens when I’m with a group of riders (there were about 6 of us) coming down from the summit, I was feeling over confident in my descending skills and decided to cook it. Forgetting that a few hairpin turns were coming up, that was a really bad decision.
On one of those that banked to the right, I got very close to the center line just as a big ole pickup truck was coming up on the other side. He too, was hugging the center line. My life didn’t flash before me, but when I saw him coming, I tried to ease off and not brake to hard and just maintain my line. As I nearly kissed his left fender, I could feel the wind rush by my left ear. We were only inches apart!
I heard several of the guys I was with, shout out the big WOE! Bashar, a Jordanian guy that I swear looks and talks more like an Italian pro climber, came up to me in the flats and gently put his hand on my shoulder and kindly encouraged me to be more careful. We road together with Victor for the next hour or so and had a great time climbing up the longest stretch of the course just before the lunch stop at mile 107. It really helps your mental attitude to climb the long hard ones with others. It gets you out of thinking about you, and the time and work seem to go by faster and easier.
The after ride meal put on by The Quackcyclists, was a great feast, catered by Pietro’s #1 in Vacaville, we were treated to several different pastas with maranara and cream sauces, bread, salad, baked chicken, and ice cream, lots of ice cream (I had 3 chocolate covered vanilla bars
More later when I return with a post about the awards breakfast Sunday 9/20. What a great time it was. The stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things will inspire you. Guaranteed!
The awards breakfast Sunday 09/20/2009:
After only 4 hours sleep, I jumped out of my sleeping bag and headed back to Pena Adobe Park to get in on the breakfast and ride stories of all the newly inducted hall of famers. Wow, we were treated to huevos rancheros! I had 3 big burritos of scrambled eggs, refried beans, sour cream, and guacamole, hmm, hmm, good!
11 riders were inducted into the California Triple Crown Hall of Fame this year. They had to complete 50 double centuries in order to be eligible. It was so delightful to see friends walk up to the podium and tell their stories. Albert Kong brought is two youngsters with him and Kitty G. accepted on behalf of Betty Berka who could not be there.
I sat next to Kitty for breakfast and the presentations and watched her autograph a book that one of the riders brought along. It was a book about the race across America (RAAM). There is a photo of Kitty from 1987 riding the course followed by her support crew vehicle. Her crew had mechanical troubles with the car along the way. It forced Kitty to abandon the ride somewhere in Utah. Sometimes it’s not the rider that gets into trouble!
I got to see Lynn Katano receive a special recognition award from Chuck Bramwell (The Triple Crown Guy who started the ride series). Lynn is the premier volunteer and quintessential hostess for these events, giving of her time and resources to support the riders and all the teams of volunteers. I met Lynn and her photography guy in Arizona in April 2007 where we were riding PBP qualifying events. Chuck pointed out that Lynn has completed 91 double centuries! WOW, I didn’t know that! Her award was quite unique. A rock from the Tom Simpson memorial monument near the summit of Mt. Ventoux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson
The most moving story of the morning came from a woman who was inducted into the hall of fame and had an impressive list of accomplishments to her credit, include numerous ironman competitions. Chuck mentioned that she hopes to compete again at that level one day. As she walked up to the podium to speak, I couldn’t help but notice a limp in her stride. Saturday she completed her 50th double with a prosthetic foot. Several years ago she was struck by a motorist while on a training ride and the bones in her ankle were crushed beyond repair. Eventually, the only option left was to amputate. Not only is she back to riding again, she swims 3500 meters a week and has started running 45 to an hour. I have no doubt she will do another ironman.
I will always remember this double century and awards breakfast as a time of re-uniting with friends both on the bike and at rest stops where I saw people like Doug, Tim, and other familiar faces. There were new friendships made, old ones renewed. A truly great time, even with all the suffering I went through. Kind of like life condensed into one day on a bicycle.
A big heartfelt thank you to Scott Halversen and all the Quackcyclists and volunteers that made this a well supported event, including all the SAG support along the way – those guys have an uncanny ability to know when to come along side you and offer assistance. A special thank you to hall of famer Lee Mitchell for blasting old time rock and roll from his mini-van roof mounted speakers. At one point, I remember hearing some Elvis Presley as he was sweeping the course – instead of giving Lee the thumbs up sign that I was okay, I just raised my hand in the air and started snapping my fingers along to the tune. He knew I was okay and enjoying it! Oh, and I must not forget to thank the crew at rest stop #5. Those chili dogs and soup really hit the spot!
