SFR Orr Springs brief report

[Rob Hawks]

13 riders saddled up and left the ride start at 04:00 today. The weather at the start was calm and clear, and temps along the course are expected to creep up to the 90F mark this afternoon. If you want to scope out the route the riders take, you can go here for a peek.

This year, the roster has an International flavor with riders from other countries such as Washington and Oreg.... Hold on, I've just been informed that those places are part of the same country as us. Ok, good to know. At any rate, word has gotten out beyond the Bay Area about the Adventure Series and especially the Orr Springs 600.

Many 600km routes have times well under 30 hours, and some even under 24 hours. Not so the Orr Springs route which has been run 3 times previously and the best time is 35:24 (this is a Max Poletto route btw). Nevertheless, several riders on today's roster are hoping to better not only that mark, but also to beat the longest sleep time for the Ukiah overnight control. Good luck to all.

rob hawks

[Massimiliano Poletto]

Congratulations to Froste Wistrom for setting a new record on this course, 34h46m. The previous best time was 35h24m, set by Bryan Kilgore and Bill Brier in 2015.

This year's was a tough edition. Only four of the thirteen starters completed the event. Congratulations to everyone who attempted this ride, and especially to the four—Froste, Sherry Adams, Bryan Kilgore, and Theo Roffe—who made it to the finish.

Sherry joins Tom Haggerty in the rarefied ranks of those who have completed an SFR 600K event in exactly 40h00m.

max

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[Ann Klein]

Congratulations, all!  That was a tough ride!!!

Ann

On Sun, Jul 23, 2017 at 9:32 PM Massimiliano Poletto <max.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

Congratulations to Froste Wistrom for setting a new record on this course, 34h46m. The previous best time was 35h24m, set by Bryan Kilgore and Bill Brier in 2015.

This year's was a tough edition. Only four of the thirteen starters completed the event. Congratulations to everyone who attempted this ride, and especially to the four—Froste, Sherry Adams, Bryan Kilgore, and Theo Roffe—who made it to the finish.

Sherry joins Tom Haggerty in the rarefied ranks of those who have completed an SFR 600K event in exactly 40h00m.

max

On Sat, Jul 22, 2017 at 10:26 AM, Rob Hawks <rob....@gmail.com> wrote:

13 riders saddled up and left the ride start at 04:00 today. The weather at the start was calm and clear, and temps along the course are expected to creep up to the 90F mark this afternoon. If you want to scope out the route the riders take, you can go here for a peek.

This year, the roster has an International flavor with riders from other countries such as Washington and Oreg.... Hold on, I've just been informed that those places are part of the same country as us. Ok, good to know. At any rate, word has gotten out beyond the Bay Area about the Adventure Series and especially the Orr Springs 600.

Many 600km routes have times well under 30 hours, and some even under 24 hours. Not so the Orr Springs route which has been run 3 times previously and the best time is 35:24 (this is a Max Poletto route btw). Nevertheless, several riders on today's roster are hoping to better not only that mark, but also to beat the longest sleep time for the Ukiah overnight control. Good luck to all.

rob hawks

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Ann Klein

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(510) 282-5893

[Rob Hawks]

Sadly, no all time sleep records were set however.

rob

[Drew Carlson]

I really like the challenge this course provides, but the heat was a bit more than I was expecting.  I had a great ride up to Gualala, but, despite drinking a lot of fluids and carrying two water bottles, I ran out of water, and bonked pretty badly on Fish Rock Road.  By the time I got to 128, I had to give up, and hitched a ride from some good Samaritans to the sleep control in Ukiah.  Ryan and Metin had a fantastic array of food and drink on hand, and I got over my dehydration by later in the evening.  Thanks, guys!  

 The next time I attempt this, I will take three water bottles, or a camelbak, because water is very hard to come by between Gualala and Boonville.  It's only 30 miles, but the climbs are steep, and it's slow going in the heat.   

On Sun, Jul 23, 2017 at 10:20 PM Rob Hawks <rob....@gmail.com> wrote:

Sadly, no all time sleep records were set however.

rob

On Sun, Jul 23, 2017 at 9:32 PM, Massimiliano Poletto <max.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

Congratulations to Froste Wistrom for setting a new record on this course, 34h46m. The previous best time was 35h24m, set by Bryan Kilgore and Bill Brier in 2015.

This year's was a tough edition. Only four of the thirteen starters completed the event. Congratulations to everyone who attempted this ride, and especially to the four—Froste, Sherry Adams, Bryan Kilgore, and Theo Roffe—who made it to the finish.

