Yeah, I'm more like the Chris Carmichael in this relationship. But Jill Homer is my new hero.
Ray's feeling much better now. Still needs alot of rest and he will get his stitches out of his hand next week. His cankels are gone, thank god! But his mind is still out there somewhere. Still on the top of some pass, still on the race and the other racers. The stories have not started to come out yet. So, I've been thinking about this for a couple of days. What is it about this race that makes these guys push themselves to complete this? After pushing through miles and miles of mud and cow patties, toe nails falling off, exhaustion, freezing rain and on the brink of hypothermia. Almost all the racers have come back for more because their past attempts have landed them on the scratch list. What is it that makes them think they can beat mother nature?
This is different from any other endurance race Ray has attempted. The only resemblance to a bike race is, you are on your bike pedaling, that's it. This was not just getting ready for a local endurance race. This was planning, and training and training and more training. So much had been put on the line to get to the start line. When it was time to throw in the towel, it was like telling someone they could not summit Mt. Everest that day and they would have to go back down and try another time.
What I've come to realize over the course of this race is, that there are so many factors involved in pulling this thing off. It would be a miracle for someone to step up to the line the first time and pull something like this off. This is not just about getting on your bike and pedaling. There is nothing that can prepare you for the mental part of this race. The hours and hours of solitude in the middle of no where bear country. Not to mention having the right combination of gear, and the right clothes to protect you from any kind of weather and great navigation skills. Almost everyone gets lost at one time or another. This was a learning experience and that's what I'm going to chalk it up to. I'm just sorry Ray had to get hurt to learn this stuff. So now, we take what we learn, and we make our racer better next time. Yep, that's what I said, next time.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Eat, Sleep, Ride....Day 7+
6/24/09-He'll be home tonight! Got a flight out of Salt Lake this afternoon and I'm picking him up at 9:00pm tonight. So glad he will be home. Just a quick note tonight to say he will be in town tonight. Now I'm off to clean up the house. Little known fact about Ray- he's a neat freak.
6/23/09-Ray officially pulls out. Alittle about yesterday. Yesterday was bad. So he comes into Lima and says his knees are shot but he thinks that if he ices them down that night, he would be ok the next day. I tell him, "are you crazy? First of all, this race is not worth you injuring yourself for good and second of all, it's not worth you risking hypothermia. You have only more of the same ahead of you. Freezing rain, hail, ice, snow on the passes and more mud to push through. For what? So you can get 40 more miles down the road and almost kill yourself?" You really need to think about this. I'm not trying to be negative here, but you are not meeting your mileage goal and you can not battle against mother nature anymore. Do you really want to go through more mud? Call me back and think about it.
So, he calls me back and says he's done. But I could tell that he was upset about it. He says he doesn't want to give up. I told him he didn't give up anything. He got out there and tried his hardest and gave his all. It's time to come home. This is too dangerous right now. If conditions were better and he wasn't having to fight with mother nature, I have no doubt that he could have been in Colorado by now.
Later that evening I get a voice mail from Ray. Call me back right away. I call back and a lady answer and says her name is Ruth and she is with Ray and then all I heard were the words "bike" and "ambulance". I thought I was going to pass out right there. I call her back. She says that Ray has cut his hand and that the ambulance is taking him to the local hospital to stitch him up and he is just fine. About an hour passes and Ray calls back. Says the local hospital can not stop the bleeding and that he has cut an artery in his hand. He's cut it really deep. He said he was cutting a zip tie off the bike and his Leatherman slipped and cut his hand. He said it was like a scene out of Halloween. The blood was just going everywhere and it is all over the floor in his hotel room. He could not get the bleeding to stop and 911 is not working at the front desk. So he runs over to the restaurant across the street and messes up their floor too. So now that the local hospital can not fix it, he has to go by ambulance to Butte to have a specialist do surgery on his hand that night. He says in the ambulance "as long as I can flip off Dallas drivers when their done, then I'll be fine". He called about 1:30am, just got out of recovery. They put him under to do the surgery. He says he can move all his fingers. So today, he had to wait until the trauma doctor looked at him to release him. He got out around noon today. Problem is, there are no rent cars to be had in Butte today and he has to get back to Lima to get his bike and all his things. We are hoping he can make his way to Salt Lake tomorrow and fly home. At this point, it's all up in the air. He says this has definitely taken his mind off the race and he is ready to come home.
