2008 RAWROD: Take it Easy

04.28.2008 | 1:28 pm

Last Saturday, I did something I have never done before. For the first time since I have begun riding about fifteen years ago, I embarked on 100-mile mountain bike ride with no objective other than to enjoy myself.

I would not worry about who was behind me and catching up. I would not care how long I was out on the ride. I would not worry about whether I was eating the right food, or what my heartrate was. I would not, in short, treat this ride as if it were a race.

And the day was spectacular.

The Night Before

Most people don’t realize how simple it is to make people think you are a wonderful human being, so I shall reveal the one infallible method to do this:

Boil a copious quantity of brats in a beer-and-onion stew for 25 minutes. Grill over an open flame. Serve on Kenny’s homemade bread with mustard.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing. I took charge of boiling the brats, Kenny handled the grilling and the bread. Lo and behold, we were both recognized as marvelous people by one and all.

Everyone stood around the campfire right at the top of Horsethief — the beginning and endpoint of the ride we’d be doing tomorrow, as well as the campsite for the night — and ate their fill (ranging from 1 to 4 brats per person — I had 2), then just chatted.

Slowly but surely, I’m being won over by this camping thing.

By about 10:30, the group broke up and I headed off to the tent, where I had set up a cot. For extra insulation, I had brought a second sleeping bag. I didn’t really need it, though; it was strictly a 1-bag night.

BotchedExperiment — who was sleeping outside the tent in this homemade all-in-one canvas/mattress/sleeping bag contraption he has created — loaned me a pair of earplugs. These proved to be invaluable, since everybody in the tent (including me, from what I’m told) snored a bit.

Even without taking Ambien (or anything else), I slept fine.

Getting Started

The next morning, Dr. BotchedExperiment admitted he had had a miserable night. When he had packed, he had neglected to include an important component in his all-in-one sleeping contraption: the sleeping bag part.

I can scarcely describe my pleasure in telling Botched that I had brought an extra sleeping bag he could have used, had he only asked.

Poor Botched. Hahahahahaha.

Around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning (I wasn’t wearing a watch), we started rolling. Normally, I would have made sure I was one of the first ones going, and would have made a point of staying with the lead pack.

This time, I left toward the back of the group, and before long was even further in the back. This would be an emerging pattern, and one that I became increasingly comfortable with.

The place we started from (top of Horsethief) and direction we rode the White Rim Loop — clockwise — meant that the first thirteen miles are on a gently rolling climb. This was a brilliant idea: instead of a hair-raising descent or brutal climb, how about beginning the day with a nice warmup on a wide dirt road? Here’s Brad (sporting the sleeveless jersey plus armwarmers look), Dug, and others tooling on up the road.

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And continuing on…

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Big, Bad Drop
After a relaxed cruise up the dirt road and a few miles of pavement, we were at the top of Schafer, a switchbacked, rutted out, dusty, rocky 2000-foot descent down the face of a cliff.

This was, essentially, the only time during the day I did not enjoy myself.

My left wrist hurt during the descent, threatening to buckle, which could have mean a catastrophic (i.e., fatal) fall. I was nervous and, frankly, resentful.

The good news, though, was that I wouldn’t have to climb it. Which is good, because Schafer was in bad enough shape that there’s no way I could have climbed that road on my Superfly, much less the single speed.

Brad is a Genius

As the worst, most nervous, twitchiest descender in the world, I had dropped way behind my friends by the time I got to the bottom of Schafer. To their credit, they rode a nice, pokey pace until I caught up, and then we were at the first re-grouping of the day, about 25 miles into the ride: Musselman’s Arch.

And this is where I noticed, for the first time, that Brad’s CarboRocket energy drink deserves to be a huge success. Brad had brought along a couple of big coolers filled with CarboRocket, and that’s what everyone was lining up to fill their bottles with.

I drank it all day, and never got sick of it. Others were saying the same thing. It is seriously the best energy drink I have ever tried.

Kenny likes it too:

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And here’s Brad, the genius behind CarboRocket:

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Uh, Brad? You’ve got something stuck in your teeth.

Something big.

This Place is Huge
Shortly after I arrived at the first regrouping spot, I saw a bunch of people take off, in a hurry to set a personal best, or to race someone to the finish line. I recognized that usually I would have been one of those people.

This time, though, I was just riding a comfortable pace and taking in the view.

And I was loving White Rim like I’ve never loved it before.

I didn’t worry much about whether I was going fast or slow enough to stay with a group, and as a result I sometimes rode with a good-sized group of people, sometimes nobody at all.

