Bloggin from Death Valley

Well...it's over.  I'm done.  I quit.  feh.

Death Valley is an astonishing place.  Alien in a way that defies my ability to describe...and, thus, a totally unique riding experience.  A vast expanse of sand, gravel and rocks.  A concrete ribbon winding across the salt, the scrub, and the vast, unexplainable expanse.

The ride was brutal...the length, the climb at the end, the utterly oppressive unending heat.  I was tired at the end in a way that I've never been before.  I was totally, completely, fully spent.  The road hurt, the checkpoints healed.  Each checkpoint along the way was an opportunity to return to some level of humanity.  Then, it was back to the road and back to being a machine...unthinking, unending, pedaling machine...with a broken radiator! Overheating wasn't a momentary problem to be fixed.  It was a way of life.  It was the primary feature of my existence for about 8 hours.

Why keep going?  Because I said I would.  Because my wife, my kids, my family, and my friends were pulling for me.  Because of that little picture of Katie's daughters on my handlebars.  Because DiD, Rick, and Spooner were there, suffering with me...as a team.  Looking out for one another.  Pulling for one another.  Because there were people on that course who were going to be out there a lot longer than me...and they weren't going to quit.  Because the coaches were out there, in force, helping people pedal...a lot...making multiple trips up Jubilee pass...and, if they weren't quiting, how could I?

In the end, it was another team mate, Ted, who got me home.  He finished his ride, turned around, and went back on the course to help people out.  He found me with about 4 miles to go...and, helped drag me home.  He had a cold bottle of water...a rare treat on the course.  He broke the wind in front of me.  He talked to me. He made me think about things other than how much I hurt.  He was, in short, awesome.  Yet, he is typical of the type of people on this team.

DiD, made multiple trips up Jubilee pas in order to help some people out.  Jasker?  Same deal.  Ted went back out again after he helped me.

So, why would I ever do this again?  Because it would be an injustice to the team that helped me if I didn't help someone next year.

See you then!