The 2010 iteration of the Ride From Reno is in the tank.  Finito.  Complete.  Done.  But what a week it was and what a day the ride was from Delta, Utah, to Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City! 

Day 5 started for me at 6 a.m. at a cafe’ in downtown Delta where I enjoyed a heaping bowl of oatmeal.  There were 3 elderly gentlemen sitting at the counter when a 4th walked in to join his friends.  As he sat down (he was probably 80-years old) the waitress said in a cheery voice, “Good morning!  How are you today?”  Without cracking so much as a smile, the gentleman looked at her and replied, “I’m old and I’m cranky.”  Pretty much described how I was feeling!

 Last evening Janet walked into our motel room crying.  Immediately concerned, I asked what was wrong.  She replied, “when we started this ride 9 years ago we were all alone.  Now look at us.”  She was right, as usual, and it drove home how blessed we are with the most wonderful family and friends in the world.  I get emotional thinking about each of you and how much you mean to us.

 At 7 a.m. Saturday, we all met at Droubay Chevrolet in Delta.  Seventeen other riders, most from the Bountiful Mazda/Bountiful Bicycle Center bike club, joined Jason, Larry, and I for the final leg which, this year, was known as the Huntsman 140.  Lori Kun, Jen Murano, and Brooke Hathaway from HCI put together a fantastic event with terrific support all along the way.  After a few words by an overstuffed buffoon, we were off on the road.  The winds were swirling from the northeast and northwest which made our journey a little more difficult.  John and Alison Lauck (both ultra-strong riders) were out on the Mothership and I tried sitting-in behind them but could never quite find good quiet air.

 It was 51 miles to Eureka and we had 1 feed-zone along the way, which wasn’t fair to Alison.  As soon as all the guys got off their bikes in the feed we were standing along the roadside “relieving” ourselves.  All I can say is, it’s a guy thing.  As cyclists, we’ll pee anywhere (albeit discreetly).  Poor Alison, being much more civilized, was looking for “facilities” and there were none to be found until 4 or 5-miles later when we stopped to accommodate her needs.  We’ve taken note, Alison, and next year’s 1st feed will be at “official” potty facilities!

 The next stop was at the start of the long descent out of Eureka to Elberta.  The weather had turned cold so most of us jacketed-up for the fast descent, which just about did me in.  I’ve been nursing a knee injury since Monday but it’s only been “nagging” (painful only when I clipped-in or out).  In the cold it was much, much different.  By the time I got to the bottom of the descent, the pain in my right knee was excruciating and I couldn’t move my leg.  I one-legged pedaled the final 2 or 3 miles to the Elberta feed-zone and knew I couldn’t make it another 80-miles on 1 leg.  In fact, I’d resigned myself to having to abandon the event in Elberta.  The spirit was more than willing but the body was absolutely broken.

 As I pulled into the feed-zone, a couple of wonderful things happened; 1st, Janet and our daughters, Megan and Heidi, made me sit down and put on leg-warmers.  Next, they forced me to take 800 mg of Viagra (OK, it was Ibuprofen), and while I was waiting for the drugs to kick-in, I tore open a packet of hand-warmers and stuffed one pouch inside my leg-warmer behind my right knee, and the other in front of the same knee.  I rode with serious pain the rest of the day but, here’s the great thing, I was able to ride!  Not always as hard or as fast as I would have liked, but I was able to turn the crank.

 We stopped for our nutrition break at the home of Mark and Kathy McGregor in Saratoga Springs.  The McGregor family has hosted us for the past 5 or 6 years and they are the most kind, gracious, and generous family imaginable.  It’s always such a delight to see Kathy’s wonderful smile as she greets us at her home.  This year was no different and we were treated as honored guests and so appreciate the McGregor’s hospitality.

 It was on from Saratoga Springs to Lehi, up through Draper, Sandy, and along 13th East to our final destination at Huntsman Cancer Institute where we were treated to a celebration that took my breath away!  By the time we arrived at HCI, we’d been joined by another 20 or 30 riders, and all their families and friends, along with ours, were waiting to greet us.  One thing I’ve learned in doing this ride over the past 9-years is that day-after-day of intensely physical effort and suffering tears down facades, walls, and barriers.  Somehow it puts everyone on equal footing and all the trappings of life seem to fall away.  Emotions aren’t just near the surface; they are the surface.  There were lots of tears shed, heartfelt embraces, and loving expressions of appreciation whispered at HCI on Saturday.