Blessings. Safe and fun riding to you all!
-cb
P.S. My ride number for the event was #36. One of those serendipitous things…when you had 3+6 it equals the number of double centuries I have completed now! (I am 9 for 10 – my only DNF was Mulholland in 2008).
DNF = Did Not Finish
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“Fortitudine Vincimus – By Endurance We Conquer”
Furnace Creek 508 or Hoodo 500?
Franz| September 20, 2009 11:16 am
by Franz Kelsch
I have ridden the Furnace Creek 508 twice and crewed on the Hoodoo 500 once and thought I would give some perspective of the two. In summary I feel those interested in doing such a long event might consider the Hoodoo 500 instead of the Furnace Creek 508 for the following reasons. Of course some may view some of these as a negative.
These are just my personal opinion and some may view things very differently. It is clear that the Furnace Creek 508 has the larger reputation, which is understandable since it has been going for more than 25 years. The Hoodoo 500 is relatively new, just completing it’s third event. Still with just little experience, the Hoodoo 500 competes quite well with the Furnace Creek 508 event and in my opinion surpasses it in many areas:
Furnace Creek 508 vs. Hoodoo 500 |
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| Furnace Creek 508 |
Hoodo 500
|
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| Reputation | over 25 years | 2009 was 3rd | ||||
| Field Size | 250 | More limited, about 50, some prefer | ||||
| Fees | Significant yearly increases | Lower fees, especially teams | ||||
| Route | Death Valley is during the dark | Scenic Southern Utah (except Hwy 89) | ||||
| Climbing | Townes Pass is remarkable | Several steeper climbs | ||||
| Elevation | Below Sea Level to 6,000 ft. | From 2,500 ft to over 10,000 ft | ||||
| Weather | Wind can be big issue | Potential greater weather extemes | ||||
| Start Hotel | Sevearl choices | Better start hotel and lower cost | ||||
| End Hotel | Ends in different city | Same as start hotel | ||||
| Rules | Too many rules | Rules are limited to what is needed | ||||
| Night riding | Requires following too early | Can ride solo if 2 independent lights | ||||
| RAAM | No | RAAM Qualifier | ||||
| Voyager | Must have crew | Option for no crew support | ||||
| Start Times | All teams start together | 2X and 4X start 2 hours apart | ||||
| Breakfast | Food was okay | More like an awards breakfast, prizes | ||||
| Coding | = Poor | = Okay | = Good | |||
I am thinking to do the Hoodoo 500 next year (as a team, never crazy enough to try as a solo).
Hoodoo 500 Ride Report – 2009
Franz| September 18, 2009 9:07 am
by Russ Stevens
I want to say thank you to everyone who sent words of encouragement over the past few days. They have really helped me get through this week and help me gain the perspective that a DNF after 350 miles in <22 hours is more of an accomplishment than a failure. There are infinite outcomes that could have actually been serious and worthy of feeling devastated. I emerged safely and uninjured. That is all that matters. Thank you so much to everyone who was thinking of me and praying for me while I was on the road. I believe a large part of the reason I emerged safe and sound despite all my difficulties was because you were all with me in spirit.
I also want to say a very sincere thank you to everyone who made a donation in honor of my father to the American Cancer Society. 101 donations were made so far (including personal checks), raising $7738.60 to fight cancer. This is completely amazing and far exceeded any expectations I had before starting this fundraiser. I am totally blown away and I am extremely grateful to all of you for your support.
If you are still reading, here is the Reader’s Digest version of what happened.
The HooDoo 500 course is a 519 mile loop that starts and ends in St. George, Utah. The ride goes through amazingly beautiful country including portions of Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. I was one of 13 solo riders who started at 7 am on Saturday. Solo riders are allowed to have a support vehicle during the race. The support vehicle provides “leap frog” support during the day which involves stopping along the road to provide the rider food, water and whatever else they might need. In a race situation, riders don’t want to loose time stopping to get food or water. The picture below shows Sheila and I doing a rolling water exchange at the top of a hill with the support car and the beautiful scenery in the background. Still photos do not do justice to how flawlessly my crew handled exchanges when I was moving 20 mph faster than they were. The other photo is of me climbing a particularly steep but gorgeous stretch of road.
