HooDoo 500 Wrap-Up Based On My Perspective

I realize that it’s been a month since the race but I wanted to make sure I captured the entire experience in writing so I wouldn’t forget the details. If you are interested in a detailed play-by-play from my perspective, then click here to

It’s hard to put in words the experience/journey I embarked on to complete the HooDoo 500 race. I will never forget having dinner with Michele on her birthday (June 16^th) when I told her, actually asked, if I could do this race. At the time, all I knew was that it was a 520 mile bike race in St. George, UT, and it was a qualifier for 2009 Race Across America (RAAM). I really hadn’t been doing that much riding up until that point…maybe 100-150 miles a week. I was riding consistently, but not much volume. I knew I had 3 months to ride as much as I possibly could to train for this race. My rides would have to consist of base/tempo miles, with a couple of big volume days (150 to 200 miles) and a couple of night rides. Of course she agreed with just as much knowledge that I had venturing into the world of Ultra-cycling.

So in great detail here is my story…

To spare repeating myself of the journey leading up to the race, I will start from Friday (September 12^th), the day before. At this point, we (Michele, Abby and I) had already arrived in St. George. Friday was a day of preparation….getting the bikes and truck ready, going on a 30 mile ride to make sure everything was working, and registering for the race. Needless to say, I had everything dialed in and was ready to go by 8pm. I wasn’t nervous at all. More anxious to get out and do it. Before calling it a day, I had a team meeting with my crew, which was made up of Michele, Bob (father-in-law) and Carl (friend of the family). I went over the game plan and told them that there was NO WAY I was going to quit the race unless I physically couldn’t pedal anymore or risk potential injury. I knew the biggest challenge was going to be the mental part. Physically I knew I could do it. All I asked is that they keep positive attitudes and to not let me talk myself into quitting.

Morning of the race….5am the alarm clock goes off and I think I may have gotten 4-5 hours of sleep. The anxiety caught up to me when I laid down to go to sleep. It was like I was a kid on Christmas Eve and I couldn’t wait to get up and open my presents the next morning.

We finally arrived at the Start/Finish at 6:30am. Race start time was 7am. Plenty of time to get ready. There wasn’t much hype at the start of the race. A group picture was taken, a quick debriefing of the race rules and before you knew it we were being lead out to the start point, about 6 miles from the hotel. 15 of us started the race…

Going into the race my plan was to focus on racing from Time Station (TS) to Time Station (TS). I wasn’t going to think about racing the entire 520 miles. I wanted to break the race down into stages. Psychologically I knew this would make it easier and keep me focused on finishing. So here is the break down my 520 mile experience:

Start Line to TS #1 (Total race miles: 82.2; Miles from Start to TS #1: 82.2; Time at TS #1: 11:27am, Approx. total hours: 4.5):

I had set my time goals based on the times from the winner of last year. This stage my goal was to average 18 mph and be at TS #1 in less than 5 hours. I did both. I averaged 18.5 mph and hit the TS in 4 hours, 30 minutes (30 minutes faster than last year’s winner). I rode the entire section with Kenneth Philbrick and Joel Sothern.  Kenneth ended up taking 1^st and Joel took 4^th. The pace was fast. I even told Michele that there was no way we could keep this up for the next 400+ miles. The quick pace really broke up the group. 6 of us stayed within 10 minutes of each other for the first stage. Overall I felt great at this point. We only had one big climb in this section….25 miles of about 2500 feet of climbing.

TS #1 to TS #2 (Total race miles: 154.2; Miles from TS #1 to TS #2: 72; Time at TS #2: 4:04pm, Approx. total hours: 4.5):

The first 20 miles of this section started with a climb…2,700 more feet to about 8,000 feet elevation. Keep in mind….Big Bear is at about 8,000 feet elevation. My goal was to get to TS #2 within 4 hours and 30 minutes…I just made it. I am now off pace from last years winner by about 20 minutes. I wasn’t worried at this point and actually not surprised.  I was still within 20 minutes of the top 4 guys. My focus now was on the guys ahead of me, not my personal time. At this point, it is what it is. Until the first guy that crosses the finish line that’s not currently a RAAM qualifier, is when I start thinking about time. I still felt pretty good at this point. The weather was perfect (about 75-80 degrees). Going into TS #2 my legs were fine, but I started feeling the onset of saddle sores…not good this early in the race.

TS #2 to TS #3 (Total race miles: 203.9; Miles from TS #2 to TS #3: 50; Time at TS#3: 6:36pm, Approx. total hours: 2.5):

Finally I had a little bit of a relief, the first 20 miles was a long descent back to 5,000 feet elevation, which immediately went into another climb back to 7,500 feet within 15 miles. This was probably the hardest/steepest climb at this point in the race. There were sections where the grade went to 12%. On a bike, it feels like you are pedaling straight up. Once I reached the summit, I descended again back to 5,800 feet to TS#3. I was 200 miles into the race at this point and had been on my bike for about 11.5 hours straight. Legs were still feeling good. No cramping. Nutrition was dialed in. Saddle sores were getting worse and more uncomfortable to sit in the saddle. Going into TS #3 the time gaps opened up a little. It was a race for second at this point. Kevin McNulty got out in front by about an hour. Five of us were still within 20 minutes of each other. We had about an hour of daylight left and I know things change when the sun goes down.

