4th
Backlog Of Posts
No connectivity for hundreds of miles so I’ve been making mock posts. Rather than risk losing the connection again I’m going to paste them all here now… we can make it pretty later. BTW, we’re 15 miles outside of Baker as of now.
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Saturday
12:38pm
Just ran a smoker’s marathon… about 100 feet up and back, without stoppng! Phrase coined by Matt as I staggered back to the car. I was running up to see the condition of the railroad tracks ahead but Ross passed me with a, “Where ya goin Tom?”. Doesn’t sound funny here unless you imagine it with a Canadian accent and the special Ross inflection.
(Tom McDonald)
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3:15pm-ish
We stopped in Trona to report time, get a bit of gas and water and, on the advice of many of the vets, grabbed ourselves killer burritos from a stand outside. Excellent seasoned beef for me and Matt, chicken for Larry. We at them later while waiting for Ross at one of the water swaps. Wow! It may be a long night in the van though. They seemed worth it at the time. We’ll see.
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4:08pm
Heading down Panamint Valley (I think). Insane winding grade. We have to be care ful not to go too slow and hold up the riders but it’s tough to keep the car going that fast with such a steep descent. Ross is just gone…. way ahead of us.
(Tom McDonald)
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5:05pm
Ross hit the 200 mile mark. Just over 10 hours for a double century?!?
(Tom McDonald)
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6pm
Climbing Townes Pass, all lit up, hazard triangle mounted on the back of car… we’re golden. But this hill is a monster and keep running into a vicious headwind. Ross’ back is hurting pretty badly. Popped a couple of advil and had Larry “crack his back”.
(Tom McDonald)
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7pm
Ross summits Townes Pass at exactly 12 hours. Beautiful. Larry throws on Ross’ vest for some warmth, a smoothie and fresh bottle of amino water. Now the crazy downhill for 17 miles.
(Tom McDonald)
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7:15
Tom does not like being so close to the rider but it is needed so he can see. Larry and Matt are having a blast seeing watching my anxiety. :) He was doing 53-54 mph for a while… Tom’s heart rate was likely 200bpm.
(Tom McDonald)
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8pm
About 8 miles past Stovepipe Wells. The wind had subsided on the downhill grade and through Stovepipe. But now wind has really picked up. Sand is blasting Ross, initially from the side but now as a direct headwind and heading slightly uphill. Larry and Matt estimate 30-40 mph constant with 50-60mph gust. Brutal.
Meanwhile Larry is not only supporting Ross’ nutritional needs but mine and Matt’s as well. He just mashed up a few cans of sardines and dumped some spicy mustard into some pita bread. My first time trying sardines AFAIK. IT was a tasty and healthy meal to help get us through the night. Thanks Larry!
(Tom McDonald)
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11:35pm
Wind is insane. With a slight uphill and direct headwind Ross is standing on the pedals and doing 1-2mph.
(Tom McDonald)
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Sunday morning.
Long night for all (mostly Ross of course. Very little sleep and moderate level of insanity ensuing through the night. Matt drove from the start through 12:30am on Sunday before I took over. By 6am I was nearly delirious but Matt had grabbed a few winks and took over. Larry has been doing all of the support and might have dozed off for a minute here and there but he’s way short on sleep.
We saw quite a few solo and team riders seem to give it up during the night. I can hardly blame them because the raging wind, likely gusting at over 70mph at times, was relentless. But I know Ross and there’s no way he’s giving in to the pain.
All of us are finding too much humor in the most ridiculous conversations. Sure sign of lack of sleep.
(Tom McDonald)
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9:15am
Just left the Shoshone check-in point. Matt and Larry work on Ross’s raw hands as well as correcting some bike issues. Ross is *tired*. Not just “I’be been up for 28 hours” tired…. This is more like, “I’ve never worked so hard in such a short period of time in my life *and* I’ve been up for 28 hours” tired. We have about 180 miles to go which is looking like 12 hours of fairly hard riding.
(Tom McDonald)
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10am
Ross’ appetite seems to be returning so we stopped for 5 mins for him to wolf down some oatmeal. Larry dumped some oats in a piece of tupperware, poured some water in and sat it on the dashboard to hat in the sun. Never did get very warm but the oats got soggy enough for consumption. Ross is back on the bike and riding stronger than I’ve seen in a couple of hours.
(Tom McDonald)
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10:40am
Summited Ibex Pass and on the other side is what looks to be a huge dust storm that spans the entire horizon. Wind is blowing pretty hard from Ross’ right side, pushing him around a fair bit. He’s got his bandanna over his face Jesses James style.
(Tom McDonald)
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