SILVER STATE 508
My first Ultra Cycling Adventure !
Sept. 19-20
Reno to Eureka and back.
My teammate, Patty Jo Struve , and I will attempt to set a 60+ record.
Check back for updates!
SILVER STATE 508 - Sat. Sept. 19 - Sun. Sept. 20
510.36 miles across Nevada, and back again on The Loneliest Road in America, with a scattering of picnic tables, but not a port a potty in sight!
Solos - 6:30 am start.
Relays - 8:00 am start
Stages: Patty Jo Struve (PJ) 1,3,5,7 - 249.62 miles, 11,024'
Dustyn 2,4,6,8 - 260.74 miles, 8,639'
Team Snowflies Expectations: Ride with Joy and Safety, finish at around 8:30 with a smile on our face
Stage 1 - 47.65 miles 8-11 am - 3 hrs.
Stage 2 - 31.39 11 am-1 pm - 2 hrs
Stage 3 - 106.41 1 pm - 9 pm - 8 hrs
Stage 4 - 70.1 9 pm - 2 am - 5 hrs
Stage 6 - 112.53 7 am - 3 pm - 8 hrs
Stage 7 - 25.47 3 pm - 5 pm- 2 hrs
Stage 8 - 46.72 - 5-9 pm - 4 hrs
There is simply no way to describe how it feels to do a race this long and logistically complicated...and yet, the reality was simple. Either do it solo or ride with a friend. Nine months ago, Patty Jo Struve, a friend of the Most Accomplished Female Ultracyclist Ever, Seana Hogan, asked her if she thought I might be interested in teaming up with her for this event. After my initial reaction (ARE YOU NUTZ?!!!) I found the whole idea to be intriguing. Unlike other ultra team races, this one requires riders to trade of at each time station, instead of choosing to ride very short segments around the clock. I was quickly intrigued by the idea of riding 50 or 60 miles, then recovering and doing it again. I've always loved stage races, and I like climbing. My strength in USAC racing is in long, hard races, not short fast ones, and in time trifling, which ultra cycling really is. Patty Jo and I met up and rode an easy, fun 90 miles and hit it off, knowing right away we'd make good teammates, HAMMER teammates - Totally Cool! She is strong and experienced at ultras, so all I had to do was train and let her walk me thru the logistics. We did four tough climby training rides over the next few months, and what a joy to see us both getting stronger, with my confidence growing. Our fabulous crew, Brian Nakagawa and Rebecca Smith, joined us for a training ride on the course in July - what a great experience that was, and extremely valuable to our overall performance. I repeated one more night ride to test clothing and lights, and to regain confidence after the July night ride, which was horrible on several counts. One week before race date, I was on my way to Dayton to stay with a teammate, Louise Hose, from the 1988 Ore Ida Stage Race - what a treat, acclimate, ride part of the last stage, and reconnect with an old friend! And one last training ride - that last climb is tough, and I did it into a strong headwind, so race day was bound to be better! I noted 20% on the final pitch into Virginia City! Louise, Paul, and their two adorable, friendly dogs were great company, perfect for pre-race frame of mind and packing and labeling everything!
Friday - Pre race nerves not a problem, pre race excitement building! Friday was all about packing our gear (multiple bags of clothing, one for each stage, plus off bike recovery gear, and on bike/off bike food),getting lights and rack on the van, along with our sponsor stickers. I'm so proud to be affiliated with my sponsors: Hammer Nutrition, Folsom Bikes, Total Body Fitness, Rudy Project, Rubys Glide, Epic ID, and Athleticamps. They are all Good People who do Good Things, make Great Product, and they help make racing super fun! Pre race meeting was all about racers seeing one another and announcing updates and safety on the course. Again, I was soooo glad we pre-rode it in July. 500 miles was somehow not intimidating. I slept with calm excitement!!
