Posted on 06/29/08 11:25 AM| by team-admin
Skipping ahead through the Crazies, to just after the 95 mile bike ride:
Bones arrived at CP20 sometime around 4am. This last bike section (97 miles on Ann’s bike computer) was not so much fun for the team. Close to half was on highway, and 35 miles of it was due north into a 25mph headwind. Roy and Jason said the team had a hard time maintaining 10mph, and in hilly sections, 6 mph. Bones took two naps on this section… one for 35 minutes and the other for 5 minutes. This was necessary because the now extremely tired team was swerving all over the road and Jason took a spill (no wounds however).
Crew spent time during this leg stocking up on groceries from Wally World (aka. Walmart) and buying medical supplies (ankle brace, Tagiderm, and pre-tape/wrap) from both of the two medical supply stores. Also hit another RV campsite to get/dump water, for Mark and Corey to take a much needed shower and for me to email several photos to my brother to post to this website.
The team slept between 4:30 and 8:00am and left CP20 around 8:30 am for a very tough trek.
This close-to 27 mile leg, through the Bridgers, was brutal… it took Merrel 18 hours to complete this section and their crew informed us the 3rd place Canadian team had been helovaced off due to tendinitis. Tons of elevation gain with a lot of up-downs. The crew was originally hopeful Bones would complete this section before sunset. Thanks to Colin for calling from California at 1am to give us an update… we knew Bones was about 3.5-5 miles from the TA (CP23). One interesting note about this leg: the trail took them past the Montana State M (white painted rocks on the hillside).
Upon arriving at CP23, no TA lights were on at 2am, so the team wandering in did not have much of a beacon. We eventually heard voices and saw lights across the lake we were camped next to. Walter yelled at us (probably after seeing our camper floodlights and blinking headlamps) and eventually made it to the TA check-in (now with lights on).
Overall, the team looked great - very relaxed, smiles, and even some humor. Apparently the hike was the most beautiful section of the race so far. It didn’t sound like their route was as technical as Merrel’s. Ann had two bungee contraptions, one on each ankle. The ER doc must have done this (Jason). The bungee was tied from the top of Ann’s gaitor to the toe of her shoe to limit her foot’s downward movement. The doc said this was tendinitos, that he, Ann, and Walter were all experiencing. I’ve seen some swollen legs, but their’s were impressive.
Bones decided to get some sleep as soon as possible with a wake up call at 6am. Walter was eating like a horse (still) - this might have contributed to his very loud snoring. Ann tried to wake him by grabbing his leg, but this didn’t phase him. Food here consisted of many, many burritos. Ann needed a tire change. She was riding tubeless, so we just swapped wheels with Roy’s back-up bike. He was riding his hardtail, a very light Merlin, in lieu of his full-suspension Ellsworth.
I’m going to leave out the story about Walter rendering first aid (Tagiderm) to Roy prior to getting back on the saddle.
Bones is off now for a 65 mile bike (ends at CP25). We hope to see them between 1 and 2pm.
I think there might be a light at the end of this tunnel. Great job, Bones!!
BTW: One of my favorite lines of the race so far? On day #2, Walter said that the only food that sounded good to him was any food that someone else has, that he doesn’t!
Bones arrived at TA12 (CP25) in a smoking time. The team pulled in at 1pm (actually surprising the crew). The ride was only slightly better than the rest of the rides as far as fun factor. MVP for this last leg was Jason. Wally said that Jason led pace line for 30+ miles straight at a blistering pace. Great job, Doc!
Ann’s ankles/tendonitis were causing some pretty significant pain so the crew attempted to use one of three new ankle braces purchased on their drive to this TA. They proved to be too constricting (and really difficult to get into her shoe). We ended up using the brace already on her foot (and subsequently purchased 2 more during the next trek).
Bones made fast time of this transition and departing for the orienteering/ropes leg in just about an hour. Walter looked super strong… we put all of the climbing gear into a separate pack and Walter wore this on his chest for the first part of the leg. Everyone looked strong (except for some interesting gaits). Also in good spirits.
I have to give some props to Ryan form the Merrell support crew. He is a great mechanic and fixed 2 of our tires at this transition - one broken valve stem and (believe it) an over-inflated tubeless tire that exploded off the rim (sounded like a bomb went off). Thanks, Ryan.
This leg consisted of a roughly 4.5 mile hike up river to the start of the ascent. Ann told me this portion was tough, especially so because of hurting feet. The first portion was a free climb where the team would be assessed a 30 minute penalty if they touched the rope. Bones did not. This led to a series of (3 I think) pitches with about 1500 ft of gain. All pitches contained multiple tie offs, so the entire ascent was tough going. Bones made it through this section in about 2.5 hours. The orienteering course consisted of 10 checks, all but two worth 1 hour of time credit. The two furthest checks were worth 2 hours.
This checks were located on 2 mtns with about 2k of gain, so it wasn’t easy. Bones arrived at the lest check at the top of a final rappel of this section. The rappel was just NE of the TA so the support crew was able to watch Merrell rappel off earlier in the day. It’s a whole different story when you watch your team do it at midnight. To get to the top of the rappel, teams have to rope in and cross a small ledge about 200 ft long (and 3 ft wide). Nuun made the crossing and rappel just in front of Bones, so both teams were visible at the same time. At least their headlamps were.
Nuun hit the TA about 15 minutes and immediately went to bed… we overheard discussion of a 3 hour nap. Bones checked in and immediately prepped to start the net leg, a 31 mile trek east through the Gallatin Mtn Range. Their turn was fast (just 1 hour). Again, everyone looked strong despite their funny way of walking. We hooked Ann up with her 2nd ankle brace. There was also a blogger from Checkpoint Zero taking some really good shots of her foot care session at this TA. (The team has a toolbox dedicated solely to foot care.)
Giddy up - almost forgot to mention Bones located 4 checks. One of those was worth 2 hours. Nuun located 3.
Bones departed at 1am on their last trek. One more bike after that (b/w 35 and 40 miles). We’re crossing our fingers they all finish safely. And a 3rd place finish wouldn’t hurt.
Currently, the total bike mileage off Ann’s bike computer is 281 miles.
