[OrRando] Furnace Creek 508

[Del Scharffenberg]

Another 508 went ok.  Never as fast as hoped for, but I
finished for the 4th time without a dnf, still the only Oregon
rider with more than one solo finish.  Reed Finfrock, at age
61 had a great ride this year, breaking the 60+ record by an
hour and finishing for his 8th time, also a record.  I was
marginally faster than last year, with a slower first day and
much better second day.  In the 60+ category, Reed and
David Jones both finished well ahead of me for the second
year in a row.  I enjoyed some close racing with "Donkey"
 Jones, who set a new 60+ Raam record earlier this summer.
We passed each other back and forth several times, staying
within sight of each other for several hours between the first
and second check points.  Reed "Flamingo" was incredible,
finishing 6th overall among 75 starters at age 61.  There was
a fixed gear rider who was even more amazing.  Terry Lentz,
a 49-year-old Californian finished 3rd overall, taking over 6
hours off the fixie record.

Weather was cool enough that I kept my arm-warmers on the
entire first day.  But it did not get too cold at night either, with
the temperature ranging from low 50's Saturday night to low 80's
Sunday afternoon.  Lots of headwinds Saturday and some nausea
in the evening, but I recovered enough to enjoy the Sunday
tailwinds and make up some lost time.  Fell apart the last hour
or two, otherwise would have broken 40 hours.  We had no
mechanical problems or flat tires, but did have to replace a broken
headlight mount, then later a dead light.  I also rode off route briefly
Sunday, and finished with 510 miles on my meter.

My crew (Sam Huffman and my nephew Matt Liou) were
absolutely great, remaining alert, focused and cheerful for
two days and a night and requiring no sleep at all!  We think
my Suzuki Aerio SX was the smallest support vehicle there,
looking sporty with the colorful custom SPIDER magnetic signs.
I doubt if anybody else got 30 mpg in a following vehicle.  Matt
had to get back home to Sacramento to work Monday, so his
mother, my sister Beverly crewed the final leg with Sam.  Here
are some pictures that Sam posted late at night after we drove
home: http://www.samhuffman.com/albums/fc508_oct_2007/

As always, there is a race webcast at www.the508.com containing
complete time and place stats, as well as numerous pictures before,
during and after the event.  The pictures along the route are ordered
from last rider to first, as Chris was driving from the start to the finish,
after the relay riders started two hours behind the solo riders.  Here
are some that I found of me:

Pre-race mug shot:
http://www.the508.com/2007web/shows/show02/pages/DSC02700.html

Saturday evening, nearing 200 miles and the Townes Pass climb:
http://www.the508.com/2007web/shows/show11/pages/DSC02873.html

Finishing Sunday evening, 11:17 pm:
http://www.the508.com/2007web/shows/show19/pages/DSC03063.html
http://www.the508.com/2007web/shows/show19/pages/DSC03064.html

Finish line photo with race director Chris Kostman:
http://www.the508.com/2007web/shows/show19/pages/DSC03070.html

Finish line photo with crew members Sam Huffman and my sister Beverly:
http://www.the508.com/2007web/shows/show19/pages/DSC03071.html

-- "Spider" Del
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