I had the distinct honor & pleasure of crewing for Gary/Sandy Estes (LSR friends) this past weekend in the California desert. I can say that this event makes the Texas Time Trial course look like a big wheel race course. Furnace Creek covers 10 mountain ranges, Mojave & Death Valley. I'm truly humbled & in awe of anyone who participated in this event. The Estes could have ridden the Texas Time Trials & would have blow away the course. Instead, they stepped out of their comfort zone & pushed the envelope.  
 
The ride starts in Santa Clarita & heads N/E to the Mojave desert & windmills(wind farm) on the way to time station #1-California City. The weather was mostly cloudy & a little cool. A little windy in the canyons. 80_ miles from the start to time station #1. We leap frog our riders until 6:00pm , we provide a food/water via hand-ups as we stand on the side of the road.
 
We continue on to Trona , time station #2. There's some climbing into this crappy little towns called Randsburg Johannesburg (the land that time forgot-old mining towns is my guess).  Into this town called Trona (same m.o. as the other towns). This time it's about 5:00pm. There are no services (gas, food, water,etc...) for 200 miles. The services in this town(if that's what you want to call it) consist of a convenience & 50's style,small grocery store. Since you're in the desert , heat, wind are always a constant as is the climbing. You better stock up on the ice, water, food.  
 
It's now 6:00pm, time for us to follow immediately behind riders as it's getting dark. The tandem captain started cramping around mile 40. Not a good signs as it was early, not really that hot. Pre race discussion with the racers informed that if Gary asked for pickles, it was not good, a sign of cramping. I'm thinking, we're in trouble, but maybe with some pickles in him we can reduce future cramps.  
 
The tandem riders are looking good, onto to more climbs in Panamint Valley. Road surfaces are pretty rough for the majority of the route. Still looking good, the team racers (who started 2 hours behind us , start passing us. Schillter comes flying by & says hey to the crew & the tandem riders). We're onto Townes Pass. a 13 mile, 5,000' climb, with grades between 6-10%. It took the tandem about 2 hrs to climb this beast. As we were climbing, I look out of the crew vehicle below us & all that is visible are bike lights followed by crew vehicle headlights...like ants marching. As we climb , the outside temps decline, but not as much as I thought, I would guess in the low 50's/high 40's. At the summit, the riders are just exhausted, wet from sweaty clothes, they're looking at a 17 mile fast descent into Furnace Creek.  
 
The stop at the summit involved food, change of clothes, & the riders put on jackets, arm/leg warmers, etc... Mistake. You're getting ready to descend to below seal level in the Death Valley (dry salt flats called Badwater). As we start descending,  the tandem is passed by a rider wearing a sleeveless jersey which causes me to do a double take. This is either a bad a** cyclists or it's warm outside. Both. It's getting really warm even at 2:00am in the morning. So at the end of the descent, the riders are roasting & need to take off all the winter gear. More time lost. And lost time in the desert is critical. Into Stovepipe wells.
 
Onto to the time station in Furnace Creek. The riders and crew are exhausted, but we gotta keep going as were in Death Valley now, make hay before the sun/wind come up. Nope, as we pull into time station #3, the riders want to sleep. As crew chief, I say 1 hr break. However, the cramping for Gary is now much worse, now throw in stomach issues, and getting the riders ready(fed, dressed) takes long, they're moving slow. This is a 2 hr stop, too long. The sun will be up in an hour and a half. We leave the time station at 5:00 and head to Shoshone. As we head down the road, we pass Badwater & the salt flats in Death Valley. The riders need to make a nature break at a restroom outside of the salt flats. Another break, the riders are really moving slowly now.  
 
As we come around the corner the sun is rising, & the wind is now blowing hard out of the south. At this point, Gary is suffering from hot foot, stomach cramps, muscle cramps , fatigue. This couple has left everything they have on the course. So at mile 305-310, I call the ride. Gary is so wiped out , he's weaving on the bike, with a sandy,soft shoulder (bike crash), or possible straying into the other lane, it now becomes a bike safety issue. Gary is wiped out. Nothing left. It was heart breaking to see such good friends suffer mentally/physically. I was as devastated as they were. All the money, time, training.  
 
But they have nothing to be ashamed of. You try your best & if you can say you tried 100% then they can't be disappointed.
 
The crew( Linda Metcalfe, Sharon Stevens & myself) did everything we could to keep our riders/cycle moving forward. I can't but help feel that I let the riders down but not being able to overcome the obstacles that this course can throw at the participants. To Gary/Sandy's credit, they were immediately update, & have circled this event for next year, a grudge match.
 
Linda & myself(then later I asked John Schlitter) discussed that FC 508 might be more difficult than Race Across the West (RAW). The last section of the route travels down a road called Kel-Baker road. The road is so awful, full of potholes, loose rocks, horrible chip seal. Some teams use a mountain bike to navigate this section of the route. Unbelievable.
 
The desert terrain is another mental beat down on this course. For 508 miles all that is visible to this area , is a big gravel pit, with sparsely populated/isolated towns. While I enjoy the desert landscape, it was not enjoyable outcome. Regardless of finishing or not, all are winners.  
 
There's always next year. What a journey/adventure! I'm glad I could be part of it.