Race recap - 2011 FC508

This year's 508 was dubbed the "lucky 7" tour on account of it's the 7th time Pancake Tortoise (aka the weakest link on Team Falcon) has ridden in this event.

The crew was comprised of Paulie "PK" Kingsbury, Wanda "Don't run with scissors" Tocci, and Lehrin "what was in my milk shake" Morey.  Same crew two years in a row means something ... it may mean that my crew doesn't have all their marbles, or it may mean that it's just great karma that they came back for a second year.  Regardless, the prep for the race went off like clockwork - it's almost like we didn't even have to talk to each other during pre-race logistics; everyone just knew what to do.

Race day starts off with a little chit chat at the start line with Mr. Bob Brudvik (Bush Baby) from Seattle - Bob was a riding fool this year and completed a sub-60 hour PBP with a group of like minded hard-chargers from the Seattle Randonneurs.  Bob looked fit as hell and had the bike to match; he also had Chris Ragsdale and Mike McHale on his crew, so I was kinda figuring that Bob wasn't going to be spending too much time in the van on account of Chris and Mike being all "stay on the bike or else" ... Also at the start was good friend Jun Watanabe (Japanese Macaque); with a staggering all-star crew of Gary Brodie "Bear" Baierl, Pete aka "JS" aka "lead monkey dancer" and Michele "this is the last time I'm going to crew...this time I mean it" Neri.  My understanding is that there was a lot of energy through out the race of Jun's crew and other crews on the route dreaming up ways of using Jun's totem in a sentence that pretty much had little to do with Japanese Macaque the animal, and had a lot more to do with ... well ... Animal House kind of stuff... By all accounts Michele was continuously entertained.

Race start is right on time at 0700, and the group goes out behind Chris Kostman in a Delorean and CHP.  Temps were cool with variable winds.  On the turn to San Franciscito canyon riders sorted out pretty quickly this year, with less bunching up than in 2010.  No monster tail winds to speak of, so for me the speeds were a little down (not like the love fest we had in Team RAAM this year in Kansas with those eye popping tail winds...we love Kansas!).  Picked up some refreshments at the Johnson Road meet-up spot; that's such a cool thing to have all the vans lined up on that road; loads of energy.

I think as we crested the Johnson Rd hill, Jun put the hammer down and flew by... I caught him back on the descent and we were both laughing mucho... we stayed close for quite a while which keeps it fun; both crews are all friends so it's like a big Team Falcon reunion.  On the windmill climb I could see Jun ahead and he was definitely having issues with his back; I wheeled up to him near the top and we chatted a bit - he's a tough cookie (more on that later).  Bob Bush Baby Brudvik was also in the mix on the windmill climb... funny side bar on Bob; I pass his crew and ask "where's Bob and his TT bike with that fancy disk rear wheel?" - crew replies "he's coming right behind you"... so there's a guy coming up behind me and I'm thinking it's Bob... so I start off with "hey what's taking you so long?" - the guy replies "well you know... I'm doing what I can" (I'm still thinking "Bob")... I reply "You're climbing like a fool...I'm going to have to get your blood tested" (as he then rides by, I realize "shoot...this guy's not Bob)... but he was good natured about it as he schooled me on how to climb a hill!

Around Trona we started to hit some modest head winds...not huge - maybe 7-10mph, but it kinda lasted to Townes Pass summit which made things kinda pokey.  PK, Wan and Lehrin were superb at keeping the calories flowing, and we were in a good rythym throughout.  Townes Pass was extra special this year in terms of me going slow... I was so gassed it was funny.  I had picked up a nice cold/sore throat on Wednesday night before the race and it was in full bloom during the ride, so I'm sure that could have been a little contributor, but I think not having the benefit of any prevailing tail winds in the first 200 like we have in previous years also didn't help.  When I have those low moments, I just put one thought in my head: "Think like Ragsdale" - that guy can ride through anything and you don't want to stop when you're thinking that in your head!

Somewhere ... either heading to Randsburg, or to the Trona Bump - the Japanese Macaque van is stopped up ahead on a riser... Bear and JS are standing in the middle of the road doing this crazy-assed herky jerky monkey dance... if you stand bow-legged, then hold your hands up in the air, elbows bent at 90 degrees, then do this weird-assed jig where you lift your right leg in the air w/ your right arm, then step down with your right and pick up the left - keep doing that over and over - that's what I saw for pretty much the whole climb.  JS ran out of gas but Bear was Monkey dancing until I got to the top... I could see that Japanese Macaque had evolved from a totem to a way of life for these guys...and it's only 200 miles in.

