EPIC TRAINING SYSTEMS
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2006 Red-Eyed Vireo Furnace Creek Race Report
| October 6-7, 2008 508 miles and 35,000 feet of climbing 2006 Results Profile Pre Race Mug Shot Pre Race Hug Start line Silly Goose (right) and Dungmite (left) Rolling with Dungmite Rolling with Silly Goose and Fast Truck Gecko Rolling into Time Station #2 Trona (~ 150 miles) On the Kelso climb from Baker (~ 335 miles) Breaking the tape (toilet paper actually) Finally it was over (508 miles) I finished only because of my crew. Being presented "the 508" finishers medal. |
| The Rookie Solo Flight of the Red-Eyed Vireo Summary What follows is a summary, if you would like to read a more detailed race report there is plenty below complete with LESSONS LEARNED. On October 6-7, 2006, I participated in the “toughest 48 hours in sport”, The Furnace Creek 508. For the uninitiated, “the 508”, as it is affectionately referred to by those in the “community”, is a 508 mile non- stop event. It combines 35,000 feet of climbing, calorie deficit, desert heat, and sleep deprivation. All the elements you need if you want to challenge yourself as an Ultra Cyclist. I finished 32nd out of 60 in the Men’s Solo Field in a time of 42:59. That's right 43 hours on the bike no sleep and over 48 hours awake. I wish I could have napped but I couldn't sleep. It was my rookie year and boy did I learn a lot. I had stomach issues for many hours and that affected my first 21 hours of the event. I felt really strong on the second half of the course but missed my goal time of 36 hours. I had a good bike set-up on my climbing bike, but my time trial bike was not as comfortable. I had the right wheel choice but the wrong support vehicle. I had the right nutrition plan but the wrong execution. I had all the data on the course but still felt lost and out of tune with the climbs or descents. I had a great crew but needed more information from them. But here is the good news; I am an official Solo finisher. |
| Packing up. Jeez, what do I pack? This question haunted me for weeks. I looked at the various inventory lists available on the net from previous riders and of course Lee Mitchell’s. I found some lists had too little and some too much. In the end, I packed my Double Century list and used Lee Mitchell’s list as a check to make sure I didn’t leave something out that his experience suggested should be brought along. Basically, I doubled the food, added over-the-counter medications and spare clothing. |
One of the hardest things was figuring what to pack! |
| Pre- Race We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. The hotel had nice rooms and it’s conveniently located near the host hotel for the start and within walking distance to Denny’s. We got to Santa Clarita in good time to get our support vehicle and bikes inspected. I then checked-in with Chris and his volunteer staff. I was interviewed and photographed for the webcast. Chris and his staff did a fantastic job in keeping the website updated. My friends and family were able to log on and see my progress and see pictures of me “in action.” It was interesting to see how we all smiled for our mug shots, including the veterans. And yet we were about to suffer for 508 miles and 35,000 feet of climbing. But as Ultra cyclists, I think most of us have a screw loose anyway. |
Vehicle inspection- note all the mini-vans. |
| Race Day I awoke at 4:45am. I actually didn’t sleep well that night. I was nervous and felt butterflies in my stomach throughout the night. But really that is nothing new. I never sleep well before an event. Consequently, I was awake before the wake-up call. I jumped in the shower and headed out the door to Denny’s. At Denny’s, I had my favorite breakfast, Moons over my Hammy. Do you know this sandwich? Well, it is eggs, cheese, and ham on toast with hash browns- a hardy meal by itself. In addition, I had a short stack. The Moons over my Hammy is greasy and filling and I will usually have it when I’ve been out drinking. In retrospect, I know that was too much breakfast. I usually don’t eat that much. But I was thinking the whole time, “This is a long ride, longer than anything you have ever done. You need to have a good breakfast.” My usual breakfast is peanut butter on toast with honey, or a bagel and yogurt, or oatmeal with fresh fruit like bananas, or pancakes with real fruit spread- not syrup, and before long training rides I like something hardier like over-medium eggs over brown rice. Ok, so without giving too much away, we will come back to that big breakfast After breakfast we packed up the vehicle with all our stuff from the hotel and then we were off to the start. We got one room, with two queen beds for four adults. Ron, the crew chief suggested this thrifty move and it worked out well. Four adults, one bathroom and 1 hour from waking, breakfast and rolling out of the parking lot was pretty impressive. We were told to be at the start by 6:30am for a 7:00am start. LESSON LEARNED--Don't eat a monster breakfast. IF you chose to have a large breakfast, wait at least 1/2 hour for every 500 calories before racing, preferably 1 hour per 500. |
