Furnace Creek 508, it's just around the corner...and the number 10

With the Furnace Creek 508 just over a month away the team is making the final preparations for travel, vehicle, signage, etc. This race will be like no other that I have participated in this year and while the mileage will be less than the Death Ride, the conditions and fact that we will spend up to 40+ hours in the car or on the bike will provide both physical and mental challenges for each of the riders.

With a total of 508 miles to race through some of the toughest weather conditions, each of the team members will be put to one of the ultimate endurance cycling tests. In preparation for the 508, I have now completed 5 of the toughest Double Centuries on the California Triple Crown Schedule with 4 of those 5 being in the top 4 of the 10 most difficult events of the 2010 season schedule. Additionally, I completed the Death Ride and have ridden a total of more than 3,600 miles and climbed more than 260,000 feet on the bike (the equivalent of ~9x the elevation of Mt Everest) since January 1st.

So, am I ready? I think so but I'll continue to train up till about 4 days prior to the event and then I'll rest. Right now the race schedule is as follows -

Racer / Stage
Gil Hopkins / 1, 5
Steve Bursley / 2, 6
Jason Pierce / 3, 7
Jim Batson / 4, 8

We have a strong team of seasoned riders but the competition will be tough with a total of 217 riders from 7 countries that includes 117 veteran racers of this event. With the cycling season nearing conclusion with the Furnace Creek 508, I'll wrap up this fund-raising effort at the end of October. With thousands of miles ridden, hundreds of thousands of feet climbed, countless hours of blogging, posting on Facebook and Twitter, Photoshop , Illustrator work, PowerPoint pitches and meetings, and relentless requests of donations, this project truly lived up to its name.

As I prepare for this last race of the 2010 season I have designed and ordered a special jersey that I will wear during my last stage that I will ride (front and back graphics are included above). The design of the jersey acknowledges those that have supported this project through the generous donations that I have received but also includes a design element that I hope creates awareness of Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases (PID) as well as continued donations. This is the number 10. For those of you that watched the last stage of the Tour this year, you obviously took note of a statement that Team Shack made with a kit change (with the emblazened #28) that almost got them thrown out of the race but was also very effective at drawing attention to the more than 28 million people around the world that continue their battle with Cancer. And while many of you might be surprised to hear it, more than 10 million people around the world today live with PID.

I have and will continue to ride and race to raise awareness of PID in honor of my son Nicholas and all of the children and adults around the world that continue their battle with this disease. Through the tireless efforts of Vicki and Fred Modell (founders of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation) and the many doctors and researchers around the world, there are better treatments for those that battle this disease as well as better tests to detect the disease. And while treatment and detection has improved, we still do not have a cure...yet!

With more than $8,500 raised from this project so far, I am hoping that we can raise another $1,500 or more over the next two months to close this project out with a total of $10,000 or more in donations. With the Jeffrey Modell Foundation committed to matching these donations, this would equal a $20,000 that would go to the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. To donate, you can use the button in the top right hand corner of my blog, click on this link, or contact me to send a check.

I will post a couple of more times prior to the 508 and then Tweet on the way to the event and on the course (based on cell availability). To close the onetoughride project out, I will include one whopper of a post ride report with plenty of photos and video from the team car.

PLEASE SUPPORT ME AND CLICK THE BUTTON OR LINK NOW!
Enjoy the ride...
Steve

Double #5...Mt Tam Double Century Recap

The Mt Tam Double was my 5th Double Century of the season and the 6th of the onetoughride series that included the top 4 of the toughest of the Double Century calendar and completing my CTC (for a second consecutive year), CTC Stage Race Series, and the Gold Thousand Mile Club. With the completion of the Death Ride, the total course miles ridden over these 6 events (in the past four months) was 1,133 miles with and just under 85,000 feet of climbing.

I arrived at the start of the Mt Tam Double about 3:30 AM and planned to start with my friends Jason and Mike. We were planning on an early start (mass start is was scheduled for 5 AM) but as it turned out we ended up being a part of an official 4 AM mass start with 32 riders. As we rolled from the start the pack thinned out as we headed for the first of many climbs up Lucas Valley Road. I set the tempo for the first climb but was overtaken by one of the riders about a half a mile from the top. As we descended the other side, most of the pack re-grouped and then split up again over the next 10 miles on Nicasio Valley Road.

