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Folks wot I met during the race.
Before the race kicked off, competitors began to gather in Morehead City before we rode in a mini convoy to the start at Harkers Island, I had time for a couple of beers with Jared and a meal or two with Dylan, Mike, Indy and Mark. They guys were all happy to show off their bikes and talk about equipment choices. There were three of us who had chosen Conti Race Kings which was reassuring to me as I was convinced this was the right tyre….. I might as well say now that I double punctured on the Tallahatchie levee and was only able to fit a slug on the front and keep it tubeless and subsequently had 10 flats in the rear tube. Dylan rode a Vittoria Mezcal and got no flats at all. I know which tyre I’m testing through the winter!
We rode over to the ferry terminal for our pre-race night on the sandbank and for the first and last time, all the racers were together – it was neat to chat with Billy Rice and his tandem stoker daughter, Lina. I also had a chat with Hal and spent time with Lindsay and Mark.
The next morning we took the ferry back to the mainland, during the crossing we spent time remembering Mike Hall, and it did remind us we had lost a great friend and that we need to be vigilant of drivers at all times. I rode slightly slower than most of the field and when I caught an athlete, the first thing I said was “what are you doing right back here?”
At the end of day one (174 miles) I knocked on the door of a tired looking motel – there were a few cars outside and a dim light at the back of the office but I could not get a reply as it was late. So I found a nearby pizza shop and started chatting to the lady whilst waiting. Partway through the pizza the lady said (having summed me up as not an axe murderer) she would phone Miss Mary (the owner of the motel) and ask her to give me a room. I had a great time with Miss Mary learning about her cats, family and her travels before getting a brilliant room for $15.00! I doubled it and left her cash. In the morning around 5.00am there was a pot of English breakfast tea on the doorstep. I thought I am loving small town America, and that feeling never went away for the whole duration of the race.
At the beginning of the race the towns/resupply came up pretty fast but sometimes finding hot food was a challenge. I asked a policewoman in one heavily protected gas station if there was a restaurant in town and she said there was not, but a guy down the street had a griddle going and he would do burgers. I was sceptical (but hungry) so went to see him. It was such a good burger that I asked him to do another one before I had got partway through the first side.
So next up I met the original American Eagle Scout – he was sat on the porch of Betsey’s Ole Country Store and my GPS had suffered a hissy fit about 10 miles before the store and exterminated all of the sections of the route that I had loaded. I had done a lot of visualization of the route on the computer before I left home and luckily found the store, The store had no internet, but young Mr Gray fired up his laptop and personal wi-fi hotspot and got me in touch with ground control back in the UK – they re-sent me the files of the route whilst the guests at the campsite found the correct data cable for me as I had been carrying the wrong size from the start. So, I found the man with a laptop, the right size cable and managed to get the UK crew out of bed at 1.30 in the morning, their time and only lost around two hours of riding time. How about that for the stars lining up???
I rolled through the town of Hot Springs and met Jared who had just been a victim of a road-rage; luckily he was unscathed but quite shaken up by it and he sadly pulled out soon after the incident. I rode on and got to Maggie Valley that night and met a young lady in a gas station who offered me an ‘air-b-n-b’ style bed for the night but there was something about her enthusiasm that made me wary and I turned her down and found a motel and woke the next morning to find I still had my bike, my kidneys, money and equipment, so I think I chose wisely.
Riding in the Smoky Mountains (there was massive rainstorms for several days before now also) my power converter and switching system started to develop problems and there was a massive drain of the AA batteries inside the GPS, so I managed to jump into the back of an RV that had stopped to cook some lunch and dry out and re-jig my system in the dry – it only took 15 minutes but was a job I could not have done outside in that much rain. It continued to show me that the American people were kind hearted and willing to help strangers. I do appreciate that if our route had been through big cities, this attitude just evaporates and I would have been shunned or shot rather than welcomed!
I’m not sure I can claim to have met The Amish before, or if I even met any during this race, but I did enjoy riding through their community – they grow a lot of sweetcorn, ride around in wonderful horse drawn buggies and look incredibly happy. Most of their territory was flat so that was a bonus too.
Next up is the start of the pizza incident – it is so sad that I ended up ill as the folk I met in the store where the pizza was created were really happy to supply me and chat whilst I wolfed down the beginning of the end….. It was almost dark when I came out of the store, with an already distending stomach; I rode some distance down the road and suddenly had to throw the bike in the bushes and dive for the long grass. I won’t go on, there is no need for further details. Ok, some more details. Just kidding.
