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Message started by Pedalin` Peggy on Jul 12^th, 2009, 2:01pm

Title: Race Across Oregon
Post by Pedalin` Peggy on Jul 12^th, 2009, 2:01pm

Here is the only info I can find on Greg"s team Team Bent Johnsons they were at Time Station 4 at 20:49 I was hoping to hear from Greg sometime this weekend but so far no news, There probably too busy race to call. He's been on my mind all day long it looks like they doing well. Keep up the good work Greg.

Peggy

Title: Re: Race Acrossed Oregon
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 12^th, 2009, 3:01pm

That's gotta be a hard ride... looking at the times, they should have caught up with Sandy Earl today, as well as others of the solo rider group. Interesting that they have a "recupright" category, for those who switch bike styles back and forth.

Title: Re: Race Acrossed Oregon
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 12^th, 2009, 6:13pm

Looks like our Boyz had a slight misadventure... Bonus Miles!!! This was posted late Saturday night:

Not sure if I reported this before but the Bent Johnsons went off course just after Grass Valley. I don’t know how far or how long they were off route – but they had been right there with the Co-Ed Coasters and Team Aardvarks – so you can see that it was pretty substantial. I hope Alex is doing OK – for those who don’t know, Alex was hit by a car earlier this week – which totaled his recumbent. He is borrowing one for this weekend – which is always a bit strange.

Title: Re: Race Acrossed Oregon
Post by Killer Bee on Jul 12^th, 2009, 7:33pm

FlyingLaZBoy wrote:

"Bonus miles", something you DO NOT want to hear/experience during a RACE! Ugh!

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 12^th, 2009, 10:57pm

Nasty, nasty, nasty... epecially the last section! That looks like 3,000 feet of climbing all the way, no breaks, for 25 miles... [smiley=tongue.gif]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/RAO.jpg

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 13^th, 2009, 6:50am

Based upon roughly 6 hours between time stations, Greg and Co. might have finished around 2AM or so... This, from thw race website:

11:05PM SUNDAY

Recumbent
1. The Bent Johnsons got to Maupin at 19:40 – and have not finished yet.

One thing I must mention about today were the winds. They were vicious. Nuclear. Keith Kohan couldn’t race his bike out of Maupin – he was simply blown off the road. I think they calmed down some, but I don’t think the weather did anyone any favours today. Just before I left George we drove backward on the route for at least 20 miles with out seeing anyother riders. The last person to check into Time Station 6, Maupin was David Rowe at 20:21.

11:36 PM SUNDAY
All of the information I have has been posted. I just looked at the NOAA site for Maupin weather – overnight the wind is supposed to be between 9-11 mph – that’s got to be a huge improvement for the racers out there right now.
Dufur has a west northwest wind at 13-15 so that is still a bit high. They also have a 20% chance of rain…..Please.don’t.rain.
For Cooper Spur it’s scattered showers before 11 – didn’t see anything before I left. Low around 44 – brrr that is COLD! West wind around 10MPH – but the chance of precipitation is 40%. That’s not so good.

Here is the explanation:
A PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ONSHORE THIS MORNING…THEN
TRAVEL EAST ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER WESTERN SECTIONS TO THE INTERIOR NORTHWEST BY LATE MORNING. THESE SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL SPREAD EAST ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT.
THERE MAY BE ENOUGH ENERGY WITH THIS SYSTEM TO PRODUCE STRONG OR EVEN ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH LARGE HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE. THERE ARE FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF LIGHTNING STRIKES IN COMBINATION WITH THE DRY FUELS IN THE GRASSLAND AREAS…A FIRE WEATHER WARNING IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR THE AREAS LISTED.

.....and practically all of Oregon and Washington are listed.

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 13^th, 2009, 11:25am

Sounds like Sandy had a successful ride!!! 2nd place women's finisher overall, and did at least part of the ride on her 'bent!!! (recupright category)
[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Looks like our Boyz finished about where I estimated, just before 2AM, total time of 40:53 -- Last place among teams, but they FINISHED!!!!!!!
[smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

Chris O’Keefe arrived 12:16 for a 43:16 – he is RAAM qualified
Keith Kohan arrived at 01:32 for a 44:32 – first recumbent
Eric Ahlvin arrived at 02:16 for a 45:16 – 4th placed racer, first 50+
Karen Armstrong arrived at 02:18 for a 45:18 – first placed woman racer!
David Rowe arrived at 04:07 for a 47:07 – 5th placed racer , 2nd place men’s 50+
Laurence Kluck arrived at 04:36 for a 47:36 – 6th place, 1st place 60+
Jeffery Bonk arrived at 04:40 for a 47:40 – 7th place racer
Sandy Earl arrived at 04:43 for a 47:43 – 2nd place woman
John Pearch arrived at 05:06 – and was an unofficial finisher at 48:06

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 13^th, 2009, 11:31am

Descriptive Twitter feed note of interest....