 For me, I felt as though I’d spent the week with angels.  Larry and Jason are life-long friends and I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment trusting my life to them.  Jason’s dad, Sam, and my dad, Jim, are the epitome of patience, generosity, and grace.  Sam, you may try and put on a crotchety face but you’ve got a heart of gold!  And I want to go on the record as saying I am proud to be Jim Warren’s son.  He’s a man of honor and integrity and, dad, I’ll never give-up trying to be more like you.

 To my friends  from Bountiful Mazda, you truly are angels.  I felt as though I’d had the crap kicked out of me this week and wasn’t as strong or fast as I normally am on the final day of this ride.  But you stayed by my side, nursing and shepherding me along to our destination.  Todd Handy told me before we rolled Saturday, “when you say it’s enough, I’ll be done.  When you say it’s time to roll, I’ll be ready to roll.  I’m with you.”  And so it was with Todd and each of you.  You were by my side watching over me and I’ll never forget the feelings of awe, appreciation, and gratitude I felt throughout the day as I witnessed your many acts of kindness.

 Brady Edwards, owner of Bountiful Bicycle Center, devoted his entire day to us and many riders would have had a much more difficult time had it not been for Brady and his expertise.  I think we all count him as a friend and having Brady along added to the feeling of “brotherhood” we all enjoyed so much.  Thank you, Brady, for your generosity and devotion.  I had to laugh as we were rolling through Draper when a BMW began honking at us incessantly and I wondered what the problem was.  That’s when I noticed, Rich, Brady’s dad, sitting behind the wheel waving at us.  Made me laugh.

 It was also wonderful to see Mike MacDonald, the driving force behind Bountiful Mazda, out with us.  Mike, who is always an inspiration, brought his truck and Team trailer to provide support for all of us and John and Alison Lauck’s son graciously spent the day following us in Mike’s truck and trailer insuring we got safely to our destination.

 Finally, I have to express my thanks to Corbin Church at Miche Bag and to Dean Gestal at Reynolds Cycling for their support of the Huntsman 140.  With their support and vision more than $20,000 has been raised through this event and contributions are still arriving (I received another $500 when I arrived home on Saturday).  My thanks to each of you.  My thanks also goes to Nate Wade Subaru who donated 4 cars for the use of those who were watching over us during the day Saturday.  And to Lori Kun at Huntsman Cancer Foundation, who is assisted by Jen Murano and Brooke Hathaway; for our inaugural event, we didn’t do too badly!  I can’t wait to do it all over again in 2011.  The 10th anniversary of the Ride From Reno!

 As Janet said through her tears Friday night, “when we started this ride 9-years ago, we were all alone.  Now look at us.”  Together, we make a difference.

 My love to each of you,

 Jeff

I managed to get back from my side trip to Miami and into bed before Friday midnight, but the 3:15 AM alarm seemed more like 30 minutes of sleep instead of 3.5 hours. Thanks to the efforts of Todd Handy I had a ride with Matt Pack out to Delta to ride to the Huntsman with Jeff and Jason. It had rained off and on all night and we passed through a couple of showers on the way, the roads were wet almost the entire way to Delta and the temperature was in the mid to high 40’s. Twenty two riders put on their cold weather riding gear made sure their rain gear was handy and left the Delta Chevrolet dealership at about 7:30 AM. This day was made extra special because of the support from the Huntsman Cancer Center. They had arranged for support cars from Nate Wade Subaru, had marked the ride with signs and had feed zones set up for us along the way. How nice it was!!

A double pace line quickly set up and we headed off into a strong head wind toward Eureka with the majority of the work being done by the guys breaking the wind on the front. The group split into several smaller groups on the lead up and climb to Eureka. It was about 2/3 of the way up the climb that I decided to “hammer” for a ways and jumped out of the saddle and pulled hard on my handle bars and felt this sickening crunch. I had pulled hard enough to cause the carbon fiber bar on the right side to delaminate at the first bend. It didn’t break off, just became flexible at the bend. I could still use the break lever but getting down in the drops or pulling hard was out of the question. I limped along until lunch break when Brady, the owner of the Bountiful Bicycle Shop switched bits and pieces from my bike to a spare bike Jason had brought along. It worked but the bike was a bit big and there was some problems with the chain jumping between gears. I suffered with the slippage for about 15 miles until I had a flat on the rear. We just did a wheel change from my bike and that fixed most of the chain jumping problem as well.

