A Note from Fatty: A big thanks goes out to Dave Carmichael for his awesome idea + story + video. I love creative, ambitious approaches to the 100 Miles of Nowhere, and this is is both — and more.
Enjoy Dave’s video and story. I know I sure did!
When this year’s 100 Miles of Nowhere was opened up, the timing seemed perfect. The ride was right around the end date of my deployment to Qatar, and what better place to do a 100 miles of nowhere than an actual legit nowhere?
It would have been a great way to end my trip except for one thing: the bike. Any distance over 20 miles had my lower back screaming…and that’s no fun. (And yes, I blame the bike and not my moderate level of fitness.)
Of course I made this discovery after already having signed up. Not wanting to back out, I came up with a different plan. After finishing my deployment my wife and I were planning a road trip from Seattle to Chicago and back. I could do short rides in the different states that we traveled through, making for a total of 100 miles.
I e-mailed Fatty to make sure the plan fit with the spirit of the event and with his blessing it was game on.
I started in Qatar, riding a couple loops of the dormitory area. A couple weeks later, after getting home, I was able to ride in a snow/sleet storm, followed by a very slippery night mountain bike ride. I wasn’t out of practice, I didn’t fall over…and those are both lies.
We started our holiday road trip a few days later and I was able in quick succession to ride laps in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska. South Dakota was fun, a ride through the badlands. The rest were quick spins around town from the hotels. Not as much fun, but not too bad either.
We arrived in Illinois to visit family and I did some exploring of the area. As it turns out, it’s more fun to ride than drive. Go figure.
We stayed for Thanksgiving then left for Colorado, enabling rides along the way in Iowa and Nebraska again.
Arriving in Colorado I quickly realized that I should have brought all my bikes. With great road riding and mountain biking it’s hard to bring just one bike. I did however manage a really great ride with my father, something we don’t get to do together very much. It was the best part of the event for me.
After leaving Colorado it was time to head for home. I knocked out a few more miles in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon before arriving back in Washington.
I finished up with 100.42 miles, two countries, 11 states (three twice), and five bikes used (95 Giant Iguana, 2013 Giant Defy, 2014 Novara Flyby, 2014 Norco Sight, 2013 Norco Cabot) for this project.
I started November 4th and finished on the 8th of December with a total of 15 riding days. I experienced temperatures from the high 90’s to the low teens. And I got to see parts of the various towns we drove through that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
So, yeah this event was a winner for 2015. 100 Miles of Nowhere, Everywhere Edition. Looking forward to next year.
I’m an easygoing guy. You know I am. Except when I’m racing, at which point I am absolutely not easygoing. But this is not my point.
Also, the fact that I am usually easygoing is not my point, either.
I’m just saying that, generally speaking, I’m easy to get along with. That’s all.
And as an easygoing person, I don’t really go in for throwing my weight around. Except when I feel like it, or when my MRSA flares up or I don’t get a good night’s sleep for some reason.
Very occasionally, however, I feel like I need to throw my weight around for a reason that has nothing to do with grumpiness or whatever.
This is one of those times.
Here’s what I have to say, WBR, so listen good:
I demand you make Carlos Perea a 2016 WBR Ambassador.
Just look at all the comments below (which I am sure will begin accumulating at a ridiculous rate as soon as I post this). Everyone agrees with me. Except that one guy, and nobody likes or agrees with that one guy anyway. Ignore that guy. That guy’s a troll.
Anyway, I think I’ve made my case. I look forward to you crowning Carlos (because I also think you should give Carlos a crown and make him King of All WBR Ambassadors).
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Kind Regards,
Fatty
PS: Anyone else who wants to apply, by the way, can click here to get started. And there can be more than one.
Reba Rusch is known as the Queen of Pain, but she’s a lot more than someone who just suffers well. She’s a firefighter, she’s an adventurer, she’s a racer, she’s an author, she’s a fundraiser, she’s a race promoter, and she’s an advocate for change.
In this new FattyCast, Reba and I talk about all of this, as well as have an argument about pie.
A Note from Fatty: Yesterday I posted a podcast and blog post about Madeline Bemis and her dream of getting to race the 2016 World 24-Hour Solo MTB Championship, in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Madeline needed to get to $6,000…and within a few hours after I posted, she had hit (and has now exceeded!) that goal.
That is just amazing. Incredible, really.
As an unexpected — and really cool — thank you, Madeline and her team posted this “thank you” video. Check it out:
I for one cannot wait to hear how her race goes.
A Note About Today’s 100 Miles of Nowhere Race Report: Today’s 100 Miles of Nowhere race report comes to you from Lyle B, of Denver, PA. I found Lyle’s story both hilarious and inspirational; I love the way he’s doing something bigger than he’s ever done before, and that he’s putting up with a lot for a good cause.
Enjoy!