6/22/09-Day 11 Mile 865.6. Conditions have gone from bad to down right scary now. Sleeping on the top of the mountain again last night. Came across an old barn and kicked the elk out to get some shelter from the rain. Rain, storms, soaked to the bone and super cold at 8,000 feet. Ray says that if you don't find shelter out there you will die in this stuff. Those are really not words that let me sleep at night. Coming over the pass into Lima was nothing but an un-rollable mud fest. The elements are taking their toll. His knee is starting to give out now. With this combination it will be difficult to put in the miles needed to make up ground.
6/21/09-Day 10 Mile 830 and still riding..... This race is better than watching a soap opera. Can't believe all the latest developments. The Italians are cheating, one guy DQ'ing himself and looks like 2 others that will be DQ'd as well and then there's Justin. Did he really think this race was going to be FUN?
Ray seems to be having a good day today. No words yet from the top of the mountain. Looks like he is pushing to the top of Island Butte tonight (8,000'). There won't be anything around until he hits Lima and that is still a few miles away. I hope he is getting a break from the rain and staying warm. He has some nice weather ahead although trail conditions are bad. He still has snow and lots of mud to go through. 6 people have officially dropped, 1 DQ, 2 others that will be later, 2 guys on the verge of dropping out with knee issues, one guy way off track in Dillon and then there are the Italians...the herd is getting thin. Ray, hang in there.
6/20/09-Day 9 Mile 727. Had a rough go of it last night and this morning. The weather is really starting to put a damper on him making his miles. He said it rained on him and Jeff last night on top of the mountain and it was really cold. He slept in a 6x6 bathroom (ladies) and Jeff slept in the mens. He said at least it was dry. Woke this morning to more rain and it is really set in now. He was soaked to the bone and cold coming into Wise River. He said Jeff got up this morning and said "I'm done" and turned back to ride 50 miles back to Butte! Ray called me from the bar in Wise River. The locals said the rain was not going to let up until Monday. He got a room and hunkered down for the night and went and dried all his clothes. This evening, the 2 guys he past the other day, showed up in town and said they would push on tonight but that Ray would probably catch them in the morning. He's planning on getting up early and will see how far he gets. I told him conditions were not favorable ahead and that another guy had dropped today. This seems to be a race of attrition. He is just taking it one day at a time at this point. He will continue to push on in the morning and I hope the weather cooperates for him.
6/19/09-Day 8 Mile 696 and counting. Had another really good day. Had some great weather. Said it was cold last night on the top of the mountain, but no rain. Today he blasted into Basin and had a quick breakfast and was off again. Past up a couple of guys on the way to Butte and then hooked up with Jeff Kerby (listen to his latest call in). They are going to hang together tonight because they are both pretty freaked by all the bear encounters going on. He says the 20 on the back is making a difference and he is able to climb things that he was walking before. He's still feeling real good and I think he's in the groove of it now. Stocked up on a couple of cans of SPAM and headed out. He's climbing toward and over Mt. Fleecer tonight and I hope the weather holds out on them tonight. Not sure if he will make it to Wise River tonight. Next few days could prove to be tough if they don't stock up enough in Wise River.
6/18/09-Mile 630 9:30pm - Only 2 casualties so far, one major stretched out singlespeed chain and one toe nail gone! He's still out there tonight pushing his bike and he's up on top of Corral Gulch trying to make it to Basin tonight. I'm thinking that he hunkering down right now eating his can of chicken and his pop tarts he bought earlier. I hope it's not storming on him tonight as he tries to sleep on the ground. Pulled in to Helena this afternoon and had the bike shop switch out his back cog to a 20. They also put on a new chain and fixed his computer. Seems he Macgyver'd it last night with a magnet from the hardware store and some duct tape. He said he had to "eyeball" his way into Lincoln after the magnet on his computer feel out. He thinks it was done in by one too many creek crossings. I had a good feeling about today when I saw he was up and on the bike bright and early and making some good time until he hit Priest Pass. It was painful watching Spotty today as he walked several miles up and up and up this pass. But he bombed the downhill into Helena and called me as soon as he put in his order for a double meat cheese burger and fries. He's sounding like the old Ray now. Sounds good. He said he had taken his bike over to the shop and they were charging Divide racers $20 extra to move them to the front of the line. I said, that sounded fair to me. They had him going in no time. I ask him if he had considered putting on a 1 x 9 and he said, no, it would take them too long to get him setup and besides, if he didn't finish this thing on what he started it on, he would be kicking himself! Now that is what I'm talking about - that is Ray! He's back.
