07/03/07

Distance ---------------- 508 miles           
Elevation Gain ---------- 35,000 ft.
Start Time -------------- 09:00:00am, Saturday
Finish Time ------------- 07:07:46pm, Sunday 
Elapsed Time ------------ 34:07:46
Placed 2x Mens Age 40+ -- 3rd  out of 6  
Placed 2x Mens Overall -- 7th  out of 14 
Total Teams + Solos ----- 111
Placed Overall ---------- 34th out of 111
Total Riders ------------ 179

The COURSE: The race is 508 miles and 35,000 ft. of climbing, all done with NO drafting or riding together (except the first 4 miles of neutral zone).

The ROTATION: Based on both of our previous Double Century stats and if all went perfect, we had a 33-35 hour projected time. We came in at 34:07:46. Not bad for a bunch of rookies!!

          Arrive Time  Elapsed Time    Rider    Miles  Feet Climb
Stage 1 - 01:50pm Sat   - 04:50:00   - Alex    - 82   - 6,176
Stage 2 - 05:55pm Sat   - 08:55:00   - Jason   - 70   - 4,212
Stage 3 - 12:56am Sun   - 15:56:00   - Alex    - 99   - 7,538
Stage 4 - 06:29am Sun   - 21:29:00   - Jason   - 73   - 6,744
Stage 5 - 10:13am Sun   - 25:13:00   - Alex    - 56   - 2,186
Stage 6 - 12:38pm Sun   - 27:38:00   - Jason   - 35   - 2,920
Stage 7 - 02:56pm Sun   - 29:56:00   - Alex    - 34   - 2,280
Stage 8 - 07:07pm Sun   - 34:07:46   - Jason   - 58   - 4,170

Rider 1 - 271 miles, 18,180 ft.
Rider 2 - 236 miles, 18,046 ft.

The 8 STAGE-by-STAGE Report      Click on each photo to see a larger version

Stage 1: Santa Clarita to California City (82 miles, 6,176 ft.) I felt very good on this stage. Based on my Tour of Two Forests DC time just 2-weeks before, I thought my best time on this would be 5:30:00 if there were no winds at all at the Tehachapi Windmills Climb. Yeah, fat chance that would happen. There is a reason they put windmills there. The winds were not as strong as from ToTF. But even with the winds, coming in at 4:50:00 was an awesome start. By comparison, when I did the ToTF just 2 weeks ago, it took me 6:04:00 to get to the same spot. I was ecstatic to post a good time here.

Stage 2: California City to Trona (70 miles 4,212 ft.) Jason did great on this stage. This is a stage that suited him well. Lots of monster rollers, along with the big hills. Will post his report and comments for all the even stages when I get them. It seemed uneventful, other than early on, Jason asked that we shorten the leap-frog distance because it was a hot day. He needed fluids more often.

Stage 3: Trona to Furnace Creek (99 miles, 7,538 ft.) I started out great. I had good rhythm. However, things did not go as planned on this stage. My seatpost mounted rear light broke off its mount and fell due to rough roads in the Panamint Valley outside of Trona. Luckily, I also had bar-end mounted LEDs, so having installed that as backup prevented a DQ.

Before climbing Townes Pass, I needed to change to my 2nd battery. In the process, I forgot that my MP3 earbuds were dangling from the saddle. It wrapped around my rear hub and snipped off the right earbud. I was now facing the 13-mile climb to the Townes Pass summit with only 1/2 of the stereo sound (no mono mode on my MP3).

Halfway up the climb, I got chilly and stopped to put my vest on. This was when I started having gastro-intestinal annoyance. Nothing major, just my stomach getting unsettled. But it bothered me for the rest of the climb and I felt slow. I knew I could climb this grade faster. I am now paying the piper for my fast Stage 1.

