Furnace Creek 508

[maillotpois]

Well, I did it. I sent in the application today to do the 508 as a 2 woman team.

http://www.the508.com/

Yikes!

Some of you know the story: I was originally plannign to do it with my friend Stacy, then her life intervened (in a good way) and she backed out. Then she and I discussed maybe doing the brevet series together next year and then a couple of weeks ago she said she thought we should just do the 508 after all! So I had some real thinking to do.

Cost is a factor - you need special lighting for your car and a crew and accommodations. But one of our crew thinks that we may be able to borrow the car lights and we will try to do things on the cheap as much as possible. So I had a talk with DH last night and signed up today.

We are trying to get the okapi as our totem (there are no race numbers for the 508 - only totems).

I realize now I should have consulted with Nanci on animal totems since she's the resident guru on animals/reptiles/birds/etc., but the Okapi is a good symbol of hope as it has recently been discovered in a park in the war-torn Congo where it had been thought extinct. It can also survive on 5 minutes sleep in a 24 hour period, which is fitting to this race, and it can lick its own ears, which is not fitting to the race, but cool.

So I'm committed! (Or should be committed...)

[DrBee]

Wow! That's great! Good luck with getting everything together and on the ride!

It can lick it's own ears??? Now that is cool in a weird way, but still cool.

[caligurl]

good, girl!!!!!!!! i'm gonna try really hard to be at the finish line for at least part of the day (we were shopping last year!) so maybe we'll see you!!!!!!!!!!

[Deanna]

Wow!! I'll be rooting for you. What a great totem. Do you have your support crew lined up?

[tprevost]

I wanna know more about the finish line think CG... that would be SO cool to be cheering people on as they come in!

MP - YOU ROCK! Congrats on your new undertaking!!! That is SO awesome!!!! (and, I will be at the finish line cheering if at all possible!)

Trac'

[maillotpois]

Oh and this is fun - scary, but fun:

http://www.the508.com/route/stagerouteshow/index.html


Deanna, I think we do have crew. My partner had crewed for a woman last year who will crew for us and my partner's boyfriend I think will also crew. For my husband to do it would be a logistical nightmare with the kid. So we're set, I think. My understanding is you are restricted to one vehicle (which is environmentally more happy), so we have to have 2 crew.

[yellow]

Oh, I can see it now....next year, the 508 solo. And then the following year, a double 508 ala Steve Born.

You're a crazy lady. Crazy in a good way. But crazy nonetheless.

[Deanna]

I was just looking at the rules--I like that they specifically ban Hummers & Ford Excursions! I'm glad you got an experienced crew person, that was incredibly helpful for my brother-in-law when he did it last year.

What the route maps don't show you is the headwind that seems to have come up the last couple of years. I'm not sure if it's in the same place, but it seems that the riders whose slideshows I've seen had a worse time with that then some of the climbs. I hope it's mellow for you this year.


Edited to include: Does this mean RAAM is in your future too?