Columbia River Run 400K ride report

[Susan Otcenas]

The wind and rain thrashed at the silver mylar space blanket, threatening to tear it off of me and into the night. I was wrapped up like a big silver burrito, huddled partway down an embankment at the side of the road, a mere 8km (5 miles) from the finish line of the Columbia River Run 400K (249 miles). 8 impossibly long, utterly insurmountable kilometers. It might as well have been 800k, because I simply could not move another inch. I was about to DNF my very first 400K, and I couldn't give a damn.

The day began 21 hours and 45 minutes earlier, at the Inn at the River in East Wenatchee. Despite an awful looking forecast, the pavement was dry at 6am when a hardy group of 9 men and 2 women, myself included, departed for the start of this new 400K, designed by Jeff Swarts. I'd chosen to ride this 400K for 2 reasons. 1) It seemed like a great way to spend my 41st birthday. And 2) Although I've ridden two 600s, I'd not yet ridden a 400K. More than 1 person has told me 400s are harder than 600s, because a 400 is ridden straight through, while a 600 is broken up by a sleep break. So, at the start of the ride, I knew I was in for a big double challenge: weather and distance.

But, it all started far better than expected. The sky cleared, and 50 miles in the sun was shining and I was riding in a vest, wishing for sunglasses. The route went North along the Columbia River, took a detour to Lake Chelan, then returned to the river. Apples, pears, cherries, apricots: the orchards stretched for miles. Some trees already picked bare, others still heavily laden with ripe fruit. I speculated that a traveler in an emergency would never go hungry, at least not this time of year.

At Brewster, the route left the Columbia, and followed the Okanogan. It was at Brewster (80 miles) that Vincent Muoneke passed me, waving, while I finished up a snack break. I decided to get back on my bike and chase him down. The winds had picked up, out of the North; with 55 northbound miles until Tonasket, I knew some company would be nice. As Vincent had just finished a 400K a mere 9 hours before the start of this one, *and* was suffering from some Achilles tendonitis, I figured he might be fatigued enough that my "fresh" legs could keep up with his tired ones. Maybe.

For 30 miles, Vincent and I took turns pullling into the wind. At Omak, we took a break, where Vincent bought me a fabulous birthday meal at Burger King. (Don’t ever let anyone tell you Vincent doesn’t know how to treat a lady.) While we ate, the winds shifted and were at our back for the remaining 25 northbound miles. We barely pedaled that stretch. At Tonasket, 135 miles into the ride, we were still on track for a 20 hour finish. Then we turned south, into a quickening wind, and realized we were looking at 115 southbound miles of wind. Mostly in the dark. And with the sky starting to look threatening, we suspected our dry pavement karma might not hold out.

The 20 miles back to Omak felt harder than they should have. The *very* soft rear tire I discovered upon arriving explained why. Half an hour ticked away while we refueled, changed my tube *and* tire, futzed around with cold-weather wear, etc.

Somewhere south of Brewster, with less than 100km to go, the rain finally started. Sprinkles soon turned to showers. Although there wasn't much traffic, the cars that passed threw up rooster tails. North of Chelan, we came upon flashing lights and a detour. Cars were being directed up up up a side road, off of Hwy 97. An inquiry to the officer at the detour revealed that there'd been a traffic fatality up ahead. The police investigation had closed the road. But the officer, allowing as how the hilly narrow road detour was "not the kind of roads cyclists should be on", permitted us to continue on the closed road, advising us to dismount and walk our bikes past the accident. We rode for many miles before we saw the flashing lights, and several more before finally reaching the scene of the destruction. The road was strewn with debris, while the car being loaded onto a flatbed was barely half the length it should have been, it's entire front half accordioned in on itself. A head-on collision on a dark rainy night? We walked past silently.

I was making a concerted effort to continue to eat and drink as much as I could. But around Orondo, with 17 miles to go, things started to get surreal. The winds were whipping down the hillsides from the east, blowing us across the road. I couldn't read my odometer, but we were surely in the mid-single digits. I was afraid to take my hands off my handlebar for fear a sudden gust would send me flying into the ditch. Despite my best effort, Vincent began pulling away from me on each small climb. He was doing his best to keep me motivated and moving, but I wasn't a very good companion, with my head down, just wanting to get it over with. He offered me KitKats. I declined. He offered to have Trudy come with the car, to get me inside for a bit and warm me up, but even though I wanted nothing more than to be out of the weather, I declined.

