2022 Silver State 508
After a DNF (did not finish), at last year's race as a self-supported racer, I decided almost immediately to sign up early and do it again.
This time I was not taking any chances on finishing so I decided I wanted to do it as a team.
I took a big chance by attempting the solo, self-supported division for my hall of fame ride last year. I was well trained, but all the cards were not in place. We had terrible wind conditions and all the self-supported racers did not finish as well as many of the solos and teams. It was brutal, to say the least.
My friend Peg who I raced with in 2019 on a 4-person, mixed team Chuckasorous, called me and expressed interest in doing a team race again.
It would be Peg's hall of fame ride also. Our 5th 508.
We discussed trying to beat the 60+ mixed team record we had set in 2019. All the ducks were in a row for that race and we had a great time. No bad wind to speak of. We had great conditions the whole race.
I asked two of my good friends to be part of "Team White Owl" along with Peg and me, and they both accepted the challenge.
My friend Ron is a veteran of the race having completed it solo in just over 36 hours, an incredible time. He is known in the race as "Subsonic the Hedgehog". He is also a solo finisher of The Hoodoo 500. He was also on our crew at RAAM in 2018 where I raced as a 4-person team.
My friend and latest tandem stoker, Margaret also accepted the challenge. Margaret is also a veteran of the race. She raced it on two-person "Team Skink" with my friend Victor a few years back. She is also a Hoodoo 500 veteran and was part of my Race Across the West crew in 2014. We have done a number of double centuries together on my tandem bike during the last few years.
Peg is also a 508 veteran and is the only 60+ woman to finish the 508 solo. Her race totem is "Red Dexter"
I couldn't have asked for a better team of friends to share this adventure with.
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| Our check-in photo. Team White Owl |
Peg lives in the San Jose area and she was driving up separately and meeting us.
At this point, I need to mention one thing.
It was mentioned throughout the race this year that we all thought someone was jinxing our race and making it harder for us to do this thing.
Things started before we even left home. We had one of our team's car parked in my driveway overnight. We were going to move that car in the place of the race van when we pulled out in the morning so they would not have to park on the street. The key FOB unit had a low battery so they were using the hidden metal key that is in the FOB to open the car.
We were all set to leave and we went out to move the car.
Guess what? The hidden key was missing.
We spent 30 minutes combing my grass and the driveway at 4:30 am in the dark to no avail before a hilarious moment presented itself.
The small key was on the key ring all along, the owner not knowing it was attached. It was pretty funny after the fact but we were all kind of freaking out trying to find it.
With the first stressful moment averted, we were on our way to Reno a half hour later than planned.
We took Hwy 395 along the Sierra the entire route up. It was beautiful until we reached the Carson City area. The smoke from one of the fires was just terrible with an air quality reading in Reno in the 300's which is very unhealthy.
Stressful situation number 2... it's a little iffy whether the race will go on and if it does, the smoke is going to really slow us down. The race organization had been watching the fire situation and for now, the race was on since the smoke was not as bad once over the mountain and into the desert to the east.
We arrived plenty early and got checked in for the race. We were unloading the bikes and taking everything up to our rooms when the next situation presented itself.
(Someone once told me long ago about ultra-racing. "It's not the usual things that cause problems during an ultra-race. It's the unexpected".)
We have not even started racing yet and already 2 things to worry about.
Well here comes number 3.
When taking her bike off of the rack, my teammate Margaret noticed that the control unit from her electronic shifting was missing from the bike frame. She freaked out as can be expected. We all thought that it must have fallen off during the drive-up.
I saw my friend Shane who races and lives in the area and asked him if he knew where we could find one. Luckily one of the racers involved in the race owns a big bike store in Reno. Rick Staley is his name and he said he would do everything in his power to help even though he and his team were racing.
Not long after this, and all of us thinking that we may be a 3-person team now, something was discovered.
Margaret's bike had just been in the shop for a tune-up prior to the race by a Specialized Bike Shop.
Guess what? The shop had upgraded her bike and moved the control unit inside her handlebars without telling her and she never noticed the difference until we got to Reno thinking it was missing.
Well, another issue is out of the way. Now we can relax and concentrate on resting for the race.
Below is the map of the entire course. You can see Geiger Summit at the start. It is a long climb to start a race on.
The solo racers all start at 5am, so Ron and I got up a little early to do final prep on the van and watch the start.
Once at the summit, Peg took the baton for the descent down the grade into the valley below. This is one of my favorite sections of the race, both outbound and inbound. You go through a beautiful dry lake area and the Reese River Valley.
