George's Epic Adventures

Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic

2009-11-07T01:18:00.000-08:00

The Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic, a new ride offered by AdventureCorps, is coming to the tranquil little town of Pine Valley. On April 17, 2010 AdventureCorps will provide a new cycling challenge for 300 riders. The stats for the ride are 103 miles and 10,000 feet of elevation gain. Registration opened earlier this week but you need to hurry 300 spots will go fast.

I will be doing a pre-ride of the course next Saturday November 14th. I will have a full report upon completion of the ride. I'm really looking forward to climbing Pine Creek Road. I've climbed Mount Laguna and many of the roads in the surrounding area many times but somehow I haven't climbed Pine Creek Rd.

If you are up to the challenge sign up for the Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic registration has been open since Novemeber 2nd.

FIXED GEAR --ON MY COMMUTE TODAY...SHARROWS

2009-11-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

Where have I been for the last couple of years? Have I been living under a rock? Why didn't I know what Sharrows were until just yesterday? I've seen the chevron looking markings on the road in one section of my commute but until yesterday I had no idea what they meant. I'm a dunce! In my defense, the markings I have seen in Oceanside haven't been there for two years but at least 6 months!

So what are Sharrows? Below is an image of one. What are they used for? Here are some examples.

The stated purposes of the shared-lane markings used in California were to:

Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist’s impacting the open door of a parked vehicle;

Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane;

Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way;

Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists; and

Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.

Source

So this morning "On my Commute" I decided to pay more attention to them as to where exactly they were located, and record a little video. Interesting commute-- It appears I'm not alone at not knowing what the chevron markings mean. Cars honked and made nasty gestures as they passed me. All the while I was just below the posted speed limit of 25mph going about 23mph. Two miles/hr would be imperceptible to a motorist driving behind me at above the speed limit.

Look at this short video where I am traveling 25 mph in a 25 mph zone and the car behind me is going 34 mph (notice the flashing speed limit sign). He then passes me and makes angry gestures pointing to the yeild to him and to get over to the right of the lane. Oh by the way, I was loving my Fixed Gear bike this morning until this butthead.

(cue Mission Impossible theme) Your mission, shall you choose to accept it is to tell just one motorist (coworker, friend, relative) what Sharrow markings mean. Do it as an "Oh by the way, did you know...?" Don't bother doing it on the road -- you'll never get through to them! I have completed my Mission -- you do the same.

Ride and Run

2009-11-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

After my 25 mile recovery ride on my Fixed Gear I went for a run. 1.5 hours nice easy pace. It turned out to be 9 miles. I'll need to adjust my heart rate in the "sport specific zones". As I view this graph it shows I was in "hard intensity" zone. I didn't feel that at all. I don't have much faith in Heart Rate training anyway since I use a power meter on the bike. I will adjust my max Heart Rate so that my perceived effort coincides with what the software thinks is a hard effort.

Fixed Gear Century ...sorta and new shoes

2009-10-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

Brandy and I went out early this morning with the intentions of riding a century (100miles or 160km). The plan was to leave in the wee morning hours and have our century done by 11am. All went to plan except the route was a little short ...by six miles. Well we both thought the extra six miles wouldn't add any real benefit to our fitness so we called it at 94 miles. By the way, this was the longest ride for Brandy since April. I'm proud of her for getting it done. She didn't look too bad when it was over either.

The Detour bag was packed to the hilt once the weather warmed up a little. These bags are awesome. If you are a brevet rider or on a credit card tour you NEED to pick up a Detour bag. The bag below is the Hightail ULP.

Here's a short video (90 secs) you must watch until the end.

The weather this morning was just perfect. I wore my Skins compression long sleeve garment, a short sleeve jersey, arm warmers and knee warmers. I believe it was in the low 50's. It felt brisk at first but about 10 minutes later I thought it was perfect. The route was coastal without any significant climbs. We rode at endurance pace and restrained from chasing rabbits.

On this 6 hour ride I rode a new pair of shoes. Bont A-One Cycling Shoes. They are fantastic! I mean it. They are the stiffest shoes I have ever owned. And I'm not just talking about the soles everybody is doing that. No! They are stiff all the way up the front, sides and the heel cup. Even with all that stiffness the shoe is remarkably comfortable. And my lord are they light!

The toe box is plenty roomy for my feet. But I think they would accomodate a slightly wider foot without having to buy a "wide" model. They are heat molded custom shoes and you can mold them yourself at home. Unlike the Shimano R310 that require all the Shimano doodads (oven, toe caps, bags and suction hoses etc) at an authorized dealer to get the shoe molded to your foot.

