This is the first in a two-part post about the experiences of Mick Walsh, Chris Ragsdale, and Bob Brudvik’s at this year’s Silver State 508.
The Silver State 508 is one of ultra bicycle racing’s top objectives. Formerly known as the Furnace Creek 508 when it was held in Southern California and passed through Death Valley National Park, the event has migrated to Nevada as a result of permitting difficulties with the National Park Service. The current iteration of the race is an out and back from Reno to Eureka on Hwy 50. Nicknamed “The Loneliest Road in America,” Hwy 50 is a stark, spectacular stretch of road that traverses Nevada’s Great Basin.
Although Seattle has less than favorable cycling conditions, we are home to some of the top ultra distance cyclists and racers in North America, if not the world. The Seattle International Randonneurs are one of the largest randonneuring clubs in the world, and we have a number of top riders who straddle the worlds of randonneuring, ultra racing, and category racing.
This year’s competitors from Washington included a Kennewick/Burbank–based 4-person team called Chinook, and Mick Walsh as a solo competitor. Mick’s crew consisted of 508 veterans Chris Ragsdale and Bob Brudvik. All three have deep ultra racing and randonneuring credentials, and the challenge going into this year’s race was how to deal with recurring belly problems Mick has experienced in ultra races. Although Mick seems to do fine on overnight randonneuring and training rides, he’s consistently had trouble during 24+ hour races.
Prior to the 508, Mick had competed in three other ultras this year with mixed results.
In June he competed in as part of a two-man team with Boulder’s George Thomas (who is also the race director for Race Across Oregon) in the 860-mile Race Across the West from Oceanside CA to Durango CO:
“We were doing great for the first 400 miles or so, even racing neck and neck with Adam Bickett and Marko Baloh. I began to feel terrible on Mingus Mountain, just before Prescott AZ. I couldn’t keep food or water down for the last 400 miles and really had to dig deep. We did set a new 50+ 2-man record and won the 2-person overall. I went to urgent care after we finished and got 3 liters of fluids!”
In July Mick attempted a solo Race Across Oregon:
“I was doing fine for the first 200 miles, but suddenly got terribly sick at around mile 230, which turned in to yet another DNF (did not finish) at this race. Afterwards I seriously thought about quitting ultra racing altogether, and I quit drinking coffee.”
In August Mick attempted a solo ~452-mile Cascade Ultra, which started and finished in Redmond:
“I felt really good for most of this race. I did 300 miles in 17 hours or less and had a 2-hour lead. But, once again I got violently sick around midnight and got another DNF. I decided to quit eating meat. If this keeps up, I won’t be eating anything but vegetables and rice!”
Held on October 5, this year’s 508 required Chris and Bob to bring all of their ultra race experience and wisdom to bear to get Mick to the finish line.
Mick’s Race Report:
The race began with 8 miles of neutral roll-out followed almost immediately by an 8-mile climb. I felt okay but wasn’t able to maintain the pace of the first 3 guys, and once I settled into my own pace a couple of other guys passed me as well. I switched to my TT bike at the first crew support point at about mile 28. It was starting to get warm, so I tried to keep a good even pace to keep from getting overheated. A couple more guys passed me and I passed one.
I had been on the TT bike for about 70 miles where we were getting into some hills. I started to feel poorly on the climb to Carroll Summit at 7,200 feet (the race started at 4,500 feet), at mile 141. I felt weak and tired and was planning on a rest and a snack at the time station in Austin, mile 185. I got sick at about mile 175 and ended up going really slowly on the climb into Austin, getting passed by 4 or 5 people. I had difficulty getting off my bike and standing, so Chris and Bob, wisely got a motel room close by and I crawled into bed, shivering. I think I slept 2.5-3 hours and woke up at 9 pm not wanting to go back out on my bike, but I knew I needed to try. I could always come back to the room.
I got going slowly; it was a 1,000-foot climb to 7,400 feet and I knew I needed to toughen up when I saw Sandy Earl walking her recumbent bike up the hill. After a couple of hills, I started feeling a bit better, and seeing bike lights ahead helped keep me going. My challenge now was to see how many people I could catch!
At the turnaround point, I was quite happy with how things were going, and at 1:30 am I was not sleepy after having sleep time earlier. When we got back to Austin, where I spent time in the motel, the time station staff was amazed at how well I’d recovered.
It felt pretty good to be feeling strong in the latter part of the race. I had a few battles with riders as I caught them, but I just maintained my tempo and wore them down. You can go from feeling great to struggling to keep moving forward if you push it over your threshold in the latter part of an ultra race.
With the 4-hour “break,” I did run a negative split, 19 hours out and 16 hours back, ironic because I had a 15/16 hour target in my mind.
Recovering so well was a highlight of this race after the 2 DNFs earlier in the season. The biggest thrill for me, though, was having the fastest split of all solo racers from the last time station to the finish. A ninth place finish, and first 50-59 male, was far more than I could have hoped for as I struggled to get back on my bike at 9 pm with 320 miles to go at the rear of the field.
Almost everyone who has ridden over 100 miles has experienced belly problems. Given your multiple unfortunate experiences with belly problems do you have any advice you can share?
Everyone has advice about what works for them, but we’re all different and it comes down to trying things out for yourself. It’s tough, for me at least, because training and brevets don’t cause any issues and you can only do a few races a year to try new ways to stay fueled.
As for advice, if you’re having stomach issues, you just need to try different things. I think, for me, I just need very little food and I am beginning to think solid food is not compatible with my gut while racing. I’ve discovered chocolate milk this year; it works great for me.
What is in your cycling calendar in 2015?
I hope to do Pac Tour Elite in May, a 17-day trip from San Diego CA to Savannah GA, led by Lon Haldeman and Susan Noterangelo. Plus Race Across Oregon and the Silver State 508.
Next: Mick’s crew’s perspective on this year’s 508.