Saturday - RACE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!! I love to ride my bike and that's exactly what I'd be doing for the next two days, all day, and half the night! I'm in heaven! All I'll have to do is ride, because my crew is taking care of everything else! My version of A Crazy Vacation, A Spa Weekend ! It's what I do and I've been looking forward to it for months! I LOVE RACE DAY! My teammate PJ had the honor of playing the national anthem on her trumpet before the start, then she hopped onto her bike and the relay teams were on the road! Instead of race numbers, this event is unique in that we pick animal monikers, and ours was SnowFlies, combining PJ's love for snow leopards and mine for butterflies. Suddenly, I was relieved to be racing the even numbered stages, because suddenly I was nervous, and all I had to do was get in the van! We drove out to support at the first crew pullout and within moments my friend Louise rode up to cheer us on! What an unexpected treat! We soon began our support...as PJ would ride up, she'd call out what she might need the next time we saw her, then we'd leapfrog to the next pullout and have it ready. I kept referring to it as Hopscotch, so I think my crew thought I was a lil nutz. Throughout the race we would connect with the other teams as we saw each other along the way. Forty seven miles into the race, TS 1, and I was ready to finally RIDE!
Stage 2: 31.39 miles, flat, mostly quiet country roads. Flat course and race energy got me to TS 2 seven minutes faster than our July training ride, 18.8 mph! T-bars and sunshine, no wind, not much traffic...piece of cake. My turn to recover, while PJ rode stage 3 103 miles. I refueled with Hammer Recoverite in tea, then tuna and cheese, kindness bar,and off to sleep, not the easiest thing to do at 2 in the afternoon, and when the van hits the rumble strips every time we assist PJ! But I managed, rembering how bad I'd felt on the training ride night stage, when I played games on my iPad instead of closing my eyes. So, I slept, or pretended to. My eyes were closed!
Stage 4: PJ reached Austin, TS3 at 9 pm, right on schedule. I stood in the cold and dark wearing every thermal piece of clothing I had, hoping it would suffice. Prediction was 40, so I felt prepared. I knew I could ride thus stage better than in July, and I wanted to get us ahead of our predicted schedule. Several friends have told me they enjoy night riding, so mysterious and quiet. Well, I have to say, I enjoy seeing the land out there, knowing where I'm going, and looking at Garmin to see how I'm doing! I rode silently along in blackness, no horizon, no point of reference, no towns, and thankfully very few cars. Not many racers either, until they started heading back towards mean the return leg. I yelled encouragement to everyone, maybe just for the distraction. I played numbers games in my head and tried to remember how many times the 5-mile alert had gone off. When would I be there? In awhile. I was surprisingly comfortable out there at midnight! Nothing went wrong, but it was a Night of Twos: two indecisive jackrabbits, two annoying cars, two weird hallucinating moments when I wondered why someone else's arms were in my T bars, when I knew for a fact that I was on the drops! Kinda creepy !! Temps dropped into the low 30s, but I was comfortable in HAMMER Thermal Everything! With ten to go, I blurted out to my crew, "a monkey could do this!" I was getting a bit goofy! Although the altitude had bothered me in July, my breathing was now calm, even at race effort. I'd managed much of the stage on my t-bars, and rolled in with a 4:30, 36:00 quicker than July! Holy cow!16.8 mph. Unlike July, I'd felt confident on this stage, and it had paid off.
And suddenly my first 100 miles was done! TS4- Eureka- and we are half way to the finish line! And my time was fast!...if we could stay ahead of schedule, we could finish before dark, and that would mean my final descent (the 9 mile Geiger Grade) would be a whole lot less difficult.
PJ took over once again for stage 5, 70 miles, and she would ride until the sun rose. Meanwhile I checked my notes and followed the plan. Recoverite, food, sleep. It was hard to eat, and stomach distress was about to become a problem. My annoying need for multiple potty stops meant that PJ also had to stop, as this stage required a follow vehicle. Ugh, time lost, when PJ just wants to ride! Crew says not to worry, this is Ultracycling. I cat napped and massaged my legs, trying not to be embarrassed and annoyed. Ultra cycling is ultimately about keeping calm and collected, and I was doing ok. No anxiety!