6/23/09-Ray officially pulls out. Alittle about yesterday. Yesterday was bad. So he comes into Lima and says his knees are shot but he thinks that if he ices them down that night, he would be ok the next day. I tell him, "are you crazy? First of all, this race is not worth you injuring yourself for good and second of all, it's not worth you risking hypothermia. You have only more of the same ahead of you. Freezing rain, hail, ice, snow on the passes and more mud to push through. For what? So you can get 40 more miles down the road and almost kill yourself?" You really need to think about this. I'm not trying to be negative here, but you are not meeting your mileage goal and you can not battle against mother nature anymore. Do you really want to go through more mud? Call me back and think about it.
So, he calls me back and says he's done. But I could tell that he was upset about it. He says he doesn't want to give up. I told him he didn't give up anything. He got out there and tried his hardest and gave his all. It's time to come home. This is too dangerous right now. If conditions were better and he wasn't having to fight with mother nature, I have no doubt that he could have been in Colorado by now.
Later that evening I get a voice mail from Ray. Call me back right away. I call back and a lady answer and says her name is Ruth and she is with Ray and then all I heard were the words "bike" and "ambulance". I thought I was going to pass out right there. I call her back. She says that Ray has cut his hand and that the ambulance is taking him to the local hospital to stitch him up and he is just fine. About an hour passes and Ray calls back. Says the local hospital can not stop the bleeding and that he has cut an artery in his hand. He's cut it really deep. He said he was cutting a zip tie off the bike and his Leatherman slipped and cut his hand. He said it was like a scene out of Halloween. The blood was just going everywhere and it is all over the floor in his hotel room. He could not get the bleeding to stop and 911 is not working at the front desk. So he runs over to the restaurant across the street and messes up their floor too. So now that the local hospital can not fix it, he has to go by ambulance to Butte to have a specialist do surgery on his hand that night. He says in the ambulance "as long as I can flip off Dallas drivers when their done, then I'll be fine". He called about 1:30am, just got out of recovery. They put him under to do the surgery. He says he can move all his fingers. So today, he had to wait until the trauma doctor looked at him to release him. He got out around noon today. Problem is, there are no rent cars to be had in Butte today and he has to get back to Lima to get his bike and all his things. We are hoping he can make his way to Salt Lake tomorrow and fly home. At this point, it's all up in the air. He says this has definitely taken his mind off the race and he is ready to come home.
6/22/09-Day 11 Mile 865.6. Conditions have gone from bad to down right scary now. Sleeping on the top of the mountain again last night. Came across an old barn and kicked the elk out to get some shelter from the rain. Rain, storms, soaked to the bone and super cold at 8,000 feet. Ray says that if you don't find shelter out there you will die in this stuff. Those are really not words that let me sleep at night. Coming over the pass into Lima was nothing but an un-rollable mud fest. The elements are taking their toll. His knee is starting to give out now. With this combination it will be difficult to put in the miles needed to make up ground.
6/21/09-Day 10 Mile 830 and still riding..... This race is better than watching a soap opera. Can't believe all the latest developments. The Italians are cheating, one guy DQ'ing himself and looks like 2 others that will be DQ'd as well and then there's Justin. Did he really think this race was going to be FUN?