I would strongly recommend the Bont A-One cycling shoe to someone looking for a very stiff shoe.

Go here for the making of the shoes

More info on the Bont A-One cycling shoe

2009 Furnace Creek 508 Video

2009-10-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay but it takes a long time to cull the over 800 pictures, and video footage, reducing down to just 10 minutes. I would make a terrible editor in Hollywood. Getting a movie under two hours would be quite a chore for me. There were so many great shots with lots of deep meaning for me. Thanks to my crew who took the time and effort to take such great shots and STILL found time to take care of me. Without their care I would not have finished.

Thank you crew, Brandy, Colin and Julie -- you guys got me through the 2009 Furnace Creek 508!!!

A MUCH BETTER FULL SCREEN VERSION CAN BE FOUND HOSTED ON MY WEBSITE VIDEO GALLERY.

Baker Time Station to Twentynine Palms (382.6- 509.6) The Finish Line

2009-10-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

Baker Time Station #5 to Kelso Time Station #6 (382.6 to 417.6)

Coming out of Baker a 21 mile climb that drags on and on. I had a slight tailwind and starting motoring up the climb. Along the way David Goggins came up alongside and we chatted briefly. I felt fine on this climb but slowed down as I neared the top. I remember it was cooler than previous years and that's fine by me. This is notoriously the hottest section of the course for me. I wouldn't want to make a habit of having 70 mph headwinds through Death Valley just to get better weather but it sure was nice for it to be cooler on the Kelbaker climb.

Kelso Time Station #6 to Almost Amboy #7 (417.6 to 451.3)

I don't remember much of this stage. But the long descent into Almost Amboy is so long it almost hurts to be in a crouch that long.

Almost Amboy Time Station #7 to Twentynine Palms-- Finish Line (451.3- 509.6)

This last section just wears on me. I think what makes the 508 so hard for me is going without sleep for that long. I almost always have good legs towards the end of the event. In a multi-day ultra like Race Across America (RAAM) you can nap a couple of hours in a 24 hour period. But at the 508 you ride straight through. I started this stage after being on the bike 37 hours. I was done last year in 37 hours 34 minutes. It was a little daunting when I realized that I still had about 5 hours to ride before finishing.

On the Sheephole Summit climb I just couldn't stay awake. My crew was worried that I would ride off into a ditch. Maybe because I did -- once. They gave me several things to try and stimulate me but nothing worked-- long term anyway. I would have these bursts of energy and work hard to maintain that motivation but would falter a few minutes later. I tried sprinting up the climb and that worked for a little bit. I eventually crested the climb and began a much needed descent. The cold air woke me up.

After the Sheephole climb, next up was the 25 mile slog to the finish. It is a slow grind up a gradual incline all the way to the finish along with a little headwind -- you know just for fun. All I could do was count down the miles. Both my palms were killing me. Today is 10/22/09 and my right palm is still in pain. I commuted this morning and every pothole hurt my right hand palm.

Ahhh the finish was so sweet.

Another picture from 2009 Furnace Creek 508

2009-10-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

AT BREAKFAST

Notice I'm still smiling. Ha! Picture was sent to me by my friend Timmer.

Shoshone Time Station #4 to Baker Time Station #5 (Mile 326.4 - Mile 382.6)

2009-10-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Shoshone Time Station #4 to Baker Time Station #5 (Mile 326.4 - Mile 382.6)

I felt a huge relief as I rolled through the Shoshone Time Station. I felt as if the worst was over...and it was. Even though there were more winds in the latter stages, nothing was as bad as Death Valley. This next section looks so easy on the profile but yet every year it takes more effort than it looks.

My crew vehicle needed a new tire since the space saver spare was limited to 50 mph. That would make for a very long drive home from Twentynine Palms. Not to mention that we would be getting in to the finish in the wee hours of Monday morning. In other words, nothing would be open at 1am to get a new tire when we arrived.

The decision was made by Brandy, my crew chief, to roll on ahead and leave me unsupported. I like the comfort and security of having the support vehicle directly behind me through this section because the big rigs and pick-up trucks towing their "toy haulers" buzz me way too close. My crew chief stocked me with food, No-Doz and flat repair and went on to Baker. Good thing they left when they did since the tire shop was closing when they arrived. The proprietor was gracious enough to stay open after hours and sell my crew a new tire.

