Biker395 

They say only a fool makes the same mistake twice. Well, I threw my hat into the ring for the Furnace Creek 508 this year, and it looks like I'll be one of the solo participants.

For those who haven't heard about it, it's a 508 mile race from the suburbs around Los Angeles, through Death Valley, and finishing at TwentyNine Palms. This is the 30 year anniversary, and there will be 80 solos and 40 teams. It's a RAAM qualifier ... not that I intend to do that.

https://www.the508.com/index.html

Last time, it was a true adventure in every sense of the word. I have the saddle sores to prove it.



So this weekend, I'm going to do this little climbfest:

https://www.navigatoradventures.com/home.php

The 4 big climbs on that pup are nasty. Decker has sections that are 13+% ... Deer is about 4 miles of 13+% ... Potrero has a nasty section about a mile long that is 18+%.

Oy. Should be fun. I'll post up some pictures if I survive.

Zinger

Jeeezus !

Rick@OCRR

Have a fun 508 Victor! I'm not ready for that level of suffering . . .

Rick / OCRR

Dudelsack 

Sounds like fun.

Not really. But completing it is a true accomplishment.

And to think I'm fretting about a 58 miler next month

stapfam

Definitely +1 on this.

I used to do a hard ride on the MTB and to do that ride I used to train all year round. Once the event was over I used to do the occasional metric or 100 miler on the road or a metric offroad Enduro just to keep the fitness running so it will show how hard that ride was. How I would train harder for a 508 mile ride and the first thing I would do would be to get the brain removed.

Good luck and get training.

wphamilton

I think I'd train all year just to survive your warmup ride, and then you're going to recover from that and race 500+ miles over mountains? Impressive. You ought to set up your smart phone for a real-time blog and web-cam during the race.

North Coast Joe

I can't even imagine a ride of that stature......maybe if I packed my bags leaving everything behind and took it on as a lifetime journey....Holy moly, 395...fit much?

Mobile 155

Get your chase vehicle inspected as soon as they start inspections, in case they make you change anything. we had to move a sign. The first climb to the wind farms isn't as bad as it looks. But your sag car has to wait about 25 miles past the start point but there will be a string of them once you get there. The solo riders get to leave first, about and hour,so you should get to California City pretty close to the front. Stage 2 from California City to Trona is more big rollers than climbs not a bad stage. Tell your chase vehicle to fuel in California City in case Trona is out of fuel, it was out of fuel in 2011 and the camp ground in Panament Springs was closed after dark. Unless you are flying you will do Townes pass in the dark. Use all the lights you can carry because it will be very dark. The more light your chase vehicle can have the better also. Townes pass will be a gut buster but once you top out you have a big 14 mile drop into Stove Pipe Wells. Get gas again. In fact if you see and open fuel station have them top of whenever they can, remember that the chase vehicle can't leave you after dark. Stage 4 isn't bad but it is a long climb. Once you cross the top at Salsberry pass you have another long drop to Shoshone. They have fuel. Stage five lets you recover a bit as you run to Baker. Just remember if they feel you are groggy they will make you stop and sleep if you are solo. And they will look at you at the time checks. Baker To kelso can be like riding on cobblestone. If you have a second bike or wheels with 25s that might be a big help. We had a team and were looking for under 40 hours but Stage 7 started to get dark towards Amboy. It was dark from just past Amboy to Twentynine Palms. And remember to touch a foot down at stop signs because they will catch you and will give you a time penalty. Good luck and hope you find the Jersey worth the cost. Only riders get a jersey even support crew can't even buy one. But remember they are some of the most supportive riders you will ever ride with. Other teams will applaud even if you pass them.

Biker395 

Thanks! I did it on a 2X team in 2006 and solo in 2009. Both were quite the adventure, especially with the absurd winds we had in 2009.

This is gonna sound crazy, but of all the stages, I think the hardest is that stage from Shoshone to Baker. On paper, it's an easy little climb up Ibex Pass and a long flat to Baker. But that flat just seems to go on and on ... like you're pedaling on a conveyor belt and not getting anywhere. It really messes with your mind.

That Kelso descent is nuts. I did it in daylight and was amazed at the size of some of those holes. If I'm passing through at night this time, I will take it very slow.

I think training for this is going to be more a matter of getting used to looooong times in the saddle. Even with the wind, probably the least pleasant thing about the 2009 race for me were the tennis ball sized saddle sores I got. I'd never had any saddle sores whatsoever before that.

I wrote up a Bikeforums TR on the adventure:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=1#post9940359

It's rather long, but if you like reading stories of suffering endured for no good reason, it's as good as any. :-)

GeorgeBMac

Uhhh, 508 mile race? Isn't there supposed to be decimal point in there somewhere (Like in the middle)?

big john

Good luck, Vic, I'm sure you'll be fine. It has to be easier than 2009! Shprung will be there again on his fixed gear. You want to talk about nuts? Fixed 508?

And Rick, the guy who tells everyone they can do a double, surely you can do two and a half doubles together?

dynodonn 

I thought self flagellation went out with the Medieval times. Sorry, I'll get my jollies doing 508 miles in the comfort of my more saner hometown commute routes, and doing it over a longer period of time.