TS #3 to TS #4 (Total race miles: 285.5; Miles from TS #3 to TS #4: 81; Time at TS#4: 1:19am, Approx. total hours: 6.75):

In my opinion, this where everything changed in the race. It’s an 81 mile stage with over 5,000 feet of climbing. The summit of the climb was about 9,000 feet elevation. It was the first stage of racing in the dark and the distance to the summit of the climb was approximately 25 miles. There were sections where the grade increased to 12% for long periods. Two things that I took from this stage: 1) I am not a big fan of climbing at night. I could never get a good read on what was up the road and how far I had to climb. My only gauge was to see how high up I could see the reflectors on the side of the road; 2) Descending at night is very stressful. On the back side of the climb the descent was approximately 10 miles descending about 3,000 feet. My biggest fear was having a deer run in front of me doing 40 mph downhill. All I could do is hold on, ride the centerline and pray nothing runs out in front of me.

I finally made it to TS #4 at 1:19am. I was now sitting in a comfortable 5^th place. I also got word at this point about the DNFs (Did Not Finish) of racers behind me and the biggest shock was Kevin McNulty who was in the lead for most of the day. 4^th place was 45 minutes ahead of me. I decided TS #4 would be a good time to get something a little more substantial to eat (bowl of plain pasta with olive oil). The temperature was about 35 degrees so I put on layers of clothes thinking this would be the coldest it would get and I should be fine until TS #5. I was hoping to get to there around 7am. The topo map only showed a 10 mile climb coming out of the TS #4 climbing back to about 8,500 feet, then mostly downhill from there. Total time spent at TS #4 was about an hour. I thought for sure some of the guys in front of me would stop later in the night and I could make up some of the time. I was wrong…..

TS #4 to TS #5 (Total race miles: 375.0; Miles from TS #4 to TS#5: 90; Time at TS#5: 11:46 am, Approx. total hours: 10.5)

This was the stage that completely changed the race for me and had to overcome the biggest hurdle. It was the longest stage of race, but not the hardest in terms of the topography. Prior to the race I checked the weather at each city that I would be riding through. What I didn’t take into account was that about 80 miles of this stage descended into a valley. About 2 hours into the stage I started the long descent in to this valley. As I was descending I was losing feelings in my hands and feet and had a hard time breathing. The temperate had actually dropped to 22 degrees, not including the wind chill factor while I was riding on the bike. I couldn’t tell if my hands were on the brakes or the hoods of the handle bars. Things really started to hurt. I got in the truck to try to warm-up for about 5 minutes, but that wasn’t enough time. My core body temp had dropped too low and I physically couldn’t pedal, let alone get back on the bike. I was shaking too hard. I really started to question if I could finish the race at this point. I was tired, freezing and had been on the bike for almost 24 hours with only about 1 hour off the bike since I started the race. If it wasn’t for Michele stepping up and telling me that there was no way I was going to quit and how much I would hate myself the next morning if I did and her telling me that I wasn’t just racing this for myself, but that she had worked her “ass off” for the last 24 hours and there are too many friends and family out there encouraging to move on…quitting wasn’t a choice for me. Michele made an executive decision at this point and decided this would be a good time to rest, warm-up and get back on the bike when I was ready. I also knew I had a substantial lead on the guy behind me, so I could afford some rest time. The sun was also going to come up in about an hour and things were going to change again.

About an hour and half later and only 30 minutes of sleep, the sun started to break and I got back on the bike. It took about 5 miles for the blood to get moving again and I got my second wind. There was no way I wasn’t going to finish this race. I eventually rolled into TS #5 at 11:46am. About 3.5 hours behind my goal. It didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to get to the finish line at this point and I only had 143 miles to go. While I was taking my break Chris O’Keefe, the 6^th place guy, caught me and now I was riding just to stay in 5^th. Again, I wasn’t worried. I just needed to race my race and I knew I had the biggest climb in the next stage, a great place to regain my 5^th place position.

I started to have a really hard time staying in the saddle because of my sores, which forced me to come out of the saddle and pedal. This transferred a lot of pressure to my knees which eventually became painful to pedal standing up. I was in and out of the saddle a lot.

TS #5 to TS #6 (Total race miles: 433.9; Miles from TS #5 to TS#6: 59; Time at TS#6: 5:30pm, Approx. total hours: 6):

A 15 minute break at TS #6 and I was off again. About 2 miles out of TS #6 is when the biggest climb of the race started….30 miles of climbing to over 11,000 feet in elevation. By far, the hardest climb I have ever ridden. At times, I never thought I would get to the top. It was also the most beautiful scenic part of the ride. I knew once I got to the summit the hardest stage of the race was over. From the summit I had a 25 mile descent to the next TS. This descent for me was the easiest part, but the most stressful for my crew. I reached speeds of 40+mph but created a huge traffic jam behind me, which I had no idea. Michele claims she had her head out the window screaming at me for me to pull over. I couldn’t hear a thing. Needless to say I made it to TS #6 safely. 84 miles to go to the finish line! I felt good…knees and sores were bad but all I could think about was finishing. I knew I had it in me and to finish in 5^th place. I gained enough time on Chris that I didn’t have to worry about my position. It was just a matter of getting there safely. I remember telling my crew that this was it…. I ONLY had 84 miles to go. In a 520 mile bike 84 miles is nothing. Michele asked me what I wanted when I crossed the finish line…I told her “a pizza and an ice cold pitcher of beer.” She told me then that’s what you are riding for this last 84 miles.