Before the summit, I stopped again to put on a long-sleeved windshell. As soon as I descended, I realized I should have put on more, but stopping on this super-fast, super-dark stretch would be dangerous. I decided to just suck it up. It was COLD going fast on that 17-mile, 5,000 ft. drop. It warmed up at 1,000 ft. I stopped again after Stovepipe Wells to peel the windshell off as it did get warmer. While stopped, Eric SLOTH Skramstad (another Las Vegas Ultra guy) passed us. He is a strong rider, usually 2 hrs. faster than me on double centuries. He is doing solo and started 2.0 hrs before us. So it was encouraging that we have caught him just on stage 3.

Stage 4: Furnace Creek to Shoshone (73 miles, 6,744 ft.) I was curled over the rear seat of the minivan the whole time Jason did this Stage. My stomach distress was not getting better and actually turned for the worse. Tums, Gas-X, Maalox did not help. I forced myself to still eat. I am surprised I did not throw up. It was so bad, I fell asleep and did not awaken until Doug yelled out that Jason was just 5-miles to the checkpoint.

Stage 5: Shoshone to Baker (56 miles, 2,186 ft.) I had to use my light for about 1/2 hr until 7am. Stopped to remove it and had the van follow me until the summit of Ibex Pass. Now that it was daylight, I told my crew to head to Baker so they can get their supplies, breakfast, and then come back for me when they were done. They handed me my tube/repair kit and off they went. My stomach woes continued but the sun was shining and it felt good.

After the downhill and the very slight ascent to Baker, I stopped twice and officially/literally deposited my FC508 mark on the desert landscape (not once but twice, and then a third time in the comfort of the gas station restroom).

Stage 6: Baker to Kelso (35 miles, 2,920 ft.) Jason took off while I went to get a hot-dog, fries, A&W rootbeer. That seemed to be all my nose and stomach could handle. Simple foods. Doug tried looking for club soda or seltzer water. The best the store had was 7-Up. I could not eat the hot-dog. I had no appetite. I forced myself to eat the fries. That was when I knew something was horribly wrong. Nobody has ever had to force me to eat fries before; I love fries! I managed to eat the small order of fries and downed 1/2 of the A&W rootbeer and 1/2 of the 7-Up.

On the way to Kelso, I started envisioning DNF! No way. The only times I had DNF'ed is due to mechanical problem and due to a crash. But never due to fatigue or something like a stomachache. There was no way I could quit after we have gone this far.

Stage 7: Kelso to Almost Amboy (34 miles, 2,280 ft.) All I had to do was finish the 12-mile 2,000 ft. climb to the top of the Granite Mountains and it is downhill all the way to Almost Amboy. My next decision was a make or break decision. Instead of getting my 1st Endurance EFS liquids and my Camelbak, I told Doug to load up my 2 Polar water bottles. 1 of them would have the left over 7-Up filled with ice, the other would have the leftover A&W rootbeer filled with ice.

I took off gingerly. Less than a mile later, I realized the bottle spouts were closed. Perfect recipe for an exploding water bottle. So, I released the pressure and started drinking 7-Up and A&W rootbeer alternately. At this late afternoon hour, this was my hottest stage. Even slight dehydration, with my already now violent G.I. tract, will definitely push me over the edge, so I had to keep drinking.

My speedometer got to 12-miles. Just when I thought I reached the summit, it was a false summit... and then another. The real downhill did not begin until the 14-mile mark. Hmmmm... Cal Trans crew must have added an extra 2-miles of this road <LOL!> at the last minute. Finally, the summit. My decision to use 7-Up and A&W rootbeer instead of 1st Endurance EFS paid off.

I finally reached my downhill section. YEEHAH! It was mostly fast, though sections that had a slight head/cross winds scrubbed off some speed. And since I was still using my 13/26 cassette, I had to just coast on some sections where I spun out my gears.

