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The ride began in Douglas, AZ at 2 am, so I rode the first ~4 hours in the dark. It followed US Route 80, climbing up to Bisbee, AZ, then descending through Tombstone and on to Benson, where I took Interstate 10 east to Road Forks, NM. There I joined Route 80 again and followed it back to Douglas. Here's a map and satellite image from Google Maps. My bike computer has an altimeter and data recorder, so I made an elevation profile of the route with times for the major waypoints.
Joe Plassman and Guy McArthur drove a support vehicle and met up with me south of Benson just before sunrise. In previous years, the ~110-mile stretch along I-10 had a tailwind, or at least no headwind, but this year there was a headwind the whole way. It had a sustained speed of at least 20 mph, and was gusting to well over that. There were long stretches where I wasn't able to bike faster than 10 mph even when I got up out of the saddle and pushed as hard as I could. My knees literally felt like they were going to explode. Approaching the turn-off for Route 80 in New Mexico, I pretty much figured that if there was still a headwind after I made the turn, I'd have to drop out or risk seriously injuring my knees.
Fortunately, after the turn to Route 80 it was mostly a crosswind, which while annoying as all hell, was still an improvement over what I had up to that point. It even turned into a bit of a tailwind for the last ~50 miles, so by that point I was starting to feel alive again and was cruising along at a pretty good pace. Abundant food and encouragement from Joe and Guy helped a lot! The last stretch was a moderate uphill section with a few steep climbs before cresting over the pass and heading back into Douglas. An official vehicle met me just as I entered Douglas and led me over the finish line.
I got in at 8:02 pm (total time 18 hours, 2 minutes), which was longer than my times in past years, but not too surprising given the worse wind conditions this time around. I was 10th out of 17 finishers, and about 30 people started the race. A comparison of times at the various waypoints between this year's and previous years' rides is here.
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At the Gadsden Hotel the night before the race || || \/ |
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"Breakfast" at the Benson checkpoint just before getting on I-10 |
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Joe P. |
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About 100 miles in and still looking happy! |
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A nutritious meal of Coke and Clif Block energy food |
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Me, Guy, and a well-equipped support vehicle |
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Paul, who finished just a few minutes after me. Don't worry, he's alive, just very tired. |
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About 160 miles in, and still giving the thumbs up! |
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Leaving AZ... |
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...and crossing into New Mexico |
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Dachshund at the Road Forks, NM checkpoint |
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Cruising down Route 80, happy that the terrible headwind has become a merely annoying crosswind || || \/ |
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Joe was thinking of picking this up to use as the support vehicle, but couldn't find the keys || || \/ |
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I look pretty determined here |
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Joe and Guy stopped at a bar/restaurant near Rodeo, NM... |
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...and got me some French fries! |
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Neat clouds over Douglas during the final stretch along Route 80 || || \/ |
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The last stretch will be in the dark... |
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Joe had some car issues to work out || || \/ |
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Finished!!!!! || || \/ |
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