Rider Check-in |
Staging, and doing that "visualizing" thing, start line |
| Time Station #1 California City, 82.25 miles, Elevation Gain: 6176'. Departed Santa Clarita 7:00am, Arrived California City 5:16 race time 12:16pm Saturday Real Time All Furnace Creek 508 2D and 3D Maps by Doug Dog Sloan, solo and team veteran We began with a neutralized start of 4.7 miles. This was a good time to connect with the riders because soon after everyone would have their race faces on and would begin “hammering” the remaining 500 miles. I was fortunate enough to ride with Shanna Armstrong and Kenny Souza for a few miles. Shanna is just an amazing woman competing in events from sprint triathlons to Ultraman distance and even RAAM. And Kenny, he’s no slouch either, winning eight National Championships and a World Championship for Duathlons. By the way, he was the defending 508 Champion and current Solo Record Holder coming into the 2006 edition. After the neutral start we made a left turn and began climbing San Francisquito Canyon, 15 miles and 2,500 feet climbing. Everyone’s legs were fresh so most people were going fairly hard. I believe because drafting is not allowed many racers are just trying to separate themselves as quickly as possible. I didn’t think I was going hard until Viper asked me what was my heart rate. It was 166 BPM at the time. Even though my max HR of 206, I was going harder than I intended in the first 10 miles. For about 30 miles in this first section, I didn’t have the benefit of my support crew. The canyon is too narrow to accommodate the cyclists and all the support vehicles. However, when you make the right turn onto Johnson Rd. you see all the crews waiting there for their riders, it is an awesome and inspiring sight. Every crew cheers for you as go by. Next is the Windmills Climb which was 1000 feet climbing over 7 miles. And guess what, it is quite windy going through here. There are hundreds of windmills capturing one of our natural resources—wind. In the first 60 miles I was feeling a little bloated but I kept drinking a bottle of Sustained Energy (340 calories) every hour or so. I was concerned, because I have faded on Double Centuries for not eating/drinking enough calories in the beginning of the ride. I fade, lose momentum and then I eventually recover and finish the event strong. I didn’t want to fade on this event and thought I would get on the calories early and stay on a regimented program. Chris said something that was funny because it was so true. During the pre- race meeting, he spoke directly to the crews. Basically he said, that even though they (the crews) want to be extremely helpful to their racer, they also needed to keep in mind that many of us (racers) had been training unsupported for century plus rides all season. In training, I barely keep up with 200 calories an hour and feel great. I only carry two bottles and will ride 4-5 hours before refilling them. I also pull over and eat solid food if I get hungry. And so, I saw the opportunity to have “calories on demand” and over ate/drank to the point where nothing was being digested. LESSON LEARNED- We didn’t practice handoffs. Our first attempts were not successful LESSON LEARNED- Experiment with your nutrition plan in training, race with what works. I was not able to handle a constant flow of calories. |
Rejoining with Support vehicle, and the Windmill Climb |
