Long roads behind me…

and long roads before me…

and even more long roads in before me…

Stage Two: California City to Trona, 70.25 miles. Elevation Gain: 4212′.

Arrived Saturday 18:09, 11 hours 9 min Avg. Speed 13.8 mph

From the 508 website.

“From California City, head north over flat desert terrain to the Johannesburg climb at mile 110 (Mountain Section Three). You’ll climb 1500 feet in seven miles; the desert climb is steeper than it looks and grows progressively steeper. After Jo’burg, you’ll ride over a series of pesky rollers before a long fast descent to the road to Trona”.

Most of this section went well with many nature breaks. It seemed I was always bursting at the seams with my hydration. It should be noted that I was using CarboPro1200 and Sustained Energy as my primary fuels and hydration. I wasn’t eating any solid foods and felt great. The hand ups continued including my Vantage Vo2, Recover and electrolyte supplements in little zip lock baggies.

Everything was going well. I remembered how last year I began to feel nauseous after leaving California City and this year I was feeling great. I was a little dismayed that after working so hard to pass racers on the climbs I would be dropped on the descents. But this would be my frustration for the next 40 hours. I had to continue to console myself that the big picture was I was going to enter an exclusive club of cyclists who took on “the toughest 48 hours in sport” and made it tougher by riding the 508 on a fixed gear.

I remember struggling up the climb to Randsburg and the rollers afterward. Every time I hit a pitch steeper than 8% grade it was be a real struggle to keep the cadence up to reasonable levels. This early in the race there were still plenty of solo racers around me. But slowly and inevitably the teams start to catch me and leave me behind for good.

I wanted to make it to Trona before 6pm which is when you must put lights on your bike and use the follow vehicle as direct support until 7am the next morning. We had to stop just short of Trona to put lights on my bike, a slow moving triangle and yellow strobes on the van. I didn’t want to have to make two stops– one for the safety lighting and then again for gas in Trona. My goal next year is to make it past Trona before 6pm. I like direct support especially at night. The constant drone of the engine is comforting. Besides far too many drivers are not expecting a rider out in the middle of nowhere.

I’m still feeling good regarding my nutrition and hydration. 153 miles done but I know the next 100 miles to the next time station are going to hurt.

Here is the link for the rest of the pictures.

http://flickr.com/photos/epictrain/sets/72157602346553717/

153.9 miles and 10,388 feet of gain completed and only 355.97 miles to go

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Here is my race report. I will release sections of my report one time station at a time. If I were to wait until it were complete it would take yet another week. And I know you are all just chomping at the bit…ok maybe not. So here is from the start to time station #1 California City.

I will quote from the extremely well document 2D and 3D course description available on the 508 website I believe it was done by Doug “Dog” Sloan. I also see John Gower mentioned as doing the elevation data. If I haven’t given credit to someone for their hard work it was not intentional.

Stage One Santa Clarita to California City, 83.6, Elevation Gain: 6176′

Arrived 12:57 Saturday, 5 hours 57 minutes Avg. speed 14.05 mph

From the 508 website

“After a 5-mile group ride across town, the race starts up San Francisquito Canyon (Mountain Section One). In the next 15 miles, you will climb 2,500 feet. The climb is generally moderate; the climb before the turn to Elizabeth Lake is short and steep. A windy flat section through the Mojave Desert leads to the windmill climb at mile 44 (Mountain Section Two). Over seven miles, you’ll climb 1000 feet, probably into a stiff headwind. Another fast descent takes you down to the town of Mojave with a couple of quick turns. There is a shopping center and Subway on the right before you leave town where the crew can grab food. Then it’s a fast shot into California City.”

Rolling out of the start I was thinking “am I making a big mistake?” I also remember looking at the other racers’ bikes and thinking “I have a light bike like that…I have carbon wheels like those…I have aero-bars like that…I have a PowerTap like that…” But I kept telling myself, “you wanted to do the 508 in the hardest possible form so here you are doing it Fixed Gear”. Just think about all the bragging you will do when you are done. Little did I know at that point how difficult the course would be for me.

Here are the rules for the Fixed Gear Division of the 508.

”E. Fixed Gear Division: Bikes must use the same fixed gearing (ring/cog/wheel) for the entire event. Bike frames shall be steel, traditional double diamond design (forks are unrestricted) and wheels (maximum 25 mm rim depth) with 32 spokes minimum. Aerobar attachments and aero-designed parts are prohibited. Wheel switches are permitted only for wheel failures, and must be identical or essentially identical to the failed wheel. Bike switches are not permitted. Riders may not coast with feet off the pedals. Riders must declare their gear (ring/cog/wheel size) choice at check in, which may not be changed thereafter.

Fixed gear division riders may abandon that division and switch to a multispeed bike in the “open” division, then complete the race on the multispeed bike, provided that they or their crew notifies an official as soon as possible; they will then be treated as having ridden the entire event on the multispeed bike.”

Oh and the second paragraph was given its due consideration and the idea of a spare multi-speed bicycles was dismissed just as soon as it was suggested. I did not want to have an out and I was going to finish this event FIXED even if I was outside the 48 hour time limit.

FOR THE RECORD MY ROUND TUBE STEEL FRAME, WITH 32 SPOKE WHEELS, 2 WATER BOTTLES AND A LIGHTING SYSTEM WEIGHED 26 LBS.