<< They need to watch out for Bruce Carroll who is back from the dead afte being off his bike for more than an hour puking. Told me he’s feeling good and riding strong. >>

[smiley=puking.gif]

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by Killer Bee on Jul 13^th, 2009, 4:10pm

I just heard from Greg(cell phone call). Wow, I'm not sure where to begin...other than to say congratulations to Greg, & all of his team. I will let Greg give details of the ride(too many for me to recall in a short phone call).

I know he said he tire blow out shortly after the ride started(not sure where mileage wise), the bonus miles happened when Greg was on course. His teammate had a huge mechanical(so the crew stayed with him). Greg took off down the ride & missed the turn(keep in mind during these races, turns are not marked & the crew is given the route book to direct the rider, the rider is at the mercy of his crew).
This was no one's fault, just one of those things that happens on a ride.

He sounded pumped & in great spirits. Greg was fighting some stomach issues on Day#2, very hot at the start in the valley & cold on the climbs. Greg said the area was so remote that there was no sell phone reception.

He is planning to stay in the Portland area for the next couple days or so. Alexis is learning to wind surf.

Again,congratulations to Greg & his team. Job well done. I can't wait to hear more about the ride. Good for Greg.

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by aikigreg on Jul 14^th, 2009, 1:33am

I am indeed alive and not lost anywhere on highway 97 - at least not anymore.

I'll give a real report and photos later, but suffice it to say that this was the most challenging thing I have ever done, and I'm still reeling from the pain, joy, and the enormity of it all.

Everyone involved has said this new RAO route is orders of magnitude harder than previous years, even without factoring in the 60mph wind gusts and weather that went from 100 degrees to 50 inside of an hour's time, and that gets backed up when you see that half the field dnf'ed. I nearly came close to quitting myself when dawn came on the second day.

It was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and I'm glad I did it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

On a related note, your legs don't stop twitching for hours after being awake and move for 40 hours. [smiley=bounce.gif]

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by bikerteam on Jul 14^th, 2009, 5:53am

Congrats Greg - can't wait to hear your full ride report/pictures. We're all proud of you!

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by Bud_Bent on Jul 14^th, 2009, 7:10am

Congrats, Greg. Good job!

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 16^th, 2009, 7:31am

This was posted by Sharon Stevens on the LSR board:

Race Across Oregon
aka RAO

WOW

RAO is a major ultracycling race and RAAM qualifier hosted by
ultracycling/RAAM gurus George Thomas and Terri Gooch, held this past
weekend, July 11-12, 2009.

This beast is 516 miles, 48 hour time limit, with an estimated 42,000
feet of climbing (I would like to see the official climbing figures).
That is over 81 feet of climbing per mile – a ton!! Our LSR courses
may average half that at 30-40 ft per mile. The Texas Time Trial is
42.5 ft per mile.

Plus weather issues - we were baking in the high 90s in the daytime,
chilled at night, some rain (although light), and the jewel was a long
stretch of hellacious 35+ mph headwind. But the roads were incredibly
smooth with minimal traffic, the locals were oh so kind, and WOW the
scenery! The course is an artistic masterpiece of ever-changing
vistas, including snow-capped Mt. Hood, endless lush green forest, to
barren high desert with swirling dust devils, and even some multi-
colored hoodoos.

“TEAM BENT JOHNSONS.” Yes, innuendos abound. Robert, Chris, and Greg
all ride Carbents, a fabulous stiff and lightweight carbon recumbent,
and they ride them extremely well. Our two man team included riders
Christopher Young of Portland, OR, and LSR’s Greg Gross (from Fort
Worth, TX). These were two strong, determined cyclists. Factor in
the crew chief – the very experienced, multi-talented, natural leader
- Captain Robert Johnson - and you have one heck of a team!!!

How did I end up in the other crew seat? Yes I sacrificed a weekend
of centuries (well worth it). Years ago I lived in Oregon, and have
since enjoyed many visits to the great northwest, so OR and WA are
sentimental. I wanted to visit my Seattle-area family, and my mom’s
birthday coincided with RAO. I also wanted to try the crewing role
and experience a different perspective. I understood the basics, but
never crewed (unless you count my self-crewing on countless long-axx
rides). I wanted to help Greg, and I knew he was planning on RAO, so
I quietly asked might he need crew? Yes, please! This was on the job
training, sink or swim. And risky - they did not know me, nor did I
know them (besides Greg and I). But potluck turned into a true
blessing with this great team.

Greg and Chris faced many challenges throughout RAO – relentless
climbing first of all. The climbing never ended, even with a crazy
climb up to the finale (George and Terri are truly evil). Fatigue.
Sleep deprivation. Flaring arthritis. Sore muscles, leg cramps,
etc. Nutrition / stomach / digestion issues (who hasn’t had these),
and both Chris and Greg had them, pretty much at the same time, with
nausea and heaving. Hey Greg, Chris is sick, cut your nap short and
go ride, and vice versa. And they would, without pause. They both
pushed on – when it was their turn to ride, they were up and at ‘em,
never a BIT of whining! At night when Chris and Greg were sleepy,
they showed great teamwork, each taking longer pulls to let the other
sleep. I am extremely proud of these guys – Chris Greg and Robert –
all three demonstrated true perseverance and desire to conquer this
RAO beast! It was awesome and inspiring to be a part of this as it
unfolded.