The ride down from Townes Pass is always so shitting cool - I had a guy blitz by me at the top, and I got caught behind his van for a bit through the dips which was sort of a bummer, but we waited for the last few turns and once we got straight we hit the gas pedal and got to the front for a clear shot down.  5-6 miles from Furnace Creek a 4-man team passed, then the guy kinda petered out; I think he worked hard to catch then got by me and lost his rabbit -- he was nearing the end of his pull, so I'm guessing he was pretty tanked... we hung back for a few then re-passed; I don't pass many folks so anytime I can it keeps it fun... of course just past FC TS, they had a fresh rider up and he went by sooooo fast...

Jubilee and Salisbury - I actually like those climbs; these felt longer this year... maybe my brakes were rubbing or I had a tire going down or something ;-D ... even though it was slow, I felt good overall and was enjoying the ride.  We rode straight through Shoshone and headed to Baker.  The ride to Baker this year was good... Bear Baierl loves this section, and I usually love it a little less... I think we had a slight tail wind/cross wind, and the sun was coming up, so it was kind of a super section.  The crew went ahead to Baker to gas up and get some food.  I pulled up to the TS and they had an AWESOME Burger King Breakfast Sandwich waiting... Jesus was that ever good.  Lehrin also gave me some of his greasy tater tots which also tasted like HEAVEN.   I never eat at BK, and with Tammy on her Veggie/Vegan health kick meat has pretty much disappeared from the house (note for the Spousal Record: I'm not complaining, just stating a fact) - but that sandwich was something pretty special.

On to the Kel-Baker climb; it's starting to warm up; lots of riders around.  I got into a zone through here and took on calories/fluids whenever the crew handed them to me.  This was the section where the pickles and turkey started to come into play; super tasty.  The last 100 miles is always a challenge in this event; I probably lost 20-30 minutes from here to the end on "bumper breaks" and we also took a bathroom break at Roys in Amboy; where I had the opportunity to chat with a bunch of Harley Riders who said that "I looked parched, and would I like a beer".  I replied "If I have a beer, you'll need a spatula to scrape me up off the pavement".

The Kel-Baker descent was as rough as ever; the Granite Pass climb was not bad, however at the top we developed a substantial clicking in my new front wheel (carbon) - to be safe we did a wheel change at the top and headed to almost Amboy. 

The Sheephole climb was super good - much less car traffic this year, although our crew did experience a hostile driver moment... two ladies driving a diesel pickup pulling a trailer were trying to get by...I could hear the horn beeping over and over behind me and looked back a couple of times to see what was going on; this was near the section where the road bends right and you get onto the main part of the sheephole climb... as they rode by the van, they threw a handful of tortilla chips at our van....pretty aggressive move, as some of those triangular chips are sort of like ninja stars and all... On sheephole, Siberian Husky rode by... I didn't have the gas at the moment to run after him, but figured I'd try to ride hard in the last 20 and see what came up (what came up was, he finished before I did :))

The final run into 29 Palms was good - usually there are quite a few lights and riders to go after but not this year; we get onto Utah Trail closing in on 62 and at the stop sign PK says "Rider up behind you"... I ask "solo or team?" - he says "I don't know" so we put the hammer down just in case and gapped them pretty well ... in the end it turned out to be a team.

It was another super year of riding with some amazing folks and teaming up with the best crew in the business...Afterwards we grabbed some dinner, then did some tracking to find out where Jun was in the mix; it turned out his back was causing major issues for him, and his progress had slowed quite a bit, but he was still riding despite the back injury.  In the end, we got a text message around 3:30 am that he was on Utah Trail so we all booked up to the finish to wait for him to cross.  He came across around 4:00 am or so, messed up back and all... by all accounts it was an epic show of discipline, with an extra display of digging deep starting in Kelso; that's a testament to the mental toughness that you have to have to ride these things so super job by the Japanese Macaque.

A couple of other shout-outs; great ride by Bush Baby Brudvik - if you look on the webcast his finish line pictures look like he hasn't even started the ride yet...in addition Dave Nash - super crew from RAAM 2011 rode 2-man (with Chuck Clements on crew) and he and team mate threw down a great ride; we were able to connect briefly at Almost Amboy and Dave looked fresher there than he did during some of those mid-night moments driving the R/V during RAAM.