Twice, we crested small rises and could see the lights of Wenatchee in the distance. But it wasn't enough. Without being consciously aware of it, I simply stopped. I felt like a wind-up clock that had finally, inevitably, wound down. As soon as I lifted my leg over my bike, a massive wave of nausea and dizziness hit me. I told Vincent I was about to fall over, to be sick. He got me to lay my bike down and called Jeff. I hazily remembered that I carry an emergency mylar space blanket. I dug it out of my bag and clumsily wrapped it around myself as best I could, halfway down the ditch. I could hear Vincent telling Jeff to come quickly, and the word "hypothermia". I pulled the blanket up over my head and closed my eyes, shivering. A few moments later, semi-conscious, I started to tip over, and jerked back upright.

Suddenly Jeff was there, freeing Vincent to continue on, helping me into the warm car, passing me a mug of steaming hot cocoa. The dashclock flashed 4:06am. Hot oatmeal appeared, and sweet sugary thin mints. He handed me a bag with my warm clothing from the hotel. I stripped naked from the waist up and pulled on a dry wool long sleeved shirt, and my puffy warm Patagonia jacket. The warmth from the heated seats started to penetrate through my knickers. I pulled off my shoes, gaiters and wool socks, and sat with my ice cold feet under the blasting heat. I told Jeff that this was it, I didn't think I could go on, I was completely spent. He reminded me that I had 5 hours in the bank, and encouraged me to just rest for awhile. I tilted the seat back, pulled the space blanket over me and closed my eyes. I laid there for at least 45 minutes, fighting the nausea, until the heat re-warmed me. Jeff made more oatmeal and forced me to eat it fully. Still, my stomach protested, and I couldn't imagine how I would cover 5 more miles, especially with a hill looming directly in front of me. Nonethless, I slowly gathered together my stuff. Put on dry socks. Pulled on my Sidi boots. Zipped up my jacket. Retrieved some dry gloves from my bike bag.

Suddenly, Bill Alsup appeared in the rearview mirror. Jeff got out of the car to greet him. It was just the motivation I needed to finally start moving. I asked Bill if he would like some company. (Translation: Can I tag along with you because *I* need some company??) A minute or two later, we were back on the road. The rain had stopped and the winds had lightened up considerably. We crested the hill, which turned out to have been the VERY LAST hill. We coasted down the other side, and covered the last few miles quickly. Jeff followed along in the car, keeping us within sight to make sure I was doing OK. The hotel came into view. We pulled to a stop. "5:59am", Bill said, and I chuckled at the "sub-24 hour finish" we had managed to squeak in.

======

Two days later, I'm reflecting back on the experience, trying, as always, to learn something that I can put to use next time. Here's what I'm thinking:

1) It's easy for someone else (or even me) to think "gosh, really? 5 miles? You stopped with only 5 miles to go? You couldn't find just enough strength to go 5 miles??" And my answer to that is, yes, I could find enough to go 5 more miles. But I found that 5 miles worth of energy 5 miles before I stopped. Until you've been in the situation where you simply can not turn the pedal (or take a step) just one more time, you really can't understand what that feeling is. You can only dig a hole so deep before you fall in.

2) That space blanket may well have been the best piece of equipment on my bike that night. I doubt I'll do another ride over 200K without it.

3) Riding with other people on a really long ride is a really good idea. I don't know what I'd have done without Vincent. In all likelihood, I would have stopped earlier. Maybe knocked on someone's door, or flagged down a passing motorist? Would I have had the wherewithal to do that? Or would I have fallen over in a ditch somewhere? This is the first time I've ever ridden at night WITH someone. My other long rides have all found me alone in the middle of the night. I've never been frightened before, but I've also never had such challenging conditions at that time of night. It's a dilemma. I certainly don't want to be afraid to ride alone. How can I better prepare myself to be independent in such an emergency. Is that even possible?