As we rolled into Fairfax I missed the first right turn but then saw the group reassembling and was back on course. The pack again split up as we climbed Bolinas Fairfax Road toward the first rest stop at Pine Mountain (mile 24.5). After checking in I headed for the top of the first real climb which was Mt Tam. As I ascended Bolinas Fairfax Road toward Ridgecrest the pack had thinned to a point where I had only seen one other rider. As I crested the top of Tam at mile 38 I was told that I was the 4th one check in. Descending Tam and heading for Santos Meadows I saw Jason heading for the top of Tam. The descent down Pan Toll Road and then out to Muir Woods would be a combination of dense fog, extreme dew (resembling rain), and strong winds. As I rolled into Santos Meadows check point (mile 50) here comes Jason who must have been descending like a rocket.

After a quick refuel Jason and I were back on the road and heading for a ride up the coast. Clearing the next few rest stops and rolling into the Valley Ford Rest Stop at lunch (mile 124) we had a great pace but many of the fastest riders that left at 5 AM had now caught and passed us. After a quick lunch it was off for the infamous Coleman Valley Road climb. If you have ridden it you know, but if you haven't this is one of the toughest 1.4 miles of climbing of the entire course.

After getting dropped by Jason between leaving the lunch stop and the Bay Hill Road climb I caught up with him as I arrived at the Coleman check point (mile 136). Jason had been there for a bit so he rolled and I left shortly thereafter (downing Red Bull #2) and caught up with him as we rolled down Joy Road. As we rolled back into the Valley Ford Rest stop we refueled (Red Bull #3) and caught up with a few friends and were off again with 153 miles behind us and a few climbs to go.

As we got out to the coast it was a constant battle of head winds as we made our way down HWY 1 pacelining to try to pick up some time or at least save some energy for Marshall Wall. At mile 160 it was a quick left for another climb up Marshall. It was clear that the climb with 160 miles on our legs was wearing the group down but after reaching the Walker Creek Rest Stop and a short break we initiated a good pace and picked up few riders that we would ultimately find to be wheel suckers that wanted a free ride.

After a good pace considering the winds that we continued to encounter we had a decent climb and nice fast descent before turning left onto Nicasio Valley Road. As we caught up with another rider we again pacelined out to the final rest stop at Nicasio Valley School and grabbed a quick drink (no, it was not a Red Bull this time) before our final climb up Lucas Valley Road and then heading for the finish. As was the case throughout the day, Jason dropped me on the descent but I was able to catch up with him on the last few miles and we had a great 22 mph+ paceline as we rolled to Las Gallinas for the last 1.5 miles into the finish.

The Marin Cyclists put together one of the best supported rides hands down and this year also met with the same high expectations that I have seen in the past. It was great to ride with Jason (a.k.a. rocket of the descents) who is also my team mate for the FC 508 this year and it was again amazing to see Mike Melville add yet another of the toughest rides to his fixie resume...yes, that is correct he rode this ride on a fixie! And last but not least, I was very cool to see Peg Miller nail this years event well within the cut-offs (after being so close in 2009) and getting her CTC for 2010!

As I near the close of the onetoughride project with one last BIG event to go (the Furnace Creek 508) I am excited to report that we have raised a total of $8,500 and I am confident that we can get that to $10,000...or more by the end of October when I will be wrapping up this project. This project was a complete grass roots effort from the concept to pitching the idea to a number of organizations to marketing the project, fund-raising, and setting up all of the infrastructure to support the project....not to mention the training and completing the events. Because of the 32 individuals, one corporate donor, one foundation and the matching funding of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation WE will make a difference in the research for better treatments and ultimately a cure for the millions of people living with Primary Immunodeficiency diseases like my son.

If you haven't donated please consider doing so right now and remember that every dollar donated is matched which means that right now the $8,500 is $17,000. Being an overachiever, I threw in an extra Double Century and I'd also love to break that goal of $10,000 and hope I can have your support in doing so. Last, the final jersey artwork (all donor names will be on it) will be submitted this weekend to Voler to ensure that I have the jersey for my final stage of the Furnace Creek 508 as well as the photo op at the finish. If your company (or you know of someone else) is interested in making a donation of $300 or more, I will add your company logo to the jersey.
Until next time...Enjoy the ride!
Steve

PS: I shaved 35 mins off of last years time coming in at 15:36 vs. 16:11.