Let’s talk about Greg. Poor Greg. Robert and I as his crew….. well
we ended up kinda picking on him. On his very first pull, we did not
realize Greg had a flat, so he had been walking the bike for a bit
when we came upon him, ooops! (brand new tire, bead failed) Greg got
stuck with a lot of the climbing. Then Chris got a lot of long
downhills. It wasn’t intentional Greg, it was the luck of the draw, I
promise! Then we put Greg on one hell of a hot 3 mile climb with one
small water bottle and he ran out, in a “no exchange zone” so we could
not give him anything, so he was cooked when we finally rescued him!
On day 2, we were hot, and longing to swan dive in the refreshing John
Day river, leaving Greg to pedal on and sweat in the heat. But we
decided Greg would strangle us, and we valued life too much.

But the worst was when we, well, oops, lost Greg. Yep, the crew lost
their rider. Sorry Greg! Robert was busy re-cabling Chris’s bike,
and I forgot there were turns up ahead – yep, my fault – and we were
supposed to guide our riders through all turns since they had no cue
sheet - so about 20 minutes later we realized this – OH CRAP! - and
jumped in the van and flew 90 mph searching for Greg (needle in a
haystack). We chased down another RAO vehicle and I yelled, “we lost
our rider, have you seen him?” NO, sorry. OH CRAP! We tried to
guess where Greg went off course, and we put Chris out at that spot to
move our team forward while Robert and I traveled off course, hunting
for our stray rider. Did not take too long, hallelujah, there was
Greg! Greg was smarter than his crew. He got directions for one turn
from a local farmer, then he unknowingly missed another turn later,
but after awhile he suspected he was off course, so he backtracked, a
wise move! But it was hot and by the time we found him, Greg was
cooked again! Overall we estimated this cost us an extra 20 minutes,
which really was not bad because it could have been a lot worse!

Robert and I tried to make up for our abuse to Greg. We bought him
cokes from a guy in a very small town with no store. This guy sold
them to us from his refrigerator (great idea, he is making a
killing!) We got Greg ice cream and Snickers bars. We got goodies
for Greg from solo rider Sandy Earl’s crew (Robert’s wife, Adrienne
Ruggles Johnson, was Sandy’s crew chief). There was a lot of flashing
going on there, and comments relating to our name “Bent Johnsons,” but
rest assured Greg did not partake. Then we tried to get Greg more ice
cream, but found no open stores for a very long time. This part of
the world was pretty darn desolate!

On the other hand, Greg was deemed the “slippery eel.” We would send
him off for his pull. We would stay stopped a few minutes to finish
business in the van (refilling water, cleaning up, whatever). We
would then go chase him down and almost every single time, we asked
each other, “Geez how far did he go, where is he?” He is really good
at slipping away as fast as possible. Chris pulled this slippery eel
stunt a lot too!

Chris – the surfer dude! He is one smooth strong rider with great
form and powerful stance on the bike. He truly made riding look easy
and comfortable on that Carbent. He would glide up the climbs, then
roar on the downhills. Many times while following on downhills,
Robert kept saying “easy, take it easy Chris!” while Chris wove
through switchbacks and held long stretches of 40-50 mph. Chris
looked like a surfer dude when it got hot during the day and he
stripped down to shorts and sandals. So Chris was deemed “Laird
Hamilton” and we were “Surfin RAO!”

Crewing – lots of work with a 2 rider team! Our team did rider
exchanges every 20 minutes, and every 10 minutes on long climbs and/or
in the heat. We were constantly up and down, in and out of the van,
joking that the door handles were going to break. I loved those
Carbents because they were light and easy to handle. No problem
lifting them off and on the bike rack a gazillion times. Crewing also
involves driving, navigating, documenting ride stats, taking photos,
watching their food/liquid intake, staying awake, cheering and helping
other riders and teams, and anything else to get everyone to the end
safely. The long distance cycling experience notched on my seatpost
really helps, but not mandatory. I found the crewing job fun and
fascinating! And the learning was huge, all thanks to a great crew
chief Robert. I was lucky to end up learning from the best.

Overall, RAO is one very challenging event. This is a brand new
course and apparently much harder than the previous course. We
finished way later than expected, as did many others. We took all
lights off the bikes in the morning because we never dreamed we would
be out after dark. We ended up finishing at nearly 2:00 am! Many
strong solo riders either became too tired to go on, or ran out of
time. This is all due to the unexpected difficulty of this new
course. We seriously discussed that it could actually be too hard.
But the amazing thing is how Greg and Chris persevered from start to
finish through these challenges with positive attitudes. We had great
teamwork and we had a lot of fun! In the end it was awesome to see
Greg and Chris earn their beautiful official finisher medals, and to
see the satisfaction of a JOB WELL DONE. Congratulations to team 202,
BENT JOHNSONS!!! LSR, you should be very proud of Greg Gross for
accomplishing this feat, it was a major challenge of a ride!

