July 3rd...What I Learned...50 talking points

General thoughts:

1. If I had to do it again I'd use the lightest velomobile I could afford. An XS carbon Quest comes to mind though that's at the far end of what I could afford. Would also take a hard look at the Milan GT.

2. Low weight almost trumps everything though an ultra-light Mtn Bike, for example, would not be fun across the plains.

3. Comfort is critical. My socked GR was just that.

4. I wore a wrestling singlet w/top straps cut off and an elastic waistband sewn in by Carol(wife)

    Reason? Seams are only on the side, not front or back. Comfortable though revealing so have to be aware of that an either wear a long jersey or throw over some ultra-light running shorts.

5. Socked GR was difficult to work from. Too time consumming. Every stop...change out clothing, grab something out of panniers, run into 7/11 to grab a bite. Every type of transition took too long, race wise, with the socked bike. With a velomobile, you just hop in or hop out. No problem especially w/o cover on.

6. Fairing/sock on GR helped with cold weather but not as much as I thought it would.

7. Half the time during the race it seemed I was cold and, hence, made a lot of time consuming changes of clothing back and forth.

8.Handling at low speeds required a lot of concentration...energy...on the GR at speeds under 6mph especially when fatigued and at night. Especially at night!

Specific:

1.Milan GT or Quest XS

2. Keep gear to absolute min.

3. Keep weight to absolute min. 5-10lbs. less will make a difference, energy wise, in the 

mtns particularly.

4. One change of cycling apparel

5. Wool jerseys worked well. Never smelled

6. Sleeping system a must...goose down bag/blanket, mattress, bivvy

With a velo, and I don't recommend it necessarily, you could probably sleep in it w/a tarp throw 

over your head if raining and a down blanket for warmth.

7. Pace? Went too hard first few days...500 miles in 2.5 days in the mountains w/70lbs. If I did it again, I'd probably take it a bit easier. The push overnight into Baker City took a lot out of me. IIRC, I went 43 hours on three hours of sleep.

8. Next time would take McKenzie Pass alternate route. 14 miles further but easier gradient

to deal with. McKenzie Pass really trashed my body.

9. Listen to your body. Take care of it. Down run yourself into the ground.

10. Setting aside my 'thrush' infection, my antibiotic ordeal, and my heart issue, I felt good overall during 75% of the race. I was initially concerned w/recovery each day but I surprised myself.

11. I cannibalized my body too much. Two weeks later I'm still my 'high school' skinny weight of 150lbs. Lost nearly ten pounds of non-water weight. Though I know I lost muscle mass I was confirmed what I always suspected...I'm good at 'fat burning'.

12. A trike platform would solve low-speed handling issues on climbs yet would still be fast on descents. 3x20", though maybe slight slower on the flats or rough pavement than a 20x26" setup, would be my choice.

Note: 

Day two... had climbed McKenzie Pass and was heading to Redmond or Prinville for the night. I was beat! Some tailwind and genenerally flat to rolling w/granny gear climbing on some. As I left the town of Sisters, a man on a trike along the side of the road yellled 'Go Rocketman'. Fast forward three minutes, I'm cruising at 28-32 mph and I look in my mirror and he's on my tail! Unbelievable!

Over the next 8 miles or so, he drops me on the first 3min. climb and puts 3/4 mile on me over the next 20 minutes. I can never catch him. 'Paul' pulls over, a real nice lean man of my age, riding an ICE tricked out light trike. I find out later from a good friend, who knows Paul well, said he's one of the fittest and strongest riders anywhere and he climbs like a scalded cat. Anyway, Paul was a good example of what can be done with a very strong rider on a light trike. It makes me reconsider a trike for the TransAm as long as I could run bright flag/strobe on a streamlined mast.

13. Rumble strips, w/poor shoulder, would be a challenge on some two-lane roads w/frequent semi traffic. Would have err on side of safety and thread your way thru that section.

14.Easy access to food on bike.I used a one gallon plastic milk jug zip-tied to handlebar w/a large cutout. Worked well.

15. Hydration? Would continue using water bottles over hydration unit. Had four/24oz bottles on handlebars. Could refill w/different drinks. Easy to clean. Btw...found out real soon that warm/hot water-bottle water is real difficullt to get down.