I was falling asleep on this section. We were about 28-30 hours into the race and only 350 miles. I was just slogging along. I know I lost a lot of time. I even got off the bike because I was swerving so badly. The winds impeded my progress even though they were probably only in the teens as far as wind speed. I took three No- Doz in the 30ish mile section to Baker. I made it in to the time station just as my crew was arriving from gassing up and buying cold medicine.

I forgot to mention that one of the side effects of the windstorm was my sinuses were so clogged I couldn't breathe. I got some relief from a crew on this stretch I can't remember that crew name. I think they were a 4X team. Brandy bought nasal spray and that me cleared me up.

UPDATE 10/21/09 : THE 4X TEAM NAME WAS TEAM CLOWNFISH. Thank you very much for the looking after on the road.

Tom Parkes and Pitsnake

I arrived at the Baker Time Station #5 15:13 or 3:13pm Sunday or 32 hours and 13 minutes elapsed time. I always feel relieved getting into Baker. I feel I have the race in the bag. It's only another 125 miles to the finish.

Furnace Creek Time Station #3 to Shoshone Time Station #4 (Mile 252.8- Mile 326.4)

2009-10-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Furnace Creek Time Station #3 to Shoshone Time Station #4 (Mile 252.8- Mile 326.4)

What more can be said about this stage that hasn't been posted on blogs, race reports and weather reports? How about that I survived it? How about that I had many moments of "WTF?!?!?" Or how about that I just couldn't believe I was riding in it?

Here are just a couple of comments I've seen.

From Adam Bickett's Blog

"I was only averaging around 11 mph. Sand, dust, and rocks sprayed in the air. I tried to yell to my crew as they pulled alongside, probably about how ridiculous the conditions were, but realized neither of us would ever be able to hear each other. I shook a bottle, and got back a full bottle of Perp. We'd have to use gestures."

or Dan Crain's Blog-

"...the 50 miles between Furnace Creek and Ashford Mills was much worse this year than in 2004."

I left the Furnace Creek Time Station knowing that I would face headwinds as I went south through Death Valley but I had no idea how ridiculous they would be. The winds were blowing a steady 25-35 mph and gusting up to 70 mph. I can't express to you how humiliating it felt to be riding at 7-8 mph into those headwinds. I pushed the pedals hard and got nowhere. I eased up on the pedals and felt like I was going backwards. I couldn't get in my aero bars because I was being tossed around like laundry on a clothesline.

I would ride for 30 to 40 minutes and then pull over exhausted -- physically AND mentally. When the road would turn slightly and the headwinds became crosswinds it was extremely difficult to keep the bike upright. I would lean into the wind and when the wind would shift and I would go wildly across the road. I felt like I was in the start house of a Time Trial and balancing myself with the spotters' help and then they would let go of me as a sick joke.

This mental and physical torture went on for hours. It took me six hours to ride 30ish miles. Eventually, at 5:07 am, Brandy, my crew chief, pulled me off the bike and suggested that I take some time off the bike. The "plan" was to wait until daybreak to see if the weather would improve. Meanwhile, I would have time off the bike, rest my body and recharge my mental energy. Remember, being in Death Valley our cell phones are more akin to paper weights than communication devices. We had no way of reaching out to the "outsied world", the internet, to find out what the weather forecast might be for the next few hours. Many riders took naps of at least a couple of hours. I have trouble falling asleep when I first get off the bike. By the time I get comfy so much time has gone by I can't take a nap then. My crews, bless their hearts, have always found a way to fall asleep almost instantly when I've gotten off the bike.

Daybreak did bring slightly better conditions but only slightly. Or was it that I was refreshed from the hour off the bike? One thing I'd like to mention is the tenacity and will power Isabelle Drake, who was part of a 2X Sandhill Cranes, displayed while on the Furnace Creek to Shoshone leg. She battled through the night in short spurts like I did. We would leap-frog each other and give each other motivation to continue. One time when I pulled over exhausted she even said "Don't you stop (or quit) and leave me out here!" Isabelle you're an inspiration. I'm proud of you and glad to have witnessed your ride!

Based on my personal experience, the winds this year were the worst I have ever ridden in my four Furnace Creek 508s and at least five other Death Valley Double Centuries. I fought the winds as the sun came up and my only goal was getting to the base of the two exit climbs out of Death Valley, Jubilee Pass and Salsberry Pass. The first climb starts at mile 300 and climbs about 1000 feet in five miles to Jubilee (El 1285’). A one-mile descent leads to the next climb, about 2300 feet in 9.5 miles to Salsberry (El 3315’). Source

If you can believe it I was so happy to be climbing again. Well actually, I love to climb more than anything else. The climbs were uneventful just climb and climb some more. The best part of these two climbs was I was no longer riding into a headwind! LOL!

