Furnace Creek 508 Recap
October 14th, 2009 |
Recap provided by Tina “The Colonel” Reid
Team Colossal Squid at Furnace Creek 508 2009
Mike “The Mauler” Gaiman and Tina “The Colonel” Reid traveled to the land of sand and scorpions in Death Valley to participate in the Furnace Creek 508:
“Held since 1983 and known as ‘The Toughest 48 hours in Sport,’ it is the world’s premier ultramarathon bicycle race. This non-stop 508-mile bicycle race is revered the world over for its epic mountain climbs, stark desert scenery, desolate roads, and its reputation as one of the toughest but most gratifying endurance challenges available, bar none.
“The Furnace Creek 508 race course is 509.58 miles long and has a total elevation gain of over 35,000 ft, while crossing ten mountain passes, and stretching from Santa Clarita (just north of Los Angeles), across the Mojave Desert, through Death Valley, to Twenty Nine Palms. “Designed as an endurance challenge, no drafting or pack riding is allowed in any division at Furnace Creek 508. There is a 48 hour time limit for the solo division and a 46 hour time limit for the relay team division.”
As a 2x (two-person), Mixed (male/female), 20+ (average ages between 20-29) team, each rider/team is identified by an animal totem that is assigned for life. We are Team Colossal Squid.
The challenges:
-First of all, FC 508 is a challenge any way you look at it, but this year winds plagued the route and resulted in one of the highest DNF rates in the 20 year history of the race.
-Mike dominated the toughest climb of the race (Towne’s Pass = 10 miles and 5,000’ climbing) but agonized through the last 20 miles of the leg in direct headwinds
-Hitting 35+mph head/crosswinds (with gusts up to 50 mph) that forced Tina into a 73 mile slog climbing through the desert between 9:30pm – 6:30am – that’s 9 hours!
-Mike’s battle with duststorm crosswinds at sunrise. He’s still finding sand in his right ear!
-Mike’s danced with 2x Mixed 30+ Team Godwit (Cat 1 and 3 racers) throughout the race chasing them down, creating a gap. Their rider would catch and pass Tina on her legs of the race so it was an ongoing leap frog race. In the end, they only beat us by 9 minutes.
-Tina’s last 20 mile subtle climb to the finish line was on a straight arrow road into a headwind chasing after the course record.
The highlights:
-An awesome FC508 custom decked out mini van that included: compartmentalized cubbies for all lights, food, gear, toiletries, etc.; a privacy curtain for clothing changes, an external sound system that rocked music and allowed the crew van to communicate with us; flashing lighting system required by race rules
-Enough Colossal Squid mascots to squid out on the road
-The amazing crew: Bill and Kathryn. Together, they’ve crewed RAAM (Race Across America) twice and helped officiate the Hoo Doo 500. Plus, Kathryn crewed for Tina last year at FC508 and Bill has even raced it once and crewed 5 other times! They kept the whole event low key, mellow and smooth going – even when they knew that the windy conditions were out of control.
-Breaking the record for the 2x Mixed 20+ category in the most epic conditions ever in the history of the race at 33 hours and 22 minutes!!
Thanks to all of you who followed us on Twitter and watched us live on the web cam as we rolled into the finish. This race was not easy and your support really helped our morale on the road. Rockin’!
Awesome and insane!
6 Comments to “Furnace Creek 508 Recap”
|
Oct 14th, 2009 at 3:52 pm |
Intense! You guys kick ass. Well done! |
|
Oct 14th, 2009 at 5:41 pm |
That is freaking amazing. You guys are freaks and we love you. |
|
Oct 14th, 2009 at 5:45 pm |
In one word: Epic. In one non-word: Redonkadonk. |
|
Oct 14th, 2009 at 5:47 pm |
Amazing ! congratulations to you both. |
|
Oct 15th, 2009 at 10:57 am |
Thanks, Friends. It was indeed pushing the limit! Check out Mike's much more detailed race report on Strava: http://blog.strava.com/2009/10/15/member-report-furnace-creek-508/ |
|
Oct 15th, 2009 at 10:58 am |
Awesome! |
Hot Twitter Action