It's been a great year of riding, and 2012 promises more adventure - make sure to get out and ride, and be safe!

Pancake T.

2011 508

Time flies when you're having fun.  Another 508 is just around the corner - Pancake Tortoise will make another trek to Death Valley - 4th time solo.  I'm crazy lucky to have Paul Kingsbury, Wanda Tocci, and Lehrin Morey back for another 508 as crew;

We'll be setting up at Bear Baierl's house on Thursday, then head up to Valencia for pre-race check-in, meeting, and the ever so important "grocery run".  Lehrin has requested Red Vines licorice and I promise - we won't disappoint.



Stay tuned for regular posts leading up to and during the race.  In the meantime, I'm riding again this year for the Death Valley Natural History Association - fire up a link from this page on the right and make a donation that will help preserve one of the coolest places on earth!

Pancake Tortoise

2010 508 - Pancake Tortoise

If you come across a desert tortoise during The 508, the most appropriate action to take would be to stop until the tortoise has crossed the road and is no longer in the road corridor.  It is not advisable to drive past or to take any other actions that might frighten the animal.  If a tortoise voids its bladder (a typical reaction from fright), it can die from dehydration. 

- Chris Kostman, Furnace Creek 508 email update #4

Yeah, that sounds scary, but hey - in the world of Tortoises, the Pancake Tortoise is a faster, "less-likely-to-pee-its-shell-and-get-dehydrated-in-the-desert" Tortoise.  With that disclaimer in hand, enjoy this year's race report.

After several visits to Death Valley in October as both rider and crew, I can tell you that the one thing that stands above all else is: It is damned fun.  Before, during and after the race timeless moments accumulate, and each year in retrospect it's hard to believe that so many experiences unfolded over the course of just a few days.  Here's a quick recap of this year's 508 for the Pancake Tortoise.

Pre-race: 

2/3 of the PT crew (Paul and Wanda) arrived on Wednesday for a little R&R before race activities took up all their free time.  1/3 of the PT crew (Lehrin) had work responsibilities that required him to balance priorities and get into Valencia Friday night.  The pre-race activities were comprised of meeting up at the home of Gary Brodie "Bear" Baierl (aka "Camp Brodie") on Thursday for van and bike set up, and to sit in Bear's front yard eating pizza and shouting "Brodie" a lot.  Good thing Bear has understanding neighbors because we probably think we're a lot funnier than people around us might think we are.  Team Pancake and Team Bear worked on final set up; and Team Pancake performed the necessary "modifications for van readiness" to ensure we'd have external music for the race itself (always an entertaining part of the pre-race logistics). 

Friday breakfast for some of us was at an Orange County Starbucks near Camp Brodie where I must say, the Starbucks manager was so insanely wired with caffeine that it was like a Seinfeld episode.  The dude was saying to every single customer in line something like "hey how are you welcome to Starbucks would you like to try one of our iced or cold coffee beverages today would you they're so great and really go down smooth what can I get you?????" - but when you read it do it at the pace of "peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" and you'll get what I mean - he was drinking the hi-test stuff, no question.  It was the most frantic Starbucks I've ever experienced - living in the Seattle area, that's saying something.

Friday morning we left Camp Brodie we drove up to Valencia; 508 inspectors were out in force, and we were completely ready, inspected, and registered by early afternoon.  We then made the customary market run to Albertsons using Paul's GPS - older Garmin software was fun in that it constantly fubar'd which side of the road the destination was on - so the cool part was all the roads around Valencia are like 3 lanes each way - the GPS lady is doing her thing: "destination on right"; which was then typically followed by Paul making the obligatory u-turn to get to the opposite side of the road where the destination actually was.  After a while we started automatically just doing the opposite of what she told us and it worked better.  

The 2010 Market Run included boat loads of food and drink that you need just in case you need a lot of nutrition options, but inevitably you end up at the finish with lots of stuff...We always get to leave the vast array of leftovers with Bear Baierl each year, which he then in turn brings the following year to Race Across Oregon when we can finally consume it, some of which has the best if used by date well passed.  