I rolled into Shoshone at 10:18 am Sunday morning. I'm almost embarrass to say that it took me 10 hours and 41 minutes for cover 75 miles but I'm proud to say that I continued on from Shoshone. By my count (17) SOLO riders, (4) 2x teams and (1) 4x team DNF'd before reaching Shoshone. But I was still standing and that has always been a great motivator to me.

Making Exercise Fun

2009-10-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

I found this video on the Fluid page of Facebook. I thought it made an important point. Making exercise fun gets more people moving their bodies. Obesity is a major medical problem in America. Enjoy this video

TRONA TIME STATION #2 TO FURNACE CREEK TIME STATION #3 (MILE 153.8 TO MILE 252.8)

2009-10-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

TRONA TO FURNACE CREEK (MILE 153.8 TO MILE 252.8)

My stomach issues were gone and now it was a race to get to the base of Towne Pass before needing lights. Last year I was pretty excited to have been within throwing distance of the right turn onto Hwy 190 before needing lights. The Towne Pass climb begins after a couple of miles of making that right turn. This year my pace was about the same. I was excited with the real possiblity that I might actually "see" the Towne Pass climb again in daylight.

I crested the Trona Bump (mile 14 of stage) and began my descent into Panamint Valley. I was feeling good. I love the twisty descent off the Trona Bump and I have yet to have a crew film me on that descent. But there's always next year right ? ;) Tactically, the smart move is to feed your rider as they come through this chokepoint summit and then catch up with your rider on the open road. There is a lot of gradual descending into Panamint Valley. As a rider you can maintain a good average speed. So things were still looking good to make it to Towne Pass in the daylight.

PANAMINT VALLEY COPYRIGHT ADVENTURECORPS

However, Mr Murphy, of Murphy's law fame, had other ideas. My crew vehicle had a blow-out on the descent off the Trona Bump. Luckily it wasn't in the twisty part but it still must have been scary for them. So here I am down the road quite a bit looking behind me for my crew and I don't see them. Nevertheless, I kept the pace medium to high maximizing the terrain and the tailwind to my advantage. After some time another crew vehicle pulls alongside me and offers me a bottle. They tell me what has happened to my crew and give me a bottle to help sustain me until my crew is up and running.

CHRIS FROM SKUA CREW -- THANK YOU FOR HELPING

FLAT SPARE -- HOW SUCKY IS THAT?

My first concern was for their safety. But that helpful crew (I wish I knew who they were) allayed those fears. Now my next concern was the 6 o'clock hour was rapidly approaching. The 508 rules state in part.

4. BICYCLE LIGHTING

A. While riding at night (defined as between 6:00PM Saturday and 7:00AM Sunday and between 6:00PM Sunday and 7:00AM Monday), each bicycle must be equipped with a legal front and rear lighting system and this system must be ON at all times.

Source

Without my crew vehicle providing direct support with all associated safety equipment I would not be able to continue racing. I am now calculating how long it will take to switch bikes (for Towne Pass) and get the lighting set up WHEN my crew vehicle actually arrives. Tactically, the best move is to send the crew vehicle ahead, have them set up the vehicle and get your bike ready. Then you arrive, switch bikes and off you go in tandem with your crew vehicle.

As I'm doing my calculations, the race director pulls up alongside and asks me about my crew vehicle. I explain the situation and almost in synch we confirm to each other official race time and the importance of the 6 o'clock hour. I had already made the left turn onto Panamint Valley Rd which then leads to the right turn on Hwy 190. A few miles into Panamint Valley Rd it was 6pm and I pulled over. It pained me to see racers pass me as I was sitting on the side of the road healthy, willing and able to ride

Here are some photos from the 508 website copyright AdventureCORPS.

TURNING ONTO PANAMINT VALLEY RD

WAITING FOR MY CREW (APPROXIMATELY 35 MINUTES)

At approximately 6:25 pm my crew shows up. We do all the necessary things and we are off at 6:35pm. Why so long? Well I was almost 30 miles down the road (unsupported) and even at 60 mph it would take the crew 30 minutes to get to me. As I began my ascent on Towne Pass I looked back at the time off the bike as a blessing. I had time (almost 35 minutes) to rest and hydrate. So a blessing in disguise I'd say. You have to turn setbacks into positives or they mess with your head for the duration of the race.