100 Miles of Nowhere: Left-Handed 40yo On Combine Test Track Division
I’ve been wanting to do the 100 Miles of Nowhere for a few years now, but never could think of a good place to do it. But this year I found one. I work for CNH Industrial, a major manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, and at the R&D center where I work, there is a half-mile test track, normally used for testing combines and other equipment.
The advantage to this is that it’s flat. Dead flat.
And I don’t mean “I live in North Dakota prairie” flat. I mean “surveyed & graded to be perfect” flat. In the 27 miles that I recorded while Strava was working properly, I gained zero feet of altitude. Zero.
This was nice, since it meant no climbing. Unfortunately, it also meant no descending.
Since this would be my first century, I knew that proper training would be required. I looked up a few articles on training for your first century, committed them to memory, and resolved to do my best to prepare.
And then I rode my bike exactly once in October.
Let’s Go
I decided to do the ride on October 31, due to some family obligations on November 7. I got started around 8am, while temps were still in the mid 30’s.
I had asked several coworkers to join me at various times today, and Mark joined me just a few minutes after I started. We chatted as we rode the first hour at a nice easy 15.5mph pace, then decided to pick up the pace and I tucked in behind Mark to draft for the next hour, where we averaged almost 18mph for the hour. I was fortunate to have a good engine to hide behind!
I’m in the blue jacket, Mark in the white. Two of our company’s products in the background. Photo credit: Brent Smith
Photo Credit: Brent Smith
The Pain Begins
About 25 miles into the ride, my left knee started hurting. At mile 37, Mark had to leave, and I took a small break. I decided to put a shim between my left pedal and crank, as the fit expert at my LBS had done with my right. In the hardware drawers in the shop, I could only find one washer that would work:
Think that’s big enough?
As I was working on this, Jon & Kevin showed up, and we set off at a really nice pace, about 17mph, and with two other people to draft behind this felt great. Two other colleagues joined us for a short time as well.
Early on in this leg, my right knee decided it didn’t want to be left out, and started hurting as well. It was around the 50 mile mark that I started having serious doubts about my ability to ride the whole 100 miles, especially since soon our average speed starting dropping steadily, hovering about the 15mph mark.
At the 60 mile mark, my wife and kids stopped by to say hi, and at the same time, Kevin had to leave. Another rider joined us for a few miles, but couldn’t stay long.
Too Much
At 70 miles, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. We were doing just under 15 mph, and I just could not contemplate two more hours with the pain I was experiencing in both knees. I had already surpassed my previous highest mileage for one day on the bike. I told Jon I would gut it out to 75 miles and call it a day.
So after 4 hours 53 minutes, I hit 75 mile mark and headed to the car.
I was disappointed that I couldn’t make it to a century, but was glad I had tried, and helped raise money for a good cause. I was very thankful for the coworkers that helped make it possible.
Maybe next year I can actually train for it & do the whole thing…
Madeline Bemis — and people like her — are exactly the reason I started the FattyCast — because I love talking with people who are doing amazing things with bikes.
See, Madeline is a high school Junior and a racer on her local NICA team.
And on its own, that’s great. But she’s also a 12-Hour Solo race winner:
To say I was impressed is an understatement. She’s an amazing racer and person.
Help Madeline Race in the 24-Hour World Championships
And here’s the thing: Madeline wants to step up her game to the next level and race in the 2016 World 24-Hour Solo MTB Championship, in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Yeah. I know: awesome.
But it’s expensive to do this race. As in, Madeline needs to raise $6000 to cover getting her father, coach, and self to the event.
Madeline’s already done the lion’s share of the fundraising necessary: as I write this, she’s raised $4610. She’s more than 3/4 of the way there.
I’d like to ask Friends of Fatty to get her to the finish line of her fundraising now…so she can concentrate on the getting to the starting line of the race itself.
Let’s Get the Fat Cyclist Logo on Madeline’s Jersey
During the conversation I had with Madeline, I had an idea: what if we got Madeline to her $6000 goal in one day? Would she put the FatCyclist.com logo on her jersey?
Yes, she in fact would.
So I say, let’s do this. Let’s help an amazing young woman do something incredible. Go to bit.ly/teambemis and donate what you can. For what it’s worth, if you donate $50 (that’s what I donated) or more, you’ll get a tech-T showing your support.
And if we get Madeline across the $6K goal, that tech-T will include the FatCyclist logo on it. Which I can’t help but imagine would be hugely embarrassing for a teenager to wear. So that’s a good reason to make the donation right there.
I love that more and more kids are racing, and I love that they’re stretching themselves (and this is a major hint as to where my fundraising efforts are headed in 2016).
Go make a donation, and then join me in anticipating the best race report ever.
[A Followup Note from Fatty: Within six hours of my posting this, Friends of Fatty hit Madeline’s fundraising goal of $6,000.00. Moments like this are incredible reminders that I have the best, most generous readers on the Internet.]