After the Market Run was complete, we hung out on a grassy knoll outside of the hotel and snacked on some food - we spent a little time with Bob Brudvik and Chris Ragsdale - Bob was pitching the idea of the "Charlie Miller PBP 2011 sub 56 hour plan"... as long as Chris promises to stay at the front the entire time and pull everyone else through the French coutryside for all 750 miles, I told him I'd consider it.  Bob's logic was "even if you fall off the back in Brest and have to suffer your way back to Paris on your own, you'll still PR just from the fact that you rode a super fast time to cover the first half..." I like the way Bob thinks, although I have some work to do as my trick to riding with Chris is to leave a lot earlier than he does then chat for a few minutes when he catches me - that's the 'riding with Chris' part...

The pre-race meeting was in a new location but already too small for the racers and crew; even with room logistics being tight, all the important stuff was covered efficiently and we were back at the hotel in good season for a relaxing evening.  Pancake crew member Lehrin Morey arrived sometime after 9:30 and PT was already in REM sleep ... We all grabbed a quick breakfast before the start and then I rolled over to the start line with about 20 minutes to spare.

The Race

The field gets stronger every year; Bear and I hung out at the back and told "Brodie jokes" for 15 minutes before the start - I wish I could remember them because Brodie B was laughing a lot and I was thinking I had some good material going... I made a feeble attempt after the race to try and remember my best quips, but I couldn't remember what happened 5 minutes ago, let alone a conversation from Saturday morning.  We rolled out for the start behind the CHP escorts (I wish I had them for regular bike commutes) and before long we were making the turn onto San Franciscito Canyon.  The one thing that I remember about the first 25 miles was how tough it was to carve out some space so you weren't on someone's wheel, or someone was on your wheel.  I did a couple of sprints to get some free space that eventually got me some separation.  We didn't have the same impressive tail winds we experienced in both 2008 and 2009 through to Trona; it was warm but there was some overcast that kept the temperatures in check.  Lots of good racing going on from Johnson Summit all the way to Randsburg - gone are the days of getting out of California City or Trona with no one around you; unless of course your Chris Ragsdale or Terry Lentz - it's lonely at the top.

I just stayed on the bike until lights on before the turn for Townes Pass; the TP climb is always tough, so I just established a rhythm that I could maintain and listened to music - My iPhone had about 15 hours of music on board, but selecting shuffle resulted in it playing the same 15 songs over and over ... that's where a crew earns their Trona Burrito - improvising the song order and connecting their own devices (like Lehrin's killer song collection) to keep the tunes fresh.

No need for stopping at the top of Townes Pass - it was nice weather so we just bombed over the top - going into those dips on the top half of the descent never gets old for temporary pucker factor.  Slap a tiny little cateye light on your bars, get yourself up to 55 or so, then drop into a dip that causes the van lights to temporarily (and completely) disappear and you've got a crazy ride going.  Things got nice and warm by the time we hit Stove Pipe Wells - we rolled through Furnace Creek and headed on to Badwater (a favorite rest room stopping place along the route).

How about those crazy white mice?  I can't remember exactly which section it was - maybe enroute to or just after Badwater?  There were bright white mice hanging out in the middle of the road every 1/4 mile or so - they didn't even flinch when we came up on them (which could explain the couple of flat mice I saw)... I also saw 4 scorpions, a shit load of spiders, sasquatch on one of those electric bikes, and a pink giraffe drinking a mai tai - okay - maybe I'm a little hazy on the last two.

We saw a few vehicles at Badwater - we made a quick rest room stop, then headed out for the Salisbury and Jubilee climbs.  We passed flamingo just coming out of BW - he had gone down on the pavement - and I think somewhere through here where Mighty Mouse (who we had sort of been trading positions with for a while) finally put the hammer down and pulled away.  The Godwit team rode by on the Jubilee climb (Cara Gillis I think? Super fast climber); Jubilee was a pretty good climb; Salisbury was a bit more of a slog, but again - I just got a rhythm - the crew kept me fed, and we did our thing and got over the top.  Somewhere around here I was talking outloud to myself to stop thinking "sleepy thoughts" - so I waved the van up for a no-doz; that plus the Starbucks doubleshots kept me reasonably alert.

Following the descent off Salisbury, we headed to Shoshone; we stopped in Shoshone for rest rooms (and I think we got gas for the van?) - then headed out. Wade Baker (Wren) was there at the same time - he left just in front of us, and he totally pulled away on the way to the Apex summit.  I felt pretty good heading to Baker (but obviously nowhere near as good as Wren felt) - with a few miles to go before town the crew went ahead to get food; I had a very tasty AM/PM microwave breakfast sandwich (you know how it is - later in the race solid food rules the day) ... I'm not sure what the breakfast sandwich was truly made of - I don't think it had too many organic ingredients - but I read a perpetuem label and I'm not exactly sure what I'm eating so what the hell.  It tasted good - sitting on the van's back bumper eating my generic Egg McMuffin, the sun's out - life is good.  I made quick work of the sandwich and we headed out for the Kelbaker climb.