When I found out there was a pharmacy about 15 miles off route, I set off to get some help. I was also in need of a laundrette by this stage. The one I found had a customer outside who gave me good directions to the pharmacy (it was not open yet) so I started washing my clothes and ended up chatting to the customer again. His name was Bobby and what a gentleman he was – he spotted that I was in a bit of bother and gave me washing powder and asked me if I would like to get a shower at his place whilst my clothes were in the spin dryer. Bobby lived approx. 200 metres away and was a regular at the laundrette and was on very familiar terms with the manager, so I felt I was getting a superb bit of luck from a trail-angel. Bobby would take no money from me – he simply said “you are a child of God, I’m a child of God and I want to help you”. Sadly I could not come up with a correct response so I just gave him a big hug in gratitude and left cash for a months-worth of washing for him with the manager.
So I rode on to a little town called Counce and had to stop there for two nights as I could not move from the washroom for long; I divided my time between the bathroom, the restaurant and the pharmacist shop. I ate lunch (I was doing omelettes to help bind me) in the restaurant and sat at the bar and the guy next to me start chatting – he is wearing dungarees and talking very slowly. He was very aware of the stereotype he personified but as we yakked it turned out he was a highly skilled fabricator and made the nose-cones of the delivery vehicles that go to the international space station. What an interesting lunch that turned out to be and proved again to me that you will always meet interesting people in races like these. I love encounters like this and you would never get them if you drove around the country all year in a car!
I set out from Counce with a plan in my head to catch Mark and Lindsay who had both passed me whilst I was recovering (Lindsay stopped in for a shower – she was a brave girl to use my bathroom!). I reckoned I could pull back 20 miles a day on them so would see them again in 5 days; it took me 7 and then I only got them at a food resupply point.
Somewhere around the 2200 mile mark, with the temperatures up into the high 90’s, I was riding along and was suddenly aware that I had lost any recollection of the last few moments…. I had either fallen asleep on the bike or passed out in the heat. The next ranch building I came across, I stopped in, knocked on the door and asked if I could sit in the shade on the front deck for a few minutes. Those few minutes became a few hours and by then the lady of the house had returned from her shopping trip. She gave me water and was happy for me to stay as long as I needed. I ended up dozing on the cool concrete slab of her porch for an extra hour, it was great to be cool and hydrated again.
The dumbest decision I made with regard to stopping to chat to folks in trucks came about 15 miles before the town of Buffalo; I had been flagged down by a local who wanted to say hi and tell me how evil muslims are, and how Britain is broken, that Trump is wonderful etc. I should have peddled on right away especially as I knew evening storms blowing in from Kansas were starting to hit the area. As a result of being polite, I had to work my ass off to get ahead of the storm and into Buffalo to get a room and laundry done. Anoyingly I failed to stay dry – that rain comes fast, hard and cold! I did get a room for the night thanks to a worker at the Dollar store phoning the motel owner to come over and unlock for me. I got a few microwave meals from the Dollar store and had a feast whilst the storm raged for several hours. The next morning had a slow start as my bike had given itself a puncture during the night; I was so glad it stayed up during my race to get to Buffalo the previous night.
Liberal (Kansas) was a funny place – I was behind Mark and Lindsay on the race into town that had started about 2 hours earlier as I could see some crazy big storm cells heading my way. As it happened, I rode the final 8 miles up to Liberal in between two cells and got the cold fronts that they push along and the massive drops of rain that precede the deluge and that was all. Every motel that I visited (looking for the other two riders) was run by an elderly East Indian person with little command of the language. I gave up looking for them and took the next motel I tried and went to fill my tum at McDonalds. I had been offered a good rate at this motel and later the others also got a room at the same place – they had chosen to eat before finding shelter.
Early the next morning I set out and rode through the aftermath of the storm – there were great stretches of mud on the farm access roads that were turning to quick drying cement as it stuck to the bike and forced me to carry it or walk it along the headlands. I managed to find a hose pipe in a deserted yard once and when I got to Elkhart there was a Ford car service garage and the lad working in there let me use his hose in his workshop to get the remnants of the mud off the bike.
The next few days were short of special interaction with anybody, but I did have a discussion with a young member of staff at a Subway – I ordered a 12” sub with meatballs and as soon as I’d paid for it, I asked for another; he said is that to go? I said no, I’m simply extra hungry. He didn’t believe anybody could do two of those in one sitting….. I also managed cookies and a few pints of Mountain Dew.