Stage 6: Daybreak and I get to ride again !! TS5 in Austin and I get to go 113 miles back to Fallon. I've been looking forward to this stage, remembering that it was just a few climbs and a lot of easy, fast descents and flats - just stay on the Tbars and have fun! I plugged in one earbud and enjoyed the tunes, the sunshine, the landscape, and the four beautiful wild horses in my path. They stood as though for a photo op, I pretended to take a picture, and they trotted off. Mile 68, a flat!! Oh noooo! I looked back expecting to see the van (daylight hours it goes back to leapfrog). No one in sight. Ughhhh. Seven minutes later I had help, but what a lost feeling! Yes, I had a repair kit, but should not have needed it. But again, staying calm is paramount, and once my crew arrived, Brian did a super fast wheel change, and off I rode. The road was long; the day was beautiful, and I love riding my bike. However, along about 90 miles, I started to unravel. Temps were over 90, and although I didn't feel warm, I was reaching that point...headachy, stomach distress, and finally HOT.
I had to stop three times while my crew doused me with ice water, and suddenly we were losing time. I struggled in, and slipped into a crazed, hallucinated few minutes of rest, while PJ headed out on her final stage, a mere 25 miles. All I could think was, "How the heck am I going to get back on my bike in such a short time?!" I had that "death warmed over" look, and my crew was worried that I wouldn't be able to safely finish. I knew otherwise. As bad as I was feeling, I was getting on my bike and riding in. With about 15 minutes left, I changed into new shorts, checked the cue sheet, and psyched up for this Last Ride. I'd tried to eat and drink, but water was all I could handle...until I remembered that somewhere in this van there was a package of Oreos!! Found 'em and gobbled down three with some ice water. Not your recommended HAMMER nutrition, but it hit the spot after 200 miles!
Stage 8: 47 miles to The Finish Line! The cue sheet was energizing! 17 miles of TT territory up the highway, 6 miles of significant climbing, 4 miles of highway grade to Gieger Summit, and then a 9 mile descent followed by 9 miles through Reno streets. This suddenly didn't look intimidating! I looked at my crew, and rolled up the highway. Legs felt fine! Stomach a wreck and neck was sore, but I was rolling along at a good clip, getting closer to the finish with every stroke. As I turned up 6-mile canyon, I realized I was tiring, but I was ready to fight through this 6 miles to get to my descent. All things are possible.
Not going to lie...these 6 miles were not easy! But it was not constant, and I'd removed my earbuds to listen to the dusk. Coyotes and crickets sang as I climbed, and I finally saw The Climb into Virginia City. It was steeper than it had been just a week ago! I'd alerted my crew to have my sneakers ready, because running with your bike is allowed, and I was not so sure it wouldn't come to that! With four blocks of 19-20% climb, I took it a block at a time, PJ running to each intersection with shoes in hand, just in case. What a teammate - she just finished 250 miles herself, and it had to hurt, running along in flip flops! Meanwhile Brian and Rebecca shouted out encouragement, along the lines of, "This is a Bike Race, and you are NOT going to put on your running shoes!" It was steep enough to have to tack, of course, but I also found myself riding aside the intersection to get a lil extra speed built up as I hit each succeeding block. I stood and jammed the last 20% pitch and I was Over The Top! Victory - I was ecstatic, and shouted out, "We're gonna finish in daylight!" Four rolling highway grade 9% miles later I hit the descent....dusk settling in, but the warmest, most quiet serenity I'd ever experienced going downhill. I'm known to hyperventilate on descents, but tonight I was calm and collected as dusk turned to dark, and the Reno lights sparkled below. My hands were tired from braking....which made me laugh - I just rode 250 miles and my HANDS are tired?!!!
I rolled into Reno and nine turns and stop lights later, crossed The Finish Line - PJ and I had finished This Amazing Adventure and we had photos, jerseys, and medals to prove it! I was elated, jubilant, and yea, tired! I was an Ultra Cyclist, and I think I like that! We'd set a 60+ record and won the women's relay. Next up 12-hour world championships Nov. 13 - Borreggo Springs!
