Seventy-Five
Race Across Oregon
Detailed Recap
Note: "Pills" below refers to baggies that I organized before the race containing a combination of e-caps products including Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, Mito-R Caps, Anti-Fatigue Caps, and Tissue Rejuvenator. Before the race, I followed the recommended loading plans using Race Day Boost and Liquid Endurance. For more details, see www.e-caps.com.
Friday
~ 7:30 AM: Woke up.
8:00 AM – 1:30 PM: Packed vehicle.
2:00 PM: Left home to go to Bike/Vehicle inspection at race hotel.
6:00 PM – 6:45 PM: Meeting for solo riders.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Grand PAC Masters presentation.
8:15 PM: Walked out of meeting for 2&4 person teams.
8:30 PM – 9:45 PM: Settled into hotel room and ate.
~10:00 PM: In bed. Drifted off to sleep fairly easily.
Saturday
~3:30 AM: Woke up.
3:30 AM – 4:30 AM: Got ready. Drank bottle with 3 scoops Perpetuem (~400 cal). Bag of pills.
4:30 AM – 4:50 AM: Checked bike outside near start.
5:00 AM: Race starts. Started with 1 bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops, ~350 cal).
6:16 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops, ~260 cal).
7:00 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops) and sunglasses.
8:00 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops). Bag of pills.
8:25 AM: Bag with 4 ATP100 pills. Ate 2, carried 2.
8:36 AM: Summit, Government Camp, 10th place.
9:00 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops). Peed. Gloves with fingers.
9:10 AM: Ate one strawberry.
9:30 AM: Pills.
10:00 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops)
11:00 AM: Pills.
11:05 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops)
12:00 noon: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops)
12:30 PM: ATP 100 (4 pills). Gloves without fingers.
12:40 PM: Pills.
12:44 PM: Time Station 1 - 7 hours 44 minutes. 15.61 mph avg. start-TS1.
Start-TS1 Notes: We rode together as a pack to Hwy 26. That’s when the leaders took off and I had to start pacing myself. I was trying hard not to stop for anything. We missed a few hand-offs before I got settled in with my crew (my Dad and wife at that point) and vice-a-versa. The climb up Mt. Hood was challenging, but I kept pressing. From the summit until the descent into Maupin, Dick Webber (62 years old) and I played leap frog back and forth with each other. Amazingly, he would be right on my wheel at TS5 many hours later. Alex, Joe, and Ed (my main crew for the remainder of the trip) showed up as I was making the final climb before descending to Tygh Valley.
1:20 PM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (2 ½ scoops). Bottle of water.
2:00 PM: Bottle of Perpeturm (2 scoops). Pills. 1 strawberry.
2:30 PM: 1 Hammer gel. 1 bottle water.
3:10 PM: Sustained Energy. Peed.
3:35 PM: Bottle of water.
4:20 PM: Peed.
4:25 PM: Perpetuem. Water. Chapstick.
4:45 PM: Pills.
5:15 PM: Peed.
5:20 PM: 1 strawberry.
5:40 PM: Bottle of water. Sustained Energy.
6:40 PM: 5 min. stop. Changed jacket, glasses, hood.
6:43 PM: Time Station 2 – 13 hours 43 minutes. 11.72 mph avg. TS1-TS2.
TS1-TS2 Notes: The initial climb up Bakeoven Rd. wasn’t exactly easy. At the top, the road flattened out but was still up-hill. The long monotonous road got to be quite boring after a while. It was good to have some company when Allen Larsen (’01 winner) drove up and chatted with me while his camera rolled. Lots of climbing from Antelope to Fossil. The final portion of the long climb before descending into Fossil was especially difficult. At times I was moving very, very sloooow.
6:55 PM: 2 gels. 5 minute nap.
7:00 PM: ½ bottle water.
8:55 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. Pissed. ¾ bottle water. Perpeturm. ¾ can Red Bull.