Right when she got up to the canyon which starts the grade, there was a small cow at the side of the road.
The solo racers all start at 5am, so Ron and I got up a little early to do final prep on the van and watch the start.
Stage one: Reno to Silver Springs
48.8 miles
Elevation gain: 2,996’
Maximum elevation: 6,710’
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| Ron is ready to roll |
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| Ron is off |
All the teams start at 7am.
Ron agreed to take the first leg of the race and the climb over Gieger Grade into Virginia City. I would take the second pull from the bottom of 6-Mile Canyon to Silver Springs and time station one.
Ron did great. He paced himself properly in the heavy smoke trying not to overdo it. A smart move.
There were some really strong climbers on the teams doing that first leg over Geiger, Ron being one of them.
Ron came bombing down the hill and I took the baton (GPS tracker) and headed off to Silver Springs.
The section of Hwy 50 on this stretch is brand new pavement and really nice. There is a slight uphill at the start then pretty flat before a little rise and then a descent to the time station.
I started out nice and easy until I got in my rhythm.
The medication I am on does not allow me to get my HR up too high so it takes me a very long time to warm up and get in that ultra-rhythm I like. It took about 7 miles of my pull before I was breathing well and feeling good. The smoke did not help. It was a little better but still bad.
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| Coming up over the last rise before the descent to Silver Springs. I was doing around 30 mph from here to the time station. |
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| Masked up and flying to the time station. |
Stage 2: Silver Springs to Fallon
31.35 miles.
Total miles: 80.12
Elevation gain: 266 feet
Maximum elevation: 4,462
Margaret took the baton next heading into Fallon.
Fallon is the home of the Navy's infamous Top Gun School.
She just flew through this section and averaged around 19 mph I think or something close to that. There was a climb at the start of this section but then it was mostly a gradual descent.
We planned to make the exchange to Peg just as we got into Fallon. Peg would ride through the town to the next time station and then we would switch back to Ron.
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Margaret flew toward Fallon |
Flying!!
What happened next is just bizarre and I will say, it is the next thing on the list of things that made us think someone didn't want us racing this thing. Ughh!!
We found a great spot on the side of the road to make the exchange from Margaret to Peg. We spotted the turn into town first, then flew up ahead and found the spot, allowing Peg enough time to get on her bike and get ready.
As Margaret approached, she started yelling, "I can't stop, I can't stop".
It was a perfectly flat section of the road and she could barely stop the bike. We had to run along and physically stop her.
Peg took the tracker and headed out. Ron started checking Margaret's bike.
On the section that she had just ridden, Margaret had not needed her brakes at all. This was the first time she had been on the bike since picking it up at the shop. Well...we know they already did something to the bike without telling her as mentioned above with the controller issue.
This was a very dangerous situation that just reared its head.
One of her brake levers could be squeezed all the way and it hit the handlebar. The other barely had any braking power at all.
After further inspection, Ron found that the hydraulic brakes were leaking fluid!!
What the hell?!?!?
The bike was just in the shop and something was messed up. We were all thinking.... what next?
She was terrified to ride the bike like this because should she have to stop for anything, she would be in trouble.
Well...we discussed the situation and came up with a solution. I would take a longer pull when it was my turn and Ron would pull out his very complete toolbox and see what he could do.
In the meantime, while we were checking things, Peg was flying up the road through town and was planning on only going to the next time station at the end of town on her pull. We had been sitting there a while. Once we got into the main part of town, the traffic was bad. Then we hit some road construction. They were letting bikes through but not cars. By the time we made it to the time station she had already passed and was up the road. She checked in herself and kept going. We confirmed this, stopped for a second, and flew up the road to make the exchange.
Stage three: Fallon to Austin.
106.4 miles
Total miles: 186.7
Elevation gain: 5,049’
Maximum altitude: 7,245’
The problem was that there were no pullouts after we passed Peg. We had to go way up ahead to find one but finally did.
Peg didn't look too happy when she got to us for the exchange. She had been pushing for quite some time.
Ron got on the bike next during a very flat section. He rode his time trial bike and was just flying through this section. The plan was for another 30-minute pull and then as mentioned above, I was going to make my pull longer so he could see what he could do with Margaret's brake problem.
I don't know how it happened but an F-18 Super Hornet, taking off from The Top Gun School in Fallon, buzzed us just at the time Ron flew by. It sounds like he has jet engines as he flies by on his time-trial bike.
I took the baton just before Sand Springs Pass. The pass seemed pretty easy in comparison to years past when climbing it. The smoke was not as bad now and I was feeling pretty good.
