Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
I wish....
I wish on my 61st birthday that I could run a marathon without even training! I couldn't even do that right now. Congrats pop! Happy birthday! What can I say - you are the man. You just keep getting better with age.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Memorial Day Ride?
I want to do a GC Connection ride on Memorial Day. I would like it to either start/middle/finish at Gordon and Leah’s graves. Thinking of a couple of riding options for the various riding levels’ (any family member who want to join in for a few miles), but I need to know who’s in. Time, location, and distance need to be discussed.
Monday, May 09, 2011
White Rim Death Ride
Adam and I got down to Moab earlier than Daren and Tanner so we went and rode Slip Rock. It was great and a lot of fun. It was 85 degrees and felt so good to be warm. We came down to ride the famous White Rim trail in Canyonlands. We were riding it was clockwise and unsupported, which means you have to take everything you might need because there is no other way out. This route is 103 miles long.
We had just started our White Rim ride. It was 13 miles on the dirt rode to get to the paved rode to get to our drop in trail. We were waiting for some friends of Daren and Tanner. Everyone is happy and excited for the day.
I'm feeling great after 13miles and really excited. I thought I've done many 200 mile rides, how tough can a 100 miler be on a Mountain bike?
Daren at the top of Ledger switch back taking us into the pit of no return.
This is looking down our descent road. It was a ball going down. Some how we all knew we were going to have to climb out after 100 miles, but it didn't seem like a big deal at this stage.
The first thing we encountered when we got down on the plateau was that we had a very hard head wind, and it was HOT, not warm but 95 degree's with a 30 mile and hour head wind, and 75 miles to go. It just got harder and harder. We began to feel like we were in a blast furnace. We went in unsupported, so we had to watch our water intake and try to gage our usage. When we got to 50 miles we stopped and tried to eat but after 3:30 riding the desire for food was leaving. We had no place to go but keep moving forward. There were some really steep climbs that I could believe you could go up, but we did. We were going down one steep descent and Adam rolled a tire and lost his air, so he and I had to put a tube in the tubeless set we were all riding. Daren and Tanner were ahead and didn't see the flat so they were a mile ahead. They started to come back, but the climb to us was brutal so I waved them to stay down and we got it fixed with a tube fine, and away we went. This was our only bike mechanical breakdown, if only our 4 bodies had held up as well.
I tried to take some pictures, but the longer we went it just wasn't worth the effort.
About 80 miles in I got the squirts so bad every mile I'm having to stop and do some business. If I drank anything I immediately got the cramping and would have to go again. I just was so dehydrated I couldn't go on. Adam Tanner and Daren went ahead with the idea to drive down and get me. I layed in the dirt for 45 minutes and finally I was able to force one of Adams Cokes down and I started to ride again. I was thinking they were all doing great and would soon be back for me, but as I rode on I couldn't see how a vehicle could even get here. I kept on and start to feel some better and my computer was showing 99 miles, but it looked like there was no way out. I was alone and thinking did I make a wrong turn. Then I saw Adam up the road walking with his bike. I got up to him and I thought he was a dead man walking. They had all been having as bad a physical problems as me, and Adam had run out of water 10 miles ago and was heaving up often. Daren and Tanner had left Adam to continue but they were hurting as well. We continued up the road and could see a fork and then could see the switch backs out. This is Adam and I at the bottom thinking we are going to die, or wishing we could. I'm pooing and Adams throwing up, we were a great pair. There is no way we are getting up the switch backs, so we are just going to wait for Daren. Just then a vehicle comes up the fork heading up so I waved them down and they gave me a ride to the top. When I walked to our cars, Daren and Tanner were laying on the dirt like they had died. They had just gotten to the top and didn't know how they were going to be able to come get us. They had had a rough time as well stopping every mile or so and trying to recover enough to go on. The last few miles had soft sand that you just couldn't ride through. It was so hot and windy and hard to get through we all about gave up, but we had no options, so on we all went.
I drove down and picked up our bikes and Adam and drove out. I was feeling so bad I didn't know if I could drive up the switch backs, but we made it up. Daren was in his car with the body shakes going, I'm cramping, and Adam is throwing up. What started as a great day really was the toughest time I've had on a bike. 103 miles in just over 9 hours, what fun. We couldn't find a hotel in Moab so we drove to Green River and tried to recover. Adam threw up all night, I don't know what to do, so finally he and I decide to head for home. Adam was not in good shape but we headed out early. When we got home Mindy took Adam to the hospital and found him to be in renal failure. They started the IV's and did some other blood work. His lactic acid was still off the chart. They finally let him go home after he had stabilized some. Adam weighed himself when he got home from the hospital and he had lost 13 pounds. I lost 6, Daren lost 5 and I don't know about Tanner. Biggest loser we've got the place for you to go. Adam has gotten kidney function back today, so things are looking brighter. We all are pretty weak and the prospects are looking up, we were lucking as the end results could have been much worse. Never another 100 mile bike ride for me. Let's see we have six weeks til Seattle to Portland 200 miler, thank goodness its on a road bike. Ride safe.