Now back to the feed zone at the bottom of the hill on the East side of Eureka. We again formed a double pace line and headed off for the lunch break at Sarasota. It was not long before the boding clouds in the distance began to unload their bounty on us. We stopped and put on the best rain gear we had, but everyone still got plenty wet. It had stopped raining by the time we got to the lunch stop, and that was very, very nice. Both the fact that it was not raining but especially the lunch and hospitality we were shown. It also gave us a chance to visit and chat with those who had joined in for the ride that were not part of the bike club. Some really terrific guys and ladies had chosen to take the day and ride for the Huntsman with us.

After lunch it was into the wind again and we set up the double pace line most of the way to Lehi until we got on roads with room only for single file. The group stayed together until just out of Draper when on a small climb I decided I wanted to push myself to my limits for a ways. With good handle bars and riding on a tire that was not half flat, I attached the hill and passed everyone catching Roger Arndell near the top. He joined in with me and off we went. Soon Jason had joined as well. We had watched over Jeff for several days and that task had been handed off to others. Now we could just take off and put it all on the line. The three of us set up a rotating pace line and were speeding along often at 25+ MPH (I peaked out at 42 MPH once with lots of spikes above 28 MPH.) Our pace car even had trouble keeping up with us at times as at stop lights we could move to the front while he had to take his place in line. We road all out from Draper to a block from the Huntsman, over 20 miles, where we waited for the rest of the group to catch up.

It was a very emotional moment as the group reconnected and put Jeff at the head with Jason and I behind and turned the corned and saw the glass wedge of the Huntsman piercing the sky and a group of cheering people at the base as we arrived.

A special thanks goes out to all who supported us, especially Jason’s dad Sam and Jeff’s dad Jim. Also to those who donated to the Huntsman and those at home who supported us through prayers and patience.

In a way I feel I have not yet completed the ride. The segment from Ely to Delta remains undone. It’s beginning to nag at me more and more by the hour. It will have to wait for a couple of weeks because next week I’m off to Idaho to do a similar ride. This time about 400 miles in 4 days from Rexburg to the Huntsman. You can follow our progress on that ride at www.maderide.com.

The official stats for the day:
Distance: 130.99 miles
Time: 6:57
Average Speed: 18.6 MPH
Assent: 4875 feet

Today was emotional, exhausting, exhilarating, and down-right fun.   I’d like to express my appreciation to “Bob” and his “Friday Night Jihad” for making today so enjoyable. 

We started today 112 miles west of Delta, Utah, and were expecting a light day in the saddle.  Apparently I had the wrong expectations from the beginning.  We started with a long climb up Sacramento Pass (7,154’) and along the climb passed a ranch that has a large gated archway, made completely out of antlers, at the entry off the main road.  The archway has two chandeliers, also made from antlers, hanging at each side of the archway.  What always makes me laugh as I pass by this “interesting” place is the sign hanging on the main gate:  “Posted – No Hunting!”  Thousands of sets of antlers apparently donated by animals who willingly walk to the front door and say, “Excuse me, I won’t be needing these any longer and I was wondering if you’d have any use for them?” 

At the summit of Sacrament Pass I was honored to be able to witness Jason’s tender memorial to his sister, Alison, who lost her battle with cancer about a year ago.  It was a powerful reminder to me of why we do this ride each year:  to raise money for Huntsman Cancer Institute where they are well along the path in the search for better tolerated, less toxic treatments for cancer and, ultimately, cures for the >150 type of this damnable disease.  This ride is about people like you, like me, like Jason, like Alison, like Carla, and like our families.  Raising money is the only reason for this ride. 

I’ll ask your indulgence while I vent for a minute.  This ride, unless you’ve been out here day-after-day, is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.  It’s not like sitting down on the old beach-cruiser for a 2 block pedal to the grocery store for a bag of Oreos.  It’s physically ultra-demanding.  We’ll burn between 8,000 and 12,000 calories each day and will turn the crank ~210,000 times between Reno and Salt Lake City.  We’ll sweat so much the chin-strap on our helmets will turn white from the salt.  My maximum heart rate is 186.  On days where the wind blew and blew all day long, I’ve spent > 8 hours in excess of 90% of my maximum heart rate.  There’s the danger of myriad cars and trucks passing by at 85 miles per hour, mere inches from you and your bike.  I personally witnessed an 18-wheeler this year come so close to Jason that, had his left elbow been sticking out for some reason, he would have lost the elbow and probably his life (for heaven’s sake, one and all, move over for bikes!  No one has to prove to us how big and powerful your motorized vehicles are – we know!  We drive them when we’re not on our bikes!). 