4) It's hard to judge what role nutrition played in my collapse. I'd been eating and drinking quite well up until the last hour or so, when I was afraid to take my hands off the handlebars. I went downhill fast. Was it just fatigue? The incessant wind? Or did I have so little in reserve that just a short time without nutrition left me worthless? For certain, the idea of eating whatever I had left, even once I was in the car, was completely unappetizing. I had the same experince on the 24 hour Ring of Fire; losing my appetite for the (primarily sweeter) foods I had available to me, and quickly going downhill once food became hard to eat. I think I need to try to find a "savory" that will appeal. Something like chicken noodle soup, or turkey deli meat. But, how would I carry something like that? I certainly couldn't pre-pack a turkey sandwich and expect it to last for 22 hours. And, there's no certainty of what one will find at a gas station mini-mart. Maybe something like salmon jerky would be a good, packable, nutrition-dense, salty food that I could keep in reserve for when all else fails. I suppose packets of instant soup, in conjunction with gas station hot water would serve in a pinch as well. This deserves some more thought...

5) Time in the bank is a wonderful thing. Jeff was right: resting for awhile and getting in some food gave me enough strength to finally finish the last 5 miles. I'm SOOOO glad that he convinced me to not make a rash decision to abandon. I would really be kicking myself today if I'd expended all that effort, just to abandon 5 miles from the end. I'm so fortunate that he is so level headed!

Special thanks to Vincent, Bill and Jeff. Without the three of them, the ride would have turned out very differently.

[crazycanuck]

Susan, although you were out by a few km's, the ones you did complete are amazing enough! I know that many people might not understand the "i've just ridden xxxx km's and am physically unable go on..but i really want to agagghhhh" but it's not hard to comprehend in your report.

Good thing you had that space blanket!!!

Sorry to be rude whilst your're still pondering over this one...but do you mind if I ask if you have another one planned...???

[Becky]

Wow. That's just incredible....

Good job, Susan

[OakLeaf]

Wow. Susan, you are amazing.

No need to be so apologetic here, either. I think everyone here understands being at that point where you just don't have anything. more. left. - even if we've never been all the way there ourselves, we've been close enough not to question your experience. And anyway ... YOU DID IT, with "a little help from your friends" you DID pull yourself out of that hole.

Good reminder, too - one of the things I took out of my seat pack before the triathlon in July was my mylar blanket, and given the temperatures at that time of year and how little room I have in my seat pack, I hadn't put it back in. It's going back before my next ride!

[Susan Otcenas]

Susan, although you were out by a few km's, the ones you did complete are amazing enough! ....

but do you mind if I ask if you have another one planned...???

Truly, I'm so glad that Jeff was smart enough not to take me back to the start. I guess he knows me better than I know myself. Or his head was on straighter at that moment. And, it's funny, but once I *was* back on, those last 5 didn't feel so awful. I expected my quads to scream, or my stomach to revolt, but neither of those things happened. So,it all turned out OK!

As for future rides: Well, I'm most of the way through an R-12 (where you are required to ride at least one ride of 200K or longer every month for 12 months), so I will ride one 200K Nov, Dec & Jan. But nothing longer. I need a break, and I want to work on core strength and cross train alot over the winter.

After that, I'll start building alot more miles and progressively longer distances during the spring, with a 200-300-400-600 series completed by the first weekend in May. Paris-Brest-Paris (1200k) is in August, and I want to qualify for that with the spring series.

[maillotpois]

Congrats! Well done - and well written.

Thanks for the reminder on the space blanket. I use done in my 600k and it was great to have (for virtually no weight).

I will be interested in tracking your progress toward PBP. I plan to do a series next year up to 600 again, but no PBP for me. We're planning a family trip to Europe that will take that time - and that's fine. I can do PBP, perhaps next time around when my daughter is in college. Maybe one of the local 1000 - 1200 rides is a good option.

[jobob]

OMG Susan, I didn't realize you've gone over the deep end, Rando - style !

Congrats, and great report.

I'm in pathetic self-indulgent kickback mode at the moment. I was in a very stressful job situation this spring & summer, culminating in an even more stressful and distressing 'separation' several weeks ago. So, although I have all the time in the world now to train, I'm basically kicking back and licking my wounds right now. Maybe my motivation will return, but I'm not forcing the issue.