And I had plenty of time to take in the sheer enormity of White Rim. And you know what? It is huge. Mind-bogglingly big, really. It’s enough to make you feel tiny. Here’s Botched, for example, way off in the distance, all by his lonesome.

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Isn’t he tiny?

And here he is a few minutes later, evidently happy to see me:

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Someone should tell him his bike would go faster if he pedaled it.

Sleepy’s Story

Let me take a break from my own narrative to point out that just a few minutes after leaving Musselman’s Arch, Dug’s brother-in-law, Sleepy, crossed a major milestone: thirty miles into the ride marked — both in time and distance — the longest he had ever been on a bike.

And he was doing the whole thing on my old Gary Fisher Rig, a fully-rigid single speed. In other words, Sleepy did his first 100-mile ride, his first 2+hour ride, his first mountain bike epic, and his first rigid singlespeed endurance ride, all at the same time.

Dug does a good job of telling the story over at his blog (yeah, Dug has a blog now. We all knew he’d get one eventually).

Here’s Sleepy, contemplating the grandeur of the White Rim.

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It’s also possible that he’s just wondering about whether he could end his life painlessly by riding over the edge.

Oh yeah: Dug wanted me to take a picture of him at that spot. Here you go, Dug:

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The sad thing about this picture of Dug is that you can’t really see the knee-high black socks he’s wearing. Which is too bad, cuz they go great with the pink-and-white basket and the plaid shorts.

Something Is Wrong

Around lunchtime, I noticed something very peculiar. Specifically, I noticed that I felt fine. I wasn’t exhausted, I wasn’t twitchy, I wasn’t half out of my head with race-induced dementia.

I was, in short, enjoying myself.

Also, I noticed that the temperature was bizarre. It was no warmer than 70 degrees. I had a hard time resolving the incredibly comfortable riding conditions to the parched-desert look of White Rim. To have a clear, sunny day, mild breezes (with occasional gusty headwinds), and the exact temperature I set my thermostat to at home just seemed out of character.

I am not complaining.

Lunchtime is, by the way, the traditional time where we take the group picture:

rawrod08

Kenny sure knows how to put together a group ride. (Bonus: How many Twin Six jerseys can you find in this group shot?)

Two Different Rides

There’s a weird thing about riding the White Rim: it’s like two different rides. From Shafer to Murphy’s Hogback, it’s all wide open desert riding, with cliffs off in the distance. Then you cross over and from the Hogback to Horsethief, and you’re right in the middle of the cliffs and canyons, with the river right beside you.

Oh, and there’s a lot of sand, too. Which, by the way, never forced me off my bike. 29" wheels = good.

As I rowed my way through the sand, now 75-80 miles into the ride, I could really feel my left wrist starting to ache. Not bad enough to whine about it, but I whined anyway.

But I was still having a terrific time. At one cliff, about five guys got a big sandstone boulder and rolled it off the edge. It fell for about a five-count, and then exploded into dust, while many of us looked on, laying on our bellies and peering over the edge at the drop below. I was a fool and didn’t get a picture of this, but KanyonKris did, and it really gives you an idea of how far down that boulder had to fall.

From the left, I’m the third one on his belly. The one in the orange jersey. (I hope it’s OK that I stole your photo, Kris — it’s extraordinary.)

Almost There

KanyonKris, Adam Lisonbee, and I climbed Hardscrabble together. I pushed a lot, and so did Adam. However, Adam had a better excuse than I did: this was the second day in a row he had done this 100-mile epic.

Kris, meanwhile, was on a mission to climb the whole thing. I encouraged him as best as I could by singing "Eye of the Tiger." This was highly effective, mainly because it made him want to get away from me.

I wondered aloud to myself, "On a 100-mile ride, from mile 90 on all I can think about is the finish line. If this were only a 90 mile ride, I would have spent miles 80-90 thinking about the end. Why can’t I just enjoy the whole ride for what it is?"

To me, this seemed like a very sage question, and worthy of sharing. Mostly, people shook their heads and said "whatever." Pfff.

At the top of Hardscrabble Hill, Dug gave me half of his ice-cold Diet Coke with Lime, making him the best friend that has ever lived.

Moment of Strength

The way we had set up this ride, the last thing you have to do is climb up Horsethief. I’m not sure how long of a road it is — maybe 1.5 miles? — but it’s steep and it switches back over and over and over. Here’s a great shot of it by Adam Lisonbee:

horsethief1

For some reason, I wanted to show that I could clean it. On my singlespeed.