My apologies for the tangent but the Ride From Reno is not a casual pedal around the block.  We do it out of responsibility, obligation, memory, commitment – it doesn’t matter how we label the reason for doing this ride.  At the end of the day, it’s about raising money so Alison, Carla, Dick, Ron, Scott, Cameron, Mark, Jim, and many, many, others don’t have to endure the terror that is cancer.  If you haven’t yet donated go to https://www.huntsmancancerfoundation.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=235 and make a generous donation.  In the comments area please write, “Jeff Warren’s Ride From Reno”. 

Well, back to Day 4.  We descended Sacramento Pass and rode to the Utah/Nevada border where we took a few photos before soldiering on across what is an interminable area of real estate:  Snake Valley.  No snakes seen this year but crossing the valley seems to take a freakin’ week!  I hate Snake Valley!  At this point during the day the wind was our friend, although that was about to change.  We climbed to Skull Pass (I think that’s what Jason said it was called) and the climb about killed me.  After 5 high summits yesterday I just didn’t have much, other than fumes, in the tank.  But I made it.  Jason is so strong and fast that the ride toward Delta was at breakneck speed, until we were 40-miles out.  In an instant the wind violently changed direction.  Huge dust storms came out of no where, towering in height and turning some areas dark as night.  We hunkered down while a few of them passed us by but the wind was relentless from the northeast.  We had 40-miles to go at 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 mph.  Jason was out in front doing his best to shield me from the brunt of the wind but when it’s blowing >50 mph (which it was at times), there’s not much protection anywhere! 

After slogging along for a couple of hours in the wind and dust, we struck upon something Janet and I used to do.  We had Jason’s dad, Sam, pull-up beside us in his pick-up and, keeping the truck between us and the wind, we drafted off the truck all the way to Hinckley.  Instead of 12 mph in the wind, with Sam’s help were at 21 mph!  What a life-saver.  Thank you Sam! 

We arrived in Delta a little after 7 p.m. and after spending ~ 9 hours on our bikes, only had 112 miles to show for it.  Maximum pain but little gain.  Four down and 1 to go.

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday I couldn’t get out of my own way and I was only able to reach our destination through the efforts of my companions; especially Jason Bleak, who literally pushed me along at times.  Yesterday I spent in the Hurt Locker, totally bonked. 

Today everyone pitched in to try and get me back on-track.  Pure Endurance.  Electrolyte drops.  I was taking anything and everything today in order to get my legs back.  If I’d had availability to EPO or transfused blood, I’d have taken it!  For the most part, the supplements worked.  I felt 1000% better than yesterday but still not back to where I should be.  The needle went so far into the negative yesterday that I fear it’s going to take several days for me to fully recover. 

We started today with a climb up to Pinto Pass.  No big deal; just a long grinding type of climb.  What made this day especially challenging is that after climbing and descending Pinto, it was across a long valley then up to Pancake Pass, down across a valley and up to Little Antelope Summit, then down and across another valley before beginning the process all over again for Robinson Pass.  As if all that wasn’t enough, at the end of the day was the highest pass to climb on the entire ride – Connor’s Pass at 7,729’.  So, 5 high mountain passes to climb in a single day, and this after riding ~260 miles the previous 2 days. 

Between Robinson Pass and Connor’s Pass is the community of Ely, Nevada.  Larry has already blogged about Judy’s adventure in getting to Ely to pick him up so I won’t go into detail, but since Larry had to leave us in Ely it was just me and Jason riding on.  The ride out of Ely was anything but fun.  In cycling, the wind is never ambivalent.  It’s either your friend or your enemy.  Never neutral.  As Jason and I rode out of Ely, it was into a brutal cross-wind that lasted for 20 miles.  Relentless wind.  But we rode on and crossed Connor’s and then a beautiful valley on the west edge of Great Basin National Park.  It was breathtakingly beautiful. 

I don’t know if Jason has written about it yet but, after we had racked the bikes at the end of the day, he spotted a rattlesnake in the brush.  He took out his camera to snap a pic and as soon as he depressed the shutter he got a message that the battery has expired!  So, no rattlesnake pic!  I have to say, however, we saw dozens of snakes as we rode between Dayton and Fallon, Nevada.  We passed by them so fast it was difficult to tell, unless they were smashed and bloody, which ones were dead and which were shopping for their next meal. 

I have to express my appreciation to Larry who had to leave us today for a business commitment in Miami.  I’ve grown to love Larry like a brother and cherish the time we’re able to spend together on our bikes.  Thank you, Larry, for your commitment to this ride and for your integrity and your friendship. 