16. Which liquids worked well?

 Discovered too late but McD's sweet tea goes down warm or cold. Could fill up 4-24oz water bottlles for a buck. Coke worked well when diluted w/ice. Contains more phosporous/magnesium over most beverages.

Ice cold 4% milk, not chocolate, worked well one day as, at that point in the race, chewing, with thresh infection...was coming more of an issue. That one day I consumed 4 quarts.

17. Food?  Would take a hard look at JV's Infinit liquid fuels . I know Willie swears by them. If they worked out well would ship resupplies down course General Delivery or to motels/hostels along the way. Would call motels ahead of time to set it up. Would supplement w/hot meals as well. 

18. Motels? A hot shower, etc, at the end of the day was a welcome relief. Camping out wasn't bad either as long as showers were available. I could of used a hot shower, though, when I had to spend the night on the top of Lolo Pass. 

19. Carbent? I have one sitting in the garage. What I don't like about it is 'hard crank' interference when adjusted for my inseam. Though a great climber, I know the crank interference during the race would become an issue, due to low speed climbing, fatigue, etc.

20. Lights? I should of run a front generator. Don't know if it's a possibility on a trike. Would have been

easier than what I had. Reason for not? Another $400. Might light system, that was trouble free, would run up to 7hours. Cost? $17 from Amazon.

21. Beleive it or not, I never really had digestive issues on the bike...no stomach pains,diarrhea, etc in spite of the antibiotics I was on for most of race.

22. Tires? Glad I went with 28mm Ultremos. Would run 'em again.

23. Panniers? Under one pound. Worked great though, knowing what I know now, would of used my rear rack for mounting them.

24. XTR rear derailleur, grip shifters, Ultegra front derailleur...drive train in general...worked beautifully.

25. Rear 29er rear wheel w/BB7 worked flawlessly. Glad I had it. Had one nasty 3-5 mile twisty 13% downgrade that I was glad I had them! I've never been on a gradient that steep for that long.

26. Dura Ace front hub w/18 spokes on light rim. Tire/wheel combination rediculously light. Performed flawlessly. no issues.

27. Handlebar cell phone mount. Quick and easy to connect/disconnect. Secure.

28.Fairing? Glad I went w/CF Easy Racer fairing as bike fell over for various reasons once smack dab across a boulder. Lexan on fairing would of cracked.

29. Gearing? Went w/58/42/26 and 11/32XT cogs. Worked well though the 11X34 would of allowed me to spin slightly more. 58 tooth worked better than I thought.

30. Downhill speed? I don't think I ever hit over 52mph w/sock at 7000'. In many cases, running without sock would of been faster evn at the top in w/headed tucked down IMHO.

31. Tailwinds? Socked GR is faster w/out sock as there's nothing in the back dor the wind to push against.

32. Sock? Excels  in the 15-50mph speed range, on moderating temps, quartering winds, flat cruising, and carrying speed on run-outs. Would save 3lbs., however, w/o...mast/sock.

33. Mirror? Wouldn't ride w/o one.

34. Heart-rate minitor. Chose to ride w/o. Rode by perceived effort. Would do it again.

35. $$  Two credit cards, ID, medical issurance card, and $500 cash to start out. Would do it again.

36. Baggage? Worked out to about 20lbs...clothing,electrical items, lights, med supplies,hygiene,extra tire/tunes, tools, etc. Not a lot I could whittle down allowing for contingencies.

37. Tried to carry an extra 1000 calories on the bike at all times. Saved my neck on numerous occasions. Preferred food...large Payday candy bars...3-4 at 500 calories each, small packages of 

cream-filled Orioles, Performance Powerblocs chewables at 33 callories each.

38. Cold weather gear? Had it shipped to Hamilton, MT, P.O. General Delivery for use in the Rockies.

At times, I was riding with a wool sweater, wool jersey, long-sleeve lycra jersey, and rain/wind jacket, knee warmers and was still cold. Like I said, my body has a low cold tolerance. In Hamilton, I picked up thick rain rights, long sleeve wool jersey, water proof socks and was still cold especially on the ride into W. Yelllowstone w/socked bike.