Sherry joins Tom Haggerty in the rarefied ranks of those who have completed an SFR 600K event in exactly 40h00m.

max

On Sat, Jul 22, 2017 at 10:26 AM, Rob Hawks <rob....@gmail.com> wrote:

13 riders saddled up and left the ride start at 04:00 today. The weather at the start was calm and clear, and temps along the course are expected to creep up to the 90F mark this afternoon. If you want to scope out the route the riders take, you can go here for a peek.

This year, the roster has an International flavor with riders from other countries such as Washington and Oreg.... Hold on, I've just been informed that those places are part of the same country as us. Ok, good to know. At any rate, word has gotten out beyond the Bay Area about the Adventure Series and especially the Orr Springs 600.

Many 600km routes have times well under 30 hours, and some even under 24 hours. Not so the Orr Springs route which has been run 3 times previously and the best time is 35:24 (this is a Max Poletto route btw). Nevertheless, several riders on today's roster are hoping to better not only that mark, but also to beat the longest sleep time for the Ukiah overnight control. Good luck to all.

rob hawks

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 - Drew -

[Greg Merritt]

I did this route once, a couple of years ago, and took two bottles plus a Camelbak. I even added a disposable bottle from a convenience store to that total for one leg -- probably for 4-5 liters total on the bike, and a tummyful in me -- and had to budget my consumption before I found the next suitable water source. (I somehow missed the roadside cooler that was placed in the middle of that leg.)

Riders & conditions vary, and I do drink more than most, but I wanted to get this data point into the archives for future riders who are wondering about water carrying capacity as they plan for this route. Also, on legs with more provisions, carrying more water can help you avoid stops, if that fits with your time management approach.

-Greg

[Ian Kizu-Blair]

I had a very similar ride to Drew. I had a blast riding up to Gualala. Some memorable moments for me were swooping down over Tam in the wee hours to hook back on to the front group, seeing the colors of the dawn sky materialize on a car-free Hwy 1, and rolling along the golden hills and forests of King Ridge.

However, I got really dehydrated on Fish Rock too. I brought two 21oz normal bottles on my bike, and two 20oz disposable bottles from the store (82oz total). Still wasn't enough and I was having intermittent cramps climbing on the steep pitches and ran out of water by the time I hit 128. On 128 riding to Boonville, I had to stop in the shade to cool off, and decided to DNF. My parents graciously drove all the way from Cazadero to pick me up in Boonville. On the drive home, we saw Sherry amazingly still on course (so rad!) and Karen heading down 128 towards Cloverdale, and we stopped to give Karen some water.

I really enjoyed riding with Eric and Dan, and wish I could have kept going as I was having a good time in spite of everything! I'm hoping I can use whatever I learned (not sure what that is yet...) to finish the ride next year.

Thanks so much to Rob starting off the ride on a humorous note with his speech, and to all the volunteers who made it possible.

Ian

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[Bryan Kilgore]

For the record, I believe Froste also holds the record for most sleep in Ukiah from the 2016 edition along with Cheryl Becker ;)

[froste....@gmail.com]

Wow what a ride!

To back up for a second. Last years Orr Springs was my first 600k, then I didn't really know what to expect but quickly found that the course was very challenging and 40 hours is a long time to ride a bike. Back then I rode with a group of 5 and got into Ukiah at 10.00pm and ended up oversleeping. Cheryl and I made it to the finish with about an hour to spare. I guess it was a sleep record for the course. 

This year I had something different in mind. I wanted to try and ride it fast. Bryan and I had a goal of 34 hours. We would try and leave Ukiah by 1am to make it to the finish. Bryan had a cold leading up to the event and wasnt sure how everything would pan out. 

I managed to get a decent amount of sleep Friday night something I have chronically been lacking for most all brevets which I felt really good about. Things were dialed in and I was anxious to get going. We quickly got going after the right hand left hand speech and headed for Pantoll. I really liked the route change and suggest it should be permanently adjusted. Climbing out of the fog at 4.40 and seeing the first resemblance of light was exhilarating before ducking back into Bolinas Lagoon. The 4am party train to Ukiah was rolling fast with and we made quick progress to Point Reyes and later Occidental. 

King Ridge was as spectacular as always and we picked some Blackberries but kept stops short and efficient. (I returned here a week later with my wife and mother in law and picked a couple of gallons more. So delicious!) We made very quick progress to Gualala and I felt good about making it to Ukiah with enough time to get a decent stop in before a 1am departure. Unfortunately things slowed down a lot from here on. James had stomach issues and had to pull out on Fish Rock and our stop in Boonville turned rather lengthy. It was hot for sure but didn't bother me too much. 