I felt great on my climb up Towne Pass. I was passing solos and teams alike. I was climbing really well. I saw riders on the side of the road, riders walking and some just slogging along as I passed them. I kept saying to myself "the 35 minute rest--that's your secret weapon" "steady- don't blow up" and "don't get passed". Eventually the winds became stronger and stronger. The combination of the steep grades, 10%+, and the 30 mph winds began to wear on me.

Something I did differently this year was not stop at the summit for a picture and clothing change. My crew pulled up and asked what I wanted for the descent. I said, "Nothing I'll freeze the first 1,000 feet but we are not stopping". The temps weren't that bad on the descent. As I crested, I saw a few racers/crews pulled over. I thought "good I'll get a jump on them".

On the descent of Towne Pass we couldn't go any faster than 35 mph-- safely anyway . Our space saver spare was virtually flat. It was tough to do but I kept the speed at or about 35 mph. Seemed like an awful waste of a good 17 mile descent but SAFETY FIRST. As soon as we hit the desert floor OMG it seemed like it was 80+ degrees in Death Valley. Julie asked if I needed anything and I said "No nothing. But can you turn down the heat!" I might have said thermostat :). It really did feel that hot down there.

This next passage might sound gross to some of you but it is what it is. After hours and hours of sports drinks my mouth was feeling pasty. I asked for my toothbrush and toothpaste so I could brush my teeth. I usually do this in Baker Time Station #5 (MILE 382.6) when I change into a fresh kit for the last 120 miles. But I just couldn't wait. So brushed my teeth and felt so much better. And yes all while still being on the bike.

I started feeling stronger winds as I approached the right turn towards Furnace Creek. I couldn't believe how windy it was. We pulled into the Furnace Creek Time Station (MILE 252.9) at 23:37 or 11:37 pm or 16 hours and 37 minutes elapsed time. My goal was to be there before my 2008 PR of 15 hours and 28 minutes. So now I was 1 hour and 9 minutes off from my PR. Funny how all the little things add up. The 15 minutes on Stage 2, the 35 minutes on Stage 3 waiting for my crew vehicle. The wind notwithstanding I was doing ok.

At Furnace Creek Time Station I spent a few minutes chatting with Blackbird and eating a turkey sandwich. We talked about the wind conditions and the time splits of other racers. My crew meanwhile filled the space saver spare tire with air. The tire blowout, the flat spare and the damage to the rental vehicle concerned me way too much. I eventually was able to shut it out but I do remember ruminating over it far too much.

Anyway, I took on some supplements and got back on the road.

MORE TO FOLLOW WE ARE ONLY 253 MILES INTO A 508 MILE RACE! LOL!!

On My Commute Today-- Wassabi

2009-10-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

On my commute today I saw this license plate on a Saab and it reminded me of those Budweiser commercials. But then I thought why would someone put that on their license plate? Wouldn't Budweiser be proud?

START TO TRONA (MILE 0 TO MILE 153.8)

2009-10-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

TIME SPLITS FROM 508 WEBSITE

PHOTO CREDITS BELOW ARE FROM THE 508 WEBSITE COPYRIGHT ADVENTURECORPS

START TO CALIFORNIA CITY (MILE 0 TO MILE 83.6)

ACTING GOOFY AT BREAKFAST

PITSNAKE AND VIREO

First stage went well. I was on Portia. There is a lot of climbing in the first stage (over 3,000 feet in the first 25 miles) but I find I like it on the P3. My goal for the stage was to be within 5 minutes of my 2008 PR which was 4 hours and 35 minutes. My legs felt good and rested. I felt fit. It was a good start to a 500 mile race.

SAN FRANCISQUITO CANYON

ROLLING INTO CALIFORNIA CITY 4 hours 41 minutes

CALIFORNIA CITY TO TRONA (MILE 83.6 TO MILE 153.8)

It was on this stage that I had issues with my nutrition. I was drinking the same thing I usually drink. I just added a little something extra I think that 370 calories an hour was too much. I use CarboPro powder which gives me 224 calories of Maltodextrin without electrolytes, fat, or protein. I then threw in a serving of Fluid, which had 128 calories, some sodium and protein. I think I was taking in too many calories per hour based on my intensity. I eventually got an upset stomach. I spent 15 precious minutes off the bike puking. Brandy and crew were great. I went without calories for a long time. I started feeling better and then gradually started introducing calories again. As time and the miles passed I was back up to full strength in my feedings.

I didn't partake in a burrito from the Trona Time Station like I did last year. I just wasn't up to it. I really wasn't hungry either. But Brandy bought a burrito anyway and painstakingly picked all the onions out of the salsa fresca. I get heartburn from onions even when not riding. Thank you babe but I really wasn't hungry.