| TS# 2 California City to Trona, 70.25 Total miles., Elevation Gain: 4212' Arrived 10:20 Race Time or 5:20pm Saturday Real Time As you roll out from California City, you have a gentle descent and then it’ s back to climbing. I started to feel the heat slowly coming on throughout the day. I climbed 1500 feet in seven miles nothing steep just gradual. And as always the climb got steeper towards the top with more rollers before another descent. Almost immediately after leaving California City, I wasn’t feeling well. The bloating I felt earlier was now turning to nausea. I couldn’t figure out what it was and tried to pedal along but I pulled over and starting heaving. There was only one thing I did differently than in the previous five hours. When I arrived at California City I was so thirsty I downed 20 oz of Gatorade. That is not unusual for me. I do this on training rides when I pull into AM/PM’s, 7-11’s and the like. I buy three bottles, I down one and then refill the two bottles on my bike. My stops at convenience stores last less than 4 minutes. My Power Tap is set for sleep mode in 4 minutes. I make every effort to be rolling before the screen goes blank. I carry dollar bills and pay with them and I leave the change as a tip. I train this way because I am competitive and I race against myself (previous best times at events) at Double Centuries. Back to the roadside, I was heaving and nothing was coming out. Now at this point my crew chief was standing over me and I guess he must have been wondering, “I don’t think I have ever seen George sick on the side of the road.” Well, there I was. This was the first time I have felt this bad on a ride in a long, long time. My crew didn’t know what to do and I just felt awful and couldn’t tell them how to help me. I was progressively feeling worse. I got back on the bike and tried to roll at a lower intensity but I was feeling worse and worse. As I finished the last roller and turned right onto the 395 in Johannesburg, (mile 116), I punctured my rear tubular. My crew had gone ahead and stopped at a gas station on the right side of the road. I pulled into the service station and announced I had punctured and I could see the anxiety on my crew’s faces. They were not familiar with tubulars and had never changed one. Luckily, Sloth’s crew was at the same service station getting gas. They volunteered to help me so I could keep rolling. Wolverine, volunteered to stay behind with my crew and change the tubular. Meanwhile, Sloth’s crew would roll on as they supported both Sloth and me. I didn’t know any of this at the time. But later as I approached Sloth’s vehicle I was told if I could maintain the same relative speed as Sloth they could crew for both of us simultaneously. Well, I wasn’t feeling well and I fell off Sloth’s pace. Shelley, my girlfriend and crew member, jumped in with Sloth’s crew. It was weird to look out into the distance and think that I was seeing Shelley but, I thought “wait that is Sloth’s vehicle pulled over not mine.” Unbeknownst to me, Shelley was riding with Sloth’s crew, and Wolverine was back with my crew changing my tubular. This “teamwork” is what makes this event so great—another crew helping me. You have to admit that is pretty cool. As I was approaching Trona, I really was starting to fall apart. I was nauseous, throwing up and just out of energy. Basically, I was dehydrated, behind on calories and hot. I had taken on too many calories at the start, and then I was weaned off of calories entirely by my crew. I had not been able to digest anything for hours. Robin, one of my crew members, suggested some chicken soup to get some sodium in me and to settle my stomach. I thought he was going across the street to get a cup of hot soup and he returned with a can of Campbell’s Chicken Soup. I resisted at first but you know what, it seemed to help. Now I was feeling like a true Ultra Cyclist having cold chicken soup straight out of a can, suffering and loving every minute of it. I stayed a few more minutes and then rolled on. Another thing I remember that helped fuel me was Clif Shot Bloks. I had brought them along as another option. They remind me of gummy bears. They are more like candy treats than nutrition. But they have Sodium and Potassium and 3 bloks have 100 calories. This is how I nursed myself back to riding form over time.I wasn't feeling gels, the Sustained Energy wasn't working for me at the time, so I was drinking HEED and eating Clif Shot Bloks. So maybe you can give them a try next time you need an alternative fuel source. LESSON LEARNED—Train all crew members on all aspects of all your equipment i.e. tubular wheels and tires, lighting systems etc. LESSON LEARNED- Your crew should know everything you packed. Have an inventory of your nutrition. Your crew can use it as a menu for you when you are falling apart. In addition, have a list of things that have worked for you in the past in similar situations. Your crew may purchase those items along the way. LESSON LEARNED- One of my favorite things to drink is V8. It has lots of Sodium and Potassium and it was in the cooler. My crew forgot to offer it to me. |