Stage 8: Amboy to Twenty Nine Palms (58 miles, 4,170 ft.) I truly believe Jason got the hardest stage. I am grateful Jason was willing to take the last stage. It is a difficult stage. It is only 58 miles, but at the end of a long race like this, it is pure torture going through some of the most barren-desert and roads that do not ever have any end in sight. Every turn leads to the same thing, a road that seems to go on forever. Even after entering the town of Twenty Nine Palms, we kept wondering why we could not see the Best Western.

Finally, seemingly popping out of nowhere, like a beacon from a lighthouse, the world famous blue diamond sign of the Best Western hotel was visible and we could see the FINISH!

Jason sprints to the finish line at 7:07pm for our total time of 34:07:46.

The FAST DESCENTs:  The 17-mile 5,000 ft. plunge from Townes Pass to below sea level at the Death Valley floor is probably the fastest and scariest because I had to do it in complete darkness. Your life is at the mercy of your tires, fork, and lights. Not to mention your support vehicle's brakes. No mistakes allowed here. The other fast and scary descent is from Salsberry to Shoshone, though not as long. But the winds required intense concentration.

The WEATHER: The days were clear with moderate temps. The Santa Clarita start was 66 degrees. The Townes Pass descent felt chilly but it was 64 degrees. The coldest temp was 61 degrees on Stage3 at Shoshone. The warmest was 91 degrees from Kelso to Amboy. Nighttime at Death Valley alternated between full-moon light and cloud-covered. Jason encountered strong head and cross winds climbing out of Death Valley via Salsberry and Jubilee Passes. Strong enough that it almost stalled him at one point.

The RIDER: Average HR for the 4 stages was 138 bpm. On Stage 1, my best stage, I averaged 158 bpm. On Stage 3, the stage where I had to make 3 toilet stops in the last 20 miles, I averaged 128 bpm.

The BIKE: The De ROSA KING (a.k.a ELVIS) is a great all around bike. I used AC Classic Sprint 350's with 13/26 cassette the whole way. My Topolinos with 11/25 cassette were never used. In retrospect, it may have been a good idea to stop for a wheelset swap for the long downhills. I spun-out on some of the descents and basically just coasted. Jason's Giant is also a workhorse. He had new Rolf's on it. No flats, no mechanical problems, not even a dropped chain for both of our bikes.

The MOUNTS:  The custom mounts for the Light-&-Motion HID system broke weeks ago. To prevent similar failure, I used the helmet-mount to attach it to the stem. Worked GREAT! Superflate cartridge inflator, route sheet holder was great for Stage 1. My seatpost mounted rear LED broke off it's mount due to rough roads at Panamint Valley. Luckily, having installed bar-end mounted LEDs as backup prevented a DQ.

The FATIGUE INDEX: This ride beat me up in the upper-body (biceps, triceps). But I have experienced worse. My legs felt fine after the ride, still able to walk up and down the hotel stairs to do a lot of unloading of our stuff. I was not going to leave our expensive bikes and gear in the van overnight, no matter how tired I was. So, the only real physical problem which affected my performance was the G.I. issue that started at Stage 3 and did not get better until I was back home in Las Vegas.

The AFTER RIDE FESTIVITIES: Delicious pizza was awaiting us at the finish. Had a few slices, had our podium pics, then took the much needed hot shower. Then we were off to Edchadas Mexican Restaurant for a HUGE carbo-replenishment regimen (i.e. we pigged-out!) Since I do not drink, I was the designated driver and everyone, specially our well-deserving crew was given a pass to get drunk. Jennifer said Jason fell asleep 8 seconds after he hit the bed. It took Doug about 10 seconds to fall asleep.

On the other hand, I was still de-compressing and was not able to sleep until 11:30pm. When I woke up Monday morning, I noticed Doug was in the exact same position on his bed as he was when he fell asleep. He does not remember moving all night from that position, not even to go to the bathroom.

The  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Majority of pictures are courtesy of Chris Kostman, Glen Tebo, and AdventureCORPS, http://www.the508.com/index.html .     Other pictures taken by my support crew.