39. Navigation? Was OK going w/maps...about a pound. Maybe gps if a next time.

40. Communication? Handlebar mounted iPhone. Saved my bacon numerous times w/making arrangements, navigation, etc. Wouldn't ride w/o one.

41. Seat time? Yeah...too little. It was more attributed to fatigue than comfort. 

42. Would consider using two bents. 

A light-weight comfy trike for the first 2000 miles...to Pueblo, CO...and then change over to the GR or mid-racer, or ? to the end. Or, ship the trike to Kentucky for the start of the Appalachians. However, would prefer doing it on one bike.

43. Trike? Perhaps a tail-faired trike would work well across middle America

44. I'm dollowing Allan closely on the development of his "Bullet" velomobile body. We email. It's light and inexpensive and made of kevlar for toughness. Doesn't look all that much different to the DF velo that's been recently released though I know there's a world of difference across the design spectrum.

45. Spousal support? In my case...imperative. Often my wife got me through the day via iPhone messages and arrangements.

46. Would of used General Delivery more than I did and was planning to once I reached Pueblo, CO, where the coast headed eastward off the Rockies.

47. Competitiveness? With the weight I was carrying I was fortunate enough to be around 18th out of 42 riders though many of those were probably not racing. 30lbs off my bike and onto the bikes of my nearest competitors probably would of allowed me to move up a bit ;)

48. Gold Rush kickstand: I was able to trim down the kickstand llegs and still keep it functional.

At 1.25 lbs...indispensible. Woulldn't ride w/o it due to convenience ecery single time I stopped.

49. I had a very good and extremelly knowledgeable friend as my long distance coach. We kept in contact daily. His advice and encouragement indispensible. We had our disagreements as expected.

I learned a great deall from him and his support team, Unfortunately, I didn't akways follow it or could follow it for various reasons. Btw, we're still close friends.

50. To wrap it up if I were to do it again?

     Take a long hard look at three wheels especially a light velomobile w/speed, weather protection, and easier handling on the long climbs.

     Take far less than I need. You can always buy items on the road

     Stay in the saddle longer

     Use of hub generator if possible

     Learn how to stay warm on the bike

     Keep it as light as possible. Five pounds does make a difference fatigue wise on climbs

     Would plan my days/layovers/pace more carefully and would err on the side of 'too easy' for the first 3-5 days.

That's it. Feel free to post questions not answered. I normally proof read before posting but not this time. Tired now though have a cord of wood to move down the hill so...

Cheers and thanks for reading...

john

     

      

     

      

  

 

Motivation to push on...

Cross posted on BROL

Many thanks for the words of encouragement and support along the way and now that I'm back at home. It did, does, mean a lot to me.
My learning curve was steep and slow as I'm very much a rookie at this thing.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned, and I thought about this a lot on the road, is the continuing motivation to be competitive in this long a race.
I always wanted to finish respectably in the race as in the top 1/3rd or so... but when the top 10 riders...the Italian group, Mike, Edward, Jason and a few others...have got a gap on of at least a 1,000 miles...do you knock yourself out and miss a lot of "America and its fine people" to finish 13th rather than in 16th position?
I've been texting w/"RN" the last few days...a young strong rider in the race that I somehow managed to be competitive with at least for the first 1100 miles or so...and noticed he hadn't been moving down course for a long, long time period. I'm talking for about a day or so.
He texted back to say, and I'm paraphrasing here, that the "gap is so big" that he was enjoying himself a bit off the bike.
My point...

My "Big Calorie" breakfast stop about an hour after the climb out of White bird, Idaho. This fine lady I met allowed me to join her for breakfast. We had a great time and she told me her life story. I got pretty good at just listening to people and keeping my mouth shut though hard to imagine.

I couldn't eat it all and so I got a 'doggie bag' for the rest and she took it home literally for her dogs.

She also shared she has a pet bull elk. She said, and I do forget her name, that the bull elk was very happy when Fish and Game dropped off two females on her acreage:)

June 29th...Why I made the decision to pull out of the race

This is a copy of the posting I made on www.Bentrideronline.com some days ago. It gives a general description of my bike/gear and then the time frame/conditions leading up to withdrawal from the race.