I really wanted to finish less than 40 hours and all I had to do ride the last 84 miles in 4.5 hours. In my mind, I thought I could it.

TS #7 to TS #8 (Total race miles: 503.9; Miles from TS #7 to TS#8: 70; Time at TS#7: 10:20pm, Approx. total hours: 5):

This stage turned out to be little harder than what I expected. There was a lot more climbing than what the map showed. It seemed like it was one climb after the other. I never thought I would get to the last TS. My legs at this point were toast, saddle sores were killing me and my knees couldn’t take the pressure of coming out of the saddle anymore. And on top of that…it was night time AGAIN.

With only 2 miles to TS #8 (last one until the finish line) I rolled up to a climb that I could not see the top. I just knew it was steep and long. I waived to my crew to come around. I told them that I was done. I don’t think I can make it up this hill. With no hesitation Michele stuck her head out the window and responded, “You’ve got only 2 miles to the last TS. I can’t promise you that this is the last climb, but what I can tell you, is that it’s all down hill to the finish in 2 miles. I know it hurts, but you only have 16 miles to go. You can’t quit.” That’s what I needed to hear.

I eventually made it over the top and to the last TS.

TS #8 to Finish (Total race miles: 503.9; Miles from TS #8 to Finish: 14; Time at TS#4: 11:58pm, Approx. total hours: 2.5 ):

The last 14 miles into town the support crew was not allowed to follow. This was the first time since I started the race that I didn’t have any support. It was a bizarre feeling. It was like I was saying goodbye and that I wasn’t going to see them for a long time. When in actuality it should only be 45 minutes. I took the directions to the finish, put them in my jersey pocket and rolled off.

Riding back I realized that I made one of the biggest mistakes in Ultra-cycling…I didn’t ride the last 14 miles of the course before the race started. It was 10:30pm, dark, I had ridden over 500 miles, had been on peanut butter and honey sandwiches/Cliff Shots/Pretzels/Pasta/Red Bull/Water/Xtend/PowerBar drink diet for the last 40+ hours. I was tired and not 100% mentally engaged. All of this equals to …..getting lost. Yup, that’s right. I got lost in the last 14 miles. I actually ended up riding an additional 20 miles and adding about 1.25 hours on to my time. If it wasn’t for Michele getting in the truck and driving around finding me, I probably would still be on the course trying to find the finish line. What a way to finish. Oh well, lesson learned.

I eventually crossed the line at 11:58pm. It was pretty anti-climatic….I rode through the finish line tape, 4 people were standing around clapping, had a quick photo shoot, and I got my “Finisher” medal. 10 minutes after I had crossed the line it was like someone turned the switch to off. The drive back and until I woke up in the morning is nothing but a blur. I remember that there were no pizza places open and no beer to purchase. All that we could find was a drive-thru McDonalds. The quarter pounder and fries didn’t taste good at all. I just wanted to take a warm bath and shower and go to bed. The next morning I was awaken by Abby telling me it was “morning time” and she was ready to play. What a finish……

Well there you have it! My two goals for the race were: 1) Finish and, 2) Finish in the top 5. I did both!!! Ultimately my biggest goal was to qualify for RAAM as a solo rider in 2009. Unfortunately I missed it by about 3 hours. That’s ok…there is always next year. The fact that I only had 3 months of serious training and preparation, and that I finished the race was an incredible accomplishment for me. In hindsight, I did the best I could under the conditions that were given to me. I could not have asked for a more rewarding and lifetime remembrance. There is definitely more “ultra-races” for me in the future.

Before I close this out, I have to thank everyone that was involved in this entire journey with me. If it weren’t for them and their support I would never have been able to accomplish this experience…..

I first and foremost want to thank Michele. If it wasn’t for her there is no way I would have finished the race. She wore every hat you could imagine…she was my coach, my motivator, photographer, videographer, she made me all my meals and drinks, she kept everyone in the know, including me, on what was going on in the race through emails, text messages, twitter…..you name it she did it. There is no one else that I would have wanted more to be with me than her. She really stepped up to the plate and I can’t thank her enough!!!!!

I also want to thank the following people for all of the support and motivation and providing me with everything I needed:

-   Friends and Family

-   R.I.P.P.E.D. Family (www.rippedusa.com)

-         Rock N Road Cyclery (www.rocknroadcyclery.net)

-         Dynamic Touch (www.dynamictouchmassage.com)

-         Skins (www.skins.net)

-         Chuck Rudolph, MEd, RD (www.balancenutrition.net)