I was half expecting Bear Baierl to come up behind me through this section as his riding style is ideally suited for the Shoshone/baker and Baker/Kelso sections.  

The skies were clear on Sunday and it warmed up A LOT - I was definitely feeling the heat as we had a very cool summer in the NW; we used the tried and true "tube socks full of ice" to keep cool - which melted sooooo quickly - I just paced myself on the climbs and tried to keep stopping to a minimum (and brief sit-on-the-bumper stops only - no sitting in the van, otherwise the crew turns on you and starts making threats).  The descent off Granite Pass didn't seem as bad this year.  Well, you ask "Hey pancake, did anything positively suck in the last 100 miles?  It all sounds so rosy..." - 

Making the left turn out of Amboy to head for the Sheephole (aka "sheep's hole") climb - last year there was what I can only describe as a fabulous tail wind that got us to the climb itself super fast... this year?  Well you know what they say about "pay back".  It wasn't the world's worst headwind, but I can tell you it definitely took some time to get from the turn to the base of the climb... so much time in fact that I was starting to wonder if I missed a turn, or there was an additional upcoming turn that I had forgotten... when I finally got to the climb I was happy - I'd rather be climbing then dorking along in a headwind on the flats... 
The descent from Sheephole was windy, keeping speeds down, and that last 20 miles is a brain-drainer for sure, but we made it to 29 Palms and finished well;  SUPER job by a killer crew Paul/Wanda/Lehrin - they were a well oiled machine that made it easy to stay on the bike... and speaking of well oiled...hey crew - how about that Bag Balm, eh?  Pretty shiny stuff...

Post-race

After the finish we went to pizza hut for some solid food; that pizza tasted so damned good - and I almost face planted in my pizza 3 or 4 times - something about Pizza Huts make me sleepy.  After dinner we headed back up the hill to watch Bear come across (discussing different race plans for 2011 as he crosses the finish line, and already sizing up aspects of his ride before he came to a complete stop (actually I think he was discussing it while doing a track stand) - if we hooked up an EEG machine to his brain and my brain at the finish, you'd see impressive brain activity on his EEG read out, while on mine you'd be saying stuff like "is this thing on?" or "try it now...".

Monday morning we went to the post-race breakfast - there were some last minute logistics that were delaying the food...and more importantly, delaying the coffee; more people poured in while the restaurant staff had increasingly panicked looks in their eyes... we figured that we should cut back on the demand by rolling out and heading to Denny's - so we loaded up the vans and we moved to beverly - hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars...wait a minute - I'm mixing in a different story here...we went to Denny's...that's what I meant - while there many omelets were consumed and many laughs were had.  It also helped that we had a quick witted waitress (highlight - everyone orders coffee except Jun, who orders hot chocolate - so she says "got it - 7 coffees and 1 sissy la-la" - Jun's hot chocolate? 1.59, the immediate crowd laugh from her one-liner?  Priceless); we laughed our asses off for 2 hours, along with a few other riders/crews that came in after us.  We kicked around plans for 2011, told jokes, and swapped race stories - it was a real "Brodeo" and a great way to end the weekend.
 

Thanks so much to Team Pancake (Wanda, Paul, and Lehrin, to Tam for supporting me and keeping everyone informed, and Team Bear (and BRODIE!) for the laughs, hospitality, and of course, fun.
PT

Team Pancake 2010

Pancake Tortoise will ride again in 2010. If you dig Death Valley, be sure to visit the Death Valley Natural History Association (http://www.dvnha.org) - your contributions help support terrific education and development programs, and help to preserve this awesome landscape.

See you in October.

PT

2009 Furnace Creek 508 recap

Note for you sensitive readers out there: some colorful language is contained in this report.

Pablo Picasso is credited with saying "the older you get, the stronger the wind gets - and it's always in your face". Based on that little factoid and the windy conditions of this year's 508 adventure, I must be old.



Another strong field assembled for this year's 508 event; it's a tribute to the hardcore riders from Washington State - P1 through P3 all went to WA residents, with Chris Ragsdale laying down a masterful ride to take the win after a long and intense duel with Michael Emde. Kudos to Brian Ecker from Bellingham WA for an impressive P3 finish - crossing the finish line with zero left in the tank - a huge effort.