10:50 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. ½ bottle water. 1 can Red Bull. Peed.
Sunday
12:15 AM: 7 minute nap (crew felt like I needed more). Added jacket and gloves with fingers.
1:25 AM: Time Station 3 – 20 hours 25 minutes. 11.85 mph avg. TS2-TS3.
TS2-TS3 Notes: Surprising, the climb to Butte Creek Summit was easier than when I rode that part of the course a few weeks earlier. Lots of spinning on during the 10 mile descent to Service Creek. From there to Long Creek I was riding the only portion of the course I had never seen before. There was some challenging climbing towards the end, but I was starting to get sleepy, it was dark, and I didn’t notice much as the miles rolled by. By the time we reached Long Creek it was raining and I was very tired. I ended up sleeping in the lobby of the hotel at the bottom of the stairs.
2:34 AM: Finished sleeping 50 minutes.
2:35 AM: Raining. Cold. Added helmet hood, booties, 3rd jacket.
2:59 AM: Bottle water. Can Red Bull. Stopped 3 minutes.
3:18 AM: Stopped 3 minutes. Replaced ½ bottle of Perpetuem with bottle of Heed (2.5 scoops). 1 can Red Bull.
4:35 AM: Stopped for 2 minutes. 2 strawberries. Peed. Want real food at next stop.
5:21 AM: Peed. 1 Red Bull.
6:00 AM: Peed. Pills. Bottle of Heed.
6:30 AM: Peed.
6:55 AM: Peed. 1 strawberry. Handful of grapes.
7:30 AM. Pills. Stopped for 3 minutes.Took off 2 jackets.
8:10 AM: 1 granola bar. 1 Luna bar in pocket. 1 bottle Perpetuem.
8:45 AM: 15 minute break. Pills. ½ bottle water. 1 granola bar. Changed tights, socks, shoes, underware, jersey, sunglasses and ear warmers. Peed.
10:26 AM: 3 minute break. Peed. Handful of grapes. Pills. Strawberry. Crew started playing music (Social Distortion CD).
10:40 AM: Chapstick. ATP 100 pills (1 in mouth, 5 in bag). 5 minute nap. Peed.
11:05 AM: Bottle of Heed (2 scoops).
11:38 AM: ½ egg and ham sandwich. ½ bottle water. Chapstick. Slept 5 minutes. Pills.
12:45 PM: 2 min. stop. Yellow wind breaker.
12:55 PM: Crapped. 1 strawberry. Handful of grapes. ½ bottle Heed.
1:35 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. Crew reminds me to drink water.
2:30 PM: Peed.
3:05 PM: Time Station 4 – 34 hours 5 minutes. 9.97 mph avg. TS3-TS4.
TS3-TS4 Notes: I wasn’t sure at first how much energy I had for the 5 mile climb out of Long Creek to the unnamed summit at 5,075 feet. But it seemed to go by quickly enough, even though I couldn’t have been moving very fast at all. After a short descent and another climb, I enjoyed the descent to Mt. Vernon. Climbing up to the Keyes Creek summit wasn’t easy. Then after the descent into Mitchell, the climb up to Ochocho Pass seemed even tougher. From there, it was a relaxed ride to Prineville.
3:05 PM-3:20 PM: ¾ bottle water. 1 ½ crispy burritos (beef and chicken).
5:05 PM: Bottle of Heed.
5:15 PM: Peed. Bottle of water.
6:40 PM: 1 strawberry. Pills. Added clothing and booties. 1 bottle Heed (2 scoops). Handful of grapes. Turned on lights.
7:25 PM: Stopped for 20 minutes. 1 can Red Bull. 1 chili dog. Slept for 10 minutes. Pills.
9:36 PM: Horses just went by to “The Magnificent 7”.
9:50 PM: 5 minute stop. Changed to thermal tights. 1 strawberry. 1 water. 1 Sustained Energy.
10:10 PM: Peed.
10:25 PM: Took off gloves.