And I did it. I cleaned that road on my singlespeed. But it wasn’t so much a ride, as an exercise in rowing and ultra-slow-speed balancing. Several times I came either to a complete or near-complete halt, with my cranks in the 6 and 12 positions. It was more a matter of luck and fear of embarrassment that I didn’t fall over. Magically, Adam managed to get a picture of me doing this climb in such a way that it looks as steep as it felt:

horsethief2

Plus, Kenny and Brad were yelling encouragement from the top. Which helps. A lot.

Afterward

After finishing this ride, I felt something unique and new: I felt fine. I have never finished an epic without needing to sit and sip water and basically baby myself. But this time, not having killed myself during the ride, I felt tired — worked over, even — but not demolished.

I liked it.

We loaded up — Dug, Sleepy, BotchedExperiment, and me in my BikeMobile — and headed home, planning to gorge ourselves at Ray’s Tavern in Green River. A perfect end to what I would consider a perfect day.

But we had to stop for a moment to let BotchedExperiment throw up.

And then we had to stop for a moment for BotchedExperiment to throw up. Again. But that’s his story to tell.

And I hope he will.

56 Comments

  1. Comment by dug | 04.28.2008 | 1:39 pm

    that’s the best picture of brad i’ve ever seen. do we have a picture of you in your leadville jacket? they say the camera adds ten pounds, but that jacket adds about 75lbs.

  2. Comment by Ant | 04.28.2008 | 1:51 pm

    Awesome ride report, and isn’t it an absolute pleasure to enjoy a ride for what it actually is – ie a ride. No stressing about times, where you are in the field et al.

    I see Oakley haven’t come to the party yet with the Kenny-saving 2008 glasses yet though. Come one guys, this guys suffering on a daily basis here!

  3. Comment by Epic Adam | 04.28.2008 | 2:08 pm

    I am happy to report that I finally, and not until arriving at home, got that cream soda I was whining about all day.

    It was a pleasure riding with you. I got some good pictures of you, including one on horse thief that I think you will like.

  4. Comment by Epic Adam | 04.28.2008 | 2:15 pm

    7? Are there 7 T6 jerseys?

  5. Comment by Barbara | 04.28.2008 | 2:25 pm

    Yum, Cream Soda! (Soda is not one of my food vices, I drink about 1 soda a year, and it’s cream!)

    I hope you guys appreciate the scenery you get to ride in every day! I live on the east coast and have a lot of trees, which are lovely, but that red rock is awesome! I think it’s time for a Utah vacation.

  6. Comment by Rocky | 04.28.2008 | 2:27 pm

    I am envious. I drove through Moab at approximately 4:00 p.m.on Saturday, thinking that you were likely in the final miles of the ride. When I looked at the clock, the temperature read 59. The wind was calm, the sun was steady — the day seemed perfect. By your report, it was.

    Sadly, I did not have a bike with me as I drove through town. It was a tragic time for me. I sobbed quietly, just a little, until I heard the multiple roars of what I now understand to be BotchedExperiment ralphing his head off, again and again.

    I am glad for you Fatty. You deserve a sunny day or two in your life. Really you do.

  7. Comment by mark | 04.28.2008 | 2:28 pm

    Fatty, nice writeup about an epic day. I could not have asked for a better time or a better group to enjoy it with.

  8. Comment by BotchedExperiment | 04.28.2008 | 2:41 pm

    Fortunately/unfortunately nothing was actually coming out while I was “vomiting.” Who knew that if it’s been long enough since you’ve eaten or imbibed, that you start off with dry heaves?

  9. Comment by Daddystyle | 04.28.2008 | 2:52 pm

    Thanks fatty, that made my day.
    Glad your all safe and sound.

  10. Comment by KanyonKris | 04.28.2008 | 3:08 pm

    Excellent write-up. You have a gift for taking it all in and also noticing the meaningful details.

    I failed in my Hardscrabble mission, but the encouragement was appreciated and motivating (I’ll not say in which way ;-)

    The falling rock was captured in the image, but it’s hard to see. I’ve pointed it out here:

    http://picasaweb.google.com/KanyonKris/2008RAWROD/photo#5194432077820257042

    After someone asked me how the video of the rock falling tuned out – doh! That would have been the perfect use of the camera’s video feature.

    A very good ride. Great way to really kick off mountain biking this year.

  11. Comment by UtRacerDad | 04.28.2008 | 3:12 pm

    sounds like an awesome day and ride. It was great to read the ride report :).