Ray seems to be having a good day today. No words yet from the top of the mountain. Looks like he is pushing to the top of Island Butte tonight (8,000'). There won't be anything around until he hits Lima and that is still a few miles away. I hope he is getting a break from the rain and staying warm. He has some nice weather ahead although trail conditions are bad. He still has snow and lots of mud to go through. 6 people have officially dropped, 1 DQ, 2 others that will be later, 2 guys on the verge of dropping out with knee issues, one guy way off track in Dillon and then there are the Italians...the herd is getting thin. Ray, hang in there.
6/20/09-Day 9 Mile 727. Had a rough go of it last night and this morning. The weather is really starting to put a damper on him making his miles. He said it rained on him and Jeff last night on top of the mountain and it was really cold. He slept in a 6x6 bathroom (ladies) and Jeff slept in the mens. He said at least it was dry. Woke this morning to more rain and it is really set in now. He was soaked to the bone and cold coming into Wise River. He said Jeff got up this morning and said "I'm done" and turned back to ride 50 miles back to Butte! Ray called me from the bar in Wise River. The locals said the rain was not going to let up until Monday. He got a room and hunkered down for the night and went and dried all his clothes. This evening, the 2 guys he past the other day, showed up in town and said they would push on tonight but that Ray would probably catch them in the morning. He's planning on getting up early and will see how far he gets. I told him conditions were not favorable ahead and that another guy had dropped today. This seems to be a race of attrition. He is just taking it one day at a time at this point. He will continue to push on in the morning and I hope the weather cooperates for him.
6/19/09-Day 8 Mile 696 and counting. Had another really good day. Had some great weather. Said it was cold last night on the top of the mountain, but no rain. Today he blasted into Basin and had a quick breakfast and was off again. Past up a couple of guys on the way to Butte and then hooked up with Jeff Kerby (listen to his latest call in). They are going to hang together tonight because they are both pretty freaked by all the bear encounters going on. He says the 20 on the back is making a difference and he is able to climb things that he was walking before. He's still feeling real good and I think he's in the groove of it now. Stocked up on a couple of cans of SPAM and headed out. He's climbing toward and over Mt. Fleecer tonight and I hope the weather holds out on them tonight. Not sure if he will make it to Wise River tonight. Next few days could prove to be tough if they don't stock up enough in Wise River.
6/18/09-Mile 630 9:30pm - Only 2 casualties so far, one major stretched out singlespeed chain and one toe nail gone! He's still out there tonight pushing his bike and he's up on top of Corral Gulch trying to make it to Basin tonight. I'm thinking that he hunkering down right now eating his can of chicken and his pop tarts he bought earlier. I hope it's not storming on him tonight as he tries to sleep on the ground. Pulled in to Helena this afternoon and had the bike shop switch out his back cog to a 20. They also put on a new chain and fixed his computer. Seems he Macgyver'd it last night with a magnet from the hardware store and some duct tape. He said he had to "eyeball" his way into Lincoln after the magnet on his computer feel out. He thinks it was done in by one too many creek crossings. I had a good feeling about today when I saw he was up and on the bike bright and early and making some good time until he hit Priest Pass. It was painful watching Spotty today as he walked several miles up and up and up this pass. But he bombed the downhill into Helena and called me as soon as he put in his order for a double meat cheese burger and fries. He's sounding like the old Ray now. Sounds good. He said he had taken his bike over to the shop and they were charging Divide racers $20 extra to move them to the front of the line. I said, that sounded fair to me. They had him going in no time. I ask him if he had considered putting on a 1 x 9 and he said, no, it would take them too long to get him setup and besides, if he didn't finish this thing on what he started it on, he would be kicking himself! Now that is what I'm talking about - that is Ray! He's back.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Eat, Sleep, Ride.................
6/17/09-Mile 551: I've underestimated his mileage due to the fact that SPOT or "spotty" goes in a straight line from point A to point B after it figures out it hasn't been working for 5 hours. He pulled into Lincoln today still no power in his legs. He's ditching weight left and right. I think he has just pushed himself too hard and he needs to SLOW down and take it easy. Like Solo says "this is a race for the tortoise, not the hare". But he is learning as he goes and he says there are about 10 things he would do different next time. Those are not words I really want to hear right now. He got a room in Lincoln, did his laundry and has been working on his bike. Both computers are dead. Magnet feel out. He will have to hit the bike shop in Helena first thing. He's got one of them rigged and I hope it last till then. He ran into 4 other guys in town. They are all pretty wiped out but they have decided to move on for a couple more hours. Oh yeah, he says he has "cankels" Not sure what is causing that. His knees are feeling fine. Told him to prop up his feet and chill. He's planning on hitting it really early in the morning.