395 Junction One of many puke stops, Crew chief with Wolverine assisting |
| Stage Three: Trona to Furnace Creek, 99.2 miles. Elevation Gain: 7538'. Arrived at Furnace Creek 21:01 Race Time , 4:01 am Sunday Real Time Leaving Trona I was definitely in survival mode. I was hot, dehydrated, low on calories and starting to fatigue quicker than normal. I call these situations, “Thermonuclear Meltdowns”. I began the Trona Bump, which is just north of Trona (mile 160) with a 1000 foot climb. I tried to maintain some sort of power up the Trona bump but I just couldn’t. When a rider came up behind and subsequently passed me I jumped at the chance to re-engage in the race. I sprinted over the “Bump” and then began the descent. It turned out he was a relay rider so I couldn’t keep up with his pace—heck he only had 10 miles on his legs and I about 160 miles. I was given sound advice to go easy through Pinamint Valley. The key would be to take advantage of the terrain and yet conserve energy for Townes Pass. I went easy and still I felt nauseous. It was getting dark and I had failed to achieve another milestone. I had wanted to descend from Townes Pass into Death Valley in the light. It got darker and darker and I was fading fast. By now I was back to full strength HEED, but still felt like crap. We pulled over a couple of more times and the teams kept passing me. It was somewhere in this section that my crew chief was tired of seeing me sick and suggested I stick my finger down my throat and get my stomach emptied out. I thought he was insane for recommending that I force myself to puke. But was the alternative? I hadn’t felt good all day and we were headed to Townes Pass and I needed to hurry up and fix myself. I forced and forced and finally gobs of stuff starting coming out. I have never forced myself to puke on a ride and I don’t recommend it to everyone but I did feel better almost immediately. Once on the road I would get these short bursts of motivation to keep pace with the relays and then “poof” I was out of energy or the nausea would return. But not as bad as before, I was on the mend. One of my favorite things about riding in Death Valley is watching the moon rise. I was able to watch it two nights in a row and pointed it out to my crew. We made the right turn onto the climb of Townes Pass. At mile 200 I began the 13 mile, 3800 feet climb up Townes Pass (El 4956’). The climb up to 2000 feet is gentle, then there are steep grades of 10-13% to 4000 feet; the last few miles are gradual once again. One of the coolest things you will ever see is looking up the climb and the seeing the long line of riders and their crew vehicles’ flashing yellow lights going up the climb in the dark of night. I was climbing well I thought, but in reality I was climbing slowly. I was falling asleep and dismounted on a nice flat section with a big pullout. My crew wondered what was wrong and I told them I just couldn’t stay awake. Now this is the time I really needed my crew’s help. And remember this is all in retrospect. What I needed to know was how close I was to the top. I would have pushed further and tried to crest had I known how close I was to the top. While we were parked I watched as other riders passed me. And then there was a long span of time where I didn’t see any riders. This stop was a little more than 30 minutes. Just as I was getting ready to roll I saw a few more riders come through. I had this fear of being the last rider on the road. That really messes my head up. I was once the last rider on the road. The first time I did Tour of Two Forests I was the last rider on the course. But I wasn’t the last rider at the finish. As it turned out, I was only a couple of miles from the top. Once we got to the top it was time to bundle up and put on my Nite Rider Headlight. The headlight was an important tip given to me by another 508 racer. During the stop on Townes Pass, I climbed in the vehicle, laid the front passenger seat back and tried to nap. I tried and tried and couldn’t fall asleep. Two of my crew members,in the vehicle, got some sleep. The third, my crew chief, Ron, showed how dedicated he was to my success by sitting outside the vehicle in the cold while I rested. Everyone should be so lucky to have such dedication from a crew member. It was really cold as I descended into the desert. A long fast descent of 17- mile, 5000 feet, into Stovepipe Wells, where it was much warmer. A few desert rollers took me into Furnace Creek. And there was Blackbird at the time station. He was a sight for sore eyes. By the way, I had eaten less than 2,000 calories in the last 21 hours (excluding breakfast). LESSON LEARNED: You, your crew and more specifically your crew chief should be intimately familiar with the route and be able to tell you at any time, how far to where. LESSON LEARNED: Have good lights for the descent into Death Valley. I use a Nite Rider HID type. |
