Southern California - 508 updates???

Anyone have any first-hand news about any So Cal riders at the 508? Time Splits on the website haven't been updated for a large percentage of the racers since the middle of the night!

Anyone heard anything from anyone???

I was wondering the same thing. Some racers have almost all of their splits showing, but others (like George) have one or two. I know it was really windy out there starting on Friday and it got cold last night. Maybe they have a ton of DNF's...not sure.

It seems hard to believe that hard-core riders with crew would DNF because it was cold. More likely that the race organizers are having technical difficulties with their webcast.

I noticed that Kenny Souza (pro athlete and 508 course record holder) DNF'd due to "mechanical." I wonder if that means his only allowed crew vehicle broke down... because it seems strange that he'd be racing with only one bike!

If he had to quit the race because his car broke down, it's further evidence that the rule restricting racers to only one crew vehicle is lame.

Sorry, I didn't mean because of the cold but rather the winds. They came up really big on Friday and I can imagine that riders were getting pushed around pretty bad by them...possibly to the point of it being too dangerous to ride. I drove the course from Kelso to 29 Palms...it was howling.

Well, I can't tell any better from the webcast either, but I think my buddy, Francis, is still pedaling away. I was looking through some of the pics and caught this one:

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/francis.jpg


I don't believe the pics from the webcase are for sale, so it's okay to post them here. Francis was someone who road up to Baldy with me the first time I went up there and was so supportive. I've always appreciated he's wonderful spirit, sense of humor and insanity on a bike. :p I'm proud of him and I hope to hear that he has finished safely soon.

Looks like they posted an update on Vireo (29h 30m to Shoeshone -- 327 mi). By contrast, Terry Lentz (another fixie rider) finished the entire event in 30h 13m...WOW!!!

Francis stopped. :( I hope he's okay. He's such a strong rider, so something must have gone wrong. I'll call him and get the skinny tomorrow.

Francis stopped. :( I hope he's okay. He's such a strong rider, so something must have gone wrong. I'll call him and get the skinny tomorrow.

did you really say "skinny"?

did you really say "skinny"?

:mad:

Francis stopped. :( I hope he's okay. He's such a strong rider, so something must have gone wrong. I'll call him and get the skinny tomorrow.

ME...I was really sad to see that when I checked the board in Shoshone. According to Eric "Ostrich" Ostendorf (sp) who was manning the time station, Townes Pass really did Francis in. When I told George, he got really bummed out. The thing with 508 is that EVERYONE out there is really pulling for the other teams. The experience was AMAZING! We were in the back of the pack, so we saw several DNF's late in the game and I was so bummed for each and every one of them.

We just got home, by the way. George did amazing...says he'll never go fixed gear again on 508...chose too big of a gear. There were times that it was painful to watch him struggling in the gear he chose 49-17, particularly on Townes Pass...but you look around and nearly everyone was suffering to some degree or another. George was very consistent throughout and didn't sleep a single minute. I'm not sure how he did it. More later...need to unpack.

BTW...our crew was GREAT! I had the pleasure of riding with Timmer Vadheim who some of you may know as a doubles rider and volunteer on some PU rides, and RAAM race director Terry Zmrhal. What a treat. It was truly an experience.

Great job Georgie Boy!:D

Welcome home, Brandy.

Congrats George, and all the participants/crew! Maybe we'll have a few BF teams there next year??

ME...I was really sad to see that when I checked the board in Shoshone. According to Eric "Ostrich" Ostendorf (sp) who was manning the time station, Townes Pass really did Francis in. When I told George, he got really bummed out. The thing with 508 is that EVERYONE out there is really pulling for the other teams. The experience was AMAZING! We were in the back of the pack, so we saw several DNF's late in the game and I was so bummed for each and every one of them.

We just got home, by the way. George did amazing...says he'll never go fixed gear again on 508...chose too big of a gear. There were times that it was painful to watch him struggling in the gear he chose 49-17, particularly on Townes Pass...but you look around and nearly everyone was suffering to some degree or another. George was very consistent throughout and didn't sleep a single minute. I'm not sure how he did it. More later...need to unpack.