Now, it might not have been as fast a little further back in the pack, but it was great racing. The growth of the sport from the first time I crewed (Bear, 2000 edition of the 508) to today has resulted in a larger and much stronger field where riders remain within eye-shot of each other throughout the entire course.

This year's race in a nut shell:

• Mile 0 - 200: favorable tailwinds with occasional crosswinds result in a fast split for racers over the first 200.
• Mile 201 - 340: Right turn to begin the ascent of Townes Pass gives racers a hint of what this year's race is really all about: headwinds.
• Mile 341 - 508: Better winds combined with the foot numbing ass-beating road surfaces on Kelbaker and the Kelso descent; along with the "I don't remember it being this hilly" 20 mile finish into 29 Palms.

Boy, that first 200 miles was pretty dreamy, wasn't it? The early climbs in San Franciscito were fast, the windmill climbs felt easy, and the tailwinds kicked in as we headed to Mojave. The only funky moment for me was the 6 mile descent to Trona - last year I got blasted with a big cross wind gust and developed a speed wobble that ended up pitching me over the bars at a pretty nice clip; this year there were strong variable cross winds on that hill. Definitely not as bad as 2008, but with the psychology of it all, there was a moment or two where I was asking for my "baba and binky". I've got to train myself to think less (if that's even possible given how little I think already).

Overall, this first 200 mile section was fast, and everyone on the course was riding like Lance. I had killer crew support (Pancake crew: Paul Kingsbury / Wanda Tocci / Bob Maher) - they kept me fed and made it easy to just stay on the bike. The thing about a great crew: they're always there...they let you ride but when it's time to eat they're there, and when you need a boost, they are there...pretty cool cats.

Rolling up to the turn for Townes Pass, I was thinking 1) I think I'm here earlier this year than I was last year and 2) the winds are similar to 2008 so when I turn right it's going to suck. I didn't do the math to verify #1, but I was right on #2. Once you get part way up the TP climb you get some protection from the winds - of course when you're going 5 mph it takes a while to get there. The great hollow wisdom echoed by me during this section was when I told the crew "hey it's windy now, but once we get over the pass and into Death valley, we're going to fly...it'll be SWEET; we will make killer time..." - good thing I'm not a stock broker. I felt a little wasted going up TP and definitely had some slow points, but you know how it is on these big climbs: have the crew turn up the music and remember: you get to the top faster if you're on the bike so don't stop to sight-see, eat soup, or reflect on your accomplishments to date...

I don't remember exactly when the winds kicked in big-time: we stopped for a couple of quick minutes at Furnace Creek to drink some Ensure and deliver a coke to Paul Danhaus (strong rider for any age group and RAAM veteran); then we hit the road for Shoshone. Shortly there after I started singing non-sensical songs laced with f-bombs to keep myself occupied. At least I kept myself entertained.

When the winds blow like this you can do two things: laugh at the craziness of it all and keep going, or think too much about it, which usually ends up involving some kind of "stopping" or "waiting" or "hanging on for a second" or "I forgot something in the van" - stay away from that: bad mojo; if the crew starts feeling sorry for you that's a bad sign too. Throw some dirt on it and keep going.

My only gripe was that it was virtually impossible to hear the external speakers even at peak volume because of those damned winds. The winds through DV and Badwater were unrelenting and ass-kicking. Wind patterns followed the countours of the road and mountains through the Valley, so no matter which way the wind turned, it was Picasso's worst nightmare. The highlight here: I'm riding along and I hear this deep train-like sound; it's not real loud at first but it's getting louder. First I thought it was the wind but the louder it got I started thinking "train" ... never mind that trains don't go there; It's getting louder, and closer, and I'm trying to piece together in my head if there are tracks in the area when ... WHAM ... A mother-lode blast of air/sand/plants/bugs/rocks hits me and I come to a complete stop...I try to pedal over the top but can't so I jump off. It's too windy to get back on and I'm on a slight incline. We're all kind of stopped in the road laughing our asses off because I can't get going...I used to be a heavier rider but now I'm like a damned kite so it was a comical and screwy moment. We decide to walk the bike the 100 yards to the top of the rise, then hang onto the external van mirror and clip in and wait for a "lull"...