11:15 PM: 1 can Red Bull. Water. Peed. Thermal gloves.
11:55 PM: Slept 5 minutes. 1 strawberry.
Monday
2:10 AM: Time Station 5 – 45 hours 10 minutes. 11.05 mph avg. TS4-TS5.
2:25 AM: Got back on the bike. Rode another mile or so before quitting approximately 1 mile from turn onto Timberline Rd. Approximately 8 miles from finish.
TS4-end Notes: I rode pretty hard from Prineville (mile 406.4) to Time Station 5 (mile 528.9). From Prineville to Hwy 97 (miles 406.4 to 427.1) the route was fairly flat (finally!), but a stiff headwind kept my speed between 10-12 mph. There were some cross winds and maybe even a bit of a tail wind on 97. I rode very strong from where we turned onto 97 (mile 427.1) to Madras (mile 445.9). The decent down to the Deschutes River was fast, long, and a bit tiring. After stopping for a while at what I thought was going to be an authentic “Indian Restaurant” (note the chili dog above), I got back on the bike and did some very hard and fast climbing in Warm Springs, eventually catching Dick Webber who I first spotted about a mile or so ahead of me as I was starting the first significant climb on Rt. 3. Around mile 480, Dick Webber passed me again as the road flattened out. Some of the final climbs before the big descent towards Wapinitia were tough mentally, because I was getting tired, it was getting dark, and even though I had ridden that section of the route before, I couldn’t tell where I was exactly. The last descent was good for making up some time, but that was some of the worst pavement of the whole race. When I turned onto Rt. 216 at mile 499.0, I knew I had to keep pushing to ensure I would have time to finish in 48 hours. I rode hard to Pine Grove and then even harder from Pine Grove to Hwy 26 as I caught up to, passed, and tried to put some distance between myself and Dick Webber. Due to some miscommunication with my crew and poor memory on my part, I reached Hwy 26 thinking it was only a couple of miles to TS5. I was heartbroken to learn that I still had 10 miles before the time station. I pushed on as best I could, hoping Dick wouldn’t pass me again. During those 10 miles, I started to fade mentally. At time I thought I might be dreaming. Somehow, I managed to stay on the bike without crashing, but I was really starting to lose it. Dick was right on my tail as I entered the final time station. He rolled though. George Thomas tried to keep me moving, but I told him quite firmly that I had to stop and rest for a while.
Post-race Notes: My crew drove me up to Timberline Loge where we had reservations for the night. They had to help me walk to the room. Our room had several bunk beds, and the bathroom was outside in the hall. Apparently, I was so disoriented that I peed in a sink that was in our room. I barely remember it, though. I was one of the first people to wake up around 8:00 AM Monday morning. I could tell my left Achilles tendon was sore and swollen, but it didn’t feel as bad as it did when I got out of bed the next day (Tuesday). For a few days I ate voraciously. I was very concerned about how bad my tendon hurt. So I iced it often and started reading everything I could find about Achilles tendon injuries on the web. I had injured that same tendon before, so I kind of knew what was happening. The swelling went down considerably after a few days. It’s been a week since the race, and I can walk fine, but it still hurts if I try to do a heel raise with all my weight on the injured leg. I’ve been doing heel raises on steps, lifting myself with my good leg and then letting myself down with weight on the injured leg and then stretching out the tendon as I let my heel drop below the step. I think that’s helping. Yesterday I got on the bike again for the first time since the race. I had to lead a 10K running race. The course was mostly flat, and riding at that pace wasn’t a problem.
Afterword
As you may recall, my goal for this year is to earn 12 difficulty points in the John Marino Competition. RAO would have counted for three points if I had finished. To make up for RAO, I want to attempt to establish the UMCA East to West boarder-to-boarder crossing record for Oregon. Since that route has not been attempted yet, all I have to do is cover at least 475 miles in the process of going from point-to-point and I'll earn 3 JMC points for the ride.