  12. Comment by aussie kev | 04.28.2008 | 4:40 pm

    sounds like you had an awesome time, any chance of placing “google earth” points in your story, so “us” people down here in Australia can see where you were riding ???, looks like really cool country to be riding in.

    k

  13. Comment by Clydesteve | 04.28.2008 | 4:50 pm

    thanks for the write-up, elden. And, folks, dug’s write-up is worth looking up! RAWROD sounded like a complete blast.

    my 15-y-o son & I did our 1st decent ride of the year – 65 miles. He after 12.5 miles of charity jog-a-thon the day before. he specifically requested a flat ride. I told him this ride just has a few rollers (well 15 miles of them) and one climb (well, it was 12 miles long), but he was a stud about it.

    it was nice to FINALLY have good riding weather.

  14. Comment by Dobovedo | 04.28.2008 | 5:03 pm

    I have never, for one moment, understood the allure of mountain bike riding.

    I now realize that this is because I live in Dayton Ohio and there’s no advantage to riding a bike anywhere there isn’t perfectly good pavement nearby.

    But these photos, and the stories, tell me that if I lived anywhere even as close to that in beauty and adventure, and (I assume) FUN, I’d be purchasing and riding a mountain bike within hours. Multiple mountain bikes in fact.

  15. Comment by bradk | 04.28.2008 | 5:26 pm

    I was testing out a new flavor of CarboRocket, chunky peanut butter flavor. It’s a bit chunky but quite tasty. Goes down better than you’d think.

  16. Comment by Lucky Cyclist | 04.28.2008 | 5:31 pm

    Just because you can get a boulder off a cliff doesn’t mean you should.

  17. Comment by Keith | 04.28.2008 | 6:44 pm

    E, Thanks for boiling brats, barely bragging and beautifully boasting about that epic ride. It was great to meet so many people, see so much and ride so far. Your attitude brings everyone up a notch. Personally I think the rock wanted to fall off the cliff, it didn’t start where it was, had to come from higher up, we just helped along its way. Way way down. As someone said shortly afterwards “I get it now, you have to see it to get it.”

  18. Comment by Born4Lycra | 04.28.2008 | 7:07 pm

    Excellent lunchtime read on Tuesday here. I’m now off to read Dug’s bit.
    Excellent pics as well.

  19. Comment by Emily | 04.28.2008 | 7:37 pm

    That cliff photo is fantastic.

  20. Comment by Robb | 04.28.2008 | 7:49 pm

    glad you’re ok Botched!

  21. Comment by Philly Jen | 04.28.2008 | 8:43 pm

    Oh, for the love of oxygen, that cliff photo is making me dizzy! (Srsly, I’m scared of heights.)

    Does CarboRocket get rid of vertigo? Because then I’m right there with ya, I swear.

  22. Comment by PeterUK | 04.28.2008 | 9:56 pm

    Fatty, your post-ride reports always make me feel like I was there….
    Really, I just wanted to post a pic of that “mesh” bike you were going on about a while back, here’s a pic taken of it at the sea otter classic a couple of weeks ago…http://www.uploadandgo.com/images/meshbike.jpg

  23. Comment by buckythedonkey | 04.29.2008 | 12:24 am

    What a brilliant write-up – thanks! Taking the sportive approach is definitely the way to go.

    There are no less than eight T6 jersies in the group photo.

    Oh, and what is “rowing” exactly? Same as mashing?

  24. Comment by Karl McCracken | 04.29.2008 | 12:30 am

    Why is Kenny still wearing THOSE glasses? Did your blegging letter not yeild teh required result? Or does Kenny actually LIKE the ones he’s already got?

  25. Comment by minermike | 04.29.2008 | 1:17 am

    My third RAWROD with with kenny’s group. Not only was the day near perfect but also a group of terrific people. Highlights of the trip:
    1. Sleeping on my cot(in sleeping bag) under the clear Moab sky. I couldn’t believe the millions of stars in the sky when not lost by bright city lights. What a great way to fall asleep!
    2. Like fatty I largely rode within myself and finished tired and spent but not completely exhausted…feeling good about the start of another great riding season.
    3. Conversation and encouragement along the way and on the climbs. The guy from California sitting at the top of Horsethief with a bag of cookies voicing shouts of support “pulled” me up the final climb…thanks for the lift!
    3. Another day spent with friends and good people I don’t know doing what I’m passionate about (although not very good at)…keeping life in perspective.