More photos taken by Franz Kelsch can be seen here:
At night, the support vehicle follows with special lighting and signage to protect me from traffic and make sure I am doing ok. One of the most surreal moments of the ride occurred at approximately 9 pm on Saturday night. A mountain lion jumped from the hillside on the right side of the road and crossed just 15-20 feet in front of me in the pitch darkness. Amazing.
I had one of the best support crews I could have possibly hoped for – Sheila, Franz Kelsch and Paul Vlasveld. Not only did they come with tens of thousands of miles of cycling experience between them, but Paul also came with a fully equipped van! I can’t adequately express my thanks to these people for supporting me. Even though they didn’t get to pedal a single mile of the course, they were right there for me (with very little sleep) every inch of the way.
The race started extremely well. I predicted beforehand that my biggest competition would come from David Holt. David is a very accomplished, RAAM qualified rider who had previously placed 2nd and 4th as a solo in the Furnace Creek 508. He also holds a Furnace Creek two-man team record for his age group. Despite David’s abilities, I found it relatively easy to keep him in sight for the first 200 miles of the ride. Maybe not as easy as the next photo implies, but I was in my element. I probably could have passed him earlier, but I was determined to not go off the front too early in the ride. Too many rookies fail that way. I like to think all the other riders were thinking, “Who is that guy – how can he go that fast wearing sandals?”
After about 100 miles, the only problem I had was a mild case of cramping. I kept this at bay by liberally taking salt and electrolyte tablets. I also noticed I was really thirsty and drinking a LOT. We had a scale in the van to weigh me during the race. During long training rides, it was not uncommon for me to loose a few pounds if I did not drink enough. However, when I stepped on the scale at mile 115, I was about 7 pounds heavier than I was at the ride start. I was confused by this, but not concerned because it seemed to indicate that at least I was not getting dehydrated. Plus I was feeling great! I was a few minutes ahead of my spreadsheet predictions, and still keeping pace with the leader. Maybe the cheap bathroom scale fell out of the support van one too many times.
Around 6 pm, the lead rider stopped to switch bikes and I suddenly found myself in the lead. Then the serious climbing started and I just kept inching ahead. I made it over the 9600 foot summit of Boulder Mountain, and by 12:15am on Sunday morning I was leading the race by almost 30 minutes. Not bad after 285 miles and 21,000 feet of climbing. However, even at this point I knew something was wrong. Despite keeping ahead of the competition, I knew my climb rate was far below where it should have been. I was also developing difficulty eating and drinking. Had I stopped at this point and given myself time to recover, it might have been an entirely different race. However, I was unwilling to give up the lead. That is where things really started to go downhill. Everything that is, except the road.
The next 5 hours proved to be extremely difficult. In all endurance events, it is extremely critical and difficult to ingest enough calories (~ 300 calories every hour), water and electrolytes while continually pushing your body to the extreme. I kept getting weaker and basically stopped eating and drinking. When I tried I just got too nauseous. Somehow I kept telling myself I could work through it if I just kept moving. But one thing that never happens on an endurance ride is improving your performance without food or water. Finally at mile 300 I stopped and my crew convinced me to sleep for 15 minutes. However, this was too little too late. I actually managed to ride my bike another 50 miles very slowly, eventually getting passed by the rider I had followed for so many miles. Finally, I just couldn’t go any further. When I got off my bike at that point, I immediately started shaking and the crew got me into the van with blankets. They tried to get me to drink small amounts, which led to much throwing up. After sleeping for an hour and a half, I awoke still shaking and still throwing up. I honestly can’t remember anytime in my life when I felt physically worse than I did at the city park of Circleville, UT at 6:45 am. I really didn’t know what was wrong or how to solve it. We had brought Cindi Staiger’s phone number along and had the presence of mind to try and call her for advice, but of course we had no cell phone signal. At this point, the crew and myself were very concerned with my medical condition and were not willing to risk my health or life just to finish the ride. That is when we decided to abandon the race and get ourselves closer to medical options.