Congratulations to Sandy Earl as well! We were all worried more about
her than our own team! It was a nail-biter, but she had a great ride,
and re-qualified for RAAM. She is training for solo RAAM 2010 in the
new "recupright" division (alternating use of upright and recumbent).
GO SANDY!!!

I whole-heartedly recommend experiencing any ultra event, such as Race
Across Oregon. On RAO, the dynamic scenery alone is worth the trek
out west. Plus meeting new people, while visiting with old friends
and acquaintances, everyone embracing the spirit of the race, the
challenge and perseverance, well I will absolutely return to RAO. I
may not ever ride RAO, because I will be enjoying crewing this one too
much!!!

Sharon Stevens

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by duncanjames on Jul 20^th, 2009, 1:26pm

Congratulations Greg and team. That is a major accomplishment!

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by aikigreg on Jul 21^st, 2009, 4:38pm

Well, it’s hard to sum up my experiences at RAO but let me say a few things:

1. This course is harder than I imagined. Harder than I trained for. Harder than I thought possible. I gave it my all and fell short in my own estimation, but I finished and I know some steps I need to take to advance my cycling ability. I hope to be prepared to do some damage at the TTTT this year.

2. I see now why there aren’t many kids in ultra events. This isn’t about training the BODY, it’s about training the WILL. I think most of my rando buddies can recognize this in themselves. Still the younger riders that were there certainly did great.

3. I had a crew that must be seen to be believed. Sharon was the perfect “momma” and made sure our emotional and food needs were taken care of. Robert, who at first seems gruff, is a GENIUS with logistics and “race driving.” If you’ve seen the pics I’ve posted, you can see how loaded the van was, and we never had to worry about finding anything – everything was close at hand. I never had to worry even when bombing down Battle Mountain at ridiculous speeds in the dark hours of the night. Robert was always right on my tail with headlights blazing. Between the two of them I was buoyed up when I was sick and mentally down. There was a period of hours when I wanted to quit and they kept me on the bike.

4. My teammate Chris – what else can I say but watch out for this man? He climbs like a beast and just has the best, laid back attitude of any rider I’ve met. Nothing phases him and he always has a smile and a friendly pat on the back. He has the skills to become a serious force in any race. I very much feel like I held him back most of the ride, and he could have done it solo.

5. It was hard to leave Portland. I felt like Chris and Robert and I had become instant best friends and I didn’t want to part company, on or off the bike. Robert is flat out one of the funniest guys I’ve met and Chris, even though most of our time spent together was outside of the race, became like a brother. I hope they come visit me in Texas sometime soon.

6. Oh yeah, even in spite of everything, Chris and I set the recumbent two-person record for the course, by the way. And all on real food – zero gels or powders.

So, the race. Let me post the descriptions of the stages and I’ll add in a couple comments in bold: Keep in mind this is all from memory a week later, so my math might be a little off, but this is as best I can remember it. If you want to see the race book, go here:
http://www.raceacrossoregon.com/ and click on the route book pdf file on the right hand side.

For my pictures, go here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v652/aikigreg/rao%202009/

Start – Hood River, OR Best Western to Time Station #1 Tygh Valley (@70 miles)
. Upon leaving the parking lot, we’ll coast for about 50 yards to a stop sign underneath I-84. Enjoy this as it is only one of a handful of downhill sections for the next 30 miles. Crews must drive directly down Hwy 35 to the large parking area near Baseline Road just past the town of Mt. Hood. Racers will take the hairpins to the agonizingly steep Highline Drive which parallels 35. Highline merges with Eastside as it winds through gradually climbing orchard country. The views of Mt. Hood are spectacular through here. Upon reaching Hwy 35 the riders will mass at a stop sign. We’ll turn left and I will yell “go” signaling the end of the neutral start. You are climbing from 400 ft at the Best Western to the summit of Bennett Pass at 4,674 in the first 30 miles. From here it’s a short descent to the left turn onto FR 48 at White River. Aside from a couple of grunt climbs you are on a long descent to Tygh Valley.

Near constant climbing in the first half of the race. Chris took the start. At the first exchange point I wondered why I was crawling – 14mph pedaling hard downhill. Miles later I realized my tire was rubbing the frame and I had been expending extra energy seconds before the sidewall exploded. My muscles were exhausted already and I started walking. Van catches up to me and I switch to the corsa while my tire is changed. Pedaling the corsa (with kickstand!) was tough on pre-exhausted muscles.