I passed another team as the guy riding was a bigger rider that Ron had been trading places with. He was a slower climber than me although I do not consider myself a climber by any means. He was a big guy.
As soon as we got on the descent, he passed me just coasting. I could not even keep close to him since he had so much more weight on me.
It is a long steady descent and he just flew up the road.
I started up the next small climb to Drum Summit then handed it off to Peg. She took it for a while and then our plan for Margaret went into play.
Margaret would now do only climbs.
Ron was able to bleed her brakes some, giving her a little bit of stopping power but still not enough.
We now were in a mode that is not really a very efficient way to do a team race. No matter how strong a climber is, it is still faster, on long climbs to take shorter pulls and climb with more fresh rested riders than just one strong one that ends up getting tired.
She took it from Peg right near Middlegate and at the start of the ride up toward Carroll Summit.
She wanted to take the whole thing to contribute more to the race since she would not be in the rotation on the flats or downhills anymore.
She would take it about 29 miles with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. We watched her reel-in riders on the way up. She passed the guy who passed me on the descent, then started passing the solo riders who started the race 2 hours earlier. She made it look easy and did not stop once on the whole stretch.
Below are a few pictures of the iconic Carroll Grade. A great climb.
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| The Pass |
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| Doing a water hand-off |
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| The steep part near the summit. You can see the road above with the cars all looking down. |
Margaret's attack on Carroll Grade
Once at the summit, Peg took the baton for the descent down the grade into the valley below. This is one of my favorite sections of the race, both outbound and inbound. You go through a beautiful dry lake area and the Reese River Valley.
She flew through this area before handing it off to The Hedgehog, (Ron).
Below is Peg flying down out of the canyon off Carroll Grade heading toward the Reese River Valley.
We handed it off to Ron again next.
He took it over Railroad Summit and through the Reese River Valley.
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| Ron at Railroad Summit |
I then took it for the climb to the time station in Austin.
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| Heading toward Austin in the Reese River Valley |
This climb seemed somewhat easy this time for some reason. I made it up to the time station pretty fast where Margaret was waiting to take it for the climb to Austin Summit.
Austin summit is a pretty tough climb and is the highest point in the race at 7,484 feet above sea level
70.15 miles
Total miles: 256.4
Elevation gain: 2,799’
Max altitude: 7,470’
Up Margaret went. She again aced the climb and rode to the summit with a beautiful sunset happening.
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| A smokey sunset as Margaret gets close to Austin Summit |
Peg was up next and took the descent down Austin before climbing up over Bob Scott Summit.
The sun was setting as we dropped out onto more desert floor.
The next little summit was Hickson Summit. This summit is only around 6,000 feet but can be a little tough in the right conditions. Ron aced it.
Ron, Peg, and I rode this stretch through the darkness all the way to Eureka with Peg taking the last tough climb into town. It is a grunt that just seems never ending getting to the time station in Eureka.
Eureka is a really neat little town with lots of history just like many of the towns on this course.
We all took a short break in town, used the restroom, and fueled up.
The funny thing was...it was not really that cold. The temperature was in the mid 50's which is highly unusual for this race. We are usually freezing at this point in the race with temps in the low 40s at this point and in the 20s-30s and sometimes lower before sunrise on the return.
Now for the return trip. We will see what nature has in store.
Stage 5: Eureka to Austin
70.10 miles
Total miles: 326.4
Elevation gain: 2,753’
Max altitude: 7,556’
Ron got on his time trial bike again and took the first pull out of Eureka for about 45 minutes. We were doing a little longer pulls now so we could get more rest and maybe some power naps.
Ron, Peg, and I switched off until we got to the Bob Scott climb. Then Margaret would again take the whole climb, and it's a long, tough one.
It was really pleasant this year on this stretch. At least I thought so. The temperature never got below 50 and I did not really get all that cold.
Margaret nailed the climb again and then we switched off to Ron before the little descent into the final kicker to Austin Summit. Ron then took it down through the Austin time station and the turn back toward the Reese River Valley.
The road had been repaved at this tricky turn and we all thought that we made a wrong turn. It was, in fact, the correct way but it looked so different, it fooled us. We told Ron we made a wrong turn. After looking at our maps on the phone, we figured we were on the correct course and rolled on.
I took the next pull to Railroad Summit and then Peg took the baton for the descent down into the next valley. It was sunrise and it was such a beautiful start to the next day.
This part of the event is usually the coldest spot during the entire race. The temps have been known to be down in the teens with people's water bottles freezing.
