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Furnace Creek, the Story...
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Front of T- Shirt SAFETY NOTES |
Its zero-dark thirty AM, my crew
follows me into the parking lot at Badwater. They pull up beside
me. We are over half way through the race. "I don't think I can finish this race" I told them. "Okay......Why?" asked Crew member extraordinaire Bob in a demanding tone. Let me interpret his comment for you. What he was saying was get back on the bike and ride. I searched my cranial cavity silently for reasons to quit. I bonked about 9 hours ago, my crotch is chaffed and changing the color of my chamois to plum from off white, I'm tired and I am not taking enough calories in to get out of the deficit I sank into earlier in the day. I didn't say a word I mounted the bike and we left. "Try it for another hour" was Bob's suggestion. This was a defining moment in my attempt. Thanks Bob. |
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First Day - The Start... ...Furnace Creek 508 - 508 Miles to Go |
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When the event began all was in
order. I had filled up on Kostman's spaghetti dinner and gotten
a good nights sleep the night before. I told my crew not to be
discouraged if I was the last rider up the first hill. That was
the plan go out easy and then ride consistent through the event. We switched bikes at the top of the first climb. The Litespeed felt like a luxury liner compared to my stiff but lighter aluminum bike stripped down for climbing. I starting feeling bad as I neared the windmills, just like last year. This year it was not nearly as bad though. I felt better after that little climb and began reeling in some riders. Some of which would pass me back and some of which I would not see again. |
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The windmills
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For the safety of the rider it is the responsibility of the crew to log all of the calories and water used by the rider to be sure he is getting enough. The support crew
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All support must be given from the side of the road with the vehicle off of the road.
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Support vehicles must travel at the speed of traffic not the rider.
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All support must be given from the side of the road with the vehicle off of the road.
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Dehydration
is the number one reason for riders not finishing the race.
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