BTW...our crew was GREAT! I had the pleasure of riding with Timmer Vadheim who some of you may know as a doubles rider and volunteer on some PU rides, and RAAM race director Terry Zmrhal. What a treat. It was truly an experience.


Hi Brandy.:) Thank you for your words above about Francis and the other riders. From the pictures on the website, it seemed like a very cohesive group out there with great support.

Congratulations to George! I can't even imagine riding it, let alone on a fixed gear.

I'm impressed with all of the riders' efforts. With the winds this past weekend, that could not have been an easy ride (not that is without the winds, mind you!).

Great job! :beer:

I am utterly amazed at those who first, attempted this ride, then completing it ... I'm doing the "I'm not worthy" bit ... that truely defines Long Distance rider.

Just watching him struggle up the climb to Johannesburg made me grimace. I can't imagine Townes Pass on a fixie. Now you know why they invented gears and deraileurs. :) Good job George!

Pushing 77 gear inches can be real tough on these climbs, especially after all those hours in the saddle. I'm curious to find out what the other fixed gear rider was pushing. Anyway, great job!

I'm surprised George didn't have 2 bikes geared differently, one for climbs and one for flats/descents.

I'm surprised George didn't have 2 bikes geared differently, one for climbs and one for flats/descents.That's not allowed......you must commit to only one gear ratio for the entire ride according to 508 rules.

Pushing 77 gear inches can be real tough on these climbs, especially after all those hours in the saddle. I'm curious to find out what the other fixed gear rider was pushing. Anyway, great job!

48-16 if I recall correctly. I keep wondering if he (Terry Lentz) would have come in first overall had he been on a multispeed. He's a VERY strong rider.

Just watching him struggle up the climb to Johannesburg made me grimace. I can't imagine Townes Pass on a fixie. Now you know why they invented gears and deraileurs. :) Good job George!

Mark...you're right. It was nice chatting with you for a few minutes, by the way! Every time he was struggling like that we would listen to his concerns and then try to lighten the mood with "Well, you left your gears at home, silly!" ;)

He has said it was easily the hardest thing he's ever done on a bike. It was tricky to manage his nutrition with those climbs because he would stand on them so much, that he would fall behind in fueling because he was unable to drink. At the top when I would be inclined to load him up with some extra Sustained Energy or Ensure to help aid in recovery on the descent...well...there IS no recovery with all of the pedaling on the descent. We seemed to manage though and looking at the logs, we were able to make up for some lost calories here and there.

That's not allowed......you must commit to only one gear ratio for the entire ride according to 508 rules.

That's correct George. Seems that very few on the course knew these rules and assumed that he could also unclip and not pedal on the descents.

E. Fixed Gear Division: Bikes must use the same fixed gearing (ring/cog/wheel) for the entire event. Bike frames shall be steel, traditional double diamond design (forks are unrestricted) and wheels (maximum 25 mm rim depth) with 32 spokes minimum. Aerobar attachments and aero-designed parts are prohibited. Wheel switches are permitted only for wheel failures, and must be identical or essentially identical to the failed wheel. Bike switches are not permitted. Riders may not coast with feet off the pedals. Riders must declare their gear (ring/cog/wheel size) choice at check in, which may not be changed thereafter.

We're still adding up the numbers (cals consumed, etc.) but here's a good one...

508.5 miles and at 263 revolutions per mile he pedaled 133,735.5 times during the race!

508.5 miles and at 263 revolutions per mile he pedaled 133,735.5 times during the race!

That's an interesting statistic Brandy. Funny thing is I also calculated how many pedal revolutions it took me to do the Grand Tour and I came up with a little over 60,000 revolutions. :D

Mark...you're right. It was nice chatting with you for a few minutes, by the way! Every time he was struggling like that we would listen to his concerns and then try to lighten the mood with "Well, you left your gears at home, silly!" ;)

He has said it was easily the hardest thing he's ever done on a bike. It was tricky to manage his nutrition with those climbs because he would stand on them so much, that he would fall behind in fueling because he was unable to drink. At the top when I would be inclined to load him up with some extra Sustained Energy or Ensure to help aid in recovery on the descent...well...there IS no recovery with all of the pedaling on the descent. We seemed to manage though and looking at the logs, we were able to make up for some lost calories here and there.