6/16/09-8:00pm, he's finally hit his first wall. He got in less than 50 miles today. His SPOT was not working all day so I had no idea where he was. He called this afternoon from Seely Lake area and was riding with Jeremy. Neither one of their SPOTS have been working. Called again tonight from Ovando. He says he's not tired but he has ZERO power in his legs. He has to walk every climb and that has taken it's toll on him today. He said he's going nowhere and going to have to stop in Ovando. Called back after he bought more minutes on his phone card. Just chowed down on a big cheese burger and he says he feels better. He's got a giant blood blister on his toe from being in wet socks and shoes forever. Says he is still going to change out his gearing. He will have to wait until Helena to do that. No bike shop in Lincoln. He's sleeping in a tee-pee tonight and he already sounds about 100 times better. Doing 400 miles in 4 days is going to take it's toll on anyone. He has been pushing himself for 4 days now. He has got to be tapped out. He didn't even sound like himself the first time he called. He ran across several bears today. Ran up on a black bear and that spooked him so he bought some bear spray. Then he saw a mama Grizzly and her cubs. Of course he thinks he is going really slow and that he is the last one out there. But he's just really tired right now and it will take a few calls for him to listen to what I'm saying.
6/15/09-9:45pm, just called and he said he wishes he had a geared bike. He is having to walk too much stuff. I told him he needed to get back on his bike if he had anymore daylight and ride at least 15 more miles. This would bring him back up to his overall goal of 100 miles per day. He said he's feeling good and he would take off while it's light and call me back later. He ask about Cricket again. I told him she was not far behind him and she was doing ok.
6/15/09-7:00am, called from Whitefish again with lots of plans for the morning. First plan was to go to the post office and mail back to me some of the things he did not need. He didn't elaborate on what these things were. Second call, he was going to wait on the bike shop to open to change out his gearing. Called back and said the post office didn't open till 9 and the bike shop till 10. I told him it was probably not a good idea to change his gearing right now because he had about 45 miles of relatively flat, paved road ahead. He decided to take off. Apparently he did not eat all day yesterday and now he has learned his lesson from that. Stocked up on food for the road and took off. Looks like the SPOT decided to take another break again. Not sure what is going on with that thing. But it's driving me crazy thinking he is stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere. He is going to have to sleep on the ground tonight. No towns close by.
6/14/09-10:15pm, called in from Whitefish. He got off course for 4 hours this morning and blew some serious time. He was planning on making it past Whitefish today to get his 100 miles in for the day. Getting lost, there is no way to make up the time at this point. He is going to have to change his gearing in the morning. Says little old ladys are passing him on the climbs. Going to hit the bike shop in the morning and restock and get rid of some things to lighten up. The next section is going to be tough and they will have to cross a snow drift. His SPOT has stopped working for some reason. Going to try and reset it tonight and test it again in the morning. He is worried about Cricket. Said she is having some problems out there.
6/14/09-8:55am, call in from Eureka. He spent the night on the ground last night just across the border. He said he was not going to stop until he made it across last night. Apparently the re-routed section before the border was a pretty awful section and he ended up pushing his bike. There was no food to be found after 6pm in Sparwood, so whatever you had on you was what you had for the evening. He said he was pretty tapped out last night. He said it's cold and wet but he just puts his wool on and goes. His butt is sore and his legs are tired after a 150 mile day. He eat a big breakfast and he's off again this morning. He saw bears yesterday and was hoping that the people that didn't make it to the border stayed in cabins last night. Of course he is second quessing his choice to take the single speed, but he would not have been happy out there on a geared bike.