| Stage Four: Furnace Creek to Shoshone, 73.6 miles. Elevation Gain: 6744'. Arrived at Shoshone 28:05 Race Time, 11:05 am Sunday Real Time South through Death Valley and I climbed and descended several thousand feet through Badwater (El -282’). But just before Badwater I was having a tough time staying awake and pulled over again. I asked for a few towels and laid them out on the rocky surface. I laid face down because I didn’t want to empty out my jersey pockets. I tried to sleep and once again the paranoia of having other riders pass me kept me up. I saw at least 5 riders pass me. I found out later from Blackbird that the key to getting rest is to get off the main road. I thought that was against the rules so I stayed road- side. I let my crew sleep for a little this way they would be there when I needed them again. Because one thing is for sure you need your crew if you even think you are going to finish as a Solo rider. While they slept I rested. The weather was very pleasant. One of the problems with spending too much time in Death Valley is it dehydrates you quicker than anywhere else. The air is so dry as you exhale you are dehydrating yourself even further. The other problem is how hot it can be once the sun rises. And as that thought was going through my head I decided it was time to get back on the bike. We had stopped for an hour and it was time to boogie. My new goal became “get out of Death Valley before it heats up!” Once I was rolling the sun started to rise. Now the “race” was on to finish the next two climbs before the desert floor heated up. Along the way from Badwater to the base of the exit passes, Jaguar and Jo came by and chatted with me. I felt better talking with them about my performance and surged ahead. The first climb starts at mile 300 and climbs about 1000 feet in five miles to Jubilee (El 1285). A one-mile descent leads to the next climb, about 2300 feet in 9.5 miles to Salsberry (El 3315). I felt really good on these two climbs. However, I did change shoes at the base of Salsberry. My feet had been hurting for hours but I didn’t want to switch shoes too early. It was now daylight and 24 hours had gone by. LESSON LEARNED—Pack a sleeping mat. LESSON LEARNED- Let your crew sleep even if you can’t. LESSON LEARNED- Get out of Death Valley before the sun comes up. LESSON LEARNED- EYE DROPS EYE DROPS EYE DROPS LESSON LEARNED- MINI-VAN is much better than an SUV |
| Stage Five: Shoshone to Baker, 56.3 miles. Elevation Gain: 2186' Arrived at Baker 31:38 Race Time, or 2:38pm Sunday On the way into Baker I came across Scorpion. We chatted and he gave me another golden nugget of wisdom. He told me to take it easy going into Baker because the next three climbs would be really tough. He even volunteered that he would rather do Jubilee and Salsberry again than do the next climbs coming up. By then I was really hungry. I was ready for some solid foods. My crew asked if I wanted anything at Baker and I replied, “A gyro platter, fries and a Coke” .And that kept me motivated to keep going to Baker. I was ready for solid foods!! My feet hurt so bad coming into Baker that I removed my second pair of shoes and was now riding with my flip-flops. I had plenty of foot problems on many of my training rides. I was concerned that I would have “hot foot” really bad at the 508. But a few minutes in flip-flops and a lunch stop and I was back in my cycling shoes LESSON LEARNED- "HOT FOOT" Bring extra shoes and last resort running shoes or sandals. Shimano makes sandals that are SPD compatible. |