A bit about the race...w First of all, I want to thank you all for your incredible support throughout the past ten days of my racing the TransAm. This is my first look, some 15 days after the start of the race, to visit the BROL forums and I haven't looked at the other post in this thread...yet. Needless to say, the word I received throughout the race from my very limited contacts were extremely encouraging and motivational. To you all...I'm most indebted and I truly mean that. Right now, I'm sitting in my favorite Starbucks penning a few race reflections.I am indebted, especially, to the following people for any personal success I might have experienced throughout the 1333 miles into West Yellowstone. 1.Carol...my wife, my love, and my digital ride partner and social media correspondent 2. Robert Johnson and his wife who walked me literally through many difficult passages and victories throughout my journey 3. Lonnie Morse: Dear friend and advisor and expert Easy Racer consultant 4. Hundreds of others well wishers and the Good Lord who delivered me safely through the difficult times. Special thanks to Rand, Randy, and Thom O. Some random facts/comments: Rider race age 64 Bent: Socked GR w/ultegra frt brake and BB7's rear disc on 29er wheel 58/42/24 Ultegra crank w/ 11/32 xt cogs. XTR rear derailleur. Koolback seat. Seat base weld broke just outside W Yellowstone...seat base actually fell off the bike when I stood up...BUT it was my own fault for my misloading of seat bags on top of seat frame. Tires: Ultremos both ends(700x28mm on rear)...one flat Loaded bike weight w/all fluids: 70 lbs I usually rode w/96 ounces of liquids Favorite bike fuel:Ice cold 4% whole milk Emergency back-up calories of ~1000-2000...Large Payday's, Powerblocks. Clothing: Merino wool short/long sleeve jerseys w/waterproof pants and Shower's Pass WP socks plus assorted other jerseys. Shorts: Wrestling singlet cut off at the waist w/added elastic. There are ONLY side seams and no front/back seams. Had virtually no seat comfort issues of any significance throughout the ride. Body weight on June 7th start: 158lbs Weight on return home after fully hydrated: 149lbs. Lost a pound a day while eating as much as I could on the bike. Longest day: 233 miles w/10,000' climbing Shortest day: IIRC...around 71 miles Avg. daily mileage to West Yellowstone: 148 miles/day IIRC Estimated total climbing to that point. Just my estimate:80,000' Total time to distance taken from retracing my route one Trackleaders: 300 miles 1day/6 hours 500 miles 2days/13 hours 800 miles 4days/13 hours? 1000 miles 6days/6 hours 1300 miles 9days/3 hours? My longest moving day on the bike was just shy of 16 hours. I know, I was off the bike way to much to be very competitive. Along those lines though, the average TransAm racer was what I called "30/30"...carrying 30 lbs less gear/bike and 30 years younger. My game plan was to try and maintain a 'middle of the pack' position and then, once I reached Pueblo, CO, start making up time and reeling in what riders I could across mid-America. As the race progressed, I did find myself getting stronger and recovering better than I thought. I was reasonably confident that once I hit the plains, and could get into a good long steady rhythm, a 22-24 mph cruising speed would be doable disallowing any wind influence. The trouble riding the mountains was the difficulty in locking into any long-term rhythems. Though I never or rarely went anaerobic, accelerating the bike/climbing took a fair amount of energy due to the weight, etc. One of my toughest pulls was climbing three passes between John Day and Baker City most of which happened at night. The first pass was a 9 mile pull of 5-6% with no let-up...none. I ended up walking 15-30 minutes on that climb due to calf pain. I finally rolled into Bake City at 3:15 am after climbing the 2nd and 3rd pass on a quiet mountain rode. I was so cold and shaking so badly that, at times, I had difficulty steering the bent. I then lost my headlight. Fortunately, a car came up behind me and stayed there so I could use their beams to see my path for the next hour. Like I said...I was extremely cold.  