6/14/09-12:55am, he's made it to the border crossing. Looks like the couple of miles before that must have been a pusher over some tough terrain. I don't think I've ever seen him going 2.3 miles per hour. Only 10 miles to Eureka and it's on the shoulder of the US93 so he should get there pretty quick. No calls today either. Must not be getting a cell signal.
6/13/09-No calls last night or this morning but I did get 2 "OK" messages from him spot. Looks like he made it to Elksford last night and stayed at the Elksford Inn and went to eat pizza. His ATM card will tell us the rest of the story! I'll be glad when he out of Canada, stuff is way too expensive there. Looks like he got some sleep last night and started out early this morning, not as early as I thought he would, but he's going to have to get a routine down. Looks like a few of the guys only slept about 3 hours since they are well on their way to the border. Hopefully, he can make up some time in the next few days, but considering he did not have a full day to ride yesterday, he made his goal. He's doing good.
6/16/09-8:00pm, he's finally hit his first wall. He got in less than 50 miles today. His SPOT was not working all day so I had no idea where he was. He called this afternoon from Seely Lake area and was riding with Jeremy. Neither one of their SPOTS have been working. Called again tonight from Ovando. He says he's not tired but he has ZERO power in his legs. He has to walk every climb and that has taken it's toll on him today. He said he's going nowhere and going to have to stop in Ovando. Called back after he bought more minutes on his phone card. Just chowed down on a big cheese burger and he says he feels better. He's got a giant blood blister on his toe from being in wet socks and shoes forever. Says he is still going to change out his gearing. He will have to wait until Helena to do that. No bike shop in Lincoln. He's sleeping in a tee-pee tonight and he already sounds about 100 times better. Doing 400 miles in 4 days is going to take it's toll on anyone. He has been pushing himself for 4 days now. He has got to be tapped out. He didn't even sound like himself the first time he called. He ran across several bears today. Ran up on a black bear and that spooked him so he bought some bear spray. Then he saw a mama Grizzly and her cubs. Of course he thinks he is going really slow and that he is the last one out there. But he's just really tired right now and it will take a few calls for him to listen to what I'm saying.
6/15/09-9:45pm, just called and he said he wishes he had a geared bike. He is having to walk too much stuff. I told him he needed to get back on his bike if he had anymore daylight and ride at least 15 more miles. This would bring him back up to his overall goal of 100 miles per day. He said he's feeling good and he would take off while it's light and call me back later. He ask about Cricket again. I told him she was not far behind him and she was doing ok.
6/15/09-7:00am, called from Whitefish again with lots of plans for the morning. First plan was to go to the post office and mail back to me some of the things he did not need. He didn't elaborate on what these things were. Second call, he was going to wait on the bike shop to open to change out his gearing. Called back and said the post office didn't open till 9 and the bike shop till 10. I told him it was probably not a good idea to change his gearing right now because he had about 45 miles of relatively flat, paved road ahead. He decided to take off. Apparently he did not eat all day yesterday and now he has learned his lesson from that. Stocked up on food for the road and took off. Looks like the SPOT decided to take another break again. Not sure what is going on with that thing. But it's driving me crazy thinking he is stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere. He is going to have to sleep on the ground tonight. No towns close by.
6/14/09-10:15pm, called in from Whitefish. He got off course for 4 hours this morning and blew some serious time. He was planning on making it past Whitefish today to get his 100 miles in for the day. Getting lost, there is no way to make up the time at this point. He is going to have to change his gearing in the morning. Says little old ladys are passing him on the climbs. Going to hit the bike shop in the morning and restock and get rid of some things to lighten up. The next section is going to be tough and they will have to cross a snow drift. His SPOT has stopped working for some reason. Going to try and reset it tonight and test it again in the morning. He is worried about Cricket. Said she is having some problems out there.
6/14/09-8:55am, call in from Eureka. He spent the night on the ground last night just across the border. He said he was not going to stop until he made it across last night. Apparently the re-routed section before the border was a pretty awful section and he ended up pushing his bike. There was no food to be found after 6pm in Sparwood, so whatever you had on you was what you had for the evening. He said he was pretty tapped out last night. He said it's cold and wet but he just puts his wool on and goes. His butt is sore and his legs are tired after a 150 mile day. He eat a big breakfast and he's off again this morning. He saw bears yesterday and was hoping that the people that didn't make it to the border stayed in cabins last night. Of course he is second quessing his choice to take the single speed, but he would not have been happy out there on a geared bike.