This year it was about 46 degrees here. Down-right toasty!!
Somewhere along the course, Peg's aero bars broke, leaving one of them hanging loose. She tapped it up and had to deal with that issue the whole race too. Here we go again with the issues. (you can see it in the below picture.)
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| Sunrise on day 2 |
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| Peg at sunrise on day 2 We also started to get hungry for breakfast so we put some sausage and egg sandwiches up on the dashboard to see if they would warm up in the sun. |
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| Breakfast warming up as we pass Peg and get ready to switch to Margaret As we handed off to Margaret for yet another great climbing attack, we started encountering the free-range cattle that frequent this area. It was hilarious. There was a small herd of cattle just standing in the middle of the road. There was a mother cow and a bunch of calves. When we first saw them, it looked like there was only one big cow. Then as we slowly approached, a second one emerged from behind the big one, then another, and another, and so on. We were cracking up. I happened to get some of it on video. Excuse some of the language...it was really funny at the time. As we got really close, they moved off the road and just walked alongside us. It was fun. We found a spot up ahead to stop and wait for Margaret. The cows did not bother her. Oh...did I tell you...she seemed to be terrified of cows. |
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| Another assault on Carroll Grade for Margaret after passing our little herd |
We had to put ourselves between Margaret and the cow as she rode past. She was afraid it would attack. We all had a laugh about it but she wasn't laughing.
This was the same area where, during my solo race in 2016, we had an encounter with a ginormous bull the size of a truck. It was just standing in the road and would not move. Riders were stopped and could not pass, worried it would charge. My crew finally nudged it along with the car and it was a non-issue.
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| The bull from 2016 |
The smoke was starting to show up again as we headed west.
Margaret again did the whole climb but it felt a lot tougher to her this time.
Ron took over with his time trial bike for the descent down to Hwy 50. I would then take it to Sand Springs Pass.
It really started getting smokey as we descended. Ron just flew down the hill.
Ron flying off of Carroll Grade
I took the baton to the bottom of Sand Springs Pass where Peg took it from me.
The smoke was really bad now and we were riding into a headwind that would stand to reason since the fire was to our southwest.
Once Peg reached the top, we decided that the 3 of us who had brakes would take shorter pulls on the bike to limit the amount of time we had in that smoke.
This is my least favorite section of the race. There is always a headwind of sorts and it is usually very warm. This year it wasn't that warm or cold at the race but the smoke was bad. It just seems to take forever to get to Fallon from that pass.
We did this section with full medical masks which made it hard to breathe and ride at interval pace at the same time.
Then, when I was riding and taking a little longer pull, something amazing happened.
All of a sudden the smoke just disappeared.
This could only mean one thing!! WIND!
I was hoping it would be in our favor but it was not to be. The wind was not too bad riding into Fallon with the buildings blocking some of it.
Stage 7: Fallon to Silver Springs
22.5 miles
Total miles: 464.32
Elevation gain: 499’
Max altitude: 4,560’
I rolled passed the time station as Peg was there checking us through. They had just gone to Mcdonald's while I was on the bike to get some lunch. I would eat mine after my pull.
As we made the left turn toward Silver Springs, the wind was still just a mild headwind and was not too bad.
It was a different story as we got closer.
Stage 7: Silver Springs to Reno
44.35 miles
Total miles: 508.67
Elevation gain: 2,844’
Max altitude: 6,779’
The wind was now really picking up and getting strong out of the south which is a full headwind.
Another issue popped up now.
Peg went to get on her bike for a pull and discovered she had a broken spoke.
We were so close to the finish now that we decided Ron, Margaret and I would finish up the race.
Ron and I decided to each take half of the 17 miles to the turn onto the 6-mile canyon turn. The wind was so bad that our speed in this section was really bad. I was so glad I had aero bars. It was a true slog. Such an easy section made so tough by the wind.
Ron fighting the wind. Almost to the 6-mile canyon.
The plan originally when we talked before the wind started was for Ron to take most of the pull to the turn from Silver Springs and then I wanted to do 6-Mile Canyon Road.
Well...the wind kind of changed that thinking. I was so spent when I did my 8.5 mile pull into that 25 mph headwind that I started to have second thoughts.
Margaret, due to her brake situation had not been on her bike since she climbed Carroll Grade in the early morning.
I asked her gently if she would like to do the entire 6-mile canyon, which is one tough puppy at the end of the ride.
She was eager to attack it!
I think this is one climb that she actually had to walk near the summit on the 20% sections when she did it on her 2-person team with our friend Victor a few years ago.