Detailed Recap
Note: "Pills" below refers to baggies that I organized before the race containing a combination of e-caps products including Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, Mito-R Caps, Anti-Fatigue Caps, and Tissue Rejuvenator. Before the race, I followed the recommended loading plans using Race Day Boost and Liquid Endurance. For more details, see www.e-caps.com.
Friday
~ 7:30 AM: Woke up.
8:00 AM – 1:30 PM: Packed vehicle.
2:00 PM: Left home to go to Bike/Vehicle inspection at race hotel.
6:00 PM – 6:45 PM: Meeting for solo riders.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Grand PAC Masters presentation.
8:15 PM: Walked out of meeting for 2&4 person teams.
8:30 PM – 9:45 PM: Settled into hotel room and ate.
~10:00 PM: In bed. Drifted off to sleep fairly easily.
Saturday
~3:30 AM: Woke up.
3:30 AM – 4:30 AM: Got ready. Drank bottle with 3 scoops Perpetuem (~400 cal). Bag of pills.
4:30 AM – 4:50 AM: Checked bike outside near start.
5:00 AM: Race starts. Started with 1 bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops, ~350 cal).
6:16 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops, ~260 cal).
7:00 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops) and sunglasses.
8:00 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops). Bag of pills.
8:25 AM: Bag with 4 ATP100 pills. Ate 2, carried 2.
8:36 AM: Summit, Government Camp, 10th place.
9:00 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops). Peed. Gloves with fingers.
9:10 AM: Ate one strawberry.
9:30 AM: Pills.
10:00 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops)
11:00 AM: Pills.
11:05 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops)
12:00 noon: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops)
12:30 PM: ATP 100 (4 pills). Gloves without fingers.
12:40 PM: Pills.
12:44 PM: Time Station 1 - 7 hours 44 minutes. 15.61 mph avg. start-TS1.
Start-TS1 Notes: We rode together as a pack to Hwy 26. That’s when the leaders took off and I had to start pacing myself. I was trying hard not to stop for anything. We missed a few hand-offs before I got settled in with my crew (my Dad and wife at that point) and vice-a-versa. The climb up Mt. Hood was challenging, but I kept pressing. From the summit until the descent into Maupin, Dick Webber (62 years old) and I played leap frog back and forth with each other. Amazingly, he would be right on my wheel at TS5 many hours later. Alex, Joe, and Ed (my main crew for the remainder of the trip) showed up as I was making the final climb before descending to Tygh Valley.
1:20 PM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (2 ½ scoops). Bottle of water.
2:00 PM: Bottle of Perpeturm (2 scoops). Pills. 1 strawberry.
2:30 PM: 1 Hammer gel. 1 bottle water.
3:10 PM: Sustained Energy. Peed.
3:35 PM: Bottle of water.
4:20 PM: Peed.
4:25 PM: Perpetuem. Water. Chapstick.
4:45 PM: Pills.
5:15 PM: Peed.
5:20 PM: 1 strawberry.
5:40 PM: Bottle of water. Sustained Energy.
6:40 PM: 5 min. stop. Changed jacket, glasses, hood.
6:43 PM: Time Station 2 – 13 hours 43 minutes. 11.72 mph avg. TS1-TS2.
TS1-TS2 Notes: The initial climb up Bakeoven Rd. wasn’t exactly easy. At the top, the road flattened out but was still up-hill. The long monotonous road got to be quite boring after a while. It was good to have some company when Allen Larsen (’01 winner) drove up and chatted with me while his camera rolled. Lots of climbing from Antelope to Fossil. The final portion of the long climb before descending into Fossil was especially difficult. At times I was moving very, very sloooow.
6:55 PM: 2 gels. 5 minute nap.
7:00 PM: ½ bottle water.
8:55 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. Pissed. ¾ bottle water. Perpeturm. ¾ can Red Bull.
10:50 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. ½ bottle water. 1 can Red Bull. Peed.