What I remember the most of this time station was the damn crosswinds. It was so scary doing some of the descents. In hindsight, I probably should have changed my front wheel from a Zipp 808 to a lower profile wheel -- which I brought with me for just that reason. So why didn't I use it? Because part of me loves the risk and the danger of descending at 55+ mph and getting jostled around.

I got into to Trona at 1534 or 3:34 for you civilian types;) or 8 hours and 34 minutes total elapsed time. I was only 12 minutes off my Personal Record (PR). I didn't think the tailwinds were as strong as they were in 2008. Hence, I was quite pleased with my efforts thus far. And if you factor in the 15 minutes I was stopped with a feeling of malaise then I would have been right on track with my PR. But delays and an occasional upset stomach are all part of Ultras.

MORE TO FOLLOW PLEASE BE PATIENT

Beginnings of a Race Report- The eve and morning of the start

2009-10-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

The odyssey began on Friday when dealing with Rent- 4- Less or Blue Oval as they seem to be called now. Colin and I did the cursory inspection of the exterior of the vehicle, got our key and off we went. Once back at the house it is time to remove one of the seats, pack the van, and get on the road to vehicle inspection. On the drive home, Colin notices that the left taillight is out. Minor thing but it is something that we assume will be working, it's unlawful, and will be inspected at vehicle inspection.

We call Blue Oval and they say they will reimburse us for the expense of replacing the bulb. Colin and Julie are up to the task and retrieve a taillight bulb AND a spare. We pack the van and we start our drive north to Santa Clarita. Once inside the van we notice the interior of the van has some issues. The handholds (or OH-SHIT! handles as I like to calll them) are falling off, the passenger's captain chair has one armrest falling off, and we find cigarette burns in various places. But more noticeable than all those things is this annoying shimmy that is shaking the van. We call Blue Oval again and try to arrange a swap of vehicles. May I remind you, we are on the freeway and loaded to the gills with two bikes and all the gear we will need for our 508 adventure. Our phone calls were in vain since we found out that because we had taken one of the seats out of the van that another location would not accept the van to do a swap.

Our conversation with the rental office did provide some comical moments such as:

Rental clerk: "Why didn't you tell me you were taking the seat out?"

Me: "I was not sure when I rented the vehicle but decided afterwards when we were packing the van that we would have more room without it. I was not aware I needed to tell you what I was going to do with the seats."

or

Rental Clerk: "Wait you're racing the van? You didn't tell me you were racing the van."

Me: "No I'm not racing the van in Death Valley. I'm going TO a race in Death Valley. They need to inspect the van as my follow vehicle. Nevermind. Look, it's against the law to not have a taillight anyway."

This year's pre-race meeting was one hour earlier which condensed the the vehicle inspection and general BS'ing time. Also the pre-race meeting was held at the host hotel which made matters so much easier than driving cross-town like years past. During the meeting the Hall of Fame class of 2009 was announced. I still have that as my goal. I sat there thinking I just need to get through this one and I have four finishes. Little did I know how difficult it would be to finish the 2009 edition.

After the meeting we were off to our hotel just a couple of blocks away. The usual routine on the eve of racing is Brandy and crew gets the perishable groceries and the other items sorted out in the van. I was fortunate enough to lay down and relax earlier than usual. It was before 9:30pm. I tried to find the local weather but what I found were conflicting reports of wind speed. I put down the Blackberry, closed my eyes and went through my visualizing exercises. As I said in a previous post, I had an unusual calm this year.

RACE DAY

Before I even started the race I was riding with pain. On my way to breakfast I rode my P3, Portia, to the the host hotel. As I was going through the Denny's parking lot I felt the chill of the morning. I took my hands off the bars and zipped up my vest. All of a sudden I see a pick-up truck rounding the corner. I get back down to reach the bars to swerve away from the truck and I TOTALLY miss my base bars. You see I hadn't ridden Portia since June 27-28th when I did the Grand Tour 300 miler.

I had gotten so accustomed to my road bike and road position that I miscalculated where the base bars were and endo'd right there in the Denny's parking lot. I hit the deck really hard. My right thigh, and both wrists were in pain from the fall. That fall was the cause of much discomfort and by day two it was just damn painful to ride my road bike because my wrists hurt so damn much. Today is the 12th of October 9 days after the race and my right wrist still hurts.

I had scrambled eggs, 2 pancakes, and a small bowl of runny oatmeal for breakfast. I really hate runny oatmeal. It was nice mingling before the race with my friends.