Time Station #1 Tygh Valley to Time Station #2 Moro (@45 miles)
Exit Tygh Valley and cross Hwy 197. You are now riding the back section of the night loop/Stage one of Ring of Fire/Deschutes River Valley TT. This is a rolling farm road with a terrific descent to the Deschutes River (please obey the 15 mph slow sign under the railroad trestle – we don’t want you to go into the river). Sherar’s Falls are actually a Class VI rapid and you will ride right next to them. When you cross Sherar’s Bridge you’ll stay left on 216 toward Grass Valley. There are a couple of good pull outs before you begin the Grass Valley climb (crossing a second bridge signals the start of the climb) and A NO EXCHANGE ZONE. RELAY TEAMS TAKE NOTE****I highly recommend doing an exchange a couple of miles in on 216 prior to Sherar’s Bridge. This will give your climber a bit of a warmup prior to taking on the Grass Valley climb. The road is in excellent shape but it is narrow, guard rails are lacking and the drop off is shear. Spectacular ride – let your racer “enjoy” it. GV climb is 4 miles long and once over the top racers will be challenged with fast, rolling terrain and probably cross winds. At the town of Grass Valley you will be sorely tempted to turn toward Moro on Hwy 97. However, the course turns RIGHT on Hwy 97 toward Shaniko/Madras. Sorry, but you have to ride 97 for one mile before taking a left turn on Rutledge. Rutledge is all big rollers – your left turn on Lone Rock Rd is on a descent so keep a look out as you’ll most likely be enjoying a tail wind and rippin’. Kiss the tail wind goodbye on Lone Rock. More long rollers followed by a quick descent to Moro take you to Time Station # 2 – Husky’s Mini Mart.

Yeah so first of all there were no tail winds. Second, we had Texas level heat by the afternoon. Third, this 4 mile climb that is described here – I did that sucker! I ran out of water 2.5 miles in and had to stop twice for about 10 seconds to rest the burning quads and try to suck out a drop or two of water. The descent was awesome though. In Texas we don’t get 5, 8, 10 mile long descents with technical turns, and with the always present gravel we’d slide off the road anyhow. Chris took the toughest descents at night but I quickly learned to pick up this skill, tasking turns at over 40 mph and on a long straight stretch going 50-52. Chris probably reached 57 or more.
On the next sections Chris started having shifting problems. I was put on the road which Robert worked on his bike. Unfortunately when I reached the t-intersection I had no crew to tell me the turn! A farmer told me which way to go but I missed the next turn and went off course for 5 or so BONUS MILES! Eventually I knew something was wrong and turned around and was caught on the way back by the van racing at 90mph to try and find poor lost me. Robert caught so much crap at the banquet for it too – He was given a miniature painting as a reward (Hey Robert, where did my VAN GOGH?) *lol* It was all good though – this stuff is bound to happen and you just have to go with the flow. This is where I earned the nickname “slippery eel.”

Just to make it clear how hard this race is: I have no problems doing a 9 hour 200k all by myself some days. Well, this not-quite-200k ending at this time station took the TWO of us swapping pulls 10 hours to reach. And this is when we’re still relatively strong and fresh!

Time Station #2 Moro to Time Station #3 Shell Station Heppner (86 miles).
Now the race really starts. You have to get on Hwy 97 a second time and ride one mile to Monkland Road where you’ll take a right. You are entering the canyon lands of the John Day River and the terrain is unrelenting. The course description for the old route states that there are no flat sections between Shaniko and Fossil – the same holds true here – there are no flat sections between Moro and Heppner (In fact, there are no flat sections between Moro and Monument but more on that later) but here you have nothing but 4, 5, 6 and 9 mile climbs followed by equally long descents. It will be HOT through this section. The canyon walls along with the road will radiate heat nicely – eliminating any final stigma RAO may have as being a snowy event. Crew – in between hydrating and icing your racer, take a moment to check out the behind your back view of Bachelor, the Three Sisters, Jefferson, Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Hood, St. Helens, Baker and Rainier. The descent to Heppner is steep, twisting and a blast.

Yeah, the climbs here are NOT B.S, people. Most of the time, Chris and I were taking 20 minute pulls. Going up these beasts we narrowed it to 10 minutes to keep ourselves from blowing up. We arrived at this TS at 11:15pm having smoked this section covering the 86 miles in 3.75 hours.

TS #3 Heppner to TS #4 Spray (130 miles)
It’s a long way and there is nothing in between. From the Shell Station you’ll turn into a neighborhood and through an elementary school parking lot to avoid road construction and pop back out on the highway. You will now find yourself grinding along a false flat toward a totally exposed 5 mile climb featuring some hairpins and beautiful high desert vistas. Night will be falling and you’ll see the tell tale flashing amber lights of your competitors. When you summit Franklin Hill – one of my favorite climbs on the entire route – you’ll be greeted with new chip seal. There’s a five mile bump to test your climbing skills as soon as you finish the Franklin Hill descent then it’s a mile of coasting to the right turn onto 395. ODOT is laying sections of fresh chip seal for us along 395. You are now riding toward the summit of Battle Mountain (elev 4,270) in the Blue Mountains. There’s an 11 mile descent and upon reaching the Ukiah intersection you will be very happy that we spent the extra time doing a re-route. Rather than turning you onto a Forest Road featuring an immediate 15 mile climb, you will continue straight on 395 south toward Long Creek. This is an AMAZING ride. As you will be racing this section at night you’ll miss the spectacular scenery but will enjoy to the long, gradual descent. There are two climbs – each around 5 miles at 5 – 6% – during the 40 miles to Long Creek but the field will have a chance to come together again and your legs will get a well earned and well deserved break. Turn right at the flashing light onto RT 402 when you arrive in Long Creek. No need to stop because there’s nothing to stop for here. You’ll immediately start climbing – those of you who have raced RAO in prior years are now riding the old course backward. Consensus is that the Monument climb and ensuing descent is much more fun in this direction. Enjoy your relatively flat ride along the John Day River to Spray! There is gas here at the Lone Wolf station – I think he opens around 7 or 8AM Sunday morning. The time station is at the cafe/bar on the left just as you are leaving town. A real working pay phone – they are getting rare!