My final interaction with locals on the route came in Salida, where I had to quit the race. I had pre-ordered and paid for new tyres and some Stans Race tyre sealant from Absolute Bikes. I rolled into the shop and Scott called out that he knew me and would look after the bike right away. Before he started I asked for a computer, paper and a calendar as I had to work out if I had time to complete the final 2000 miles and still get to the airport for my flight home allowing for my new slower pace since my green shits incidents. I had plotted approx. 130 miles per day and now was struggling to make 100 a day and had also had many days of seriously reduced limes (53 miles was all I managed on one day after my shits). During the previous couple of days I had been trying to work out my new distance/speed in my head, but I needed to see it written down and projected to Port Orford. I could have continued for another 1000 miles and probably made it to the airport but the logistics of getting out of Nevada or Utah were so much more fickle so I elected to stop in Salida.
Scott moved into support mode and put new tyres onto the bike and checking it over in between helping other TD racers who were rolling into the shop. He then boxed the bike ready for the Greyhound bus the next day, found a motel I could stay in that was near the bus stop and right next to a pub. I waited around in the shop till closing time and Scott gave me and my bike a ride to the motel, took me to the pub for beer, food and a good chat and then left me at the motel for a brief sleep before I started the 22 hour bus journey. How about that for a pick me up after having to make such a tough call on the race?
To wrap this up, I’ve been in quite a few pubs and out socialising once I got back to the UK and it is only now that I’ve felt like writing this all down. I’ve had two friends who know me very well ask when I’m going back to get it done properly and the idea is starting to form in my head…… watch this space in 2019. I’m getting back in the kayak for a 450 mile race next summer and can’t put Kerry through another bike training and racing episode just yet so it’s Yukon or bust for me next year.
Thanks for following and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and here are a few piccies that I particularly enjoy.
The first final words
Ok, so at last I felt like putting some words down about this crazy race, sorry for the delay, I’ve been eating pies, drinking beer and catching up with friends who were sidelined during the last few months of preparation for the race.
Where to start?
Thanks to the backroom team who were available at the drop of a hat to chat to during the race – it was so good to hear a neutral voice in my ear when the schedule was not working out as anticipated. Thanks also to Billy Rice for putting the event on (though I will kick him hard when I see him next!). Sorry I wasn’t good enough to complete it.
Richard T did a great job looking after these pages, Andy G was his usual patient tech genius when my gps suffered a small corruption that lost all the stages I had loaded. I only lost two hours riding time during this debacle thanks the a great guy at a campground and his laptop and a happy campers loan of the correct cable to connect me to the laptop. Details to follow.
Thanks to Endura (one pair of shorts for the entire race) and a custom shirt with a Union Jack on one shoulder and the American flag on the other…. it never stopped me being asked if I was Australian though.
Thanks to Exposure Lights (USE). They were my light when all other lights went out.
Down to business
Ok so Rich T detailed my medical problems – I really did shit green liquid for 5 days thanks to a dodgy pizza. I was in the bushes with shorts down within 20 minutes of eating it, my stomach swelled up massively and everything inside went bubbled and came out pdq. The real problem was that it gave me no warning and even a little fart produced a 5 gallon bucket of liquid (there may be a little exaggeration here) but it felt like it at the time.
I think had I been on top form, and not had a weeks worth of heat and humidity and maybe a little dehydration to contend with, I could have bounced back. I have not had food poisoning like that ever before and it leaves you struggling for strength.
The pharmacist I found was very concerned about my condition when I got to his shop and really wanted me to stop there and then, he thought the rehydration needed was going to be more than a pint of water and off you go again…. how right he was.
Anyway, I took two sets of time-out and then rejoined the race and was 100 miles or so behind Lindsay and Mark and my goal was to catch them in 5 days. It took 7 days and even then I only caught them at a resupply and was promptly dropped again!
The trackers apparantly made it look like we were riding together, but in reality we passed each other on hills and at rest stops and met up randomly to camp. They were great company and it did take my mind off the fact that I was now so far behind my schedule that even before the end of Oklahoma, I was wondering if I could complete in time.
There are a few memories I wish to share regarding the toughness of this race and having done TD a couple of times and ridden the South Downs Way four times without stopping and paddled 1000 miles in six days, I have to congratulate the organisers on putting on the toughest event I’ve ever done.
