2008 RECORD SETTING
4-MAN TEAM ROAD RAGE
RACE REPORT
Athletic endurance events can generate friendships far stronger than one could reasonably explain. Something about the collective suffering and shared momentous experiences can bind people together like none other.
Team Road Rage was derived from a group of guys who met at prior events: Tony from Colorado, Andre' from Utah, Brian and Patrick from California.
The e-mails and calls came fast and furious between us regarding the Hoodoo 500. The course looked great, the dates were good, and it would be a real test of our mettle.
Each of us loved to ride competitively and a couple of the guys had some tough adventure racing experience as well. We all agreed this was up our alley, so the race was added to the calendar and the preparations began.
The most integral part of preparation for each of us was training for the event. The four of us all participate in USCF racing events during the summer, so a good deal of our training consisted in large part from actual racing.
We decided the best option for Hoodoo was to ride time trial bicycles (aero bars, deep/disc wheels, the whole nine yards) instead of a standard road bike. We debated this for some time before the event, but finally opted in favor of the TT machines.
The debate came in regards to the amount of climbing we would be doing (36000 ft - OUCH!!!). We wondered if the lighter road bikes would be better, but the TT bikes won out and we feel like that decision turned out to be a good one. The time we made up on the flatter and downhill portions of the course easily made up for any lost on the climbs.
Support crew for us was also critical. A good support crew can make up hours of time during an event like Hoodoo 500.
We relied on them to transfer bikes into and out of the van, prepare all our food and bottles, change any wheels as we needed, set up and turn on our lights, navigate correctly, help plan bike leg change intervals, and much more....
The idea here was that the riders had one job to do: ride; the support crew did everything else reasonably possible.
Levi was our driver. He gets props for breaking all kinds for records . . . driving for 24 hours straight, finding places to safely pull off the side of the road at a moment’s notice, navigate the course, and never get lost.
Teresa was our bike loader, feeder, human GPS and constant morale support. Both Levi and Teresa kept the energy going for the entire event. Shortly after the event, the energy level dropped beyond the last notch for everyone, crew and team alike!
We rented a 15-passenger van and had the two rear bench seats removed, leaving the front 2 seats and two rows of bench seats, and thus providing ample room to accommodate the six of us. The bikes could go in the back of the van without wheels being removed, so this was ideal.
Levi occupied the driver’s seat, and Teresa was in the front passenger. Two riders on the first bench seat waiting for their turn on the bike, while the back bench seat was for the rider who just completed, with one rider then on the road.
Keeping bike exchanges short (never much more than 30 minutes) kept the whole
team somewhat rested and still able to eat and recover before the next
rotation.
Bike hand-offs were also critical to saving us a lot of time on the road. For
the fastest hand-offs we would drive a few mins up the road from our rider A
(usually where we could barely see the rider) then rider B got out and prepped
to go.
When rider A was about 1/4 mile from rider B, rider B started to ramp up, coming to full speed by the time rider A caught him and handed off. The van would then drive past rider A about 1/4 mile, to allow him to cool down and come to an easy stop. By the time rider A stopped and loaded into the van, rider B was way up the road. The van then drove up the road to repeat this choreographed exchange about 100 times total during the event. On a hill hand-off, rider B would adjust speed to take off once rider A was almost upon him. Other teams didn't quite catch on to this methodology, as outlined in the Hoodoo 500 race manual, thus making for some interesting conversation out on the road. Most of the race we only had one person out on the road during any given rotation; however, towards the end of the race we doubled and even tripled up riders per leg to squeeze a few seconds out of the clock. The final leg we all rode, and thought we were lost at one point, when we were in actuality only about 1 mile from the finish! We all had moments when we felt like we needed to skip a rotation on the bike but no one ever did. Starting to skip turns on the bike puts more pressure on the other riders and eventually everyone would want to be off the bike. None of us slept the whole time.
Nutrition: This sounds obvious but the key was for us to eat and drink . . . a lot! Generally one water or electrolyte drink mix on the bike, and then each time we completed a leg of the event we would consume one bottle of Sustained Energy, Prolong Energy, or similar product. This stuff mixes well with water, goes down very easily, and is designed to be gentle on the stomach. All the guys on Team Road Rage have used these products for a few years now and virtually eliminated energy level issues during racing, period. As it turns out, Hammer Nutrition - the maker of Sustained Energy - is a sponsor of the Hoodoo 500 race, so big kudos to them. Once every few hours we would mix it up with a sandwich or sugary treat. However, we were careful with our sugar intake, as eating too much sugar is a sure way to run into problems later in the race. As with any difficult endurance event like the Hoodoo 500, putting out a repeated hard effort over an extended period of time causes you to have to force yourself to eat and drink more often than not; the important thing is to find something that goes down easily and stays down!
From what we understand, the temperature was far milder than in '07; regardless, in the wee hours of the morning we hit sub freezing temperatures on the climb after Penguitch . . . out came the winter gear: heavy gloves, tights, several layers of clothes, and a wind breaker. We found that the start of each leg was chilly but we would quickly warm up. By the time each leg was over we were covered with sweat, traded off and then jumped in the van to dry off (not so much warm up). To dry our clothes completely between pulls we would drape them over the seats and crank the heat. I remember our support asking to turn down the heat . . . can you say sauna. Anyway, we were warm and dry, ready for the next chilly blast. After descending about 5000 ft into Cedar City and beyond, the sun finally cracked over the horizon and gave us a new boost of energy to bring us "home".
A few vivid memories along the way:
What a truly spectacular race. Southern Utah is an amazing spectacle of nature, and the stunning scenery is medicine for the soul to ease the pain endured along the way. Great roads with little traffic, and terrific race staff made this a must do again for us.
We will be back in '09 to defend our title and hope to set a new course record. Are you ready for an epic adventure? See you out there on the road!
Team Road Rage 2008.