I was up and on the road, IIRC, by 8:00am or so. Another low mileage day faced me and, on a long, steep sustained climb into Halfway, OR, I found myself walking about 90 minutes due to extreme slope, strong headwinds, and a troubling left calf muscle. I survived though Unfortunately, I found myself going to bed on an empty stomach due to unusal circumstances or poor planning, on at least three occasions. The Payday candy bars? Coming out of Wisdom, OR, with nearest services 46 miles down course, the Payday got me there. I might mention I was surprised at my weightloss during the ride. I was already what I considered a lean 158# and so I reckon, what I have suspected for quite some time, my body is fairly efficient at cannabalizing itself hopefully w/not too much loss of lean tissue. So fast forward to this past Monday: It was a cold, wet, hilly 71miles heading toward West Yellowstone. Rumble strip, poor riding surface, and semi truck traffic about five feet away. At one point, the wind/rain was so strong that I pointed the bent into the wind/rain, planted both feet firmly on the ground, and tried to ride it out motionless hoping it would soon pass. Eventually it did and several miles further down the road is when I picked up my only flat. Ten miles out side of Yellowstone, I stopped, stood up to stretch, and my seat base hit the ground. I rode on several miles and then noticed my wife had texted me. Said snow was expected in W Yellowstone and NOT to plan on camping out if at all possible. She soon posted she found a room for me at the Madison Hotel (hostel) in town and to head in that direction.  Within 30 minutes of reaching the Madison, the sky literally opened up in an ice cold torrential downpour of hail and rain for the next hour or so. Thank God I was inside. To make a long story short, the following morning I had breakfast w/two new hostel friends and returned to the lobby to sit/rest/reflect around 9am. I wasn't feeling well and also had a case of 'Thrush' that made eating/chewing difficult...a different trip to the ER for that...and became aware of my high heartrate for the first time. Using the timer on my iPhone, my resting HR held a steady 160bpm for the next 4 minutes and then converted back to normal(60ish), and then 5 minutes later converted back to 160bpm. FWIW...I counted 16-17 beats in 6secs then add a zero. This continued on throughout the morning without let up. At one point, and I'm feeling a sense of deep, deep fatigue at this point, I layed on my floor of my room where I felt my heart far exceed my capacity to count that quickly. Fast forward to 2pm that afternoon. I walked across the street to a small medical clinic where I was promptly informed their not an immediate care facility. They asked what was wrong, however, and had a nurse check out my pulse/bp. Within the next minute, they had called 911 and within three minutes I was on an 80 mile ambulance ride to the nearest large medical facility in Rexburg, Idaho. Throughout the 90minute drive, my heart would 'convert' between rhythms...150-160 and then back into the 60's. This converting would take place radomly over a period of several seconds. A bit disconserting to say the least. Fortunately, they were able to record on paper as this was happening as well throughout my three hour stay at the Rexburg(Madison) Medical Center. Fast forward to Thursday afternoon in the W. Yellowstone Cafe while waiting for my flight out. The low point of my race. Upon checking my heartrate, I estimated it to be in the low 40's and skipping every 3rd beat. Five seconds later, it was red-lined at 160 bpm. At that point, I honestly wasn't sure I was going to make it ;)  I did actually broke down for the first time during the race while on the phone with my wife. It was tough. Yesterday, Friday, I got admitted to the Good Sam Medical Facilityin their ER. Fortunately, my heart put on a good show for the physicians/cardiologist varying from 39-125 beats while quietly at rest. This Wednesday I meet with an electrocardiologists for consultation for surgery to repair the electrical circuits in my heart. It's called RF Ablation and, in my case, it can be a life changing surgery where they use a catheter to gain access to the heart and 'kill' a small part of the heart responsible for the mixed up electrical signals. It seems my heart currently has two speeds while at rest...fast and slow...with changes between the two taking just seconds. I might note that when the cardiologist left my ER room yesterday, he turned to me and said 'you are going to racethis next year aren't you'? I said I was done with ultra racing upon which he said 'we can fix this thing'. You'llbe 100% fixed. Go for it!