510.36 miles across Nevada, and back again on The Loneliest Road in America, with a scattering of picnic tables, but not a port a potty in sight!
Solos - 6:30 am start.
Relays - 8:00 am start
Stages: Patty Jo Struve (PJ) 1,3,5,7 - 249.62 miles, 11,024'
Dustyn 2,4,6,8 - 260.74 miles, 8,639'
Team Snowflies Expectations: Ride with Joy and Safety, finish at around 8:30 with a smile on our face
Stage 1 - 47.65 miles 8-11 am - 3 hrs.
Stage 2 - 31.39 11 am-1 pm - 2 hrs
Stage 3 - 106.41 1 pm - 9 pm - 8 hrs
Stage 4 - 70.1 9 pm - 2 am - 5 hrs
Stage 6 - 112.53 7 am - 3 pm - 8 hrs
Stage 7 - 25.47 3 pm - 5 pm- 2 hrs
Stage 8 - 46.72 - 5-9 pm - 4 hrs
There is simply no way to describe how it feels to do a race this long and logistically complicated...and yet, the reality was simple. Either do it solo or ride with a friend. Nine months ago, Patty Jo Struve, a friend of the Most Accomplished Female Ultracyclist Ever, Seana Hogan, asked her if she thought I might be interested in teaming up with her for this event. After my initial reaction (ARE YOU NUTZ?!!!) I found the whole idea to be intriguing. Unlike other ultra team races, this one requires riders to trade of at each time station, instead of choosing to ride very short segments around the clock. I was quickly intrigued by the idea of riding 50 or 60 miles, then recovering and doing it again. I've always loved stage races, and I like climbing. My strength in USAC racing is in long, hard races, not short fast ones, and in time trifling, which ultra cycling really is. Patty Jo and I met up and rode an easy, fun 90 miles and hit it off, knowing right away we'd make good teammates, HAMMER teammates - Totally Cool! She is strong and experienced at ultras, so all I had to do was train and let her walk me thru the logistics. We did four tough climby training rides over the next few months, and what a joy to see us both getting stronger, with my confidence growing. Our fabulous crew, Brian Nakagawa and Rebecca Smith, joined us for a training ride on the course in July - what a great experience that was, and extremely valuable to our overall performance. I repeated one more night ride to test clothing and lights, and to regain confidence after the July night ride, which was horrible on several counts. One week before race date, I was on my way to Dayton to stay with a teammate, Louise Hose, from the 1988 Ore Ida Stage Race - what a treat, acclimate, ride part of the last stage, and reconnect with an old friend! And one last training ride - that last climb is tough, and I did it into a strong headwind, so race day was bound to be better! I noted 20% on the final pitch into Virginia City! Louise, Paul, and their two adorable, friendly dogs were great company, perfect for pre-race frame of mind and packing and labeling everything!
Friday - Pre race nerves not a problem, pre race excitement building! Friday was all about packing our gear (multiple bags of clothing, one for each stage, plus off bike recovery gear, and on bike/off bike food),getting lights and rack on the van, along with our sponsor stickers. I'm so proud to be affiliated with my sponsors: Hammer Nutrition, Folsom Bikes, Total Body Fitness, Rudy Project, Rubys Glide, Epic ID, and Athleticamps. They are all Good People who do Good Things, make Great Product, and they help make racing super fun! Pre race meeting was all about racers seeing one another and announcing updates and safety on the course. Again, I was soooo glad we pre-rode it in July. 500 miles was somehow not intimidating. I slept with calm excitement!!
