# Bite, chew? gulp! (long self-centered "me" post)



## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

I'm leaving tommorrow AM for the Ca. High Sierras to do a really stupid-hard race. I figure I will be lucky to finish. Last year, just ~60% of the entrants did finish. The website below gives a bit of the specifics and the EC Race Bible (click the tab) will further give some of the 'grim' details, if you are interested. This race is billed as the hardest USCFrace. It makes events like the Markleeville Death Ride sound downright inviting...Dunno about my sanity, signing up for a race this difficult, but hey, sanity is over-rated anyhow.

http://everestchallenge.com/

I've spent the last few weeks trying to prepare for this epic. I've done some ultra races before (LOTOJA- 208 miles). These type events are all about eating and drinking properly. I expect to be in the saddle about 9hrs on Sat and 7 hrs on Sunday. You must (no getting around it) take on the proper mix of fuel to keep your body and bike moving in such a long hard event..The title sponsor is Hammer products and the organizer is providing 17 feed stations for neutral support over the two days. So I've been trying to determine which of Hammer's products I will need to choke down and at what rate...Yech!

Also re-glueing all my tires, changing some new clinchers on for one especially steep descent (1st climb on the second day) where I don't trust my carbon tubulars to not get too hot coming down. Figuring the logistics for a two day climbing stage race with no support crew has been interesting. One of the climbs ends at over 10,000' elevation, so getting the right gear up there without a team vehicle takes some preparation..

As of this morning there are 11 guys in my class, 55+ Masters, and 160 in the whole race. My teamate on Z-Team, David Zimbleman, will be racing the 45+ Masters, but he will most likely be racing for the overall win. His last attempt in '05, he was just second over all..Me, I will be racing to finish...period. 
So wish us luck, a couple of fellas from the Columbia River Gorge (David owns Salmon Cyclery in The Dalles, Or. and lives right down near me in White Salmon..) headed off to do a bit of climbing...
Don Hanson


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

I took a look at the website and no results posted for the first day. Don has his work cut out for him being one of the older riders but I know he has put in the miles. Eating and drinking properly as Don mentioned will help quite a bit. I know earlier this year I had some bad cramps in a 10,000 foot total hill climb day. I guess we will have to wait a couple more days to see if Don survived.


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

I saw the result for the first day. Don finished but it looked like he might have bonked. Looking forward to seeing the writeup. His first day was 120 miles and 15,400 feet of climbing. Something compareable around here might be Ramrod with Ramrod being slightly easier.


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

Just checked and Don got a DNF. Thats a tough ride with lots of DNF's on the 2nd day. Don's friend Dave who was one of the leaders on the first day also got a DNF. Thats kind of interesting. The women who rode seemed to have done Ok.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

*Just got back..here is some..*

The results are pretty confused. The event organizers just barely had it together, what with snow and rain on Sat. calling for course changes "on the fly". Their task, getting all the right stuff and people to the right spots all around the Owens Valley and it's surrounding mountains...not easy..They did a remarkable job for us out on the road..
My race went OK, considering I decided to go without a full "EC-oriented" training program. I was unprepared for how difficult it was. I expected hard..it was..beyond my expectations and I couldn't hack it...gave it all I had and it still beat me! But lookout for next year! I will go again, knowing more.

My Sat. I started fast with the leaders for the first climb and most of the second. I was anticipating 3 climbs, but they changed the course for snow, cutting off the first long climb, adding another no one had ever raced as a second climb, then the regular second climb became the third, then another for the final one. Once away from the first climb, I was riding alone, just chatting as I was passed (mostly) or passed others(leastly)..But I knew I was pretty good with the 55 class and had one guy ahead as a rabbit on that third climb. Caught him and passed, then almost passed out at the summit...Altitude was really bothering me..I gave it my all and then someone told me.."Good luck on the next climb"...Huh? I thought we finished, but no...only I finished...empty tank! I didn't even start that final climb. On the descent of that 3rd Saturday climb, I was really bad! Almost lost it twice and couldn't stop shaking, it was so cold..Then, when we had to pass right past our nice warm cars to get to the next and final 5000' climb back into the snow...I caved in...