Update:Cardiologist diagnosed me with SVT...supra ventricular tachycardia. Says it's rarely life threatening and recommends no treatment. Indicated It may never return or it may. They have the highest success with ablation surgery...killing a small  electrical-generating part of the heart from the inside...if I'm in an SVT rhythm at the time. The SVT rhythm is a rather unnerving experience to go through to say the least ...mine lasted six days...especially if it's your first experience with them, you're a long ways from home and familiar faces, and your dealing with it alone. My room in W. Yellowstone On the road somewhere outside Wisdom, MT

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 ;)

Racing is on full bore!

My apologies for not keeping up with my blog during this past week of raicing the Trans Am. The only excuse Ihave is a constant high level of fatigue and spotty wi-fi or none at all. You might notice a few mistakes in my blog postings because I'm using Siri and times I must slur my words so my apologies on that as well.

Right now I'm laying on the bed in my motel room in Hamilton, Montana. I feel disappointed in my performance today because I only covered 76 miles. I had much higher goals for myself. 

Last night I had the privilege of climbing Lolo pass which is a pretty long climb of  80 miles that's gradual and kicks up at the end to a 6%+ grade of five miles. Unfortunately, the last hour or two was spent riding in the rain, in total darkness except for my bike light, with a slipped contact lens, and I was climbing at a very low speed. I ended up with14 hours on bike and covered 176 miles BTW, my morning had started w/ a 9 mile climb up and out of the valley floor. as it turned out, I spent the night at the top of Lolo Pass, 5200'...camping out on a concrete sidewalk next to the boys bathroom. All of my clothes were wet to some degree which made for an interesting night :-)

As of this afternoon, I've riden 1033 miles since the start of the race on June 7. If I had to guess of the altitude gain I'd put it somewhere around 50,000 feet of climbing. It might be less, and might be more. I found out from talking to Nathan Jones, the race organizer, that the first day of riding from Astoria, Oregon, to Coburg, Oregon, had over 10,000 feet of climbing. It's all good fun!

Unfortunately, some issues have recently surfaced that are causing me concern...dehydration;) I'm working on it but body parts that aren't suppose to swell up...are.

June 5th...final preparation

It's been a busy day. My Patriotic body sock came in today as well as some misc. electronic plugs, etc

It bike out a spin down Riverside Drive and have a few thoughts...

1. Bike is fast enough w/o wearing my aero helmet.

2. Final bike weight, without food/water comes in right at 52lbs.

3. Decided to take two chargers and both lithium batteries though there's a weight penalty in there.

4. I'll count on getting a good night's sleep tomorrow night and not tonight.

Note: Some of my postings the past four months have refered to on-going stomach pains that never   seem to go away. I kind of wrote it off as just stress going to my stomach. Fatigue and slight sore throat have plagued me along with the stomach pains?

Well, this past Monday I went in again to see the doctor and they ran some test. Tonight, the Dr. left a voice mail at 5pm...didn't retreive it untill 8:45pm...and said I had   H. Pylori bacterial infection in my stomach. It's an extremely stubborn to get rid of and requires a cocktail assortment of drugs...PrevPac to knock it. The good news...we've identified the problem.

The bad news...there isn't a pharmacy in the valley that had it in stock. Also, the price? In the neighborhood of $200-400. What willl probably happen is Carol will have to drop ship it to me. We think Hamilton, Montana, will be the spot.

Here's a few pics of the bike. It's coming together.

After the pic was taken below I modified the entire luggage section of the bike.

June 4th...Important links

www.transamrocketman.blogspot.com    (I know...you already found it)

www.trackleaders.com/transam14  (you can follow my progress in 'real time')

www.transambikerace.com   (general race information)

http://mtbcast.com/site2/trans-am-bike-race-2014/   (you can listen to dailly voice mails of racers)

http://www.inspiredtoride.it  (Yes...they're making a documentary about the race! With two film crews, 

                                            filming begins tomorrow.)

A huge thanks to Robert Johnson, TerraCycle, "Randy", Thom Ollinger, Jim Verheul, and countless others for your assistance without which this ride would not be possible. My biggest thanks, however, goes out to the love of my life...my wife Carol. She's a saint. 

A couple of random bike pics.

Not very streamlined, is it?

This looks a little more aero from these two angles...you think

And this...  BTW...fairing height is not settlled, yet.