I also have to express my appreciation to Jason for all he’s done to make this trip successful.  I think Jason was the very first person to sign-up for the Huntsman 140 but, even more than that, he took on the challenge of doing the entire Ride From Reno.  No small task and certainly no small undertaking.  Jason’s become a great friend and I can tell you he’s a man of honor, character, and integrity.  And he eats like a freakin’ horse!  When we’ve had dinner each evening, he orders 2 complete meals!  More than anything though, Jason is a great friend.  And a huge Machine on the bike! 

So, Day 3 is done.  No casualities, just tired bodies.  120 miles even today.  Don’t have the vertical off my computer but I know it’s more than I would have liked!  Can’t wait for tomorrow’s Day 4 ride to Delta, Utah!

Day 5, A rest day. I have had some chance today to reflect on where we have been this past week and looking at the photo with my hand on Jeff’s back all I can ask is “does my butt make my bike seat look small, or my bike seat, make my butt look big?” Lycra tells no lies. Somewhere around 472 miles with 24,529 feet of climbing over 12 summits, all with a leather wedgie, generates a unique experience.
As the body tires you begin to feel emotion that is normally repressed. With no warning I have felt like weeping for the loss of Alison and the many that are presently fighting Cancer. This entire experience has been a metaphor for the struggle one has with Cancer, ridden on the road labeled the “loneliest road in America” with just a few friends for support, with mountain after mountain to climb and persisting, almost mocking, cross and head winds on roads that would normally be easily traveled on a Bike. Anytime you are cycling there are inherent dangers, we have had a few close calls with people that have no sense for the value of a Life. Riding on a 2 lane highway on the traffic side of the rumble strip, trying to avoid the debris that covers the shoulder of the highway, there have been several occasions in which passing motorist and even a motorcycle rider have passed within a couple feet of us, horn blazing, even though the adjacent lane was completely empty. What point is to be made with this behavior? Basically just another ___hole with a driver’s license. In a car you can simply put on the brakes and (here is a novel idea) wait for a couple minutes if needed, before safely passing, no need to show those cyclists they don’t belong on the road, no need to run one down….. blah, yaddah, blah, and when you wave…..use all 5 fingers. That said, almost all of you out there are courteous, for you I give thanks. Many truckers, motorcycle riders, and motorists wave politely as we climbed those summits, even those small gestures help provide some encouragement.
At Sacramento Summit (the 11th summit we have climbed) we paused to pay tribute to a few that have passed and those that are struggling with Cancer. Using a few rocks I wrote Alison at the edge of the summit. She is gone but not forgotten. She had enough will power to complete a physical challenge like this one but she lost her struggle with Cancer much too soon in life. I also found out on Day 4 that my Aunt Grace has been diagnosed with Bone Cancer. These things help bring perspective; no one has ever deserved Cancer.
Larry Peterson had to leave our journey for business on Day 3. He has made reference to Jeff and I taking too long to gather our “dishes and dolls” at the start of day 3. I just wanted to clear this up; I only have action figures and a mess kit. It is without question that one person with a positive attitude, strong legs, and good mind can and does make a substantial difference. Larry has been missed and hopefully, with business obligations fulfilled, he will be able to join us on the final leg into SLC on Saturday.
Jeff has been an absolute inspiration. Some people have the ability to be a five star General, Jeff is such a man (I like to think of him as our good Napoleon). There is no quit in him. Even with much suffering on this “Bike Ride” he has not once shown that he would stop our quest. Many people may have climbed in the car and with A/C on ridden in comfort to our next destination to, “try again tomorrow” not Jeff, he is committed, He is truly Inspirational!!!!
Jim and Sam have done a great job driving support. During this struggle it has helped that the support vehicles carry the extra water and food in between the many miles of unoccupied road. At the Utah State line the sign clearly says “Next Services 83 Miles”. We could not have crossed these stretches without Jim and Sam.
At the end of this entry I would say thanks to all of you that have been following our Journey. Thanks for your support, for helping raise awareness and funds to combat Cancer.

A few for the road.

This is a rest day for Jeff and Jason, but for me it’s a day of high stress as I’m on the 32nd floor of an office building in Miami waiting for a call that will summons me to the court room to testify at a hearing. Hopefully it will all be done early this afternoon and I can be on my way back to Utah to join with my biking buddies for the ride on Saturday. In many ways the attached photos have meaning in lots of ways for those who want to reflect on life. Thanks for your support.