June 27...updates

This is cross posted to Bentrideronline.com

Daily Distances and Observations:

      At the start of the race, I knew I had ZERO chance of winning or placing. I'd be lucky to finish in the top 1/3 of the field. I could live with that. Considering the field... their experience, their age, their equipment...my goal was always to turn in a respectable performance for myself. A 22 days crossing would be incredible. 25 days very respectable as a 170 mile/day average. More than a month...not so good at least in my mind.

I did manage, according to "Trackleaders.com" to cover the first 800 miles in a little over 96 hours(four days) which was good for me, but I was unable to sustain that rate. The race has always been a race against myself. My fears. My demons. I didn't face any lesser or harder hardships, I'm sure, than any of the other racers. We were all experiencing and dealing with the same type of issues throughout the race. Definitely this race was  my biggest physical/mental challenge ever in my 64 years.

      There was no doubt that my dealing w/cold weather and nutrition/hydration would be a huge challenge for me to overcome. They were.

Day 1:  234 miles...Astoria to Coburg. 10,000' climbing. A long non-eventful day.

Got about five hours sleep camping out.

Day 2: 122 miles...Coburg to Redmond. Up and over Mckenzie Pass. Spent 4.5-5 hours on this climb w/o any real let up. Trashed my body this day. One of my toughest days I've had on a bike...ever.

Day 3: 227 miles...Redmond to Baker City. Five major passes this day riding to 3:15am. Dealt w/pre-hypothermia. Can't remember being this cold for this long while riding.

Day 4:   84 miles...Baker City to Snake River in Hell's Canyon. Pulled left calf muscle on first climb heading east of Baker City. At one point, started to turn bike around around and head the 15 miles back into Baker City but, after some time, kept going primarily w/just right leg for power. (Cramp/muscle pull stayed with me until Lowell, Idaho, the next afternoon.) Strong winds, coasted whenever possible at low speed, estimated I walked 90 min up "The Wall". Could apply little pressure to pedals. Glad when day was over. Disappointing mileage after getting off to a good start.

Day 5: 144 miles...Hell's Canyon to White Bird. Rolled in just before dark. Services closed. A rough day. Poor road, heavy truck traffic. Some dandy climbs. A no fun day.

Day 6: 150 miles...90 min climb out of White Bird w/70 mile river grade climb up to Lolo Pass last 1/2 of day. Arrived at top at 10:15pm. Last 90 min of climbing, gradient kicked up to 6%. Rain last two hours. Not ideal but I managed. Spent night camped out on concrete walkway in front of men's restroom.

Day 7:   73 miles...Lolo Pass to Hamilton. Not a day I'm proud of. Severe dehydration from previous day, couldn't eat as everything tasted extremely salty and I mean everything, and 'thrush' in mouth was being to make chewing difficult. Also, picked up 'cold weather' package at Hamilton P.O. to keep me warm over the Rockies.

Day 8:  78 miles...Hamilton to Wisdom, MT. Made a costly navigational error that cost me at least two hours. Rolled into Wisdom at 5:30 PM w/squall line across the mountains in front of me. The three passes ahead went up to 7400'. I was cold and made decision to stop for night though way short mileage wise. No services for next 46 miles. Got lots of sleep and felt good next morning though hungry.

Day 9: 145 miles...Wisdom to Ennis. IIRC, three major climbs today. Felt good overall rolling into Ennis, MT, other than my mouth. Had a spaghetti dinner that night and could barely chew as 'thrush' made chewing all but impossible. Could eat only half. Tongue was covered in prickly red pimples.

At 1am, walked across street to ER Center. Left lower leg swollen, varicose veins huge, recent calf pain, difficulty walking w/o limp, severely dehydrated prior days. Wanted to rule out a DVT and get some meds for my mouth. Successful on both counts.

Day 10:  76 miles...Ennis to West Yellowstone. At 65 miles into ride, seat base fell off my GR. Weld had snapped due to my own fault w/pannier placement. Limped into Yellowstone and stayed at the Madison Hotel...(hostel)... for next three days due to  heart issues. A very cold day at the 6600' elevation. Snow was in the forecast for the next morning. It did.  Withdrew from race and headed home Thursday evening. Riding wise, though short, a tough day. Wind, rain, climbing, poor road, rumble strip, narrow rough shoulder, truck traffic, first and only flat. I do remember the wind and rain so strong that I pointed nose of bent into the wind, tried to hid behind fairing from the rain, anchored both feet on the grade, and waited for the squall to pass. It did.