Here with Great Dane and Jeroba

Francis Piccachu Ignacio, Vireo and Timmer

Off to the start line. Putting on my MOEBEN arm coolers. Thank you Nathan Sports for the reflective gear on my Cervelo P3. And yes I am almost covered from head to to in SKINS COMPRESSION garments. The Skins Bib Tights are fantastic. I trust them with my undercarriage for my Ultras.

MORE TO FOLLOW

A FEW MORE RACE PHOTOS FROM FURNACE CREEK 508

2009-10-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

BEGIN KELSO CLIMB

(just a century to go)

BEGIN FINAL STAGE

(Thank you Prolong--58 miles to go)

AT THE FINISH

VIREO AND SNOOPY

VIREO AND DAVE "DONKEY" JONES

I have enormous respect for Donkey. The man is 63 years old and is hard as nails.

CHRIS KOSTMAN RACE DIRECTOR

My FOURTH SOLO finish. One of my toughest, most gratifying and well earned SOLOS!

I am working on a race report so please be patient.

More Race Photos from 2009 Furnace Creek 508

2009-10-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

MORE SUFFER FACE

FEELING BETTER

SALSBURY AN HONEST 8 MILE CLIMB (9.5 MILES TOTAL)

BRANDY THE CONSUMMATE CREW MEMBER

cloth dipped in ice cold water from cooler

"SECOND" WIND TEMPO CLIMBING ON KELBAKER (21 MILE CLIMB)

CAUGHT BY DAVID GOGGINS MY FRIEND AND ULTRA ATHLETE

MUTUAL RESPECT FOR WHAT WE'VE ENDURED THE LAST 400 MILES

THIS ONE CRACKS ME UP EVERY YEAR

More race photos from the Furnace Creek 508

2009-10-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

ON THE WINDMILLS CLIMB

JOSHUA TREE READ MORE HERE

They really take a long time to grow.

UPSET STOMACH BEFORE TRONA

HAVE A COKE AND A STICK...MASSAGE

BRANDY CALLS THIS MY "SUFFER FACE"

Climbing Jubilee Pass 1293 feet the first of two climbs out of Death Valley on the southern end. This is the morning after the windstorm that came through Death Valley. This picture was taken at 8:21 am more than 25 hours into the race and only 310 miles or so into it. The windstorm was about 25 mph steady winds with gusts up to 70 mph.

STILL CLIMBING JULBILEE PASS 1293 FT

Power Charts from Training Peaks

2009-10-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CHART

First up is the Performance Management Chart. Notice how my Blue line is declining, my Pink line is declining and my Yellow line is rising. In laymen terms this is what this chart should look like before a major or goal event. Blue line is my Chronic Load or my level of fatigue for the last 6 weeks. The Pink line is the amount of stress that I am putting on my body on a weekly basis. And the Yellow line is the amount of rest or the balance between the stress and the rest -- or adaption to that stress. It gets more technical than that but you would like to see the Yellow line rising with the Blue line declining so that you are fit and rested for your goal event.

2009 FURNACE CREEK 508 PART 1

Next up is the first 29 hours and 50 minutes of my Power Tap download into TraningPeaks software. The CPU memory is only 30 hours so I have to use two CPU's. I guess they don't expect Ultracyclists to be using power meters for more than 30 hours;) Well maybe someday I'll get faster at the 508 and won't need to CPU's. You'll see modest numbers because I had to conserve a lot of energy going through Death Valley not knowing what was looming for the next 200 miles of the course.

2009 FURNACE CREEK 508 PART 2

And now Part 2. The remaining 7 hours and 42 mins. More modest numbers because heck I'm getting tired now;)

But what about this number 15,758 kjs-- yeah that's huge!

kjs are like calories and significantly more accurate measurement of energy expenditure when taken from your power meter than when taken from your heartrate monitor calorie calculator. My guess is those looking at their heartrate data might have as much as 20,000 calories on their watch.

More Race Photos from Furnace Creek 508

2009-10-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

3 miles from the summit of a climb Brandy with a cute drawing made me smile. I was having digestive issues and any little thing can help your spirits. Notice the slow hand jive between Brandy and I. Brandy has a way of always knowing when I'm not feeling well and she always finds a way to make me feel better.

Somewhere between California City (mile 82) and Trona (mile 152)

Climbing to Randsburg and Jo'burg

How do you communicate with your rider? Well like Colin is doing here run next to him, feed him, motivate him and tell him you are there to help. That's the dedication that keeps the rider in the race. Note the view in the background as well.

I love the open roads of the 508. Here I'm heading to Trona (mile 152)

Brandy relaying a mesage from a Facebook post.

