[ORRando] Furnace Creek 508

Fri Oct 9 17:26:27 PDT 2009

Conditions for Furnace Creek 508 last weekend were the slowest in at
least 5 years.  The finishing rate was below 50% for the first time since
1999.  And there was one Oregon finisher.  After I broke my shoulder
in the cemetery, Greg elected to ride the distance solo, on very short
notice.  He became the 19th Oregon finisher and 13th 60+ finisher
in Furnace Creek history, with a very courageous ride.

Here is Greg's pre-race mugshot, using our team name Oregon Sasquatch:
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_RJ01/pages/PRE_6989.html
Here are his splits for the complete race:
http://dbase.adventurecorps.com/individualTd.php?e=3084

Remember that Greg had been training to do only half the distance.  Only a
few days before the race I was medically cleared to make the trip, so the
least I could do was crew, along with Sandy Earl.  Greg lined up among the
59 solo entrants and rode very strong and fast for the first 200 miles on
his Trek Y-foil.  He required very little assistance the first day as he
traded places with 60+ raam record holder David "Donkey" Jones.
Some  of the split times I noted were 100k in 3:45, 200k in 7:02,
and 300k in 10:25.  Fantastic times!
Here are two early pictures from the road:
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_CK01/pages/_A035135.html
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_RJ04/pages/PRE_7121.html

And here are the leaderboards from the first two time stations:
(7 am start, time of day is listed, Calif City is 83 mi and Trona is 153 mi)
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_CK03/pages/_A035302.html
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_CK04/pages/_A035420.html

Things got very tough after we turned east and started climbing Townes Pass.
I confessed to Greg that I had walked my bike on Townes Pass in past years,
so he gave it a try.  It felt so good that he must have walked at least five
miles of it!  Even so, the 400k split was 16:17, a time that would please
most randonneurs.  Temps in Death Valley at midnight were 80 degrees, but
the riders were battling 30 to 40 mph headwinds.  Greg just stubbornly rode
on through the night.  500 km in about 26 hours.  We finally turned out of
the wind, but then faced big climbs.  During the day we did not have to
follow so close and Greg was still riding quite well.  600k time of 30:50.
Many riders had quit during the night, both solo riders and even two and
four-person teams.  We were surprised to arrive at Baker less than an hour
behind Donkey, the 60+ leader.  Baker is at 382 miles and is the last place
on the route with gas stations, stores or other facilities.  Greg had blown
out the rear wheel bearings on his Trek and switched to his Cinelli.  He was
still riding steady, but was in pain from wrestling the strong wind all
night.  We made it to time station 6 at Kelso before dark, where we put bike
and vehicle lighting back on and prepared to directly follow Greg for the
final 90 miles of his journey.  His only flat tire was on the downhill in
the dark.  Lots of riders got by while we slowly fixed it.  Temp was 50
degrees, probably the coldest it got the entire ride.  Greg continued fast
down the hill to the final time station, Amboy.  Just one more 1500 foot
climb, the tenth mountain section of the course.  Here the route is a 2-lane
road with very soft sandy shoulders.  Greg got onto the shoulder and
crashed.  Quite alarming to all of us.  Only 35 miles to go, but the man had
zero energy left.  Every oncoming car blinded his failing vision.  With
frequent stops and time running out, the man prevailed, finishing 35 minutes
before the 7 am cutoff.  It was the most stubborn, courageous finish I have
ever witnessed.  Congratulations Oregon Sasquatch, we are all proud of you!
Here are the finishing pictures, he didn't look too good:
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_CK14/pages/_A056200.html
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_CK14/pages/_A056210.html

Greg reminded me of some favorite quotes:  "Run if you can, walk
if you must, crawl if you have to but don't give up." - Dean Karnazes
"Pain is temporary...finishing lasts forever".    Easier said than done.
He did it!   29th place, 47:25:14.

Meanwhile, SIR rider Chris Ragsdale was cruising to victory, finishing in
29:10 the previous noon.  Ram had an incredible sixth stage to make up
a 23 minute deficit on three-time winner Emde, then power away on that
last hill that killed us:
http://dbase.adventurecorps.com/individualTd.php?e=3050
None of you who know Chris would be surprised to know that he was
gracious enough to return to the finish line, with his crew of Mark Thomas
and Bob Brudvik, to greet Greg and us as we completed this ordeal.

Oh yes, there was that hall of fame ceremony at the pre-race meeting.
I was proud to be there:
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_WGK01/pages/PA020129.html
http://www.the508.com/2009web/shows/2009show_WGK01/pages/PA020142.html
http://www.the508.com/hof/scharffenberg.html

-- Del the "Spider"
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