Sunday, I decided to just ride, to not hurt myself or my body. I still have my original "A-Priority" Huntsman World Senior games races coming in two weeks, so I decided to not over-stress my body trying to "finish at all costs" since I'd already quit on Saturday...
As we ascended the first hill, I was talking to a tandem team nearby, wishing for some gearing like they had..(I had a low gear of 34-27 and that was a grind on some pitches, lower next time, like most others have) and we came to a slight respite in the grade...We commented on how nice that was, then the Stoker on the tandem checked their Garmin and found it was "down to only 9%"...it felt downhill...

Then we crossed the valley and headed up towards Death Valley, up a climb that seemed endless and remorsless..When the first leader swooshed by on their way back down.. I thought.."YaHoo! we are getting there"...but no, in order to make up some altitude and keep the numbers equal to all the past races, the organizers had us go an extra 1500' vertical...but down the other side and back up...Ugg, did that ever hurt..

Again, we were routed past our vehicles before the final climb, and my knees told me..."Be nice, or you won't be having much fun in two weeks in St. George at the Huntsman race" So again, I skipped the final climb...Quitting comes easier, the second time around...

Next year, I will do the EC again, health permitting, with a better understanding of just how hard it is and how to prepare for it. In two seasons, I'll again be on the right side of my 'age-curve' as I hit 65..I usually try not to use age as a yardstick, but I also try to not be an ostrich..and when I looked around at the others there this past weekend, I realized only 2 or 3 others out of 165+ were as old or older than me...Dang! I rode like my age, too...
Don Hanson

PS. It was one of my favorite events so far. Extra spectacular scenery, great courses, super people. I am really glad I went. If I'd never gone, I would always wonder what I would have done, what exactly was it really like...now I know.. You have to start..to DNF..smiley face...


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

Hey you survived! Its hard to believe it can be so cold down there two months away from Dec 21 and you are near Death Valley. I was thinking of getting rid of the triple set up that I run and going to a 34/27 I guess I will rethink that. What other lower gear set up can you run on a compact? What happened to Dave?


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

borregokid said:


> Hey you survived! Its hard to believe it can be so cold down there two months away from Dec 21 and you are near Death Valley. I was thinking of getting rid of the triple set up that I run and going to a 34/27 I guess I will rethink that. What other lower gear set up can you run on a compact? What happened to Dave?


 The base elevation of Bishop is ~4500' and when you climb up ~5000' from there, you are into the high elevations where fall comes pretty early at times. The weather event causing the snow was an early storm. The cottonwood trees had just started to turn a bit yellow. Grass was still green, but snow covered.

Many run triples. Some use mt. bike rear gearing. The stronger competative racers use something like what I had (I kinda copied Zimbleman's set-up) but they have the legs and lungs to keep it spinning all day..at least the winning guys and gals do. If I were only climbing one, or maybe two of those climbs, the 34/27 would have been just low enough...but after a few climbs I was bogging down on the really steep pitches, cranking out a ' whopping ' 40 rpm cadence a few times...

Dave Z. was second in 45 Masters. I didn't talk to him about his race yet as he went on south to Interbike in Vegas. The third Z-team rider, Nathan ?, won the 4/5s..So our team of 3 riders had a first, a second and a DNF...Outstanding, considering the very high level of competators in this race..

Don Hanson


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

*way to go, sir..*



Gnarly 928 said:


> The base elevation of Bishop is ~4500' and when you climb up ~5000' from there, you are into the high elevations where fall comes pretty early at times. The weather event causing the snow was an early storm. The cottonwood trees had just started to turn a bit yellow. Grass was still green, but snow covered.
> 
> Many run triples. Some use mt. bike rear gearing. The stronger competative racers use something like what I had (I kinda copied Zimbleman's set-up) but they have the legs and lungs to keep it spinning all day..at least the winning guys and gals do. If I were only climbing one, or maybe two of those climbs, the 34/27 would have been just low enough...but after a few climbs I was bogging down on the really steep pitches, cranking out a ' whopping ' 40 rpm cadence a few times...
> 
> ...


that course sounds horrific....train smart this next year and i"m sure you can nail it.
I'll keep an eye out for you in Maupin this spring...


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