Yeah, hellacious climbs. And that kinda stuff is repeated again and again and again the whole race long. And when George says “relatively flat,” it still means more climbing than we have in a century around here! This section was where many many riders started DNFing, we started overtaking solo riders, and I started coming apart at the seams. This section is where Chris had some bad chicken and I took some long pulls, doing the whole Battle Mountain climb and descent by myself. I sweated and burned on the climb and froze on the descent. This is where I earned the nickname “Climbing B!tch.” This wet sweat-and-chill stuff was what did it for me. Eventually Chris took back over and it was my turn to lie down groaning from stomach and breathing problems. I should have changed clothes and dried off. I didn’t. The 6am chill followed by riding past nasty smelly roadkill 3 times in a row was all I could take. Chris did a lot of the John Day valley shirtless, earning him the nickname “Laird Hamilton.”

This was almost it for me. I wanted to quit. Had it not been for Sharon and Robert’s constant encouragement, I would have been done. They kept getting me ut on the bike, just turning the pedals. I couldn’t eat or drink for hours. God Bless them so very much!
Here’s how sick I was. We roll up on Sandy Earl and Adrienne her crew chief, Captain Robert’s wife. I’m sitting in the van and Chris is on the bike. We pull over to give some encouragement to Sandy, who looks like she might not finish – at least not in time. Adrienne flashes us her rack, and just keeps on flashing. Robert lifts his shirt up and the two of them do naked chest bumps 2 or 3 times. Chris drops his drawers to show Adrienne the baby arm he’s packing in his shorts and the whole time I’m seeing this all I can think of is how much I want to stop pedaling. THAT is how sick I was! Tried to sleep off as much of it as I could.
Then it starts heating up to 99 degrees again.

TS #4 Spray to TS #5 Imperial River Company Maupin
You have another 11 miles of flat road along the John Day to Service Creek. Remember that fun 10 mile downhill leading to Service Creek where Team RAO Speedwagon hit 70 mph??? You get to go up it this time! Welcome to the backside of Butte Creek Summit. 10 miles of 6% get you over the top – look for mile marker 69 just prior to the summit. 5 miles of downhill and another 5 miles of rollers/flat take you to Fossil. Gas is available about 2 blocks off the route. Racers turn left on 216 toward Antelope/Shaniko. The Fossil climb is much more rider friendly this direction. 4 miles get you to the top of this beast and you’ll enjoy a fast 12 mile descent into the Painted Hills. The scenery is beautiful but if it’s mid day you can count on high temperatures. Don’t thank us for the Fossil descent because you’ll pay for it with Clarno. Clarno used to be a relatively gentle climb – no more. This is another 10 mile climb with a constant gradient. Mile marker 15 signals your arrival at the summit. You’ll descend to Antelope climb a twisting 5 miles and cruise through Shaniko. Turn left on hwy 97 toward Madras and after 2 miles turn right on Bakeoven Road for the headwind hindered descent to Maupin. Imperial River Company is located on your right at the bottom of the descent just past a small bridge.

Along this route, Sharon buys me several sodas, ice cream and such to try and get me stomach back on track. Surprisingly these, plus a couple mini bagels, do the trick and I start feeling good just as the rain hits in Shaniko. It ends soon and the heat, humidity, and the headwind all kicks up. On the 10 mile climb the temp drops from 99 to somewhere in the 50s. We went from pouring water on our heads and using ice socks to keep cool, so donning the wool gear, tights, and jackets. I feel great physically, but my muscles are gone, gone, gone. Also by the top of the climbs, the headwind gets worse as the storm system we see a few mountains away gets closer and closer. The wind picks up to a steady 30+ mph, with reports of gusts up to 60. Nasty suckers too, buffeting us and coming from both left AND right, constantly changing to keep us on our toes. Chris takes the NASTY descent into Maupin, Miles of 180 degree switchbacks just like they have in the Alps in the Tour de France. Sharon and I are watching his every move in the van, just in awe of him.

TS #5 Maupin to Cooper Spur FINISH!
Exit the Imperial and turn right on hwy 197 and cross over the Deschutes River Bridge. The course climbs through Maupin and takes you right past an operational gas station. It will likely be windy at the top of the ridge and you’ll grind toward a nice 2 mile descent. The flashing yellow light will bring back memories of the day before when you crossed 197 on your way to Sherar’s Bridge. This time you continue straight north on 197 and immediately begin the 7 mile climb to Tygh Ridge. We’re not detouring onto Dufur Gap Rd this year – continue straight to the left just prior to the town of Dufur. This will take you to the climb up FR 44. Like Clarno this one is much more difficult going in this direction. You’ll have a nice descent to Hwy 35 and a continued nice descent to the left turn at Cooper Spur Rd. You are oh so close to the finish – 3 miles of tree lined 5% – 6% curves will lead you to the small family ski area which is Cooper Spur Resort and an athletic accomplishment you can truly be proud of!
This last section was where Chris just shined. Again, I’m just turning pedals, but Chris seems to be getting stronger! We’ve been eating the soloists alive but with the climbing and conditions can’t seem to make up any time in spite of rider changes and short pulls. We’re all just dead on our feet, having expected to be at the finish hours earlier.