| Stage Six: Baker to Kelso, 34.90 miles. Elevation Gain: 2920 Arrived at Kelso 35:34 Race Time, or 6:34pm Sunday I got into Baker at 2:38pm Sunday, Once at Baker, I heard about all the DNF’s that happened throughout the night. Psychologically, I thought if I made it to Baker then I was going to finish. Baker was a milestone I had created in my mind during training. I sat down and ate my Gyro, fries and Coke so quickly that I actually was ready for seconds. But I know not to eat too much. Before heading back to San Diego, Blackbird joined us for a few minutes while we ate. I knew we shouldn’t stay long. The next climbs were going to be hot and sitting in the Mad Greek was not going to get me to Twenty- nine Palms. We must have looked really strange to the other patrons in the restaurant. Here were people dining and then we come in dressed in lycra, walking in our clickity-clack shoes, all sweaty, bloodshot eyes and funky looking bikes. Could it be that we also looked like hell? I hated the climb out of Baker. It went on and on and on. 21 miles of endless relentless climbing on a very straight road. And it was getting hot again. Then I saw Ostrich. He chatted with me took a few pictures and I was feeling good again. Not really knowing the course I got stuck on the wrong bike on the 21 mile climb. I was on my TT bike and should have been on the climbing bike. My TT bike had a rear disc and a three spoke front it was at least 5 pounds heavier than my climbing bike. I must have lost at least 10-15 minutes on the 2 hour climb. I just slogged up the climb, next time I will definitely do this climb on the climbing bike. LESSON LEARNED- Study the elevation charts and if you are on the wrong bike change bikes right away. |
| Stage Seven: Kelso to Almost Amboy, 33.8 miles. Elevation Gain: 2280'. Arrived at Almost Amboy at 37:50, 8:50pm Sunday I climbed really strong out of Kelso. I don’t remember much except the long, long descent. I tried to rest and recover for the last stage of the race. To be honest was just too damn tired. Most if not all of this section of the race is a blur. Compared to the just completed Baker Grade, I now headed up a slightly steeper climb: 2000 feet in 12 miles to the top of the Granite Mountains (El 4000’). I remember how cold it was at the summit. I was very cold on the descent. I also remember the downhill to the outskirts of Amboy was fast and long. My shoulders and neck were hurting quite a bit staying in a tuck. I didn’t pedal on the descent. I wanted to just rest and conserve energy for the last 58 mile section. |
| Stage Eight: Almost Amboy to Twenty Nine Palms, 58.2 miles. Arrived at Twenty Nine Palms 42:59 Race time, 1:59 am Monday am The time station at Almost Amboy is another one of the things that makes this event so great. The volunteers who man this time station really put their hearts into providing the best decorated time station. All the other time stations are EZ ups, or the back of pick-up trucks. But no, not this time station, there are Hawaiian girls, lights and even leis. At this point of the ride it is so refreshing to see. The crew even gets pineapple juice At mile 472, I began the last climb: 1500 feet in 10 miles to Sheephole Summit. Like all desert climbs, Sheephole Summit begins gradually and gets steeper near the top. I remember the shoulder being really sandy. I struggled trying to catch people on this climb because the climb turned a few times and just when I thought I could catch them they would disappear into the dark. I was feeling really good again and I was climbing hard. I thought I could finish strong since the rest of the ride had been so poor. Once I got to the top there was a quick descent that led to rough roads and rolling slight uphill to the finish line. I totally hated the last 15 miles or so. It was another one of those endless climbs. I was so tired and I was falling asleep. At this point I was awake 40+ hours and I couldn’t keep the bike going forward. I was talking to myself and I couldn’t make a complete sentence with a straight thought. My crew noticed that I was swerving and asked if I needed something. I asked for an ice cold frappachino, when that didn’t work I asked for a Coke. Then I started slapping my helmet and screaming out loud. I switched the battery on my iPod battery extender and put on Nine Inch Nails. I figured this should work but alas, nothing was working. Finally, my crew pulled up next to me and started talking to me. This helped a lot. And then there was a set of lights again to chase. I caught the last rider I was going to catch, it was Picachu. Just before the finishing straight I chased down another set of lights-- oh yeah they were flashing –it was a traffic signal my crew tells me. Now I had made the final turn onto Twenty Nine Palms and I just had a few more minutes to go. I could see the Best Western. I came in and broke the tape (toilet paper actually) and it was finally over. All the training all the miles had come to this, completing the 508 as a Solo rider. |
Best Time Station in the race!!! |
Trona and not feeling very good, somewhere puking |
Sunrise in Death Valley, 24 non-stop hours into it |
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