A couple of minutes later we're off and pedaling. Paul K is telling me "you're standing up on the pedals a little too much" - inferring that I'm increasing my surface area to the wind... I'm like "okay, I'll crouch down more...and my ass doesn't thank you"... this was such an epic section of the course with those winds; that plus the full moon made it surreal. In hindsight it was cool being out in those freakish conditions.

The crew pointed out I climbed Jubilee and Salsbury Passes faster than I rode through Badwater... that's how jacked up it was...

The only other screwy wind experience came between Shoshone and Baker; winds were strong but variable; about 1/2 way to Baker I look up the road and see nothing but brown...no horizon, no mountains, nothing - and it's kind of coming toward me... 5 seconds later I get swallowed by a big sand cloud...I had sand everywhere: nose, eyes, mouth, jersey, socks... I put my head down and kept pedaling, but then I had to close my eyes to keep going which I thought was probably a bad thing (pedaling with your eyes closed), so I stopped, Bob hopped out to grab my bike and we hung out behind the van for a few minutes until it all blew past.

I didn't have a real strategy for Baker other than to make a jersey change and hit the rest room. When Paul asked if I was hungry, that added "tuna sandwich and fries" to the plan... Those of you who do ultra distance events know that some of your best memories may be around food you ate during or after the event... I never expected to stop for some solid food but that Tuna Sandwich and the heaping pile of fries from the Mad Greek was nirvana man; if I wasn't already married I would have married that tuna fish sandwich - there was that much love... so we stopped a little longer than planned but so what...when love happens you gotta follow your heart.

Kelbaker climb was uneventful but (of course) long; the Kelso descent is such a butt kicker. If you want to know what it's like to be a real man, I was talking with Chris Ragsdale at the airport and he said he just flat out "bombed the descent" - I bet it looked a little different than me (on the brakes trying to avoid the pot holes yelling "shit my ass hurts" out loud while laughing)...

Granite pass was a long but painless climb, with a lonnnnng descent that has improving road surfaces as you go down. We stopped in Amboy at Roy's to honor crew godess Wanda with a "proper and private bio break" (another good reason for Roy's to be open). If we had a little more time I was going to instruct Paul to "borrow" the v-twin off the Harley at the gas pump and install it on my trek for an easier climb up sheephole...

I was racing with a group that included Gray Wolf, Weiner Dog, Flying Eagle, and Desert Locust (nice tats) - lots of change in position for everyone over the last 150 miles which kept it fun and easy to stay engaged. The sheephole climb was easier this year, and I always like that descent...super fast and smooths out at the bottom. The run up to the climb had a SUPERB tailwind...really sweet. The descent was quick and relatively smooth; at this point, even if you feel like crap you smell the barn so things progress pretty quickly.

The run in to Twentynine Palms can be a drain, but we had a lot of riders close together and I finished stronger this year in that section thanks to the crew keeping my food / liquid intake up at the right time.

Given the conditions of this year's event any finisher has gotta be happy - it's ironic that this year's jersey features a warrior's shield; very appropriate given the conditions and the competition.

Last note (and it's about food): Pancake Tortoise and crew stayed at the Holiday Inn Express just down the hill from the finish line... our late arrival to the finish resulted in everyone hitting the sack versus going out somewhere to get food; the next morning we had a tight schedule to get back to the airport so we opted for breakfast at the hotel...I'm walking down stairs thinking "cereal is good...I can't wait for cereal...yummy cereal" - I get into the breakfast room and before I know what I'm doing I'm putting like 10 heaping scoops of scrambled eggs, a cardiologist's dream of a sausage portion, and a couple of biscuits...I bet it was 10 eggs worth... it was the best breakfast I think I've ever had.

Pancake Tortoise

Training for the 508? Don't play this.

My daughter was looking for a little entertainment this past weekend so she pulled out the Cranium Hullabaloo game. Haven't played it? It's like audio twister. Lay the different pads (shapes, colors, with objects on them) around the speaker, then hit the button. The dude's voice says stuff like "spin to a triangle" and "slither to a blue". Eventually he gets around to "Now for a super challenge... put your elbow on the elephant, your nose on a red, and your knee on a triangle". As they say, it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye... or jacks up an adductor muscle thanks to the 'hullabaloo super challenge'. Training for a big event? Stay away from this game - bad juju.

2009 FC 508

Pancake Tortoise will ride again in 2009, riding on behalf of the Death Valley Natural History Association. Stay tuned for updates on 2009 preparations as we get closer to October. Ride safe!

PT