Mobile 155

Sorry I prattled on then I didn't realize you had done it before. In 2011 I got to meet John Howard and was so impressed with his accomplishments I bought his book. The only thing was his fitting instructions didn't work for me much, far too aggressive. But then I realized he was far too aggressive for my riding style. Still I admire the dedication the solo riders have and how supportive the whole group of people were. Riders didn't talk much before the ride but afterwards everyone acted like family. I will be pulling for you. My favorite section of that ride was coming out of Bad Water to the two passes and down to Shoshone. Maybe because it was early in the morning but I found the view to be breath taking. Once again good luck and be safe.

missjean

Oy is right!

rubic

Three things people say they will never do again:
Childbirth
Running marathons
Furnace Creek 508

You will do just fine.

billydonn

+1... I was out there this summer and those canyons off Malibu are pretty scary. I'd love to see the Strava data. Or Garmin Connect or whatever. And pictures or it didn't happen.

Biker395 

The Malibu ride was great! The start temps were in the mid 50s, and the predicted weather was clear.

We started at about 8:20, and headed out to Latigo for the first climb of the day. Latigo is a fairly easy climb ... most of it is only 4-5%. It was a great choice for the first climb.



After we got to the top, the route took us back down to Pacific Coast Highway via Encinal, and then ... the first tough climb of the day ... Decker. Lately, I've been concentrating on my pedaling technique, and that has helped a lot with the climbing. The first mile or so is about 13%, and at the top, offers a good photo-op. I've forgotten this woman's name, but she climbs like a demon:



From the top of Decker, we took Mulholland over the to Yerba Buena and back to the coast.



Yerba is not a bad climb, but the road positively sucks. Check out the cracks:



Suckers go right where you'd like your front wheel to be.

Anyway, took that over Triunfo Pass:



And down to the beach again. From there, we boogied over to Deer Creek.

Oy, Deer Creek. Always kicks my arse. I have no picture of it, cuz it's too nasty of a climb for me to be snapping pix. And at the top, there are some nastly little 20%+ zingers before you descend back down to Yerba and then down Yerba back to the coast again.

From there, a long TAILWINDY ride along PCH to the strawberry fields of Oxnard, and then up Potrero. Potrero didn't seem nearly as nasty as usual, but I don't have any pix of that puppy either.

From there, over little Potrero, and through Hidden Valley again with a TAILWIND! The last climb of the day was up Westlake. Most of it is pretty pleasant:



But this section is flippin steep!



No photo essay of a Malibu ride would be complete without this:



And would you believe ... yet more TAILWINDS! You know how there are days when the wind seems to be in your face no matter the direction you go? Today, we had inscrutable tailwinds. Nice, eh? And of course, the obligatory self portrait.



No, I wasn't drinking, but it was a beautiful day ... lots to be happy about. I think fighting the wind 35 miles a day on that crappy hybrid is really whipping me into shape. 100 miles and about 11,000 feet of climbing, and I wasn't really tired at the end of it. Either that or it was the great company.

Cheers!

cccorlew

Wow, and wow. And WOW.

I ride doubles. I did three last year, and 5 a couple of years before.
But this is beyond the beyond.

This is as incomprehensible to me as my efforts are to the guy who thinks a five-mile ride is a big deal.
OMG, I sure wish you well! I so wish I could even consider doing this.

I look forward to your ride report, once you are coherent again after you finish.

big john

Nice pictures, Vic. Yes, those sub-100 pound women climb like demons! I saw Shai on Sunday and he is pleased you will be joining the fun of the 508 and he hopes to ride with you leading up to the event.

jppe

I've done 200 miles but what you're describing is mind boggling. What gearing to you use for something like that?

Biker395 

The guy Big John is referring to (Shai) has done it on a fixie! The was also a guy a few years ago that finished 3rd on a fixie ... amazing.

As a rule, the climbs on the 508 aren't particularly steep (the steepest is a Townes Pass, which has some 13% sections), but they are long. As for me, I like wide gearing, so I use a Shimano road triple and a 11-28 cassette.

Good thing too, cuz in 2009, the winds howled so bad, I needed those low gears just to pedal into the wind on flat ground. About half of the riders DNFed through there, and a lot of the ones that eventually finished got off their bikes and walked () a good part of that section.


PS: Big John ... It'll be good to see Shai there. Hope we can get some training rides in ... I'm not sure I can keep up with him!

Blanchje

I'm hurting just reading this. Awesome looking ride.

Mobile 155

Yes, there were fixies, Tandems, Low riders racing bents, and a classic class for old steel bikes. I saw a guy on a Steel 7 or 8 speed with what looked like a 52/38 by 12-23. I would have to walk a 38x23 up a 6 percent grade.

qcpmsame 

Vic,
As said in History Of The World, Part 1, "you're nuts, N V T S, nuts..." at least I didn't "bust my anus" getting you a job, like Swiftus did..... My only question is when you apply for unemployment insurance from the exhaustion you are going to have will you be able to say you BSed today?

Bill

EriktheFish

Best wishes! Do it on a recumbent and you won't have no saddle sores!