Sunday
12:15 AM: 7 minute nap (crew felt like I needed more). Added jacket and gloves with fingers.
1:25 AM: Time Station 3 – 20 hours 25 minutes. 11.85 mph avg. TS2-TS3.
TS2-TS3 Notes: Surprising, the climb to Butte Creek Summit was easier than when I rode that part of the course a few weeks earlier. Lots of spinning on during the 10 mile descent to Service Creek. From there to Long Creek I was riding the only portion of the course I had never seen before. There was some challenging climbing towards the end, but I was starting to get sleepy, it was dark, and I didn’t notice much as the miles rolled by. By the time we reached Long Creek it was raining and I was very tired. I ended up sleeping in the lobby of the hotel at the bottom of the stairs.
2:34 AM: Finished sleeping 50 minutes.
2:35 AM: Raining. Cold. Added helmet hood, booties, 3rd jacket.
2:59 AM: Bottle water. Can Red Bull. Stopped 3 minutes.
3:18 AM: Stopped 3 minutes. Replaced ½ bottle of Perpetuem with bottle of Heed (2.5 scoops). 1 can Red Bull.
4:35 AM: Stopped for 2 minutes. 2 strawberries. Peed. Want real food at next stop.
5:21 AM: Peed. 1 Red Bull.
6:00 AM: Peed. Pills. Bottle of Heed.
6:30 AM: Peed.
6:55 AM: Peed. 1 strawberry. Handful of grapes.
7:30 AM. Pills. Stopped for 3 minutes.Took off 2 jackets.
8:10 AM: 1 granola bar. 1 Luna bar in pocket. 1 bottle Perpetuem.
8:45 AM: 15 minute break. Pills. ½ bottle water. 1 granola bar. Changed tights, socks, shoes, underware, jersey, sunglasses and ear warmers. Peed.
10:26 AM: 3 minute break. Peed. Handful of grapes. Pills. Strawberry. Crew started playing music (Social Distortion CD).
10:40 AM: Chapstick. ATP 100 pills (1 in mouth, 5 in bag). 5 minute nap. Peed.
11:05 AM: Bottle of Heed (2 scoops).
11:38 AM: ½ egg and ham sandwich. ½ bottle water. Chapstick. Slept 5 minutes. Pills.
12:45 PM: 2 min. stop. Yellow wind breaker.
12:55 PM: Crapped. 1 strawberry. Handful of grapes. ½ bottle Heed.
1:35 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. Crew reminds me to drink water.
2:30 PM: Peed.
3:05 PM: Time Station 4 – 34 hours 5 minutes. 9.97 mph avg. TS3-TS4.
TS3-TS4 Notes: I wasn’t sure at first how much energy I had for the 5 mile climb out of Long Creek to the unnamed summit at 5,075 feet. But it seemed to go by quickly enough, even though I couldn’t have been moving very fast at all. After a short descent and another climb, I enjoyed the descent to Mt. Vernon. Climbing up to the Keyes Creek summit wasn’t easy. Then after the descent into Mitchell, the climb up to Ochocho Pass seemed even tougher. From there, it was a relaxed ride to Prineville.
3:05 PM-3:20 PM: ¾ bottle water. 1 ½ crispy burritos (beef and chicken).
5:05 PM: Bottle of Heed.
5:15 PM: Peed. Bottle of water.
6:40 PM: 1 strawberry. Pills. Added clothing and booties. 1 bottle Heed (2 scoops). Handful of grapes. Turned on lights.
7:25 PM: Stopped for 20 minutes. 1 can Red Bull. 1 chili dog. Slept for 10 minutes. Pills.
9:36 PM: Horses just went by to “The Magnificent 7”.
9:50 PM: 5 minute stop. Changed to thermal tights. 1 strawberry. 1 water. 1 Sustained Energy.
10:10 PM: Peed.
10:25 PM: Took off gloves.
11:15 PM: 1 can Red Bull. Water. Peed. Thermal gloves.