I think, in her head, she wanted redemption and wanted to do the whole thing without having to stop and walk some.
She was well-rested and raring to get back on the bike. Earlier in the race without the brake situation, she, I believe did not want to even think about this beast.
I told her that she needed to just stop and take a break at the few stop signs when coming into Virginia City. This way she could catch her breath and attack those pesky 20% sections.
There are no racer exchanges allowed for the teams on the 6-mile canyon per the rules. You may do rider support at a few places but there are no exchanges allowed, so she would be doing the whole thing until reaching the parking lot in Virginia City.
Ron arrived very slowly at the turn. We were stopped just around the corner and had Margaret ready for the beast.
Margaret started off really strong.
We waited a little bit so we could let her start climbing or else we would catch her too soon and would have to go too far ahead to find a pull-out for support, leaving her stranded if there were a problem. (There are very few places to pull out, especially in the first section).
To our surprise, it took quite some time to catch up to her and she was already reaching a few of the steeper kickers on the climb.
Margaret is about halfway up 6-mile canyon
We let her go a little bit and then we moved up passed her for a stop again.
She was just killing it and hammering up that hill. She was definitely on a mission!!
When she rode up to us she stopped and was in what looked like a full asthma attack!
She couldn't breathe and was just gasping for breath. We told her to relax and just take a break.
She only rested for a short bit and she was ready to go again. That really scared us at first because it looked really bad and I thought she was going to pass out on the side of the road right there. Thank God it was only temporary.
She told us later it was one of the worst asthma situations she has experienced.
From here on in, we could not stop until we reached the parking lot. There were no places to pull over to offer support.
She had an 18% and two 20% sections to go into town.
We parked in the parking lot. Ron and Peg walked down the hill just in case she needed help on the final section.
I was going to do the final climb over Geiger Grade and the return to the finish of the race.
I was just barely ready when I heard a big yelp and waaahooo!!
It was Margaret coming around the corner in full climbing mode, all excited. She had done it without walking and was celebrating.
It was awesome!!
I quickly jumped on the bike and started the climb to the summit. It was a great climb and I was fully recovered from that wind section out of Silver Springs.
The winds were pretty nasty and gusty and as I got closer to the summit, I was worried about the crosswinds on the descent. They can be really nasty on the way down to Reno and have been known to blow people right off the road.
The sun was a little low and as I reached the summit, I saw the silhouette of the support van up at the top.
Then as I was getting closer, I thought I was seeing things.
Right before my eyes and so close that it kind of freaked me out, were the silhouettes of 7 horses crossing this highway in front of me.
They were some of the infamous Nevada wild horses. One of them just stood there eating some grass with his butt sticking out in the road.
I cruised slowly around him hoping that he wouldn't buck me off my bike...LOL!!
I would find out later that my friends in the van were marveling so much at the horses that no one got a picture of them. That would have been so awesome.
I stopped for a second and put on my vest as it was a little chilly.
I then bombed down the mountain on this very long descent into Reno. The wind did not disappoint. I was on the brakes much of the time worried that I would come around the corner and hit one of those infamous cross-winds.
It was pretty bad but I still made it down pretty fast. That was a long descent. It would be amazing with no wind or traffic.
Once down into town I had a few miles of tailwind before a left turn into the wind heading to the finish line. I flew down this section until the turn and then had to fight the wind again for a little bit but we got it done in daylight.
Thanks so much to Ron, Margaret, and Peg for being part of my 5th 508. It really meant a lot to me to have you all there. It was challenging but at the same time, a lot of fun and laughs. The whole trip was a blast!!
Not sure yet what my plan will be for next year. Now that I am in my 70s, I am not sure if I have another solo in me but you never know.
One final note:
These ultra-endurance races are amazingly fun while being tough at the same time. Whether you choose to do it solo or on a team, it is an amazing accomplishment.
There are so many options to get involved in the sport to help build up to a solo effort or a really fast competitive team race.
That being said, we need to encourage more people to come out and take on one of these events. There should be way more people coming out to do these events, especially team racing. Team racing is such a blast and I am so glad I got involved in it in 2015 on my first 508 team.
I didn't do my first solo RAAM qualifying race until I was 63 so I find it so hard to understand why more younger people are not doing this type racing!!
The events over the past few years with the pandemic and such have really made keeping this sport going a challenge for race organizers.
We need to bring it back to the day when there were hundreds of riders doing these events.
Sure they are tough as hell, but just imagine the feeling of accomplishment when you finish.
Let's bring this sport back to its heyday!!
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