I start the last descent somewhere around 1 am. It’s a hard descent because the trees are so close to the road, keeping the van’s lights from shining as far forward. I much preferred descending the cliffs of the high desert. Crazy, I know. Also, this road is bumpier than any we’ve ridden on. So I’m in the middle of a turn north of 35 MPH and a deer jumps out onto the road. I swear it had red eyes, fangs, and was out to eat my face! I unclipped to kick it when Robert laid on the horn and drove it away. Quickly picking up speed again, I hit a pothole and was sure my tire had blown, but I was fine. However, I was shaken and saw deer in every shadow and started riding the brakes. I wore them down to nubs. When my hands started shaking I finally just stopped and made a judgement call to have Chris finish the descent. Thank you, Chris!

The two of us rode the insult-to-injury last climb to the finish together, where we had our medals placed around our necks and went to our cabins. Chris didn’t even shower and his wife still let him come to bed. Now if that ain’t love, I dunno what is!

I ate my fair share of humble pie on this race, but I intend to go back for seconds!

Title: Re: Race Across Oregon
Post by aikigreg on Jul 21^st, 2009, 4:48pm

just to add some more words, here is how my crew chief summed it all up:

Hi all,

Not sure what to say since the emotions are still fully charged after another remarkable weekend of RAO, but I will blab on in a stream of consciousness and see what my head/heart wants to say.

This race has always truly been one of the hardest RAAM qualifiers in the nation/world and without a doubt this new course lived up to its reputation even more than the previous course. The RAO team of George and Terry Gooch who put this race on are both RAAM veterans and wanted a course that simulated all the things one is likely to encounter on a RAAM so that riders who qualify would truly understand what they are in for and be more realistic about their preparation and qualifications to engage the race.

Ultra racers who are not interested in RAAM will find this course a beast that defies everything you know about racing and if you finish either as a solo or a team you will fully appreciate having participated in one of the most unique races anywhere.

I am always happy to have a newbie crew and riders, it is sometimes easier to indoctrinate this race with my take on reality and not have to fight alternative strategies but only alternative non experienced intentions. I focus on safety, competition, riding outside of ones idea of what is possible. This course shreds the thin veil of reality so that when you are fatigued a new reality is possible that allows you to experience a new version of yourself not predicated on previous experience but rather on being in the very intense moment with a crew/team that allows you to thrive and become your greatest pedaling self. Greg / Chris had that experience and truly rose to the occasion. It takes a number of hours before the adrenalin settles down, and one becomes one with the course.

We started out pretty good, drag racing an 8 person tandem team for almost 3 time stations. They should have been dusting us, but we kept up with them, passed them frequently and to some degree humiliated them in good competition, but not in a mean way. Both Greg and Chris passed them enough times so that they knew we were for real. Often you are not sure who you are racing until the race develops. When Greg got off course due to our dumb ass lack of focus while fixing Chris' bike we never recovered to engage the tandem team again. That left us to race ourselves and the course, occasionally pass a solo rider as we worked our way through that field. There were not very many two person teams this year which did not allow us as much team to team competition as in past years.

The physical issues of stomach are some of the most powerful hurdles to overcome. I cannot state more strongly the need to eat real food, get quality electrolytes into you that are easy to incorporate into your system and keep hydration levels high. The powders that are functional for shorter races are for all intents useless crap that will haunt you in ways not imagined. With a van following and serving your every need, coolers of real food, real drink are your best friends for a successful race. We all urinated at a minimum of once an hour, anything less than that indicates some degree of dehydration. Chris got a bad piece of chicken in his guts along the way and it was dicey whether this was going to screw him for the duration of the race. Fortunately he was burning calories (even bad ones in this case) fast enough that he burned through the rotten meat and got going again.

The cool thing about this level or racing is that the niceties of privacy of person go away as the race evolves. Everyone pisses/shits/pukes and the crew is respectful enough to let that happen in a way that means you can do it publicly and it really is no big deal. I particularly like the bonding that happens on a race where we all step into a unique arena of performance that allows us to meld together as a finely tuned unit of intense cooperation. Sharon stepped into this arena with not much experience and held her own with fast driving downhill, help with naviguessing, rider exchanges, food procurement, calculating rider exchanges, mechanical assistance while we intensely struggled with a complete rear derailleur cable meltdown and subsequent repair, plus some fine picture taking along the way. I found her a person of good cheer and always a kind word to the riders, myself and other racers. We cheer for everyone we encounter, we respect their courage on the course regardless of fortune or misfortune.