Saturday - RACE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!! I love to ride my bike and that's exactly what I'd be doing for the next two days, all day, and half the night! I'm in heaven! All I'll have to do is ride, because my crew is taking care of everything else! My version of A Crazy Vacation, A Spa Weekend ! It's what I do and I've been looking forward to it for months! I LOVE RACE DAY! My teammate PJ had the honor of playing the national anthem on her trumpet before the start, then she hopped onto her bike and the relay teams were on the road! Instead of race numbers, this event is unique in that we pick animal monikers, and ours was SnowFlies, combining PJ's love for snow leopards and mine for butterflies. Suddenly, I was relieved to be racing the even numbered stages, because suddenly I was nervous, and all I had to do was get in the van! We drove out to support at the first crew pullout and within moments my friend Louise rode up to cheer us on! What an unexpected treat! We soon began our support...as PJ would ride up, she'd call out what she might need the next time we saw her, then we'd leapfrog to the next pullout and have it ready. I kept referring to it as Hopscotch, so I think my crew thought I was a lil nutz. Throughout the race we would connect with the other teams as we saw each other along the way. Forty seven miles into the race, TS 1, and I was ready to finally RIDE!
Stage 2: 31.39 miles, flat, mostly quiet country roads. Flat course and race energy got me to TS 2 seven minutes faster than our July training ride, 18.8 mph! T-bars and sunshine, no wind, not much traffic...piece of cake. My turn to recover, while PJ rode stage 3 103 miles. I refueled with Hammer Recoverite in tea, then tuna and cheese, kindness bar,and off to sleep, not the easiest thing to do at 2 in the afternoon, and when the van hits the rumble strips every time we assist PJ! But I managed, rembering how bad I'd felt on the training ride night stage, when I played games on my iPad instead of closing my eyes. So, I slept, or pretended to. My eyes were closed!
Stage 4: PJ reached Austin, TS3 at 9 pm, right on schedule. I stood in the cold and dark wearing every thermal piece of clothing I had, hoping it would suffice. Prediction was 40, so I felt prepared. I knew I could ride thus stage better than in July, and I wanted to get us ahead of our predicted schedule. Several friends have told me they enjoy night riding, so mysterious and quiet. Well, I have to say, I enjoy seeing the land out there, knowing where I'm going, and looking at Garmin to see how I'm doing! I rode silently along in blackness, no horizon, no point of reference, no towns, and thankfully very few cars. Not many racers either, until they started heading back towards mean the return leg. I yelled encouragement to everyone, maybe just for the distraction. I played numbers games in my head and tried to remember how many times the 5-mile alert had gone off. When would I be there? In awhile. I was surprisingly comfortable out there at midnight! Nothing went wrong, but it was a Night of Twos: two indecisive jackrabbits, two annoying cars, two weird hallucinating moments when I wondered why someone else's arms were in my T bars, when I knew for a fact that I was on the drops! Kinda creepy !! Temps dropped into the low 30s, but I was comfortable in HAMMER Thermal Everything! With ten to go, I blurted out to my crew, "a monkey could do this!" I was getting a bit goofy! Although the altitude had bothered me in July, my breathing was now calm, even at race effort. I'd managed much of the stage on my t-bars, and rolled in with a 4:30, 36:00 quicker than July! Holy cow!16.8 mph. Unlike July, I'd felt confident on this stage, and it had paid off.
And suddenly my first 100 miles was done! TS4- Eureka- and we are half way to the finish line! And my time was fast!...if we could stay ahead of schedule, we could finish before dark, and that would mean my final descent (the 9 mile Geiger Grade) would be a whole lot less difficult.
PJ took over once again for stage 5, 70 miles, and she would ride until the sun rose. Meanwhile I checked my notes and followed the plan. Recoverite, food, sleep. It was hard to eat, and stomach distress was about to become a problem. My annoying need for multiple potty stops meant that PJ also had to stop, as this stage required a follow vehicle. Ugh, time lost, when PJ just wants to ride! Crew says not to worry, this is Ultracycling. I cat napped and massaged my legs, trying not to be embarrassed and annoyed. Ultra cycling is ultimately about keeping calm and collected, and I was doing ok. No anxiety!