  26. Comment by troppocycle | 04.29.2008 | 1:53 am

    Hey AussieKev, check out the Picasa album KanyonKris put up:
    http://picasaweb.google.com/KanyonKris/MountainBikingFavorites
    Every picture has a google map attached, so you can see where it is. Very excellent. The photos are just super too, I am not usually keen on the idea of holidays in the US (sorry y’all) but what beautiful country!

  27. Comment by troppocycle | 04.29.2008 | 1:58 am

    Oh, forgot to mention that Botched is too late with his invention, they are called swags and Aussies have been camping with them forever.
    http://www.oztrail.com.au/swags/cooper.php

  28. Comment by Hamish A | 04.29.2008 | 3:43 am

    Thanks for the awesome write-up FC. Makes me itch even more to get healed up and out on the bike again!

    We call those sleeping bag thingies ‘Bivvy bags’ in the UK and they’re fantastic for super lightweight trips. Yet more gear to splash cash on :o)

    Glad you enjoyed the ride and all got back in one piece.

  29. Comment by adrian | 04.29.2008 | 3:58 am

    Great write-up. I second Lucky Cyclist’s comment re rolling rocks over cliffs. See http://www.alpinist.com/doc/_print/ALP20/newswire-absolon-dead-rockfall for a good reason not to do it.

  30. Comment by Rob L | 04.29.2008 | 4:38 am

    Nice! Great photos and what an awesome ride, I’m so frickin jealous. I swear the last 2 weekends we’ve had rain all weekend, and this trend is looking to repeat this weekend! ARGH! Almost 8 inches this month.

    What I really want to know is how Dug got an Ice Cold Diet Coke with Lime (R)(T)(etc) 90 miles in? Did it come back from the finish?

    Cheers! (Gonna go home and make some brats!)

  31. Comment by XCTiger | 04.29.2008 | 6:15 am

    Sounds like a great ride. Your post-ride reports are usually excellant, but this one may have been one of the best. Maybe that’s because you got to ride simply for the fun of it, with great friends, in an awesome location.

    From time to time, all of us need to take or bikes out for a nice fun ride, and not approach it as a opportunity to beat up our buddies or ourselves. Just enjoy the aspect of cycling that hooked us all in the beginning.

  32. Comment by Flyin' Ute | 04.29.2008 | 6:39 am

    Thanks again for the Brats!! It’s amazing that anyone could hammer that ride two days in a row. Brad didn’t even blink when he came to Horsethief. He just stood up and took off. I stopped and had 2 gu’s. Nice job.

  33. Comment by FliesOnly | 04.29.2008 | 7:02 am

    I cannot tell you how many times I have stated at the beginning of a ride that I was going to “take it slow and easy, and enjoy the ride”…only to find my self racing as usual. Kudos to you, Fatty, for actually sticking to your plan. Great story and great photos. I have to say, however, that throwing things off a cliff is really not a very smart thing to do. There’s a pretty tragic story about a rock climber that was killed by people above him doing that very thing. I realize that this was perhaps a bit different…but it’s just not a safe “habit” to get into.

    Oh, and I just ordered 3 one-pound bags of chocolate cover sunflower seeds. One for me, one for my wife (she’s about to leave for 2 1/2 months of migratory bird research) and one for a friend. I hope they’re as tasty as you claim.

  34. Comment by bikemike | 04.29.2008 | 8:25 am

    I am without speech and jealous.
    what an awesome time for the gang. congrats and thanks for the story.

  35. Comment by dug | 04.29.2008 | 8:40 am

    for those of you worried that we were chucking rocks down onto climbers, fear not. there’s nobody down there. NOBODY. it would take a couple days just to get to the bottom of that cliff.

    and if, as the result of throwing these rocks off, we get in a bad habit, we’ll get counseling. i promise, we’ll never go to a popular hiking/climbing area and start throwing rocks off.

    no hikers, climbers, or bikers, but maybe a few rattlesnakes, were harmed in the throwing of the rocks. one can see straight down to the bottom from the top. no climbers.

  36. Comment by KanyonKris | 04.29.2008 | 8:57 am

    For you loyal readers, I added comments and locations to my photos:

    http://picasaweb.google.com/KanyonKris/2008RAWROD

  37. Comment by Clydesteve | 04.29.2008 | 9:26 am

    dug said it more nice, but really, one of the pleasures of living in the big west is that there really ARE lonely places in the middle of nowhere, unlike the midwest, mideast, east coast and Californica.

    Rolling rocks off clifs really can be a safe pleasure. And non-addictive.