So what went wrong? While I may never know for sure, I have some very good theories. First of all, I am almost certain I ingested too much salt and water early in the ride. I have spoken with my doctor and he concluded this is the only reasonable explanation for my weight gain during the ride. Next, I failed to keep eating. While my loss of appetite was almost certainly caused by my electrolyte imbalance, my real mistake was choosing to continue pedaling after this problem occurred. I’m reasonably sure that the lack of food led to hypoglycemia, which led to the shaking, weakness and vomiting that eventually put an end to my race.
In hindsight, I might have been able to recover by sleeping in my support vehicle for several more hours. By the time my support crew returned me to the hotel at 8:30 am, I was already feeling slightly better, but I was still overweight and visibly “puffy” – Sheila said I looked downright beefy. Over the next four hours, I alternately slept and peed until I was almost back to my pre-race weight and feeling almost normal. Had I been on the course, I would have likely gotten back on my bike. I had ideas of asking my crew to take me back to the point I abandoned, but Paul had actually left with his van and went hiking in Zion for the afternoon. Sheila called it “devine intervention”. We went out to the finish line at the front of the hotel, and I found it a bit difficult to be in the St. George heat. Could I have still biked? Who knows? David Holt finished at 5:30pm. By 7 pm when we went to dinner, I was able to eat and drink and really wanted to be on my bike.
So what did I learn?
- Keen sandals are awesome. I was so worried about my feet being the weakest link for high mileage. My feet never hurt. Yes, you can do real cycling (and touring, and walking and commuting) in sandals.
- It is really not appropriate or intelligent to attempt to win an endurance event at a mileage you have not previous attempted. Trying to win this race caused me to make a number of bad decisions. I took too much salt instead of just slowing down when I started to cramp. I didn’t stop to rest when I could no longer eat.
- Never ever change your nutrition the day of a big ride. I had only used SaltStick pills sparingly during previous long rides. This ride I probably took more than 15 in a 10 hour period. Pay attention to your body. I felt something was wrong at least 5 hours before I abandoned the race. I should have stopped to figure it out rather than hoping it would magically work itself out.
- You cannot think clearly after 300 miles on the bike. All of this seems ridiculously clear now, but none of this seemed obvious during the race. As a team we should have known what our primary goal was (winning vs. finishing) and how we would tackle certain situations. We had never seriously considered the possibility that I would not finish. Thus, we were completely unprepared to deal with that situation and come up with alternatives.
- If you are having serious problems during a ride, get help. If you can’t think straight, rely on your crew. If you have a doctor or experienced friend you can call, do so. If there is a checkpoint nearby, go there and see what they have to say. There will be more resources there (and probably cell phone coverage) to help you decide if waiting, abandoning or going to the ER was the best course of action.
- Don’t be so quick to give up. Two hours stopped on the side of the road seemed like an eternity to me. But in reality, even after that rest I had still covered 2/3 of the course in 24 hours and still had 24 hours left to do the last third. If you really can’t think of anything to do to solve your problem, but still have time, then try doing nothing. A lot of the time your body will sort it out itself.
- All of the above rules go out the window if you think your life or health is in jeopardy. In this case do whatever you have to in order to get medical attention.
Although my hopes of finishing (and possibly even winning) the race were dashed, I accomplished a personal best for miles and feet of climbing in a 24 hour period. Luckily, by Monday morning, my electrolytes recovered fully. Then I got an unexpected chance to go home with some added sense of purpose.
At 6 am, I suddenly woke up and felt the need to go to the finish line at the front of the hotel. I found out that the final rider was likely lost on the last section of the course, a portion that goes through a park where support vehicles are not allowed. This section usually takes less than an hour and the rider had already taken over 1.5 hours. I asked the Race Director if it was ok to go out on my bicycle to look for the rider. I got permission and quickly rode off into the darkness. About 4 miles from the finish line, I located the rider who was moving very slowly due to fatigue and confusion. I gave him a pep talk and told him he did not have much time to beat the 7 am time cap. After I finally reassured him that I could lead him and wouldn’t let him get lost, he suddenly found renewed energy and fought toward the finish line. I escorted him to the finish line with a mere 7 minutes to spare. So although I did not finish, I did get my picture taken at the finish line with a very appreciative Jeremy Frick. Ultimately, only 7 of the original 13 solo riders finished the race.