As the race progressed, I fell apart. I learned a great deal should I ever think about racing this again. I probably won't but just sayin'. Most of the time rolling down the road I was in good spirits and upbeat. I had a ball during much of the race and am grateful for the opportunity to give it a go. I'd never done anything like this before and it was definitely a challenge. I knew I absolutely drove my coaches crazy with my poor performance and felt like I was wasting their time. I'm sure I was. But they stayed with me through it all. They were faithful to the end. I value their friendship.

Though I rode on ten days, the running "Race Clock" had me for 9days/9 hours total time. My daily mileage average was a disappointing 142 mile average though I will say, on my behalf, the total climbing from Astoria to W. Yelloowstone was reported to be 71,000' depending on which data you went with.

What I learned...good and bad

1. A much lighter race platform. Like 30 lbs lighter. Had a conversation w/racer Ed Pickup back in Astoria. I asked about his bike/gear set up and final weight less fluids. Bike...15lbs., gear...under 9lbs. Age 23. Came in 3rd overall IIRC!

2. Learned too late but McDonald's Sweet tea goes down warm or cold. I could fill up four 24oz water bottles for $1.

3. To stay on the bike. I failed at this. Coaches wanted me 18 hours/day moving time. I just couldn't do it. Maybe on the long flats in mid America later in the race but not initially. My longest day 'moving' was only 15:45.

For my own information, I checked reliable sources on the  average 24hr/cycle seat time of John  Schlitter and Dennis Johnson in their amazing RAAM victories. 15 hours and 19.5 hours respectively with full RAAM support. I'm not even sure they, even being the legends that they are, could  pull off 18 hour days unsupported in the mountains w/70lbs of bike. I know I couldn't.

4. A real need to dial in my nutrition/hydration and get it together. I'm learning. My one gallon 'feed bucket' was a real success however for easy access to food,

5. Develop quick transitions and stops w/bent. Loaded down, bent felt more like a 'vehicle' than a bicycle. Cumbersome at low speeds, walking, maneuvering, and a real handful on slow steep climbs especially in the rain and at night. I remember falling over into a wet flower bed outside a Hamilton Motel. It was fatigue. Required a lot of energy just to keep it pointed straight on 6% sustained climbs. Btw...there was no such thing as a quick stop/clothes change, etc.with socked GR.

6. Should of gone w/hub generator. What's another $400, eh.

7. Slept 3/9 nights on the ground. I was ok with that.

8. Burned up too much bodyweight. Needed to eat more. Lost 9lbs in 9days and it's stayed off ten days later.

9. Heavy duty antibiotics not recommended just prior to and during  race. Created unforeseen problems for me later.

10. Observation though obvious: Workload climbing took a lot out of me and, yes, I did gear down and spin. Estimated long steep climbs took 15-25% longer than competitors. Descents, being faster, resulted in shorter recovery times.

11. Schwalbe Ultremos? Couldn't be more pleased. One flat on last day. In the rain of course. BB7 rear disc. Glad I had it!

12. I never let my mind go to the "Q" word...quit. It wasn't an option until a 911 call and a hospital trip to the ER for heart issues. At that time, it was the right decision. 

13. Once moving at speed, the socked GR was a rocket ship! Never reached what I call high speeds...I did it hit 52 mph once... but she handled beautifully once over 8-10 mph. The ride of Keys pass was incredible :)

My lunch buddy and new friend in New Meadow, Idaho. Dave opened up and told me about his life over lunch. It was tough. We're close enough in age that we could of attended the same high school together.

Wisdom, MT  An incredible place to stay for $65 a night. Full kitchen, living room, huge bedroom.

Great view!

My new friend, Dong. He's a visiting Vietnamese college lecturer who's riding a fully loaded, not shown, Honda Trail 90 across the US from north to south. We hit it off really well and spent some down time together in Yellowstone while waiting out the weather and medical issues.

Beautiful Halfway, Oregon. Just south of Halfway about ten miles was the start of the notorious climb known as "The Wall". It was ;)