Stage 6: Daybreak and I get to ride again !! TS5 in Austin and I get to go 113 miles back to Fallon. I've been looking forward to this stage, remembering that it was just a few climbs and a lot of easy, fast descents and flats - just stay on the Tbars and have fun! I plugged in one earbud and enjoyed the tunes, the sunshine, the landscape, and the four beautiful wild horses in my path. They stood as though for a photo op, I pretended to take a picture, and they trotted off. Mile 68, a flat!! Oh noooo! I looked back expecting to see the van (daylight hours it goes back to leapfrog). No one in sight. Ughhhh. Seven minutes later I had help, but what a lost feeling! Yes, I had a repair kit, but should not have needed it. But again, staying calm is paramount, and once my crew arrived, Brian did a super fast wheel change, and off I rode. The road was long; the day was beautiful, and I love riding my bike. However, along about 90 miles, I started to unravel. Temps were over 90, and although I didn't feel warm, I was reaching that point...headachy, stomach distress, and finally HOT.
I had to stop three times while my crew doused me with ice water, and suddenly we were losing time. I struggled in, and slipped into a crazed, hallucinated few minutes of rest, while PJ headed out on her final stage, a mere 25 miles. All I could think was, "How the heck am I going to get back on my bike in such a short time?!" I had that "death warmed over" look, and my crew was worried that I wouldn't be able to safely finish. I knew otherwise. As bad as I was feeling, I was getting on my bike and riding in. With about 15 minutes left, I changed into new shorts, checked the cue sheet, and psyched up for this Last Ride. I'd tried to eat and drink, but water was all I could handle...until I remembered that somewhere in this van there was a package of Oreos!! Found 'em and gobbled down three with some ice water. Not your recommended HAMMER nutrition, but it hit the spot after 200 miles!
Stage 8: 47 miles to The Finish Line! The cue sheet was energizing! 17 miles of TT territory up the highway, 6 miles of significant climbing, 4 miles of highway grade to Gieger Summit, and then a 9 mile descent followed by 9 miles through Reno streets. This suddenly didn't look intimidating! I looked at my crew, and rolled up the highway. Legs felt fine! Stomach a wreck and neck was sore, but I was rolling along at a good clip, getting closer to the finish with every stroke. As I turned up 6-mile canyon, I realized I was tiring, but I was ready to fight through this 6 miles to get to my descent. All things are possible.
Not going to lie...these 6 miles were not easy! But it was not constant, and I'd removed my earbuds to listen to the dusk. Coyotes and crickets sang as I climbed, and I finally saw The Climb into Virginia City. It was steeper than it had been just a week ago! I'd alerted my crew to have my sneakers ready, because running with your bike is allowed, and I was not so sure it wouldn't come to that! With four blocks of 19-20% climb, I took it a block at a time, PJ running to each intersection with shoes in hand, just in case. What a teammate - she just finished 250 miles herself, and it had to hurt, running along in flip flops! Meanwhile Brian and Rebecca shouted out encouragement, along the lines of, "This is a Bike Race, and you are NOT going to put on your running shoes!" It was steep enough to have to tack, of course, but I also found myself riding aside the intersection to get a lil extra speed built up as I hit each succeeding block. I stood and jammed the last 20% pitch and I was Over The Top! Victory - I was ecstatic, and shouted out, "We're gonna finish in daylight!" Four rolling highway grade 9% miles later I hit the descent....dusk settling in, but the warmest, most quiet serenity I'd ever experienced going downhill. I'm known to hyperventilate on descents, but tonight I was calm and collected as dusk turned to dark, and the Reno lights sparkled below. My hands were tired from braking....which made me laugh - I just rode 250 miles and my HANDS are tired?!!!
I rolled into Reno and nine turns and stop lights later, crossed The Finish Line - PJ and I had finished This Amazing Adventure and we had photos, jerseys, and medals to prove it! I was elated, jubilant, and yea, tired! I was an Ultra Cyclist, and I think I like that! We'd set a 60+ record and won the women's relay. Next up 12-hour world championships Nov. 13 - Borreggo Springs!