11:55 PM: Slept 5 minutes. 1 strawberry.
Monday
2:10 AM: Time Station 5 – 45 hours 10 minutes. 11.05 mph avg. TS4-TS5.
2:25 AM: Got back on the bike. Rode another mile or so before quitting approximately 1 mile from turn onto Timberline Rd. Approximately 8 miles from finish.
TS4-end Notes: I rode pretty hard from Prineville (mile 406.4) to Time Station 5 (mile 528.9). From Prineville to Hwy 97 (miles 406.4 to 427.1) the route was fairly flat (finally!), but a stiff headwind kept my speed between 10-12 mph. There were some cross winds and maybe even a bit of a tail wind on 97. I rode very strong from where we turned onto 97 (mile 427.1) to Madras (mile 445.9). The decent down to the Deschutes River was fast, long, and a bit tiring. After stopping for a while at what I thought was going to be an authentic “Indian Restaurant” (note the chili dog above), I got back on the bike and did some very hard and fast climbing in Warm Springs, eventually catching Dick Webber who I first spotted about a mile or so ahead of me as I was starting the first significant climb on Rt. 3. Around mile 480, Dick Webber passed me again as the road flattened out. Some of the final climbs before the big descent towards Wapinitia were tough mentally, because I was getting tired, it was getting dark, and even though I had ridden that section of the route before, I couldn’t tell where I was exactly. The last descent was good for making up some time, but that was some of the worst pavement of the whole race. When I turned onto Rt. 216 at mile 499.0, I knew I had to keep pushing to ensure I would have time to finish in 48 hours. I rode hard to Pine Grove and then even harder from Pine Grove to Hwy 26 as I caught up to, passed, and tried to put some distance between myself and Dick Webber. Due to some miscommunication with my crew and poor memory on my part, I reached Hwy 26 thinking it was only a couple of miles to TS5. I was heartbroken to learn that I still had 10 miles before the time station. I pushed on as best I could, hoping Dick wouldn’t pass me again. During those 10 miles, I started to fade mentally. At time I thought I might be dreaming. Somehow, I managed to stay on the bike without crashing, but I was really starting to lose it. Dick was right on my tail as I entered the final time station. He rolled though. George Thomas tried to keep me moving, but I told him quite firmly that I had to stop and rest for a while.
Post-race Notes: My crew drove me up to Timberline Loge where we had reservations for the night. They had to help me walk to the room. Our room had several bunk beds, and the bathroom was outside in the hall. Apparently, I was so disoriented that I peed in a sink that was in our room. I barely remember it, though. I was one of the first people to wake up around 8:00 AM Monday morning. I could tell my left Achilles tendon was sore and swollen, but it didn’t feel as bad as it did when I got out of bed the next day (Tuesday). For a few days I ate voraciously. I was very concerned about how bad my tendon hurt. So I iced it often and started reading everything I could find about Achilles tendon injuries on the web. I had injured that same tendon before, so I kind of knew what was happening. The swelling went down considerably after a few days. It’s been a week since the race, and I can walk fine, but it still hurts if I try to do a heel raise with all my weight on the injured leg. I’ve been doing heel raises on steps, lifting myself with my good leg and then letting myself down with weight on the injured leg and then stretching out the tendon as I let my heel drop below the step. I think that’s helping. Yesterday I got on the bike again for the first time since the race. I had to lead a 10K running race. The course was mostly flat, and riding at that pace wasn’t a problem.
Afterword
As you may recall, my goal for this year is to earn 12 difficulty points in the John Marino Competition. RAO would have counted for three points if I had finished. To make up for RAO, I want to attempt to establish the UMCA East to West boarder-to-boarder crossing record for Oregon. Since that route has not been attempted yet, all I have to do is cover at least 475 miles in the process of going from point-to-point and I'll earn 3 JMC points for the ride.
posted by Sabertooth Salmon at 11:18 PM
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