  38. Comment by KT | 04.29.2008 | 9:55 am

    Wow… excellent post today! Wish I could have gone riding this weekend, too, but the sinus infection has moved into the rest of my respiratory system and I didn’t think it would be a good idea.

    Kenny: What’s with the crazy eyes? Seriously. Scary. And I thought we all agreed that you would lose the shop teacher glasses?

    Great photos, too!

  39. Comment by tim | 04.29.2008 | 12:22 pm

    great post, great photos. what an amazing place. a unique landscape.

  40. Comment by Lucky Cyclist | 04.29.2008 | 2:58 pm

    Regardless of hikers below, there is something to be said for taking only pictures, and leaving only knobby tracks. The idea being to leave things the way you found them for the next person, I am reminded of the Scout troop that pried up fossilized dinosaur tracks and threw them in Flaming Gorge a few years ago. It’s a pretty redneck thing to do. Maybe next time you could all scratch your names in the sandstone.

  41. Comment by jenni | 04.29.2008 | 3:15 pm

    Were there any women on this ride? Looks like a sausage fest! No wonder you were grilling brats.

  42. Comment by Di | 04.29.2008 | 3:53 pm

    Wow! That picture of Horsethief is amazing. I’d love to try it just to do it. Unfortunately, I live a little too far away to put it on my list. I’ll settle for the lush, green forests of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. :-)

  43. Comment by fatty | 04.29.2008 | 4:11 pm

    jenni – there were probably half a dozen women, including at least a couple doing the ride on singlespeeds.

    buckythedonkey – “rowing” is like mashing, but moreso. it’s when you’re on a singlespeed, standing up, and using all your legpower and leverage from your arms to turn the crank. the resulting motion is very herky-jerky, with a surging and coasting you might see by an inexperienced person in a rowboat.

    rob l – dug was able to have an ice cold coke at the last stop because a couple of sag wagons trailed us along the trip, meeting with us at agreed-upon points. this is also how i was able to do the ride without a camelbak. camelbaks aren’t a lot of fun when you’re riding a singlespeed and having to stand up and row every so often. you want your back unencumbered.

    dobovedo – i expect you’re right. terrain is critical to good mtb. and we’ve got it pretty darn good here.

    emily – that cliff photo IS fantastic, isn’t it? we were lucky to have some good photographers (Kris, Adam)

    rocky – kellene says she’s joining us for rawrod next year. you should join us. i’m confident carborocket will solve your hydration issues once and for all. ha.

    adam – i’m pretty sure there were 7 twin six jerseys. nice counting.

    lucky cyclist – your disapproval is noted. you may want to ratchet the rhetoric down a bit, ok? thanks.

  44. Comment by dug | 04.29.2008 | 5:05 pm

    lucky cyclist? grandpa? is that you?

  45. Comment by Co | 04.29.2008 | 7:03 pm

    Kenny makes an excellent argument for men wearing pink FC jerseys. Also for drinking CarboRocket. FC & Brad should sign him on contract.

  46. Comment by buckythedonkey | 04.30.2008 | 12:32 am

    so how many T6 jersies were in the photo? :-)

  47. Comment by buckythedonkey | 04.30.2008 | 4:10 am

    From the photo of you ascending the long climb, it looks like you’re still using the OnOne bars (Mary bars?). If that’s right, I’d be interested to hear just how you’ve found living with them.

  48. Comment by Travis | 04.30.2008 | 5:45 am

    Jealous…. open invite next year????

  49. Comment by Caloi Rider | 04.30.2008 | 10:03 am

    So, um, forgive my curiosity here, but what exactly happened to Botched? Botched, are you going to spill the beans (proverbially speaking this time) about your RAWROD experience?

  50. Comment by Anders | 04.30.2008 | 12:28 pm

    Hey fatty – looking to ride the white rim in a day on a single speed as well and would love to get a recommendation on what gear to bring?

  51. Comment by Fish | 05.1.2008 | 7:27 am

    Do you mind if I bring choripan? Those are the other types of sausages I prepared after the LT100. I’m also happy to help out with whatever other prep chores you might have.

  52. Comment by judi | 05.1.2008 | 7:41 am

    That looks like a ton of fun. And gorgeous. I need to get outwest soon.

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  56. Pingback by Fat Cyclist » Blog Archive » 100 Miles…The Convenient Way | 05.9.2011 | 11:52 am

    [...] and drove to the top of the Horsethief climb, the same place we always start the ride from during one of Kenny’s annual RAWROD trips. The Runner, her son The IT guy and I would be starting the [...]

 

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