So there wasn’t any advantage gained by using a fixed gear bike compared to one of my ultra-lightweight carbon frames that weigh less than 16 lbs with 2 water bottles. Not to mention the availability for granny gear action.

As mentioned before I had assembled a great crew. Brandy had crewed for me on Race Across America (RAAM), Terry is the current RAAM Race Director and has raced and crewed many Ultra events, and Timmer who has just started doing Ultras but is very eager to understand the crewing process.

So we roll through the neutral start and it gives me a chance to talk to old friends and make a few new acquaintances. I rode with my friends Kenny Souza and Greg Matherly again (same as last year) and chatted. Of course they teased me because I was doing it FG and Greg even mentioned he might have some derailleurs lying around in his garage.

Well I am not that crazy, there have actually been seven other riders who have done the 508 FG before me Jeff Parrot Bauer, Sam Seal Beal, Barley Boar Forsman, Emily Archaeopteryx O’Brien, John Sabertooth Tiger Spurgeon . The 2007 class would include Terry Lentz and me. We would make a total of seven riders that have finished the 508 fixed in 33 editions of the race since 1983. So you see I wasn’t breaking new ground.

The racers go the first approximately 25 miles without support. No issues there, we train many miles a year unsupported. But this is the second time I have done this race and making that right turn onto Johnson Rd gives me huge sigh of relief.

I knew I was in trouble with my gear selection in the first 20 miles. I felt I was putting in more effort than I should’ve been for the climbs. There is quite a bit of elevation gain in the first 25 miles (almost 3000 feet) and it continues throughout the race of course. If you look at the course profile it is a steady and continuous climb from the start to mile 25 or so.

During this section the energy is high and the crew is excited and motivated. Hand ups from the side of the road are the norm and it is beautiful sight to see a well executed hand up. To the uninitiated, you run at full speed along side the road looking straight ahead not looking back at your racer and the racer just “swoops” by and snatches the bottle from the crew member without breaking his cadence or rhythm.

One of my favorite sections of the race is the windmills. I think back to how wonderful it must have been when people first discovered that they could harness this natural energy source. Of course, that is all well and good until the winds are whipping up over 60 mph gusts and your shack of a home is rattling and threatening to collapse and blow away.

After the “Windmills Climb”, which was into a stiff headwind, there was a general downhill section and into Mojave and then California City.

I felt good and strong throughout this whole section. I must have peed four times before getting into California City. A tribute to how well my hydration and fueling program was being executed by Brandy the designated “feeder”.

83.60 miles and 6176 feet of gain completed only 424.90 miles to go

Here is the link for the rest of the pictures.

http://flickr.com/photos/epictrain/sets/72157602346553717/

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We have it down to 283 pics from the original 800+. And I am still working on the race report. Yes unforttunately work gets in the way of my fun and games. Continue to use the link on Wed’s post.

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So many great pictures were taken during 508 and the challenge now is paring them down to a reasonable sized slideshow. We currently have it down to roughly 450 pictures from over 800 that were shot during the race. Please enjoy this set!

http://flickr.com/photos/epictrain/sets/72157602346553717/

Once you’ve clicked on the link you can choose to navigate through the pictures manually, or choose “view as slideshow” on the upper righthand side of the screen.

My thanks to my wonderful crew for really capturing this race in photos. Terry and Brandy shot all of these pictures and there should be more to come once we have access to Timmer’s. Thank you again!

You can see the bulk of the pictures now by clicking on the Flicker icon. But we are still reducing the amount of pictures because there are hundreds of them. If you can’t wait for the polished version feel free to browse what we have uploaded.

Pre Race weight 156.5 lbs
Post Race weight 162.5 lbs

Energy Expenditure 27,156 Calories
Number of Heart Beats 371,749 beats

Average Heart Rate 137 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 187 bpm

Average Speed 13 mph
Maximum Speed 31.3 mph
Distance 508.1 miles
Odometer 21,989 miles

Minimum Cadence 4 rpm
Average Cadence 61 rpm
Maximum Cadence 148 rpm

Gear Selection 49 x 17
Gear Ratio 2.88
Gear Inch 76.7
Pedal Revolutions 133,735

Gear Inch Calculator used http://epictrain.com/files/Gear_Inch_Calculator.xls

Brandy is hard at work getting all the pictures we have loaded up on Flickr.com. So far we have uploaded a total of 482 pictures from two different cameras. We will be sifting through them for the best pictures to provide a slide show and possible post it on youtube.com. As you can imagine this is a huge undertaking but it must get done and the sponsors also deserve the exposure. So hold on for pics.

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I am going to work today. I really stiff all over but mainly my legs are really really sore. I wonder why. I am compiling the numbers for the calories consumed, calories expended and many other “interesting” facts. I will updating the blog throughout the day with pictures and my race report.

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Pictures courtesy of Chris Kostman of AdventureCORPS

Well thanks to the best crew and just a little determination…ok alot of determination I finished the Furnace Creek 508 on my Fixed Gear. It was the toughest thing I have done on my fixie. The course definitely had a different feel to it without the ability to coast and bomb down the descents. Oh yes and the climbs hurt alot more. My time was 45:12.

I’ve got tons of pictures and I still have to post my race report. I will be updating the blog over the next few days so please check in and subscribe it really is the easiest way to see when I have made a post.

If you would like to be notified when there are updates on my blog follow these simple steps:

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Van is packed. List checked and rechecked. We are off.

Here is the event webcast that will be updated as the racers hit time stations and other things too.

http://www.the508.com/2007web/index.html