It was incredibly disappointing to not finish, but success in ultra-endurance races often boils down to experience, learning from mistakes and learning how to recover during a ride. At 40, I like to think of myself as a very young rookie. The overall winner, David Holt, is 57!!!
In the end, was the race worth everything I had to sacrifice to get ready? Probably not. Will I try it again anyway sometime? I probably will. I just need to find a way to tackle these events without them coming in the way of the truly important things in life. Things like getting a good night’s sleep, truly enjoying the path to get ready, and always making sure my wife knows she is more important that even the most serious bike ride.
One more thing I learned: Unless you get paid to ride, there is no such thing as a serious bike ride. If it is not fun to get ready for or to do (or to blog about it afterwards), it is probably not worth doing.
Thanks again for your support and encouragement before, during and after this ride.
Russ Stevens
Click the link below to view my fund and tribute page to my dad, Wayne Stevens.
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/hoodooforyou
Death Valley Double – Spring 2009
Franz| March 9, 2009 9:57 pm
by Franz Kelsch
Death Valley received its name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush. It was called Death Valley by prospectors and others who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields. I realized how much has changed since then until today when numerous cyclists cross death valley each year.
Late last year I received an email that they had just opened registration for the Death Valley “Spring” Double and right after that I got a call from Gary F. telling me he was signing up. In an impulsive moment I went on their website and signed up, just before they reached their 300 rider limit in the first hour. Then I was starting to wonder how I was going to get ready. I was going to be traveling a lot in November and December and that left only two months to get in shape. It was kind of like cramming for a final, except the body can only develop so fast. So during the first two months of 2009 I biked more miles than I ever had so early in the year. Although I did not feel like I was fully prepared, I was close to the training program I had laid out for myself for the first two doubles this year.
On Friday Gary, Louise and myself carpooled down to Furnace Creek. After a 500 mile, 9 hour drive, we finally arrived at the Furnace Creek Ranch Lodge where Gary and I were sharing a room. As often happens on these type of events, I did not sleep that well. I woke up at 1:30 am and not quite sure if I ever went back to sleep. Gary and I decided to try to get in with the first wave of riders so we were up early and to the start line by 5:45. But they had 50 people already there and they held us back to start 10 minutes later with the second group. I was not too worried about that but I knew that it meant Gary would need to bridge the 10 minute gap somehow to catch the fastest riders ahead.
It was just getting light as we started off at 6:10. Riding in the desert at sunrise is something so beautiful that it is impossible to explain and needs to be experienced. In the foreground was the vast expanse of Death Valley and looming far in the distant was the Sierra Mountains, with snow caps on Mt. Whitney.
In our group of 50 I saw a couple on a tandem, but not just any tandem. It was a very high priced racing tandem and they were both wearing Everest Challenge Jerseys. That is the State Climbing Championship I participated in last year so I figured I could draft behind them. But they turned out to be not fast enough and I eventually went past them. Not too long after that we formed a pace line of about 9 riders and worked together for about 40 miles when we stopped for water and food.
Franz is one in Orange 508 jersey
I made a quick stop and decided to go ahead without the group since we would be climbing up Jubilee within 7 miles. From that point on it was mostly solo riding for me.
This double is two parts, the first part is out to Shoshone and back to Furnace Creek. This is stage 4 on the Furnace Creek 508, but both times I was the “A” rider so I had not cycled on these roads. So instead of being sleepy eyed in the support van watching Paul V. bike in the middle of the night, I had the chance to ride in the daylight. It was wonderful weather, not too hot, not too cold, not too sunny and not too cloudy. I could not have asked for better cycling weather.
When I got to the base of Jubilee, I noticed that I had already “climbed” over 1,500 feet, which showed how many rollers we went over. Jubilee Summit was at 1,290 feet and then after a short descent it was a very long climb up Salsberry. I passed several riders during the climb up to 3,300 feet at the summit. I guess these were all riders in the group that had started 10 minutes before us. I could see a tandem ahead and was thinking if I could catch it before the summit I could follow it down the other side. I was able to make a connection just before we hit the crest and attempted to keep in their slipstream as we zoomed down the hill. I finally found myself pedaling as fast as I could and watched them slowly slip away from me even though they were “coasting”. “Wait a minute” I thought, I still had a long way to go so I gave up the chase.