The climbing through the Appalachians, the Smokey mountains and the Ozarks were so much harder than I expected as they were all short sharp climbs and needed max effort to get up them, only to send you straight down and back up again. It was closer to anaerobic than I had prepared for and felt as if I was climbing a giant saw blade all the time. Also, the views in the Appalachians was almost nothing on account of the rain and that the route was on dirt trails and the trees obscured everything so there was no visual stimulation of the awesome scenery that helped me blow through Oklahoma ( I love big open spaces and Oklahoma made the basin in Wyoming on the TD look miniscule)
My home made box of pixies that dealt with charging the GPS, the head torch and the phone suffered water problems after two sets of two days of rain and I had to rely on recharging the torch and phone at food stops and in motels. I just put normal AA batteries in the GPS and that carried on quite happily. This box of tricks has coped with two winters of training in the UK and a 2016 TD, so I really don’t know why it chose now to drown, but thats racing.
I could detail each day, but it would not be that interesting to read that I got up, rode the bike, hid from the midday sun, rode some more then set the tent up and went to sleep again, so I won’t bother. Many days did blur into one, and the highlights were stopping and chatting to the locals at gas stations, cafes and on trailside. I stayed too long talking to a truck driver who flagged me down and I got drenched by a storm that had rolled in from Kansas – not really a problem as by then, the sun was so hot as soon as the storm blew past, all my kit dried quickly. Night storms were worst for me as the tent needed drying the next day and that is a waste of riding time, but it was great to beat the storm one afternoon in Mississippi and get the tent erected as soon as the cold front of the storm hit me and the wind got up; I was lucky to find a field entrance and nip inside before a one hour thunderstorm got me (and I managed to sleep through it with helmet and shoes still on!)
One day I managed to ride approx 10 miles in Oklahoma, have breakfast in Texas, resupply in New Mexico and hike a bike into Colorado – four states in one day. That night in Trinidad Colorado was worthy of a motel room, but it was the crappest room of the trip – there was not even a curtain on the shower or a plug in the sink but the McDonalds for supper and breakfast did make up for it (guess how many chicken nuggets I can eat in one go?)
The end of the adventure
My goal for the race was 38 days and I allowed up to 44 days in my calculations and then some extra time to get to Fernie and then up to Calgary for my flight home and I had been doing dates in my head for a few days, trying to work out if I had allowed enough time to do this race during the first day in Colorado. When I ride into Salida the team in there leapt onto my bike and started stripping it ready for new tyres (pre-ordered) and a check over. I asked them to ease up until I had looked at a calendar, a computer and done some new planning on paper to confirm I had time to complete at my new slower speed and daily mileage achieved. Sadly, I could not complete and get to Fernie in time; I could have continued onto the Moab area and then got extricated to Canada, but the logistics were terrible and I opted to stop in Salida. Scott from Absolute Bikes was brilliant and fixed what he needed to fix on the bike, shoved it in a box, took me out for beer and an overfull plate of fried chicken, found me a motel and delivered me and my bike to the motel. Awesome.
I caught the Greyhound up to Missoula and rode up to Whitefish and a good buddy collected me from there and took me straight to Grave Creek brewery and pizza stop on the TD route on the way back to Fernie. I lived in his basement for a couple of days getting stronger through rest and great food. then stared thinking about what I could have done differently.
Thats all for another post as I have to go to the dentist now and get my tooth repaired that I tore out on a packet of Haribo during the race. I was chewing away quite happily and went ‘crunch’ on something hard, thought thats not a gummi bear, had a look and there in my hand was half a tooth. Luckily there was no pain, so I dropped it on the ground and thought ‘that will make me lighter’ and carried on riding.
More thoughts in the next couple of days and more importantly…. what is the next adventure?
I just though I would end up with this piccie of Mark and Lindsay. It was epic hanging on to you both – hugs all round and so glad you both got ‘er done!
Pulling out….
It is with sadness that I must relay Robs decision to pull out of the race… in his words “my speed is reduced since my heat/dehydration/major green shits sessions, that I can’t complete in the time available”
In one of his sponsors words…”There’s a certain breed of cyclists who are unphased by distance, they shun mod-cons and a good night’s sleep, all in pursuit of going the distance. These are Ultra-Endurance Bike Racers”
Shit happens…. and in robs case it really did…. “the trail is set now” and Rob knows what not to eat and …next time.