We had just started our White Rim ride. It was 13 miles on the dirt rode to get to the paved rode to get to our drop in trail. We were waiting for some friends of Daren and Tanner. Everyone is happy and excited for the day.
I'm feeling great after 13miles and really excited. I thought I've done many 200 mile rides, how tough can a 100 miler be on a Mountain bike?
Daren at the top of Ledger switch back taking us into the pit of no return.
This is looking down our descent road. It was a ball going down. Some how we all knew we were going to have to climb out after 100 miles, but it didn't seem like a big deal at this stage.
The first thing we encountered when we got down on the plateau was that we had a very hard head wind, and it was HOT, not warm but 95 degree's with a 30 mile and hour head wind, and 75 miles to go. It just got harder and harder. We began to feel like we were in a blast furnace. We went in unsupported, so we had to watch our water intake and try to gage our usage. When we got to 50 miles we stopped and tried to eat but after 3:30 riding the desire for food was leaving. We had no place to go but keep moving forward. There were some really steep climbs that I could believe you could go up, but we did. We were going down one steep descent and Adam rolled a tire and lost his air, so he and I had to put a tube in the tubeless set we were all riding. Daren and Tanner were ahead and didn't see the flat so they were a mile ahead. They started to come back, but the climb to us was brutal so I waved them to stay down and we got it fixed with a tube fine, and away we went. This was our only bike mechanical breakdown, if only our 4 bodies had held up as well.
I tried to take some pictures, but the longer we went it just wasn't worth the effort.
About 80 miles in I got the squirts so bad every mile I'm having to stop and do some business. If I drank anything I immediately got the cramping and would have to go again. I just was so dehydrated I couldn't go on. Adam Tanner and Daren went ahead with the idea to drive down and get me. I layed in the dirt for 45 minutes and finally I was able to force one of Adams Cokes down and I started to ride again. I was thinking they were all doing great and would soon be back for me, but as I rode on I couldn't see how a vehicle could even get here. I kept on and start to feel some better and my computer was showing 99 miles, but it looked like there was no way out. I was alone and thinking did I make a wrong turn. Then I saw Adam up the road walking with his bike. I got up to him and I thought he was a dead man walking. They had all been having as bad a physical problems as me, and Adam had run out of water 10 miles ago and was heaving up often. Daren and Tanner had left Adam to continue but they were hurting as well. We continued up the road and could see a fork and then could see the switch backs out. This is Adam and I at the bottom thinking we are going to die, or wishing we could. I'm pooing and Adams throwing up, we were a great pair. There is no way we are getting up the switch backs, so we are just going to wait for Daren. Just then a vehicle comes up the fork heading up so I waved them down and they gave me a ride to the top. When I walked to our cars, Daren and Tanner were laying on the dirt like they had died. They had just gotten to the top and didn't know how they were going to be able to come get us. They had had a rough time as well stopping every mile or so and trying to recover enough to go on. The last few miles had soft sand that you just couldn't ride through. It was so hot and windy and hard to get through we all about gave up, but we had no options, so on we all went.
I drove down and picked up our bikes and Adam and drove out. I was feeling so bad I didn't know if I could drive up the switch backs, but we made it up. Daren was in his car with the body shakes going, I'm cramping, and Adam is throwing up. What started as a great day really was the toughest time I've had on a bike. 103 miles in just over 9 hours, what fun. We couldn't find a hotel in Moab so we drove to Green River and tried to recover. Adam threw up all night, I don't know what to do, so finally he and I decide to head for home. Adam was not in good shape but we headed out early. When we got home Mindy took Adam to the hospital and found him to be in renal failure. They started the IV's and did some other blood work. His lactic acid was still off the chart. They finally let him go home after he had stabilized some. Adam weighed himself when he got home from the hospital and he had lost 13 pounds. I lost 6, Daren lost 5 and I don't know about Tanner. Biggest loser we've got the place for you to go. Adam has gotten kidney function back today, so things are looking brighter. We all are pretty weak and the prospects are looking up, we were lucking as the end results could have been much worse. Never another 100 mile bike ride for me. Let's see we have six weeks til Seattle to Portland 200 miler, thank goodness its on a road bike. Ride safe.
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