Yeah, Jim was the guy on the road that passed George. He went out too hard, and got into a deficit also. He somewhat recovered, but Michael was blazing on his pulls, so Jim didn't get the recovery he wanted. Those roads would jar the heck out of you also. If it makes any difference, Jim and Michael said they're legs were hurting also, even with the 29.5" low gear Michael rode on Townes. :) Glad to see George finished, we were checking the webcast to see if he made it. That gear inch rule definately makes it tough.

Yeah, Jim was the guy on the road that passed George. He went out too hard, and got into a deficit also. He somewhat recovered, but Michael was blazing on his pulls, so Jim didn't get the recovery he wanted. Those roads would jar the heck out of you also. If it makes any difference, Jim and Michael said they're legs were hurting also, even with the 29.5" low gear Michael rode on Townes. :) Glad to see George finished, we were checking the webcast to see if he made it. That gear inch rule definately makes it tough.

My gear inch was 76.7. Here is a link that you can play around with especially if you are thinking of building a Fixed Gear bike. http://www.epictrain.com/files/Gear_Inch_Calculator.xls

Steve "Desert Duck" Teal is one of my paramedic partners and a really strong rider, finished the race in the 40+ solo class. Great job Steve. He was the rider I was with when I took the little excursion over the side of Hwy 138. How in the hell does he do it?

I'm uploading about a gazillon pics and I found one of Ron Smith Jr. :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2355/1526448302_37701b6214_b.jpg

Great shot! :beer: I remember meeting him at Butterfield.

Great shot! :beer: I remember meeting him at Butterfield.

I can't take credit for it! Our crew member Terry got a new Nikon D40 (I have camera envy :cry:) and he spent a lot of time hanging out the window taking pics of all of the other riders. I'm on set two of four and I think I already have 400 of his pics on flickr. :eek: I know I have some pics of Ron from the day before the race as well...I'll post them soon. :)

markw and I waiting for our riders. He was funny...refused to do the official running handoff as demonstrated by Chris Kostman. Instead he says "I'm not running. I'm not running!" :p

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/1525629053_8b5bd24253.jpg

Francis (Picachu)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2096/1526893464_13a7ee1514_b.jpg

George and Ron Smith Jr.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2050/1525844955_a6c60fe280.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/1524661223_1496152ae5.jpg

markw and I waiting for our riders. He was funny...refused to do the official running handoff as demonstrated by Chris Kostman. Instead he says "I'm not running. I'm not running!" :p


Jim who was on the bike told me before his pull to skip that running crap. :) So I was emphasizing the stand still and hold the bottle by the nipple technique. Have to keep the riders spirits up. These guys are used to grabbing bottles at around 30mph for events like Sebring. I also used the brights on Townes descent, our guy was doing 55-60. I don't completely listen to Chris. :)

George looks like he is 25 with his head shaved! I wish that would work for me. :p

Jim who was on the bike told me before his pull to skip that running crap. :) So I was emphasizing the stand still and hold the bottle by the nipple technique. Have to keep the riders spirits up. These guys are used to grabbing bottles at around 30mph for events like Sebring. I also used the brights on Townes descent, our guy was doing 55-60. I don't completely listen to Chris. :)

You can't NOT look like a dork with the running handoff. It's just not possible! I prefer the running backwards, take the chance you'll fall on your ass approach. Much more entertaining. :D I was just giving you a hard time Mark. ;)

George looks like he is 25 with his head shaved! I wish that would work for me. :p

He does look young, doesn't he? About a month ago he mentioned wanting to shave it for 508 to keep cooler. On RAAM when he'd pour water bottles over his head the water would never reach his scalp because his hair is so thick, so he thought this would work better. I dared him to do it right then and he actually went for it. I'm loving it...I think he looks great. :love:

Yes, but don't YOU go doing it that, Brandy ;)

No shaved head for me, though it might help with my heat intolerance. :eek:

No shaved head for me, though it might help with my heat intolerance. :eek:

Okay, see... right there! You are two steps too near that "willing to do anything for the sport"...step away from the the light, Brandy, do not go into the light. :p:D

Okay, see... right there! You are two steps too near that "willing to do anything for the sport"...step away from the the light, Brandy, do not go into the light. :p:D

:roflmao::roflmao:You're right. Okay...here's proof that I'm not that hardcore. Asleep on the job. :p See...I'm a slacker! :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2349/1526321128_5eac8d5b5c.jpg

:roflmao::roflmao:You're right. Okay...here's proof that I'm not that hardcore. Asleep on the job. :p See...I'm a slacker! :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2349/1526321128_5eac8d5b5c.jpg

That's a cute pic, Brandy. At least you weren't caught drooling...:p

:roflmao::roflmao:You're right. Okay...here's proof that I'm not that hardcore. Asleep on the job. :p See...I'm a slacker! :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2349/1526321128_5eac8d5b5c.jpg

Slacker, get to work!

George rode the 508 FIXED? Ho-lee-s**t! What's he going to do next year - unicycle? ;)

Jim

George rode the 508 FIXED? Ho-lee-s**t! What's he going to do next year - unicycle? ;)

Jim

St. George and the Dragon

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speel/pics/boehm2.jpg

(Joseph Edgar Boehm 1834 – 1890)

No shaved head for me, though it might help with my heat intolerance. :eek:

Thank you B...I hate that Sinead O'conner look....

Congrats to George!! Awesome job...

Wow. We have our 800+ pictures (not including the ones we haven't seen from Timmer) pared down to 446...lol!

If you're interested, they can be found here.

http://flickr.com/photos/epictrain/sets/72157602346553717/

You can view it as a slideshow here.

http://flickr.com/photos/epictrain/sets/72157602346553717/show/

I'll post some of the better ones on the thread when I have a chance.

George (Vireo) is still working on his race report, I seem to be holding some key infomation hostage...the nutrition logs. He'll update his blog with the details of the race soon.

http://epictrain.blogspot.com

I'm trying not to worry, but he's experiencing some swelling/bloating that well...has me worried! As of last night he was up 15lbs. from his pre-race weight. He was back down to being up 11lbs. this morning. From our nutrition protocol it shouldn't be hyponatremia, but who knows. I guess that's what 508 miles on a fixed gear will do to you. :eek:

I'm trying not to worry, but he's experiencing some swelling/bloating that well...has me worried! As of last night he was up 15lbs. from his pre-race weight. He was back down to being up 11lbs. this morning. From our nutrition protocol it shouldn't be hyponotremia, but who knows. I guess that's what 508 miles on a fixed gear will do to you. :eek:

Thanks for posting the links, Brandy. I will take a peek in awhile (I'm popping on/off here in spurts today due to my work load).

Sorry to hear about George. I've heard of that before! I bloat up after doubles myself (which I realize is partly my fat bloated butt from eating too much, but some of it I think is just natural). That kind of stress on the body and muscles can cause that for sure. But perhaps he should go see a doctor just to be on the safe side?

I'm trying not to worry, but he's experiencing some swelling/bloating that well...has me worried! As of last night he was up 15lbs. from his pre-race weight. He was back down to being up 11lbs. this morning. From our nutrition protocol it shouldn't be hyponatremia, but who knows. I guess that's what 508 miles on a fixed gear will do to you. :eek:

Not to worry Brandy, any weekend I do a lot of miles, I noticed that happening to me, not to the extent that it happened to George. I thought it was my body overcompensating because of dehydration, by the end of the week I was usually back to normal weight.

I think I read about this issue in a recent article in the roadbikerider newsletter. Apparently with extended efforts like two days of heavy mileage, the body is so depleted of glycogen that it goes into overdrive replenishing itself and that is what causes the excessive weight gain, but usually within a few days the body balances itself out.

I think I read about this issue in a recent article in the roadbikerider newsletter. Apparently with extended efforts like two days of heavy mileage, the body is so depleted of glycogen that it goes into overdrive replenishing itself and that is what causes the excessive weight gain, but usually within a few days the body balances itself out.

Can I use this as the excuse as to why I can't drop the 12 pounds I've gained over the last year? :p