Furnace Creek 508, and a Clean Sweep

I haven't been on the bike nearly as much as in past years.  It will be the first time in 5 years that I won't reach 10,000 miles in a year.  It has been a bikey few months though.

In June I was crew chief for Gary Feldstein as he rode Race Across the West. The Race Across the West starts the same time and place as Race Across America, and follows the same route,  but finishes about 860 miles in, at Durango Colorado.

I was joined by Jason Liao and Gary's son Simon in supporting our rider.
 While Gary was the last official finisher, he did finish, and set a personal record for miles covered, by a huge margin.

        In July, I teamed up with John Henry Maurice to compete in the 538 mile Race Across Oregon as a Two Man 50+ team.  It has been said that the difference between a solo ride and a team ..........is fun.
We had fun, we finished, and also set a new course record for our division. I was happy with my effort. I rode more miles, and climbed more elevation than my partner. Thanks to our crew chief Keith Kohen, and crew members Lorie Bickford and Lauren Bayard for keeping us on track and moving down the road.

       In August I joined crew chief Elton Bryant in supporting Joel Sothern as he raced the 519 mile Hoodoo 500.

Joel finished, but as stupendous as this is, his goal was to set a course record.  He did just that, coming in first, over 5 hours ahead of second place, and set a new course record for a solo rider.

       In October I was crew chief for Steven "Kookaburra" Burns as he challenged the Furnace Creek 508.  I was joined by crew members Charles "Brooklyn Beast" Olson and Steven's daughter Sophie. This year because of an inept Congress and a greedy Forest Service the course was shortened to 353 miles. It was a trip to Trona and back. Steven was a rookie to ultra racing, and set his goal as an official finish.  That is a pretty lofty goal for a rookie, as in any given year, 30-50% of participants don't finish.  He added that he'd like to finish in 32 hours.  Steven got the challenge he had hoped and trained for.  Most of the first day was spent riding into a 30-40mph headwind.

 He kept up a solid and consistent pace throughout the race despite the wind and was successful on all counts. He finished, and finished in 30 hours 50 minutes. In the process he also set a personal best for miles covered.

      For those keeping track, that gives me a clean sweep.  4 Ultracycling events, all four involved finishes, and either course records or personal bests.   It was an honor to help out on these record setting performances, and an honor to ride with John Henry as we set a divisional course record.  Not a bad way to spend a summer!