My experience of this race is always different since each group of riders/crew have their own flavor. I try to sense what this is and work within that context. Greg comes to the race with his own unique talents and self perceived limitations. I usually don't indulge that and insist that there is another way to be in the race. With him it was operate from a perspective of confidence show him that I believed in his ability to be a racer and not just another wannabe on a good bike. He showed his true colors of being an animal on the climbs and on technical descents of which he had previously little experience. Greg rides like Dana does, slower cadence, powerful legs that pump like diesels, rides with a good rhythm, consistent and strong. I always knew that whatever the state of affairs with the course that Greg could be relied upon to get out there, not complain and just get down to business. Often the perceived lesser rider on a team turns out to be the one who is the most solid and reliable as they discover their never ending ability to take another pull, move forward at a good pace, eat when told, sleep when told, drink when told and be all business even when taking on multiple climbs in intense heat and often not getting the downhill leg that was just earned through hard sweat. I don't indulge someone's idea of themselves, I let them know that I will tell them if they suck otherwise that judgment doesn't exist on our team. No one sucked on the Bent Johnson's, it was a race to be proud of from bell to bell.

Chris was an undiscovered talent (but not anymore), kind of like a John Lauer with happy knees that haven't been so beat on. He rides with unusual speed even uphill and rides the downhill's like he is a jet fighter pilot swooping the valleys. I like that his body was willing to push faster as the race got longer. I think that once he realized that being on the bike was preferable to being in the van he rode with greater enthusiasm through the fatigue. I like that Chris went all Laird Hamilton on us with no shirt, showing lots of skin smeared in sunscreen which delighted many of the passerbys and other teams. Chris came in to test himself and like Greg discovered new depths of self not previously seen. Both these riders are in a state of disbelief this week in the aftermaths of the race as they start to consciously remember what they have achieved and how it feels to have a new experience of themselves that this race allowed to come forward.

Sharon was jonesing to ride the whole time she was crewing, it irked her to be on the wrong side of the windshield despite the fun she was having. I can't name the number of times she lamented how much she wanted to be riding and how that uphill climb in 95 degree heat would be right up her alley! This is a sure sign we will see her out on this particular course either as a solo or a team rider at some point in time. I like that she had this experience, got to see the race from a unique perspective and to see that new possibilities exist for her outside of previous distance riding accomplishments. We talked about the kind of training it would take and that she does possess the physiology to be competitive on this level. I think she has steered her life into such a place that if she wants to pursue this kind of event that this is a possibility. I will say that Sharon is the most enthusiastic crew I have ever had and outside of Elaine Lauer is the most talented crew I have ever had as a newbie assistant. Elaine for those who don't know was part of the reason that John/Dana did so well last year, she demonstrated a fierceness of competition that allowed us to do amazingly incredible exchanges for 3 minute pulls for multiple hours at a time to push us past a team that was dogging us for a long time. That zeal along with the ability to leave the suffering husband alone so he could find his own way through the discomfort was quite unique. Most spouses/partners screw up their significant other during a race as was seen this year by a solo rider who got way too many hugs from his girlfriend and ended up not being an official finisher by a measly 6 minutes.

I come to this race from a very different place than just plain lets go do a race. I like to seriously engage the riders/crew/the course from the perspective of what a privilege it is to come together for this experience and that we will find new positive ways of relating to ourselves, our team, other teams with a true spirit of adventure within the realm of a bike race. We want to push ourselves to be better than we know ourselves in our everyday lives and to take back into those lives a newfound respect for so much that is often taken for granted. This new RAO is an ass kicker, it does not suffer fools. Very strong riders who have previously done well were surprised to find that they did not have the mental fortitude this year. This race demands the physical as well as the mental. It also requires that the crew perform or else it isn't going to go well even if the rider(s) are strong and determined. There were several crews that took their racers right out of the race by being too lax with support and not focused in the right ways. This new course is 4 to 8 hours more difficult than the old course due to exposure and the never ending up and downs plus headwinds that will probably show themselves each year.

I would like to see this new course draw upon more riders who want this kind of test for future years. Greg, Chris, Sharon showed themselves to be worthy this year and can be extremely proud. It takes a bit of luck, but always perseverance is the greater thing that this course asks you to bring.

I can comment on any logistical details that people want to know about, there are different styles on this, I only know what works for me based on experience. This has been my fifth race in a row, all except one being with bent teams. I like a race that is a bit loose so that we can adapt to whatever shows up and not overplan the moments. There are suprises enough but one must be flexible and always moving forward with confidence even when being beat up by conditions, issues not expected. I might actually ride one of these years I think I have a race or two in there somewhere.

I think the Carbent bikes again proved themselves beyond a doubt as capable, fast machines that like to be ridden hard and fast in all conditions. Having a lightweight bike to load on and off as many as 200 times in 40 or so hours is a good thing. Also long live the Sport rack style, anything else just isn't going to work for this kind of duty.

It was a pleasure to know Greg/Chris/Sharon for this experience and to share in a great adventure of racing. We should all be indebted to George and Terry for providing this event, it is their love of ultra that makes this race possible. I think more 4/3/2 and solo teams should come on out in the future and get a taste of something special and unique. This kind of riding adventure is not easy to come by.

ciao from the Bent Johnsons head office

captain robert