Thank you Rick for taking the time to post messages. They were relayed to me and they kept me motivated. DNF'ing is much more a remote possibility when you have a strong support group at home cheering you on!

More open roads.

A successful hand-up is done on a climb-- thank you Julie!

Another successful hand-up. Nice photography work Julie/Colin

I love this shot!

Heading to Towne Pass

2009 Furnace Creek 508 Race Photos

2009-10-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

I am going through several hundreds pictures that my crew took during the race. I would like to just post the pictures without much of a story.

Here's one somewhere between the start and California City (mile 82)

Of course this is by the Windmill Climb

Furnace Creek 508 Solo Finisher...again

2009-10-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

The very first thing I would like to do is thank my crew; Brandy, Colin and Julie. No Solo Finisher is ever ...Solo! Thank you for sacrificing a long weekend of your personal lives to help me in pursuit of my FOURTH FURNACE CREEK 508 SOLO FINISH. Thank you guys you kept my fed, hydrated, motivated and safe!

Next I'd like to thank my friends who followed me on Facebook and my blog. Your comments kept me motivated and laughing THANK YOU! Brandy would like to post more but getting coverage is the only thing shutting her up ;) JK...I love you babe!

Next I'd like to say except for my Fixed Gear run in 2007, this was my hardest earned finish out of four visits to the Furnace Creek 508. The winds between Furnace Creek Time Station #3 (252.89) and Shoshone #4 (326.29) were brutal. Keeping the bike upright was a significant challenge when I was going less than 4 mph because of the 35+ mph winds. I actually think the gusts were much higher than that my guess at least 50 mph. Would I say that? Well, I often stick my hand out of the window while driving around in town and the winds in Death Valley on Saturday night felt very similar to that. Bet you were waiting for a much more technical answer huh? Huge props to Brandy, my crew chief who at 5:12 am (gotta look at the download what if it was 5:08 cool huh?) offered me a seat in the van to wait it out.

What's the official word? From the National Weather Service (it's a dot.gov site) they say...

04 Oct 6:00 am   71   25   18   S   28
04 Oct 5:00 am   72   28   19   SSW   27
04 Oct 4:00 am   73   30   20   SSW   18
04 Oct 3:00 am   76   31   19   SSW   15
04 Oct 2:00 am   78   28   16   S   25
04 Oct 1:00 am   79   27   15   SSE   23
04 Oct 12:00 am   81   27   14   S   20
03 Oct 11:00 pm   82   27   13   S   24
03 Oct 10:00 pm   84   26   12   S   23
03 Oct 9:00 pm   86   28   12   S   23
03 Oct 8:00 pm   88   27   11   SSE   22
03 Oct 7:00 pm   89   28   11   S   20

SOURCE

And last but certainly not least the racers and crews you DNF'd this year's event I wish to say if you gave it your all and you left it all "out there" then don't worry too much about it. It was really a tough year with the headwinds. This event isn't easy but when you add a little weather (high heat, high winds etc.) it makes it that much tougher. Remember it's called "the toughest 48 hours in sport".

By my calculation there were 59 Solo Starters two of them Fixed Gear.
There were 7 Solo women including one Fixed Gear. There was only one solo woman finisher-- 14% Finishing rate
There were 52 Solo men including one Fixed Gear. There were only 28 solo men finishers-- 53.8% Finishing rate

For the Solo field there were 29 Finishers out of 59-- 49% Finishing Rate

Also interesting is that of the DNF's in the Solo Field 20 (out of 30) were veterans of the Furnace Creek 508.

Just goes to show not only was it a tough year but there are no guarantees you'll finish just because you've finished before. Far too often I get comments from friends and customers who don't know enough about Ultra cycling say things like "Oh you've done it before you'll finish no problem." No, just ask those veterans that DNF'd if they thought it was in the bag at the start line at 7am Saturday morning and then again in Death Valley during the windstorm.

Race report and pictures as soon as I can get my life squared away from this race.

All for now.

Done and showered!

2009-10-05T02:31:00.001-07:00

Done and showered!
Originally uploaded by Red Eyed Vireo

Thanks for the room Cindy!!

2009-10-05T01:38:00.001-07:00

Brandy checking in...Done!!! 4th solo finish in a row. Way to go babe!

Looking for a sheephole to climb!

2009-10-04T21:36:00.001-07:00

Looking for a sheephole to climb!
Originally uploaded by Red Eyed Vireo

2009-10-04T21:18:00.001-07:00

10 miles into last TS! On our way to Sheephole Summit!