The 3 of us, Theo from Seattle, Bryan Kilgore and I continued to make the final 100k to the rest stop. We made it in by 10.30. half an hour later than previous year. Ryan and Metin had the most deluxo spread of food for us including a Pliney the Elder. Damn it tasted good! A shower and then a 60 minute nap. I thought I was going to throw up when the alarm beeped but I managed to keep it together and shake the other two out of their beauty sleep. At 1.20 we were off and rode to Middletown for brekfast. these hours are a blur for me but riding Old toll Rd at night was exciting as last year it was 6am when I was there! Theo had dropped back but we managed to regroup and ride Western mines together.

Similar to last year, when Western Mines was behind us I regained my strengths and my legs felt like a million $$$. I pulled for most of the stretch to Sebastpol doing the rando math in my head. It still seemed feasible to make a fast time. We called DORC at the in Sepastopol to let the volunteers know our ETA. My legs felt less good after the stop and it was starting to heat up, all of a sudden the finish felt far far away and I wasnt sure about the time any more. At one of the climbs just before the Marin County line Theo and Bryan dropped behind and I realized I just had to go. 

I rode fast, faster than I had during the earlier 500k of the ride. A guy in full Rapha hitched a ride all through Chilleno Valley. I didn't say a word but laughed to myself. I kept passing many riders and felt like I was making good time. In Fairfax it appeared that I could shave a full hour of the course record but things slowed down a lot when all the traffic, cyclist and stop signs hit. 

The bridge was SO windy. I screamed straight out as I was approaching cresting the hill before the tunnel under 101. I barely moved forward! I navigated the bridge and wondered why children are allowed here during such conditions when they are getting pushed into the railing multiple times and unable to stay upright?

I arrived to the GGB Plaza at 14.46 and called Max to let him know I was done 34hours and 46 minutes total time. Congratulations! I heard from the background as his wife let me know the volunteers were going to be there soon. I sat, ate and drank and watched tourists for almost 30 minutes before Rob showed up. Dana, my wife, Gabe and a few others came to the finish and about an hour after my finish Theo and Bryan showed up. Beer and Pizza were had over by the ball fields. I was tired and happy. Soon I was home and the bathtub with an IPA felt like heaven. dinner, some stretching and then sleeeeeep.

I would like to say thank you to everyone who was involved. Rob for making the start and finish. Bryan Theo and James for being great riding partners. Ryan and Metin for setting the bar high for food options including good beer and coffee. Max for providing us with these amazing routes. Lastly, a shout out to John Fitzgerald for building me such an amazing bike, it performs flawlessly and I have never been this comfortable on a bike. The 48mm compass tires makes all of the neglected roads of Sonoma and Mendocino feel newly paved. 

In retrospect I know that this course can be ridden even faster. I think 32 hours is feasible. 30 would be extremely fast. Maybe next year. we will see...

[Massimiliano Poletto]

Great report, and amazing effort!

I smiled at the image of you pulling other riders in Chileno Valley. Andrea Achilli and Steve Smead and I had a memorable experience along those lines on our 14-hour Hopland 400 a couple years ago.

I hope to provide some even more challenging options to lure people to Switzerland in the next couple years. :)

And I may try to schedule a trip to California next summer to coincide with Orr Springs. I agree with you that 32 hours is feasible. I have never ridden Orr Springs for time (always a scouting ride, or more of a tour with friends), but I'd be keen to try it.

max

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[Eric Walstad]

I've busy but just made the time to process my photos:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsm1USFzd

I had a lovely time riding a little over a third of the course. King ridge was as beautiful as ever and there were lots of blackberries up there to help get me to Gualala where the rando-leftovers (randovers?) (potato wedges and blueberries) from the fast kids were much appreciated. After some Maxematics near the top of Fish Rock, and a call to check on room availability in Cloverdale, the decision was made to slow down a bit, enjoy a leisurely dinner, full-night's sleep, and a sit-down breakfast before catching the bus from Santa Rosa to SF. We lucked out and found Froste and Dana at the finish with Rob. We also saw Bryan and Theo from the bus, riding on the Sausalito bike path so we waited for them to roll-in. It was great to see them all at the finish and listen to their ride stories.

Thanks to Rob, Dave, and all the other volunteers that made this ride happen!

Eric