6/14/09-12:55am, he's made it to the border crossing. Looks like the couple of miles before that must have been a pusher over some tough terrain. I don't think I've ever seen him going 2.3 miles per hour. Only 10 miles to Eureka and it's on the shoulder of the US93 so he should get there pretty quick. No calls today either. Must not be getting a cell signal.
6/13/09-No calls last night or this morning but I did get 2 "OK" messages from him spot. Looks like he made it to Elksford last night and stayed at the Elksford Inn and went to eat pizza. His ATM card will tell us the rest of the story! I'll be glad when he out of Canada, stuff is way too expensive there. Looks like he got some sleep last night and started out early this morning, not as early as I thought he would, but he's going to have to get a routine down. Looks like a few of the guys only slept about 3 hours since they are well on their way to the border. Hopefully, he can make up some time in the next few days, but considering he did not have a full day to ride yesterday, he made his goal. He's doing good.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tour Divide Race - pre race day notes
6/12/09am- Race day, he called this morning around 7:00am. Said he had been sleeping on the couch in the hall since about 4am. Didn't want to wake the others. The racers are staying at the YMCA there in Banff. I think they have the place to themselves, but his room is bunk style beds. He said he has been sleeping fine. Me however, I have not been able to sleep for the last 2 nights. I guess it's just anticipation and the fear of the unknown. He is antsy and ready to get on the trail and get moving. He's hoping to make it to Elkford tonight.
6/11/09 - He's doing great, he said it's a very chilled out laid back group of folks and he's not all keyed up like he usually is before a race. They have all been comparing setups and talking about what to take and what not to take. He's got 3 computers now. This is a guy that went from no computers to 3! Lots of beer and barbeque at the park tonight for all the racers.
06/10/09 - Ray is in Canada now with his bike together and he's already been out on the trail checking out the computers. One of them already went south on him so got to get a new one. You have to have 2 computers in case you need to take an alternate route or you get lost and have to backtrack. The bike shop guy in Banff found a loose bearing and fix his rear break. Not sure what's going on with that. He just put on some ceramic break pads, hope those aren't the culpret. There is a 63 year old guy doing this thing. Ray hooked up with him for a short ride today.
6/11/09 - He's doing great, he said it's a very chilled out laid back group of folks and he's not all keyed up like he usually is before a race. They have all been comparing setups and talking about what to take and what not to take. He's got 3 computers now. This is a guy that went from no computers to 3! Lots of beer and barbeque at the park tonight for all the racers.
06/10/09 - Ray is in Canada now with his bike together and he's already been out on the trail checking out the computers. One of them already went south on him so got to get a new one. You have to have 2 computers in case you need to take an alternate route or you get lost and have to backtrack. The bike shop guy in Banff found a loose bearing and fix his rear break. Not sure what's going on with that. He just put on some ceramic break pads, hope those aren't the culpret. There is a 63 year old guy doing this thing. Ray hooked up with him for a short ride today.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tour Divide Race
EAT, SLEEP, RIDE, GREAT DIVIDE......
The Grand Tour of MTB
Banff, AB - Antelope Wells, NM USA
One Stage 2780mi
Self Supported Racing
June 12, 2009
The GDMBR is the world's longest off-pavement biking route. It's highlighted by long dirt roads and jeep trails that wind their way through forgotten passes of the Continental Divide. It travels through Canadian Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and the United States of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. By route's end a thru-rider will climb nearly 200,000 feet of vertical (equivalent to summiting Mount Everest from sea-level 7 times).
it's still only a month away and even now my nerves are getting a little jittery.
gear is breaking, better here than there i guess but still nerve racking
Thanks to YBS bikes for getting me set up with a new steel 29r frame in time for the race, it rides like nothing else i have been on.
Thank you also to the following:
Big Pig (Rich) Racing
The guys at Walnut Hill Performance Bikes
Bikes Inc. Ft. Worth
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