After we leveled out I found myself in a stiff headwind, bringing my speed down to 11 mph. I was starting to worry because the winds last year during this event had caused a high DNF rate. But the wind lasted for only about 10 miles and although it seemed to always be a head wind for the rest of the ride, they were not that strong. I made a quick stop at Shoshone and headed back. On the climb back up Salsberry, I saw the same tandem again but found it easy this time to catch them. Again I tried to keep in their slipstream down the very long descent but once again I finally gave up.
It is breathtaking to descend from over 3,315 feet down to below sea level. Once I was back down to the valley floor, it was a short ride back to the rest stop to get more water. From there I had about 30 miles to reach Badwater, where there was a lunch stop. That seemed like the longest 30 miles. I was on the verge of bonking and was out of water as I pulled into Badwater. Badwater is a basin in Death Valley and is the lowest point in the US with an elevation of 282 feet below sea level. It was also for me the lowest point in the ride.
I realized I needed a break so sat there for nearly 19 minutes enjoying a sandwich, a coke, and a V-8. I was now feeling much better and headed off. I grouped with two other riders, one was wearing a Furnace Creek 508 jersey from last year. I had been with him early in the day with the small pace line we had formed. I was chatting with him and he indicated that he had only been on the bike 4 times since last October’s Furnace Creek 508. “Wow”, I thought, how could he do that. He said he had been swimming and running. I asked him if by chance he had run the Badwater Ultra marathon, put on by the same group putting on this event and the 508. “Yes”, he said, “4 times”. This is the hardest running race I know of, covering 135 miles non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney. He said he had finished 4 times and had completed both the Badwater Ultra Marathon and FC 508 solo in the same year (his totem is Desert Duck). He is only the second person I met who had completed both events and the first to do it multiple times.
I reached Furnace Creek for another stop, I saw Gary’s coach there who had already finished. That meant he had finished the last 50 miles out to Stovepipe Wells and back before I even started out. Yikes, I guess I had better get going. So after a 10 minutes stop I headed on, riding solo once again.
I was now riding on the same road I had ridden twice during the FC 508, except in reverse. What surprised me was that this road had a lot of rollers. When doing the 508 I always thought this section was flat. Doing it in the dark made it hard to see the ups and downs and I had thought the difference in effort required was due to the shifting winds. But now I was measuring as much as a 300 ft. change in elevation through the rollers. About 5 miles from the turn around one fellow did pass me so I jumped on his wheel for awhile. Then I felt like I could pull and went around him. A mile or so later I glanced back and he had fallen way off the back so I just went ahead by myself. I finally reached Stovepipe Wells, which is right at sea level.
At the turn around point they offered me a cup of noodles. Hum, that sounded good so I sat down and enjoyed it since I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to finish. After a 13 minute rest, I decided to bike to the finish. It was getting late in the day so I decided to turn on my lights before I headed back to Furnace Creek for the last 25 miles of the ride. One fellow joined me but he had a simple CAT-eye light so he enjoyed following me with my bright light. I was thinking he liked following me a bit too much because he never took a pull. Oh well, at least in the dark it was safer to have two riders together.
I finally pulled into Furnace Creek at 7:30 pm, for a total time of 13:20. Gary, who had finished two hours earlier, was there to meet me. I was happy I was done. Not long after I finished the fellow with the totem Desert Duck pulled in. I asked him if he was going to do the Badwater Ultramarathon and FC 508 again this year. He said he was taking it off because he was going to do a triple Iron Man instead. “Yikes”, I said, “what is a triple Iron Man?” He said it was “7.5 mile swim, then 336 mile bike and 78 mile run.” But he added, “I have 60 hours to finish”. I started to feel like a wimp for having a hard time finishing only 200 miles on the bike.
Desert Duck
After eating some more food, I headed to the room to take a shower and then went back out to the front to wait for Louise. I slept well that night. Checking my data later I found I had averaged 16 mph over the course of 197 miles and 9,300 feet of climbing. My total stopping time was about 1 hour. Although I had not pushed myself as hard as I had on some other doubles, overall I was happy with how I did. Maybe I should be thinking about doing a triple Iron-man, NOT!
