Death Valley

The time has arrived. My crew and I leave for the Furnace Creek 508 today.

I'd like to take a few moments to thank first and foremost my crew. This ride would not be possible without the commitment and support of these three fine men. My deepest thanks to John Henry, J. Murray, and Dave.

I also want to thank my mom and sisters. While not understanding this craziness (few do!) they have supported me as I have worked towards this for the last three years. Also a shout out to my niece Laura, who designed the Desert Coyote logo shown above for me.

Many of you reading this deserve thanks as well. Many of you were there prodding me along to ride when it was wet, cold, hot, windy......or I just wanted to be doing something else.

My Oregon Randonneur buddies could always be counted on to ride even if the weather was less than ideal. Heck, some would argue that they ride especially if the weather is less than ideal! Who else would have 100% turnout for a ride that starts out in 52 degrees and rain? (Snoozeville Populaire anyone?) John, Joanne, Elise, Bill, Cecil, Lynne, and all the rest, my thanks to you for being there and showing me the value of pushing on regardless.

The active members of my social bike group deserve my gratitude as well. Everyone needs a little ego stroking from time to time, lets you know that your progress is being noted. Kris, Mark H, Mark K, Brian, Frank, Doak, Luis, Carol, and others shared many a mile with me (and a brew or two!) as I worked towards this.

And I thank the mid-week after work ride group at Olson's Bicycles in Forest Grove for bringing me back down to earth and letting me know just how far I have to go yet as they drop me off the back.........quite regularly! Owner, Mike Olson, has also helped me immeasurably, whether working on my bike or sharing advice on endurance events.

And though things did not end as I would have liked, I especially want to thank Debra, the "San Diego Tour Guide". Without her support I would not have been able to ride Townes Pass and Death Valley in June. That experience will be invaluable as I struggle over Townes Pass and ride across Death Valley in the darkness of Saturday evening.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who have sent your wishes via email. I'll do my best to not let you all down.

Ready or not...........this test begins.


My crew will try to post an update to this blog if they can get cell service along the route, likely near Baker, 400 miles in. Of course when I get back I'll post a recap here.

A more reliable source of data will come from the ride organizers who have satellite phones and such and will have time station data and some video posted on the web.

Here are the links they sent out to us:

WEBCAST INDEX
The webcast will be at this specific link, so let your family, friends, fans, sponsors, and local media know that they will be able to track your progress via our webcast:

http://www.the508.com/2009web/index.html


TWITTER
We will also post updates via Twitter. Spread the word and become a follower!

http://twitter.com/adventurecorps

FACEBOOK
We also post 508-related news to our FaceBook page. Spread the word and become a fan!

http://www.facebook.com/adventurecorps

YOUTUBE
We also post our 508 videos to our YouTube channel, and we're happy to feature your own 508 YouTube videos there, too.

http://www.youtube.com/adventurecorps


Let's get on with this!