June and July are THE months for ultra cycling events in North America, and despite our rainy training conditions, Seattle area racers consistently appear on the podium at these remarkable competitions. This year, Seattleite Mick Walsh and George Thomas from Hood River will be competing as a two-man team in the 2010 Race Across the West (RAW). RAW is the first 860+ miles of Race Across America (RAAM), and covers RAAM’s most challenging desert and mountain terrain.
The race starts near the Oceanside Pier, CA on June 9th at noon and ends in Durango, CO the weekend of June 12-13. Racers are expected to begin arriving in Durango Friday June 11. Competitors include solo riders and 2- and 4-person teams.
Seattle local Mick Walsh brings a lifetime of racing experience to the team.
Irishman Mick Walsh is well-known in racing circles, and has recently started to expand his already diverse cycling repertoire with the Randonneurs. Mick has to be one of the toughest and most versatile cyclists around. He started cycling in 1976, racing in 1977, and in the US since 1995 has raced for Thomas Kemper, Mongoose, Saturn of Seattle, First Rate Mortgage and is currently with Echelon/ Zteam. Highlights from his lengthy race resume include:
-1983 Ironman Hawaii (12hrs 22mins)
-1984 Nice Triathlon World Championships competitor
-1989 2nd place Irish senior men’s Road Race Championships
-1999 WA senior men’s road Race Champion and Best All Around Racer
-2007 master’s men 1st Wenatchee Stage Race
-2007 master’s men 3rd place stage win Elkhorn Classic Stage Race
-2009 master’s men 2nd Elkhorn Stage Race
Mick says he’s only spent about 6 hours on a trainer in his entire life; he has not done interval training in 25 years, and doesn’t use a power meter or a heart rate monitor. (Which is consistent with the training approach of another top Seattle-area ultra competitor and one of Mick’s training partners, Chris Ragsdale.)
Mick says: “I ride my bike for fun.” The proof is Mick’s mileage for last year: 15,921
Hood River local George Thomas is a veteran Race Across America competitor.
Ultra enthusiasts will recognize George Thomas as a frequent RAAM competitor, and because he and his partner Terri Gooch run the Race Across Oregon (RAO) and the Northwest Time Trail Series (which includes the Deschutes River Time Trial and the Ring of Fire Time Trial.) George recently published his first book, “Going the Distance,” which is the inspiring story of his quest to physically and emotionally prove himself after a car accident left him with life-threatening epileptic seizures.
The burning questions:
How did you guys come up with the idea to do this as a team?
Mick: George’s original partner withdrew, so he was getting desperate and asked me if I would be interested. I have done some ultra races, and am planning to compete in Race Across Oregon solo this year, so I thought RAW would be a great opportunity to get some good prep and learn from the master. I also knew George would be organized and have a good crew in place to make this a good experience.
George: I’ve actually wanted to do a relay with Mick for quite awhile. With the NW race calendar what it is this time of year, I wasn’t expecting him to accept so I couched the invitation as great training for RAO solo. I’m hoping he has a blast and I can get him interested in relaying a Race Across America sometime.
What kinds of previous cycling experiences/races have led to making this year’s RAW an objective?
Mick: I did RAO on a 4-man team last year and had a great race, also have done the Lewis and Clark 12 hr, Ring of Fire 12hr (on a tandem) and unsuccessfully attempted the 24hr Ring of Fire, twice.
George: I’ve finished RAAM six times – 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2004 – as well as a number of 24s and 500s. When RAW started two years ago I was intrigued since it was longer than the typical endurance race (600k, 24 hour or 500 miler) but wouldn’t take the amount of training required for RAAM. Last year I was asked by the race organizers to announce the RAAM start, finish and banquets. Then I was asked if I’d officiate in between. I told them I’d officiate if I could race the first 1,000 miles. They accepted and I entered RAW with Tom Leitsinger. Tom and I had a great time topped off by winning. It was pretty wild to take a nap, announce the RAW banquet, officiate to Maryland then spend the next four days announcing. When they asked me to do it again this year I didn’t hesitate to accept!
Tell us about how you have trained for RAW.
Mick: I’ve been racing less this year–just a few WSBA and OBRA races. I did two 200k and one 300k with Seattle Randonneurs in March/ April and some rides with (Seattle resident) Chris Ragsdale (2009 Furnace Creek 508 Champion) which were very hard, but we maintained good speed for 10+ hrs.
George: I spent a couple of weeks in Texas hoping for warm weather training and instead hit some of the coldest, wettest weather of the season. But, I got in some big mileage weeks all the same. I put in a lot of mileage towing my three year old in the Burley trailer through Gorge headwinds and up Mt. Hood. I’ve also spent just about every weekend of April and May riding the nastiest – er – most scenic sections of the Race Across Oregon route.
How does RAW fit into your overall season objectives? Is it a lead-in to something else, or is it the “big” event for the season?
Mick: RAW is a build up to RAO and Ring of Fire 24hr which are my big events for the year.
George: RAW is fun and all part of my continued RAAM experience. I’m relaying a couple of 500s later in the season but RAW is the race I’m keying on the most.
Describe the support team you’ll have in place. Who will be helping and what roles will they have. How many support vehicles?
Mick: That’s the benefit of racing with a legend like George Thomas, he had a crew in place of experienced people from all parts of the country, mainly Texas. We will each have a support van with 3 crew in mine and 2 in George’s van. Sharon Stevens from Dallas is our crew chief.
George: We have 5 crew members. One is from Oregon, one from Minnesota and three from Texas. They are in for 48 of the most exhausting hours of their lives. Between driving, navigating, time station check-ins, record keeping, feeding, massage, mechanics, twitter updates and plenty more there is not much time for a luxury like sleep.
Describe the race plan. How frequently will you be rotating? How much rest will you get in between each ride?
Mick: There are a lot of X-Factors in ultra racing, as you know, but the plan is to take 30-60 min pulls for the most part, maybe 2 hrs on occasion to let the other rider sleep. We also may do shorter 15 min pulls if it gets REALLY hot in the desert.
George: Mick totally summed it up. It’s important to have a plan but, in a race such as this, it’s even more important to be flexible. What we don’t want is to allow another team to dictate our race. If we meet the goals we’ve set for ourselves we should do very well.
Do you have rotations planned based on your cycling strengths and weaknesses relative to the course profile?
Mick: Yes, I will be doing most of the climbs and George on the flats.
George: It seems so unfair for Mick to do all that work going up only to reward me with a wonderful descent. Sometimes it’s nice being the big person.
Given the difficult climbing and challenging terrain, what kinds of precautions are you taking to ensure a successful race?
Mick: I think anticipating extreme heat (Mick has had trouble with heat in past ultra events); starting slowly and shorter rotations will be key.
George: The desert heat is daunting – especially when I’ve got my arm warmers rolled down and jersey unzipped on a broiling hot 65 degree day here in Hood River. It is so important to not get caught up in the early excitement of the race. It’s so hard to swallow the ego and remember that it doesn’t matter at all who is first to Time Station #1, the California border or anywhere else other than the finish line.
How do you define “success” in this event?
Mick: Finishing strong and being on speaking terms with George and our crew would be number one goal. Time goal is probably about 48-50 hrs, though we haven’t officially set that yet.
George: I’ll feel that we had a successful race if I know that I gave my maximum effort on every pull, didn’t let Mick or the crew down, maintained friendships with the team and finish officially (weather permitting somewhere around 48 hours).
Follow and support Mick and George as they push their minds and bodies to the limit starting June 9 via their Twitter feed.