These are the last set of images that Rob Uploaded and I’m sure in time he will post his own rendition of events… Signing off… Rich
Colorado
It’s early morning in Trinidad, Colorado and Rob is camped up somewhere near McDonalds after 148 mile ride and from what I can work out 6500ft of climbing!
Rob has now travelled 2844 miles – amazing.
I’ve had little communication from Rob but he’s uploaded some good pictures….
The heat is on….honey buns
Robs current position puts him very near Borders of Texas & New Mexico having made his way through Oklahoma, kissing the border of Kansas and even dipping into it for a night’s stay in Liberal. With a Laundry stop to freshen up he’s feeling good apart from one thing – the heat…..
Rob is struggling with the heat, by mid-afternoon the temperature is reaching 95°F (35°C) and it’s proving really draining requiring him to find shade, stop and cool off. That said Rob is in great spirits eating Honey Buns and appears on Mark Snidero’s video Blog from Thursday 22nd June just before they reach Liberal. Mark Snidero video 22.06.17
Rob is even getting some picturesque shots…
I take it back….. this is the normal Robs normal calibre… but this is special for Rob
2695 miles onto the Race 2443 to go….
Rob’s OK!
By OK of course refer to Oklahoma…… by the kindness of the Red Rooster Cafe I finally get a picture of Rob and his bike…AND it’s meatloaf Monday!
With encouraging communication such as
“Feeling stronger”
“Did a big”
“Creek crossing and washed my socks”
“Brekky”
I have high hopes for Rob in reeling in the two riders ahead of him…..”are those your ribs Rob?”
Rob will now skirt the border of Kansas for 600 miles and climb 21,000ft dipping into New Mexico and cross the border into Colorado at 2735 miles.
Thanks to Carol Montgomery
who captured Rob on film
Not seen any nody…..
Robs been a little light on communication recently but he’s been riding well and closed the gap to the rider directly ahead of him to a few miles. The pings on Trackleaders can be somewhat random so it’s hard to tell.
Rob’s has uploaded some shots as he’s ridden through Wi-Fi access points so here’s an update…. I see a theme developing….
Rob has just past through MountainBurg and at 2am Local Time with 1910miles in the saddle and now he’s getting some sleep… he must be tired his last message when asked if he’s seen Lindsay Shepard was….
“Not seen any nody….Bed rime”
Current positions: Dylan Taylor: 2940.3 mi; Indiana Schulz: 2897.3 mi; Michael Kinney: 2602.0 mi; David & Loreto Garcia: 2294.6 mi; Aaron Weinsheimer: 2136.8 mi; (0 minutes ago) — at 02:00:03 AM (EDT) 06/18/17
Out of juice….AA now…
After Omelette and hash brown brekkie Rob continues at a good pace making ground on those who overtook him in his hours of looseness……(every time you make dirt you lose a little ground?)
With fixing double punctures to slow him down some he’s is heading for Arkansas over the Mississippi river for a nights rest….
Humidity is dropping a bit and its only 28°C… Rob has fallen silent which means he’s concentrating on the task in hand…..
Along with bodily washouts Robs box of tricks for converting his pedal power into volts for his GPS has also run its course failing to offer any more juice.
“dead weight, dead weight, dead weight” echoes in Rob’s mind mile after mile…
….and like the Paint your Wagon song says ‘Out the winder go the beans’ and the double A’s are here to stay.
Back on earth I’m waiting for the next exciting communication from Rob and will post anything new….. Rich
Missislippy…
Unfortunately, in spite of Robs perseverance he just had to stop for a day or so to recover – his legs just stopped working and whatever he ate and drank just shot out the other end (mostly Gatorade).
Rob sorted himself a Little Andys Motel in Counce Tennessee and gave his body a chance to recover. Rob touch base with Mark Snidero peddled past as he walked outside. Apparently he is struggling all his electronic has failed.
The locals were friendly and Rob made friends quickly
After a full night’s sleep Rob was up early for breakfast and drugs.
With Robs un-pc sence of humour one of his remedies got him chuckling all the way to the WC. Together with “not just protein” and a big omelet breakfast Rob set off this morning “bound” for Mississippi.
update… Rob is well into the magnolia state and is currently (12.06.17 3:20pm local time) stationary at MT Pleasant MB church… I guess there is someone there… lets hope he leaves a donation in the box as well as the can.
http://mountpleasantchurch3.wixsite.com/church
Rob Colliver 