But seeing your posts and reading about mp's plans sure is inspiring!

[jobob]

Maybe something like salmon jerky would be a good, packable, nutrition-dense, salty food that I could keep in reserve for when all else fails. I suppose packets of instant soup, in conjunction with gas station hot water would serve in a pinch as well. This deserves some more thought...

I think you're on the right track there. Most gas stations would have a hot water supply.

You might want to check out what REI or other camping supply stores have in that regard for backpackers.

[Susan Otcenas]

OMG Susan, I didn't realize you've gone over the end, Rando - style !

ACPB 200 2010/03/20
ACPB 300 2010/04/03
ACPB 600 2010/05/22
RUSAT 204 2010/06/12
ACPB 200 2010/07/10
ACPB 300 2010/07/24
ACPB 600 2010/08/28
RUSAT 204 2010/09/18
ACPB 200 2010/10/02
RUSAB 400 2010/10/23

Grand Total 3208 kms

Is that over the edge? Pales in comparison to alot of randos I know....

[Susan Otcenas]

You might want to check out what REI or other camping supply stores have in that regard for backpackers.

Good idea! A Backpacker Pantry type thing that I could dump hot water into!

[GLC1968]

Good idea! A Backpacker Pantry type thing that I could dump hot water into!

Except that most of those are really disgusting to eat. They work in a pinch, but when your stomach is on revolt anyway, I don't think I'd want to try it.

I do have a few 'recipes' for homemade soup mixes (using home dehdrated veggies and seasonings) that could work. You could up the veggie factor to make them extra hearty and they'd rehydrate with just hot water, too.

Flavored tuna pouches dumped into pita pockets could work, as well. They don't need refridgeration. Actually, neither does hummus or cheese for short intervals (it won't store that way long term, but it will certainly last 24-48 hours).

[maillotpois]

ACPB 200 2010/03/20
ACPB 300 2010/04/03
ACPB 600 2010/05/22
RUSAT 204 2010/06/12
ACPB 200 2010/07/10
ACPB 300 2010/07/24
ACPB 600 2010/08/28
RUSAT 204 2010/09/18
ACPB 200 2010/10/02
RUSAB 400 2010/10/23

Grand Total 3208 kms

Is that over the edge? Pales in comparison to alot of randos I know....

What I like is that you got your 600s out of the way before the 400. That's cool.

[gnat23]

Holysnot. I think this experience qualifies as "epic", and I don't throw that around lightly.

Be well, take care of yourself, and big congrats!

-- gnat!

[Thorn]

Except that most of those are really disgusting to eat. They work in a pinch, but when your stomach is on revolt anyway, I don't think I'd want to try it.

Yeah, but....having done a really cold century (a far cry from a 400K), I will attest that the rehydrated potato soup they served at the rest stop was manna from heaven. It was simultaneously the absolute worst and absolute best thing I ever consumed on a ride. Salty, wet and potatoes pack an equivalent carb boost as sugar, so satisfying.

Love the ride reports, Susan. You go where I can only dream. Kudos!

[Susan Otcenas]

The hard part in all this is that in some ways the whole nutrition thing feels like such a crap shoot. Who the heck KNOWS what her stomach will accept when it's in total revolt. I know for sure I couldn't even consider a sweet thing. Even the first batch of oatmeal he put in front of me was a huge struggle to put (and keep) down. The second bowl (after about 45 minutes) went down easier.

Drinking, especially the warm drink, was OK. So, I'm thinking that a rich salty broth would have been totally doable. At least, the thought of it was not disgusting at the time.

I'm thinking I need to invest in a really high quality thermos (not just a thermal bottle, but a real thermos) that I could put boiling water in at a 10-11pm stop, along with some type of rich salty broth/noodle soup (dried, from a packet) that could re-hydrate in the bottle, then get consumed over the next couple of hours, maybe along with saltines or plain bread or a biscuit. Seems like if it's something I'd look forward to eating, that I'd eat more, and sooner, maybe I wouldn't end up in the "I can't eat anything at all" place that I've now visited twice....